Reaper Man

“...no-one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away... The span of someone's life, they say, is only the core of their actual existence.”
― Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man

This was one of the first Discworld books I ever read and I had no idea when I picked it up what I was in for. Turns out it was the perfect book for me; a far out story with wacky, witty humor. I had no idea at the time that Discworld was a fantasy series parody; to me this book had a life of its own and much better than any standard warrior and wizard novel. You don't have to read the series in any particular order. You can pick up any of these books and enjoy them without feeling lost.

Re-reading I came to appreciate it on a deeper level besides just “woo, zany comedy.” There is a tidy symmetry between the two main stories. The Death incarnation from Discworld is fired and has to live as a mortal human. Rather than existing as an eternal, unchanging being, he experiences a life with limited time. He also needs an occupation, so he gets a job as a farm hand and becomes a companion to an old woman, and even risks his life to save a child.

The second part of the story is Windle Poons, a wizard who dies but is not allowed to move on because Death is absent. He is forced out of his sheltered life at the University and becomes active and observant, something he never was when he was alive. He discovers an evil entity that's trying to take over the city by means of a shopping mall, and he and his new undead friends help foil it.

Both Death and Windle Poons have greater adventures and deeper human connections than they would have been capable of in their original incarnations. It may be a cliche but it seems the characters needed to face death in order to live life fully. With Pratchett this message never becomes too cheesy because he knows how to throw in the jokes at the right moments.

There is also an assortment of eccentric characters if the two above don't strike a chord with you. There's a psychic who answers your questions before you know you're going to ask them. The bullheaded wizard archchancellor whose curse words turn into flying insects. And don't forget the boogeyman who is just looking for a door to hide behind.

If you like Discworld and haven't read this one yet, it's worth picking up. If you're thinking about trying the series this is a fine place to start. Good for fans of humor, fantasy, SciFi, and intelligent thoughtful writing.

Executive Summary: I enjoyed this, but it wasn't as funny or enjoyable as [b:Mort 386372 Mort (Death, #1; Discworld, #4) Terry Pratchett https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388181166s/386372.jpg 1857065] in my opinion.Full ReviewSo I love Death as a character in Discworld. His parts in the previous books are always some of the highlights. I also feel like [b:Mort 386372 Mort (Death, #1; Discworld, #4) Terry Pratchett https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388181166s/386372.jpg 1857065] has been one of my favorite books of the series so far.I didn't find myself laughing at this one as much as I have with the others, but I did enjoy it. My main issue was it focused too much on Windle Poons and not enough on Death himself. The parts that focused on Death were great.Death goes on vacation is a great seed for a story, and while Windle is meant to highlight some of those consequences, I just never really connected with him or the other supporting characters in his story that much. The two exceptions would have to be the Boogeyman and Mrs. Cake. I especially liked Mrs. Cake and the reaction from other characters to her throughout the book.But as this is a Death book, Death himself is the real star. His experience at what it means to be human is at times amusing, but often very insightful. Mr. Pratchett has some very poignant things to say about what it means to be alive, which is that much more meaningful because it ends.Death comes to all things, and a world without death is one that could not sustain itself as this book illustrates.Overall I thought this was still one of the better books of the series so far, but not quite as good as some of the others. I hope the next Death book in the series will spend more time focused on him than this one did.

I truly enjoyed the adventures of Bill Door, and Pratchett has some lovely sentiments about the human condition. But I always feel like he's amusing himself far more than he's amusing me, and the wizards' plot grew tiresome. Still, the other side of the story deserves 4 stars on its own, and Mrs. Cake & Ludmilla are well worth getting to know.