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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “hugely funny, and well, DEATH rocks!! He always amuses me. Then there's the weird phenomenon of mall sprall, nicely explained. I will be on the lookout for those dreaded carts from now on!” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Pratchett's books are always funny, but this one is funnier than all the others. With such great characters as a zombie campaigning for undead rights, a social-climbing vampire couple, a claustrophobic bogeyman, and the woefully inept wizards of Unseen University, as well as Death, who is always funny. ”
Will Fagan wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“One of the oldies but goodies from the Discworld where the reader gets a bit of an insight into DEATH. He or it is laid off from his job by the bureaucratic powers that be and he has to go into the human world. He decides to take a name and calls himself Bill Door (it's the first thing that popped into his mind). No one seems to really care that he's a skeleton, because they see all kinds on the Discworld. Meanwhile one of the professors at Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork, Windle Poons, has finally passed away at the age of 120 or so. Since DEATH is not around to guide him to the next world, and DEATH's replacement hasn't got the hang of the job yet, Windle and his fellow dead are just hanging around. The good news is that Windle has heightened senses and abilities, but the bad news is being dead is really not much better than being alive. Meanwhile, Bill becomes a farm hand to Miss Flitworth, somewhere in the country. Bill is amazing and fast at whatever tasks need doing and he becomes friends with Miss Flitworth and the locals. Eventually Bill's time is up, but he prefers to cheat death rather than go into oblivion. He fights with the new DEATH and eventually gets his old job back, when those in charge decide there was really an administrative screw up. Back in Ankh-Morpork, the dead and all their energy are causing all kinds of problems and the wizards have no idea what to do, even though this is one of their areas of expertise. Finally DEATH and Windle meet on the way to the great beyond and he is finally put to rest. The very end is rather philosophical as to how DEATH fits into the whole scheme of things, but then everything Terry Pratchett write has a bit of philosophy along with the madness.”
Ron Arden wrote this review Monday, March 18, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Terry Pratchett is Terry Pratchett. He's my favourite author. He's also pumped out so many books that there's absolutely a formula, and if you read a bunch in a row they start to suck a little. This one is more bluntly contemplative, where as many of them are a little bit subtle in their satiric musings. Good stuff.”
Mack Flavelle wrote this review Monday, January 21, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“There were several points while reading this book that I just blurted out 'GHOSTBUSTERS!' randomly and it made me giggle. So, for that (and for being pretty hilarious) it earns my five stars. ”
Star wrote this review Thursday, November 29, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“My first Discworld book. I love Death; He's so adorable sometimes. ”
The Lucy Program wrote this review Tuesday, November 13, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I didn't enjoy this book as much as I expected I would, possibly because I didn't understand what was going on half of the time. I would probably like it a lot more if I were to read it a second time, but I don't know if I'll ever get around to doing so, particularly because there are other books by Pratchett that I love a lot more.”
Rosabelle S wrote this review Thursday, October 25, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I love Pratchett's Death, and yet again he was on form in this book. I was a bit unsure about the whole fall out of Death's little holiday (trying not to give too much away!!) which took place just outside Ankh-Morpork, but the characters made up for that as they were all fantastic. ”
Nay wrote this review Friday, August 24, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Death retires. Chaos ensues. One of the best Discworld novels. ”
Vickey wrote this review Friday, June 22, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Death is quite a character. Really. We spend time wondering about Death and in this book Terry Pratchett shows us how little Death understands human life as Death becomes mortal and has to take a job. Luckily, he already knows how to use a scythe and finds work on a farm as a harvester. He's a natural at that sort of thing, having been quite experienced in harvesting souls.
Amy Neftzger wrote this review Friday, May 4, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The more I read Terry Pratchett's work the more I love it. He has a great sense of humor and manages to tap into some of the absurdities in life and human behavior that we often take for granted. ”
