Mort is a funny, heartwarming introduction to Death, one of the major Discworld characters. It starts off with Death deciding to take on an apprentice, Mort. Turns out, Death loves curry, has an adopted daughter, Ysabell, and gets REALLY UPSET and VERY ANGRY indeed when people harm or kill cats and kittens. And he rides a horse who is most adorably named Binky.
After starting on his new job and getting acquainted with Deathâs household consisting of Ysabell and his servant Albert, Mort starts to realise that one of the reasons for Death taking on an apprentice was so that Ysabell would have a companion to talk with. After showing him the ropes so to speak, Death starts to send Mort on solo missions. One of the souls he has to usher into the beyond is that of young Princess Keli who is about to be assassinated by an assassin sent by her uncle. Unfortunately, Mort falls for the princess and in order to save her kills the assassin instead, thus interfering with fate, precisely something he had been told not to do. Mort is too scared to confess to Death about what he has done, so he just stays silent. Unluckily for him, reality of the history that was to be starts to resist the reality of what Mort has done, leading to the possibility that Princess Keli, whom Mort had saved, might end up dying. So now Mort tries his best to somehow save the princessâ life.
Some of my favourite things about this book are the style of humour and getting to know Death. Death is a cat loving anthropomorphic personification making sometimes refreshing, sometimes very insightful takes about mortals and existence in general:
"TAKE THESE THINGS, NOW, said Death, fingering a passing canapĂ©. I MEAN, MUSHROOMS YES, CHICKEN YES, CREAM YES, IâVE NOTHING AGAINST ANY OF THEM, BUT WHY IN THE NAME OF SANITY MINCE THEM ALL UP AND PUT THEM IN LITTLE PASTRY CASES? âPardon?â said Mort. THATâS MORTALS FOR YOU, Death continued. THEYâVE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES. FASCINATING. HAVE A GHERKIN.â
âHe gave it an experimental shake. AND DUE TO LIVE ANOTHER THIRTY, THIRTY-FIVE YEARS, he said, with a sigh. âAnd he goes around killing people?â said Mort. He shook his head. âThereâs no justice.â Death sighed. NO, he said, handing his drink to a page who was surprised to find he was suddenly holding an empty glass, THEREâS JUST ME.â
Death also happens to be very keen on trying to understand more about humans and various human activities, such as how people have fun. This leads to some unintentionally hilarious circumstances: âWHAT IS THIS FUN? âThis is!â TO KICK VIGOROUSLY IS FUN? âWell, part of the fun. Kick!â TO HEAR LOUD MUSIC IN HOT ROOMS IS FUN? âPossibly.â HOW IS THIS FUN MANIFEST? âWell, it â look, either youâre having fun or youâre not, you donât have to ask me, you just know, all right? How did you get in here, anyway?â he added. âAre you a friend of the Patrician?â LET US SAY, HE PUTS BUSINESS MY WAY. I FELT I OUGHT TO LEARN SOMETHING OF HUMAN PLEASURES. âSounds like youâve got a long way to go.â I KNOW. PLEASE EXCUSE MY LAMENTABLE IGNORANCE. I WISH ONLY TO LEARN. ALL THESE PEOPLE, PLEASE â THEY ARE HAVING FUN? âYes!â THEN THIS IS FUN. âIâm glad we got that sorted out. Mind the chair,â snapped Lord Rodley, who was now feeling very unfunny and unpleasantly sober. A voice behind him said quietly: THIS IS FUN. TO DRINK EXCESSIVELY IS FUN. WE ARE HAVING FUN. HE IS HAVING FUN. THIS IS SOME FUN. WHAT FUN.â As the story progresses, it starts getting clearer that the loneliness of his job was getting to him, providing some clue to Deathâs actual intentions for hiring Mort: "âDrowning your sorrows, are you? I HAVE NO SORROWS. âNo, of course not. Forget I mentioned it.â He gave the glass a few more wipes. âJust thought it helps to have someone to talk to,â he said. The stranger was silent for a moment, thinking. Then he said: YOU WANT TO TALK TO ME? âYes. Sure. Iâm a good listener.â NO ONE EVER WANTED TO TALK TO ME BEFORE. âThatâs a shame.â THEY NEVER INVITE ME TO PARTIES, YOU KNOW. âTch.â THEY ALL HATE ME. EVERYONE HATES ME. I DONâT HAVE A SINGLE FRIEND.â After all, his job was such that âDeath must be the loneliest creature in the universe. In the great party of Creation, he was always in the kitchen.â
