Book and Movie Reports by Ed

Book report: Mort, by Terry Pratchett I love Terry Pratchett’s writing. He does for sword-and-sorcery fantasy what Douglas Adams did for science fiction: makes it howlingly funny. Mort is another in his series of books that take place on the Diskworld, that round flat world supported on the backs of four elephants, all on the back of a turtle swimming through space. These books feature heroes, villains, and wizards in ludicrous situations. One recurring character in the series is Death. You know him: skeletal, dresses in black, carries a scythe? His eternal job is to be there when each person dies and usher their soul to whatever comes next. In this book, Death takes on an apprentice to learn the trade, a fellow named Mort. Mort does pretty well, until he can’t bring himself to harvest the soul of a beautiful young princess. He spares her, which sets off a chain of consequences while Death is off on a pub crawl. Hijinks ensue, along with the usual impossible ending. What’s amaz