Reaper Man
by Terry Pratchett
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 3449)
I'm going to assume that anyone reading this review has neither read this book nor much in the way of Discworld. If you saw either Hogfather or (especially) The Colour of Magic Sky TV productions, forget what you saw in them - the way to enjoy Discworld is to read Discworld!
The book is more or less about Death. Both Death the Grim Reaper and death the fact of life, actually. Reading Mort before Reaper Man is a good way of getting into Discworld's Grim Reaper - he'...more
The book is more or less about Death. Both Death the Grim Reaper and death the fact of life, actually. Reading Mort before Reaper Man is a good way of getting into Discworld's Grim Reaper - he'...more
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Read in March, 2002
recommends it for:
Lovers of the absurd, civil servants
One of many, many, many, many, many (you get the idea) Discworld novels by Pratchet that I have picked up over the years. More frustrating is that I have NOT been able to turn on the very few of similar brain and reading capacity that have come and gone in my life to his quirky, clever, tongue-in-cheek humor.
The witches and wizard books were the first I read which gave me enough of a laugh to pursue further into the library of his works. And boy am I glad I did.
It is hard for me to pic...more
The witches and wizard books were the first I read which gave me enough of a laugh to pursue further into the library of his works. And boy am I glad I did.
It is hard for me to pic...more
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Read in September, 2007
I felt like the book was a little too harebrained to work. I was tremendously interested in Death, because he's such an appealing character and because his situation was so charming, but I did not care at all about Windle Poons or his spur-of-the-moment standard flat Discworld spacefiller accomplices, nor did I care about the mall subplot, which was in itself a bit too farfetched to work even in a Pratchett novel. It was so tenuously connected to the real emotional meat of the story-- Death as B...more
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recommends it for:
Anyone
Probably my favorite of all of the Discworld novels (and that's a hard choice, given my total love of the series). Of all of Pratchett's many quirky characters, I think I love Death the best, though I couldn't begin to tell you why. In this installment, Death gets fired and has to get a day job. In typical Discworld fashion, not everything goes according to plan.
Don't pay attention to the critics' quotes on the front of the book. Anyone who compares Pratchett to Tolkien or Douglas Adams ...more
Don't pay attention to the critics' quotes on the front of the book. Anyone who compares Pratchett to Tolkien or Douglas Adams ...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
slavish fans of Pratchett, whoever wrote the reviews quoted on the cover
Terry Pratchett is supposed to be one of the great writers of our time? I wouldn't have guessed it from reading this book.
The author's style felt like Douglas Adams' later attempts to sound like Douglas Adams' early books. You know, how by the fourth Hitchhiker book Adams was making jokes that felt almost obligatory, as though they were merely steps in the form of Adams?
The timing and flow of the jokes suggests a Mad Libs outline. Pratchett uses awkwardly constructed metaphors that coul...more
The author's style felt like Douglas Adams' later attempts to sound like Douglas Adams' early books. You know, how by the fourth Hitchhiker book Adams was making jokes that felt almost obligatory, as though they were merely steps in the form of Adams?
The timing and flow of the jokes suggests a Mad Libs outline. Pratchett uses awkwardly constructed metaphors that coul...more
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Read in July, 2004
recommends it for:
anyone with a taste for fantasy and humour
Felt like taking it easy with a re-read, so I picked up Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett.
The celestial Auditors have determined that Death has taken on a personality, and therefore must be replaced. As a consequence, the life force in Discworld has nowhere to go, with odd results, such as Windle Poons, a wizard, becoming one of the undead. Death himself is given a deadline of sorts, and decides to live a normal life by going to work on a farm. Oh yeah - and these odd little paperweights start ...more
The celestial Auditors have determined that Death has taken on a personality, and therefore must be replaced. As a consequence, the life force in Discworld has nowhere to go, with odd results, such as Windle Poons, a wizard, becoming one of the undead. Death himself is given a deadline of sorts, and decides to live a normal life by going to work on a farm. Oh yeah - and these odd little paperweights start ...more
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recommends it for:
Any fan of wit and satire
I can't quite recall if this is my second or third reading of Reaper Man. Regardless, It was every bit as enjoyable as I remember.
