Reaper Man

by Terry Pratchett | Science Fiction & Fantasy |
ISBN: 0061020621 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 5/19/2007
Buy from one of these Booksellers:
Amazon.com | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT | Bol.com
2 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, May 19, 2007
Found another copy of Reaper Man at a local Annie's Book Stop; perfect for a quick register-and-release as I can just cut and paste my previous writeup, thusly:

Reaper Man is one of my favorites of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books. Funny (of course), exciting, action-packed, and surprisingly touching - I got all teary a couple of times there...

It begins with a brief dissertation on the Morris dance, which "is danced innocently by raggedy-bearded young mathematicians to an inexpert accordian rendering of 'Mrs. Widgery's Lodger' and ruthlessly by such as the NinjaMorrisMen of New Ankh, who can do strange and terrible things with a simple handkerchief and a bell. And it is never danced properly. Except on the Discworld..." From there we meet the major characters, including the incredibly aged wizard Windle Poons, whose impending death [wizards are privileged, if that's the right word, to know the day and hour of their deaths, so as to facilitate returning library books and/or borrowing large amounts of money] is cause for a little surprise party at Unseen University; Death [tall fellow, rather thin, dark robe, scythe], who is summarily given his retirement by the mysterious-and-annoying "auditors of reality" who feel that anthropomorphic personifications should not develop a personality; the Fresh Start Club, a self-help group for the undead of Ankh-Morpork; and elderly farm-owner Miss Flitworth, who gives a job to a passing stranger [tall fellow, rather thin, dark robe, scythe] who suddenly has some time on his hands - and who demonstrates considerable skill (and unusual technique) at harvesting grain...

One might think this would be enough to be getting on with, story-wise, but wait - there's more. Once Death is no longer on the job, strange things begin to happen on the Disc; from an innocuous beginning, events escalate to a wild, action-packed climax in which the wizards actually get to cast spells [something they don't usually trouble themselves with], and an even better resolution - funny, wistful, highly satisfying - to the problem of Death's "retirement". I simply loved this book!

There are far too many funny bits to quote without typing in the whole book, but one of my favorites (irrelevent but cute) is:

Death (discussing the unlikelihood of someone successfully escaping him): "SOMETIMES PEOPLE CHALLENGE ME TO A GAME. FOR THEIR LIVES, YOU KNOW."
"Do they ever win?"
"NO. LAST YEAR SOMEONE GOT THREE STREETS AND ALL THE UTILITIES."
"What? What sort of game is that?"
"I DON'T RECALL. 'EXCLUSIVE POSSESSION', I THINK. I WAS THE BOOT."

Another lovely bit to watch out for is the story behind the name of Mrs. Cake's spirit-guide, One-Man-Bucket; it comes relatively late in the story, but is well worth it. Oh, and one of the plot threads presents an interesting and all-too-believable explanation for the way in which shopping malls proliferate...

(As with most of the Discworld books, this one stands on its own, but if you read "Mort" first you'll have a bit more background on Death and his household.)

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing at Bus Stop On Spit Brook Rd in Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, May 19, 2007

Released 16 yrs ago (5/19/2007 UTC) at Bus Stop On Spit Brook Rd in Nashua, New Hampshire USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

I plan to leave this book on the bus-stop bench on Spit Brook Rd., across the street from the Sheraton, at around 7:30. Hope the finder enjoys it!

Journal Entry 3 by Fool4Love from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, May 19, 2007
I got the release alert that someone had left "Reaper Man" nearby so I had to jump at the chance to catch it. It looks really intriguing, so I'll let it go as soon as I"m finished reading it.

Are you sure you want to delete this item? It cannot be undone.