Time for some more Terry Pratchett goodness! This time, I'm talking about Reaper Man, which is much earlier in the series than The Thief of Time, which I reviewed a while back.
This book also deals with the Auditors, though they're a bit less active in the story.
It was written in 1991, so I was a little surprised to find abundant references to Aliens (1986) and Rambo (1982 for the first movie, with Rambo III in 1988). There was also a fairly significant reference to the folk story of John Henry!
This book manages to proceed without chapter breaks, which makes it a little tough to find convenient places to set it down.
As usual for a Pratchett book, it's full of constant puns and quips, and more than occasionally will there be a significant bit of philosophy behind the quip.
This is a story split about half and half between Death and the adventures of Windle Poons, a wizard turned sort-of undead, thanks to the imminent firing and replacement of Death. When the Auditors tell Death he has only a little time left, he goes off to live, and that puts the whole plot into motion.
This is one of the main books that really pushed Death into a real, fleshed-out character.
One of my favorite scenes is Death sharpening a material scythe, and being baffled at how unsharp all these real objects are. We also are introduced to the Death of Rats, and Mrs. Cake makes a hilarious appearance as the one person who has a chance of figuring out what is causing all the mayhem across the Discworld. One of the spirits she speaks to, "One-Man Bucket," brings one of the longest-awaited and best punchlines to a close all the way at the end of the book.
We get action scenes with the Wizards of Unseen University, a hilarious squabble when the Patrician calls them and all the high priests of Ankh-Morpork to a meeting, a broad cast of funny and silly undead and not-so-undead characters, and a climactic action scene worth reading unspoiled.
What can I say? If you like Pratchett and you haven't read Reaper Man, fix that.
Grab a copy here: https://a.co/d/id31QRo
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