A review by theaceofpages
Reaper Man, by Terry Pratchett
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
'' They said that dying was just like going to sleep, although of course if you weren’t careful bits of you could rot and drop off. ''
Have you ever wondered what would happen if death went on holiday? Or how cities go about reproducing? Probably not but these are exactly the kinds of questions you didn't know you needed the answer to before you get them. Death, having told he has limited time left, decides that he wants to see what being human is all about. He finds himself working as a farm hand under the name Bill Door and seems to be perpetually confused. In contrast to his literal mindedness we have the chaos incarnate that is the wizards of Unseen University. Through them (and the recently deceased Windle Poons) we get to see the consequences of death's time off as everything starts descending into even more mayhem than usual.
I loved this book and the characters. And it definitely had some very interesting ideas. I do, however, feel like Pratchett tried to do a bit too much. Two whole plots (while related) is a bit too much for a relatively short book. I feel like a lot was lost, although I still enjoyed it immensely. I just wish there was a little bit less jumping around and that we had got to see more of the antics of both sets of characters.
While it doesn't really matter what order you read the Discworld Books in, I do think readers would gain much more from this story if they have already read at least one book about the wizards and one about Death. I think having an understanding about the characters before diving into this rather busy book (it feels like a Pratchett cover with a lot happening at the same time and mentally jumping between details) would definitely be beneficial.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if death went on holiday? Or how cities go about reproducing? Probably not but these are exactly the kinds of questions you didn't know you needed the answer to before you get them. Death, having told he has limited time left, decides that he wants to see what being human is all about. He finds himself working as a farm hand under the name Bill Door and seems to be perpetually confused. In contrast to his literal mindedness we have the chaos incarnate that is the wizards of Unseen University. Through them (and the recently deceased Windle Poons) we get to see the consequences of death's time off as everything starts descending into even more mayhem than usual.
I loved this book and the characters. And it definitely had some very interesting ideas. I do, however, feel like Pratchett tried to do a bit too much. Two whole plots (while related) is a bit too much for a relatively short book. I feel like a lot was lost, although I still enjoyed it immensely. I just wish there was a little bit less jumping around and that we had got to see more of the antics of both sets of characters.
While it doesn't really matter what order you read the Discworld Books in, I do think readers would gain much more from this story if they have already read at least one book about the wizards and one about Death. I think having an understanding about the characters before diving into this rather busy book (it feels like a Pratchett cover with a lot happening at the same time and mentally jumping between details) would definitely be beneficial.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Child death