A long while back, I did a review of Mort, a novel of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. Today I review Reaper Man, a story of a similar vein but (in my opinion) with a richer spirit.
Reaper Man follows from a basic premise: the Auditors of Reality have decided that Death, in its current incarnation, is not enough to make the universe nice and orderly. So they ask Death to retire. But when things do not die, the cycle of nature is thrown into chaos, and life starts building up everywhere, taking on the most bizarre manifestations.
There are two important storylines in the novel. The first follows Death, now out of his proverbial job, as he tries his hand at being “ordinary” and better understanding the ways of human beings. The second follows all the major consequences of “retiring” Death–namely, an ancient wizard named Windle Poons who is supposed to be dead and wants to help his colleagues at Unseen University figure out why he isn’t–and also figure out where all these mysterious snow globes and carts are coming from…
What’s nice about this story is that everyone, in their own way, gets to have a heroic moment or two. Death is heroic in his new “mortal” form, and again when facing down the would-be successor to his former position as the Grim Reaper. And then there’s the wizard Windle Poons, his new friends from Ankh-Morpork, and his “helpful” colleagues from the senior faculty of Unseen University. They all prove their mettle (some having more mettle than others) against the sheer madness that overwhelms their city.
It’s a peculiar thing that Mr. Pratchett’s achieved when you consider that he can make the Grim Reaper–long portrayed as an enemy of mankind–into a heroic figure, someone who cares about his “harvest.” But all his dialogue with unassuming mortals like Miss Flitworth or his effortless deeds on their behalf are endearing. He’s really just an earnest archetypal figure trying to do his best and have a slightly better perspective of the world, which in the end is no different from what every human being strives to do.
Reaper Man is a story with a strong plot, rounded and dynamic characters, and a spirit of satire and honest heroism that makes for a fantastic read.
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Bibliography: Pratchett, Terry. Reaper Man. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002.
Mr. Rhapsodist 