This is followed by an interesting and humorous phase of Death actually trying to find an alternate job for himself. He ultimately ends up getting the job of a cook at "Hargaâs House of Ribs down by the docksâ where he thoroughly enjoyed himself as he âspun and whirled, chopping, slicing and frying. His skillet flashed through the fetid steam. Heâd opened the door to the cold night air, and a dozen neighbourhood cats had strolled in, attracted by the bowls of milk and meat â some of Hargaâs best, if heâd known â that had been strategically placed around the floor. Occasionally Death would pause in his work and scratch one of them behind the ears. âHappiness,â he said, and puzzled at the sound of his own voice.â This leads to a truly hilarious scene when as a result of being summoned during the Rite of AshkEnte, Death appears âwearing an apron and holding a small kitten.â
Deathâs efforts with trying to find work that he would actually enjoy doing and Mortâs princess problem inevitably collide leading to a satisfying conclusion. This is the second time I am reading this book and I think I enjoyed and loved it even more than I did the first time around. I would love to share some more jokes here, but then I would probably end up copy-pasting the whole book! This book definitely does the job of making me laugh and feeling a little better than usual.
Favorite bit was when he asked mort his name.
âWHAT A COINCIDENCE.â
Hereâs the quote, slightly longer:
"THANK YOU, BOY, said the skull. WHAT IS YOUR NAME? âUh,â said Mort. âMortimer . . . sir. They call me Mort.â WHAT A COINCIDENCE, said the skull. HELP ME UP, PLEASE.â
Also itâs damn funny when Death is speaking with Mortâs father about taking him on as an apprentice. The whole exchange (just a few extracts) is hilarious:
â I WAS OFFERING YOUR BOY A POSITION, said Death. I TRUST THAT MEETS WITH YOUR APPROVAL? âWhat was your job again?â said Lezek, talking to a black-robed skeleton without showing even a flicker of surprise. I USHER SOULS INTO THE NEXT WORLD, said Death. âAh,â said Lezek, âof course, sorry, should have guessed from the clothes. Very necessary work, very steady. Established business?â I HAVE BEEN GOING FOR SOME TIME, YES, said Death.â
ââWhere did you say your business was?â said Lezek. âIs it far?â NO FURTHER THAN THE THICKNESS OF A SHADOW, said Death. WHERE THE FIRST PRIMAL CALL WAS, THERE WAS I ALSO. WHERE MAN IS, THERE AM I. WHEN THE LAST LIFE CRAWLS UNDER FREEZING STARS, THERE WILL I BE.â
"âHeâs a good lad at heart,â said Lezek. âA bit dreamy, thatâs all. I suppose we were all young once.â Death considered this. NO, he said, I DONâT THINK SO.â
Later, Deathâs curry appreciation is also so funny:
"Death leaned over the saddle and looked down at the kingdoms of the world. I DONâT KNOW ABOUT YOU, he said, BUT I COULD MURDER A CURRY.â
"âWhatâs a curry?â The blue fires flared deep in the eyes of Death. HAVE YOU EVER BITTEN A RED-HOT ICE CUBE? âNo, sir,â said Mort. CURRYâS LIKE THAT.â
I always tried to get into Discworld though color of magic but it was Mort that finally got me hooked. Death is such an amazing character indeed. I loved when he worked on a farm and showed off his scythe skills.
Colour of magic is my least favourite Discworld book. He hadnât quite found his style for the series yet. Still a good book but doesnât really stack up to the rest.
I found Guards! Guards! to be a great intro book to Discworld. The Watch series and the Witches series are both great to start someone out on.
I heartily agree with both your recommendations. I think the watch series are probably my favourite. I love all the characters.
[off topic]
Deathâs Master and Nightâs Master, both by Tanith Lee. Neil Gaiman stole the idea of Death, Madness, and Evil being part of a family from Tanith Lee. Deathâs Master shows how Death ends up with a Queen and what happens when humans discover immortality.
Iâd hardly call it stealing when two friends frequently exchange ideas and ask eachother for opinionâŠ
Talent borrows, genius steals.
Oscar Wilde stole that one so well that everyone thinks he came up with it.