Death is the primary focus of Reaper Man, the second book in the Death chain of the Discworld series (Mort being the first - more on reading order at lspace.org). More to the point, Death has been sacked by the Auditors and must find employment. This gives Death the chance to indulge his curiosity of the human condition. There is also the excellent side story of W...more
Death is the primary focus of Reaper Man, the second book in the Death chain of the Discworld series (Mort being the first - more on reading order at lspace.org). More to the point, Death has been sacked by the Auditors and must find employment. This gives Death the chance to indulge his curiosity of the human condition. There is also the excellent side story of W...more
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recommends it for:
Everyone
If I could steal credit for a book and claim it as my own, Reaper Man would most likely be it. This is the point, I think, where the Discworld novels stopped being entertaining light reading, and really became literature. It's a very subtle shift from the little parodies of science fiction and fantasy conventions of things like The Light Fantastic to the rich satire of a book like Jingo. Behind the story of Death being fired for having developed a personality, there's a clev...more
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Read in February, 2008
Terry Pratchett is always good. The Discworld series rotates through a selection of major characters. A major character in one novel becomes a minor character in another. Reaper Man was another with Death as a central character which in itslef is interesting.
i'm working my way through the first of the Discworld series again. i've read close to twenty books in this series before, but i've still got slightly less than half to read for the first time. if you read any of pratchett's stuff a...more
i'm working my way through the first of the Discworld series again. i've read close to twenty books in this series before, but i've still got slightly less than half to read for the first time. if you read any of pratchett's stuff a...more
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Read in August, 2005
This is one of my favourite of the Discworld series, for the sheer inventiveness of the thing, if nothing else. Both the storyline of Death's enforced replacement, and the storyline involving what happens in Ankh Morpork as a direct result of his absence, are highly original and very bloody funny. The undercurrent of satire is as strong as ever, and makes me even more creeped out about the existence of suburban shopping centres/malls than ever before has to be good. Because lets face it, I hate ...more
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Read in April, 2007
Death is out of a job on account of the fact that he developed too much personality. The Auditors are out to set things straight, but what if they've just made things worse?
This book is fun because, firstly, you get to see how Death would get along if he had a life. Second, you get to see the wizards of the Unseen University (who don't get out much) go on one crazy hunting trip through the city of Ankh-Morpork. With Death's absence, nothing much will die, and a lot of things are coming to...more
This book is fun because, firstly, you get to see how Death would get along if he had a life. Second, you get to see the wizards of the Unseen University (who don't get out much) go on one crazy hunting trip through the city of Ankh-Morpork. With Death's absence, nothing much will die, and a lot of things are coming to...more
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Read in January, 2008
The idea of death getting fired because he is developing a personality and then having to get a job as a farm hand was hilarious. As other reviewers have said the subplot of Windle Poons the Wizard that won't die ( no matter how hard he tries)does drag the story down a bit, but having death going out and trying to find what the meaning of life was made this a worthwhile read. The only other Discworld book that I have read is "Thud". "Thud" is crammed with a lot more bits of s...more
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Read in June, 1995
recommends it for:
Anyone
What did I learn from this book?
I learned that I loved Death!!!!
No, I'm serious. The character of Death in Terry Pratchett's discworld novels is fantastic, simply one of the most hilarious fictitious forces of nature ever committed to paper.
The book made me wonder what would happen if one (or more) of the Universe's elemental forces was given the sack, as you would expect, hilarity and chaos ensued, and I loved reading every little bit of it.
I learned that I loved Death!!!!
No, I'm serious. The character of Death in Terry Pratchett's discworld novels is fantastic, simply one of the most hilarious fictitious forces of nature ever committed to paper.
