REVIEW: Terry Pratchett's "Death" Series (Mort, Reaper Man, Soul Music, Hogfather, & Thief of Time)

[SPOILER FREE REVIEW OF TERRY PRATCHETT'S DEATH SERIES]

Wow. Just, wow.

At around 8:45 tonight (March 11th, 2025), I read the concluding page of Thief of Time, by Sir Terry Pratchett. This concluded my reading of the Death Series which has been, to my utmost surprise and joy, an absolutely revitalizing read!

Let me explain. The series that I am reviewing tonight is the work of Sir Terry Pratchett, a British author most famous for his comedy fantasy universe: Discworld. The Discworld Universe is vast, spanning 41 different novels and selling tens of millions of copies worldwide! Each book in the universe tells a standalone story, usually involving one or multiple of a core group of "protagonist" characters. The Death series follows a couple such protagonists--most namely Death and Susan--across a myriad of wacky adventures. The books are written in a fun tone, with stories that are both simple enough to follow along with after a long day and deeply thought-provoking.

Because I'm not entirely sure how to write a series review, I think I will break down my thoughts by book, before presenting my concluding thoughts on the series as a whole:

#1 - MORT

Mort is an extremely solid first entry in the series! The novel follows the story of Mort, a young boy whose community doesn't understand his quiet and contemplative nature. After an unsuccessful search for an apprenticeship, Death himself decides to take Mort on as his understudy. What ensues is slow-burning chaos as Mort struggles to adapt to the life of the Grim Reaper.

This book was extremely addicting. I spent a lot of time in my school library chuckling over witty lines and silly jokes. There was excellent pacing throughout, in my opinion. Terry Pratchett is excellent at building a sense of tension through repeated descriptions of the growing problem, whether it be something falling apart, or malevolent forces gathering. My only real gripe with this book is the very end, which my family and I agree felt like a cop-out. I was only a little disappointed with the end of the book, however after reading the whole series I think that I can understand his creative decisions better. I guess you could say that Pratchett sacrifices the satisfying end of the novel for the sake of a more connected series, which, fortunately, he delivers on, big time!

#2 - REAPER MAN

#3 - SOUL MUSIC

#4 - HOGFATHER

#5 - THIEF OF TIME