Book Review: Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #11)

“Five exclamation marks, the sure sign of an insane mind”

                                           

                                               - Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man

Many people compare Terry Pratchett to J.R.R Tolkien. I do not think such a comparison do Terry Pratchett justice. Personally, I would compare Terry Pratchett to Jonathan Swift, or Mark Twain, because these 3 authors often made sharp, crisp observations about the human society, and seek to expound their thoughts in the form of satires. Satires, when done correctly and well, can be very powerful and persuasive, while also giving its readers a good, hearty laugh.

Terry Pratchett's Discworld series are mostly satirical, fantasy/comedy novels. The beauty about Discworld books, is that even though they all fall under the umbrella title of, “Discworld”, but every Discworld book is also a stand alone novel, each with an individual, unique theme. The 11^th book in this series, Reaper Man, is no exception to this tradition. After Mort, Reaper Man is the second Discworld book featuring Death as the central character. While this book is all about Death, but it is not gloomy or depressing. Instead, this book is jolly good fun but also meaningful. Today, I would like to provide a book review for Reaper Man.

Synopsis:

Discworld is a strange place. This is a place where death is not just an invisible, philosophical concept, but an actual, physical presence. On Discworld, the physical incarnation of Death took form as a 7 foot tall, scythe wielding skeleton. This fellow works tirelessly, day and night, collecting the souls of the dead, ushering them to whatever awaits for them in the beyond.

On a normal business day, in the house of Death. Three gray robed, mysterious figures appeared. They announced Death's “retirement”. The reason? Apparently Death is no longer suitable for his job, because he was developing a personality. But Discworld needs Death. What will happen to the dead, when Death no longer comes for them? There is no telling what's in store for Discworld, when Death is made redundant from his job.

What I think about this book:

Following Mort, Reaper Man is the second book in the Discworld series featuring Death as the main character. Apparently, there are five Discworld books featuring Death, and I am planning to read them all. Mort was a very good book, but I like Reaper Man a little bit more.

This book is beautifully written, some parts of the book will make you laugh until you are tumbling on the floor, but there are also heart warming, tear jerking moments to warrant a memorable reading experience. Every character in this book is colorful and impressionable, humors and jokes filled the book as starry stars in the sky. (For example, I especially love the ideas of anti-vitalism, wereman, and the anti-pasta! I leave the would-be readers to discover for themselves what these are) However, some readers may find this book starts slowly. I think this may be a trait in Discworld novels, where the author usually spend time to build up the story, by throwing random events into the first 50 pages of the book. But after the first 50 pages, Reaper Man raises steams, picking up its pace as the story gets going at a continuous rate. 

On the surface, Reaper Man appears to be a straight forward book, a humorous tale about the misadventures on Discworld, when Death is made redundant from his job. Yet, underneath this simple story, this book is so much more than just a fun ride. Allow me to explain:

The plot in Reaper Man follows two major story arcs. The first story arc follows the tale of Death after his “retirement”, when Death suddenly ceased to exist as a timeless creature, but starts living a life as a mortal. The tale of Death is very interesting. As a mortal creature, Death learns the joys and sorrows of living on borrowed time. Meanwhile, the second story arc follows the tale of Windle Poons, a 130 years old wizard who died but returned to Discworld as an undead (because of Death's absence). In this part of the story, as an undead, Windle Poons gradually discovered the irony that he was more “alive” as an undead, because he never “lived” in his 130 years of existence as a living man.

In Reaper Man, Death and Windle Poons explored life from two opposite ends of the spectrum (i.e. Death was a former immortal being made mortal, while Windle Poons was a former mortal now made immortal), but their stories converged to present this book's major theme to the reader; this is a book exploring what it means to be alive.

Reaper Man is a brilliant book. It is witty and meaningful, an unforgettable reading experience. I am a fan of Terry Pratchett's literary works. Reading a Discworld book is like stepping on a party bus full of funny but thoughtful satires, where he invites his readers to explore serious topics alongside all of the fun. These books are such a pleasure to read, and they also make me think and ask questions. I would recommend Reaper Man to anyone who is looking to read a good book.