Discworld #11 – Reaper Man

Synopsis: The powers that be have decided: it’s time for Death to die. Knowing better than anyone else that there will be no appeal, Death does what everyone does on their notice period – slack off and chill. Catastrophe ensues.

There are a billion Deaths, but they are all aspects of the one Death: Azrael, the Great Attractor, the Death of Universes, the beginning and end of time.

Death appears in almost every Discworld novel in a professional capacity. But it’s in his standalone books that he really shines. He goes off on benders, has one existential crisis after the next, and bends and breaks his own rules because he has developed an unexpected soft spot for somebody or the other. And does it all with a delicious sense of sarcasm and irony.

Insofar as it deals with Death, Reaper Man is a pleasure to read. Unfortunately, Pratchett decides to incorporate – as one of the side effects of Death skiving off – what is essentially a get-off-my-lawn rant about shopping malls. And this part of the book – even with the hilarious hijinks of the wizards of Unseen University involved – is boring at best, and incomprehensible at worst.

It’s not that those scenes lack in the trademark Pratchett wit or suspense. It’s just that (a) the fact that they’re fighting a shopping mall isn’t very obvious; and (b) a shopping mall isn’t a very scary idea to your average millennial [some of my best friends are shopping malls, I’ll have you know!]

SEE! I HAVE TIME. AT LAST, I HAVE TIME.
Albert backed away nervously. ‘And now that you have it, what are you going to do with it?’ he said.
Death mounted his horse.
I AM GOING TO SPEND IT.

But no amount of intervention by rogue, semi-sentient shopping malls can dilute the power of Death’s part of the story. Assuming the name Bill Door, Death makes his way to a random farm, where he is hired to work as an odd-job man. Building heartwarming connections with the other villagers, Death finally begins to see things from the perspective of the, er, harvest. So to speak.

Reaper Man stays with us long after we have finished reading it because of the tender humanity evinced by the anthromorphic Death. Pratchett does a great job of getting us invested in Death as a character – so much so that my eyes light up whenever he turns up in one of the Discworld books.

Next: The Sixth World #1 – Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
Next in this Series: Discworld #12 (Witches #3) – Witches Abroad
Next in this Sub Series: Death #3 (Discworld #16) – Soul Music