I have been delving into the singular Disc World of Terry Pratchett once again for my 35th book of the year. Mort, which I read in audio on CD (fantastic narration by Nigel Planer) tells the tale of a gangly 16 year old (Mort) whose father doesn't quite know what to do with, so takes him to the annual apprentice fair. Unfortunately, even there, noone is interested in taking him on, so his father is resigned to having to take him back home again and try and find something the boy can actually do! However, on the stroke of midnight - which marks the end of the fair - a booming voice declares that it will take on the boy as his apprentice. Slightly bewildered but glad nonetheless, Mort's father agrees to hand him over to this new employer ... who, it turns out, is none other than DEATH himself! Or rather, an anthropomorphic representation of DEATH - with skeletal features, black cloak and huge scythe, just as you would expect. And so begins the training of our hero into a profession for which there isn't a great deal of competition. Do not be fooled by the subject matter - this is not a grim tale. There is plenty of humour - particularly when DEATH becomes disillusioned with his lot and tries to find out why humans find such pleasure in things such as fishing dancing, drinking and eating canapes! Meanwhile, our young hero threatens to break the fabric of time by preventing the fated death of a princess by taking the soul of her would-be assassin instead. Mort needs to get history back on track and so seeks the help of the most powerful wizard in history as well as DEATH's daughter. This book was written by a Terry Pratchett on top form and has plenty of chuckles and mind-bending situations throughout. Highly recommended for those who like a bit of fantasy from time to time.
My star rating: FOUR
The stats bit:
Length: 320 print pages.
Price I paid: Free - borrowed from local library.
Other formats available in: print, unabridged audio download, Ebook.
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