Reaper Man

Title:  Reaper Man

Author: Terry Pratchett

ISBN: 978-0-06-102062-9

Published: Harper

Date: 1991

Book quote:‘How come you’ve got it? It’s upstairs! She was holding it […]’

SHE STILL IS. BUT IT IS ALSO HERE. OR ANYWHERE. IT IS ONLY A METAPHOR, AFTER ALL.

‘What she’s holding looks real enough.’

JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING IS A METAPHOR DOESN’T MEAN IT CAN’T BE REAL.
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The number of deeply philosophical issues this book addresses would put Socrates to shame. Only Terry Pratchett took himself much less seriously.

The nature of death, its balance with life, the origins of belief systems, the tangible reality of thoughts, the Ego and how it navigates through the Other, the evolution of dynamic thought… stuff like that. Wrapped up in a basketful of hilarious characters and must-read plot. In Discworld.

Death gets sacked (because he’s developing a personality) and in the un-administered void, chaos ensues. Things come right in the end. Somewhere in there there’s a rant about shopping malls and a discussion on inter-species relationships.

Humorous it may be, but pandering to the reader it ain’t. You need to keep up. P.O.V. changes aren’t necessarily demarcated and there is a laudable lack of dialogue tags – perhaps without always the necessary structure to tide the less agile reader over. At places it’s decidedly impressionistic. Which is not a bad thing, just watch for it while you’re reading.

Six Moose Hoofs Up out of Five. (Moose aren’t good at maths but they can sure be enthusiastic.)