Mort
The following post was written before I started this website, as such the notes consist of quotes and summary thoughts as I read the book. I’ve pulled the book club’s thoughts together at the top, along with the original score and the new tier ranking.
Final thoughts
A very funny book, we’re now dealing with another new set of characters. We see a lot more about the Death who’s been haunting Rincewind, and the fourth-wall breaking is off the scale!
The score is 4.9 Gordon Ramsey’s out of Five (the joke is that during the scene where Death is working in a kitchen, it would have been the perfect time for an Ankh Morpork edition of Kitchen Nightmares!)
This is an A-tier Pterry book!
Favourite quotes
You got the feeling that it was air that had seen life. You couldn’t help noting with every breath that thousands of other people were very close to you and nearly all of them had armpits.
- The sound roared around them, a vast gray waterfall of noise.
It came from the shelves where, stretching away into the infinite distance, row upon row of hourglasses poured away the sands of mortal time. It was a heavy sound, a dull sound, a sound that poured like sullen custard over the bright roly-poly pudding of the soul. - “You throw these yarrow stalks in the air, then.”
She did. They looked at the ensuing pattern.
“Hmm,” said Cutwell after a while. “Well, that’s one in the fireplace, one in the cocoa mug, one in the street, shame about the window, one on the table, and one, no, two behind the dresser. I expect Mrs. Nugent will be able to find the rest.”
“You didn’t say how hard. Shall I do it again?” - (That was a cinematic trick adapted for print. Death wasn’t talking to the princess. He was actually in his study, talking to Mort. But it was quite effective, wasn’t it? It’s probably called a fast dissolve, or a crosscut/zoom. Or something. An industry where a senior technician is called a Best Boy might call it anything.)
- It’s not a good idea to look too hard at the words, they resent it.
Thoughts during reading
- Our introduction to the sand timers of people’s lives!
- Reannual grapes and wine, what the heck!
- Much more fairytale
- Death can kinda do what he wants, huh?
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