Terry Pratchett occupies a unique niche: fantasy humor. His novels are set on discworld, which is (in his words) "a world not totally unlike our own, except that it is a flat disc carried on the backs of four elephants astride a giant turtle floating through space . . ." That description give you a taste of the flavor of Pratchett's works. He mixes in such absurdities with dashes of insight on life, all wrapped in an amusing story. In this particular case, the subject is Death. Mort is a human, chosen by Death to be his assistant, and as such, Mort gains insight into the pros and cons of the job, as well as many other aspects of life. Hilarity ensues. Sort of.
Growing up, I read a lot of humorist Dave Barry. Reading his works would often induce in me a fit of hysterics. Pratchett is certainly in the same vein, but not nearly as funny. Yes, there are certainly amusing parts to the story, witty one-liners, and delightful absurdities. But at no point did I laugh out loud, nor did I find his insights that earth-shattering. Overall, I appreciate the effort, but just didn't enjoy it enough to read any more of the discworld saga.
I'll end on a brighter note, for I don't want to be too harsh. The one insight I did find worthwhile was a theme that came up several times in the book- "people just don't see what their mind tells them isn't there." That's certainly true in the realm of opinion- as Simon & Garfunkel state, "a man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest"- but I never contemplated that it may also be true in the purely visible realm as well. There are those who claim, for example, that some people can see ghosts, and others can't, simply because the former believe in the possibility, and the latter don't. Is that true? Possibly. I'm tired, and my desire to think on such matters is waning quickly. Bottom line: if you're into fantasy, and want to try a change of pace, give Pratchett a go; but don't be too optimistic.
Rating: B-
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