Mort by Terry Pratchett

This is the fourth of the Discworld series, and the best (I am assured by various critics). It is Pratchett's most popular novel, and comes in at no. 65 on the BBC's '100 best-loved books'. I thought it a particular corker of a novel, just the kind of comedy I needed to lift me up after reading pages and pages of how impressive Robinson Crusoe's bloody wall is.

Some of the characters may be a bit weak, but the two main protagonists, Death and the boy Mort (his new assistant), are both splendid creations. Death is more complicated than one might think, with a penchant for cookery and kittens, but we never really get inside his head, the novel instead revolving around his apprentice, who has a rather wonderful thought process. There are some deeper issues present within the book, such as a midlife crisis (although undoubtedly that is the wrong word for an immortal anthropomorphic personification such as death) and love, but the comedy is what one should read this book for. 8.5/10.