The book made me wonder what would happen if one (or more) of the Universe's elemental forces was given the sack, as you would expect, hilarity and chaos ensued, and I loved reading every little bit of it.
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Read in June, 2008
Discworld's DEATH is forced into retirement for acting eccentric which causes demonic shopping carts to attack the wizard's university which is defending by the Bogey Man, a wolf girl, a zombie wizard, and...wait, stop there. Frankly the plot is rather a mess.
The good parts are a couple of characters experiencing life from a new perspective. One is the retired Death trying to fit in as a human. Another is Windle Poons, a 130 year old wizard (now a zombie) who in all his years never real...more
The good parts are a couple of characters experiencing life from a new perspective. One is the retired Death trying to fit in as a human. Another is Windle Poons, a 130 year old wizard (now a zombie) who in all his years never real...more
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Read in September, 2008
Last night I finished reading "REAPER MAN" by Terry Pratchett.
This is very funny fantastic story and now I'm crazy about A Discworld novel! This is a good choice for people who like fantasy spiced with humor.
REAPER MAN is my first Pratchett's novel except GOOD OMENS. I liked GOOD OMENS, so I wanted to read Pratchett's other works. But I couldn't find out his books in book stores, so I ordered three Discworld novels in Amazon.jp.
Now I'm reading "Soul Music", it's a...more
This is very funny fantastic story and now I'm crazy about A Discworld novel! This is a good choice for people who like fantasy spiced with humor.
REAPER MAN is my first Pratchett's novel except GOOD OMENS. I liked GOOD OMENS, so I wanted to read Pratchett's other works. But I couldn't find out his books in book stores, so I ordered three Discworld novels in Amazon.jp.
Now I'm reading "Soul Music", it's a...more
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Hilarious and so witty and smart. Basically Death (you know, the boney guy with the dark robe and sickle) needs a vacation, needs a change of vocation...so he goes of in search of a new life. Terry pratchett has written a TON of books, but they are all really good, and really clever with lots of puns and satire and jokes. The ones he writes about Death are by far my favorite though. The character he has created for the archetype we all know is quite a hoot.
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
anyone who likes TP
Terry Pratchett is not only good at Humor but he is good at writing the strange darker side of living (or is it, not living?). He makes you feel for the characters, even if they are Death and some very strange old people. TP's way of explaining how death feels is amazing, I'm drawn to it like a woman is drawn to chocolate. TP makes you feel strange when you read this book, like you can't quite understand, but you can imagine. Altogether it's a wonderful book.
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One of Pratchett's more philosophical novels, this story revolves around the end of death. Strange thing happen across several story lines, all related to Death's departure. Death - or rather, the absence of death - affects each character differently and Pratchett uses each of these situations to explore another aspect of death... and life. The humor is there as an undercurrent to keep away the morbid thoughts. Well done, Terry.
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This book is also a philosophical dialogue, and apparently one of Pratchett's earlier books. He is a little more juvenile with the humor and there is not as much subtlety as with some of his later creations. However, the gentleness with which a spinster is treated in this book touched me a great deal. Although I have never been nor will ever be a spinster, I like it when one is given respect and treated with love as done herein.
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Read in January, 2008
As with all of Discworld, this book is hilarity in paginated form.
Combination Death and Ankh-Morpork book, featuring a zombie, a dwarf with some strange ideas about compost, the wizards, and lots of the Librarian, the most badass orangutan around. Oh, and snowglobes and wire baskets.
Excellent book. Granted, Death is one of my favorites, so I'm partial, but it's hilarious and spot-on, even compared to other Discworld books.
Combination Death and Ankh-Morpork book, featuring a zombie, a dwarf with some strange ideas about compost, the wizards, and lots of the Librarian, the most badass orangutan around. Oh, and snowglobes and wire baskets.
Excellent book. Granted, Death is one of my favorites, so I'm partial, but it's hilarious and spot-on, even compared to other Discworld books.
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