pensive
The fourth Discworld novel is the funniest yet, but it’s also one of the darkest in the entire series.
This book centres around Death, as he takes on a boy called Mort as his apprentice, resulting in a blackly humorous, and very original story. The main plot revolves around how Mort saves a princess from being assassinated, only for fate to start to “fix” the universe by altering reality, so Mort sets out to save her from her own fate, while Death starts to become more human.
This book also introduces the character of Albert, Death’s manservant, as well as the concept that peoples’ lives are controlled by sand in an hourglass; I loved the concept that everyone has a book that’s being written about themselves as they live their lives.
This all leads up to a very satisfying conclusion, and even a cameo appearance from Rincewind, the wizard from the first two stories. Personally, any book that revolves around the character of Death is fun for me, and I found his attempts at living like a normal person to be one of the book’s highlights.
Next book: 3001: The Final Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
