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243 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
"Rather than drown in uncertainty it was best to surf right on top of it."
"There should be a word for the microscopic spark of hope that you dare not entertain in case the mere act of acknowledging it will cause it to vanish, like trying to look at a photon. You can only sidle up to it, looking past it, walking past it, waiting for it to get big enough to face the world."
Mort is an inept resident of Discworld with a good heart and zero common sense. Worried about his son’s future, his father decides to loan him as an apprentice to whoever would hire him. As luck would have it, Death aka the Grim Reaper is looking for an apprentice, and seeing Mort’s response to his arrival, picks him up immediately. (It helps that all the other candidates were already chosen.)
Death plans to let Mort help him collect souls with his scythe while he himself explores what humankind has to offer. With Death’s powerful scythe, an ability to walk through walls, free lodging, and access to the magnificent Binky, Mort thinks he can handle what has been asked of him. But the question is: can he actually do so?
“People don't alter history any more than birds alter the sky, they just make brief patterns in it.”
“Although the scythe isn't pre-eminent among the weapons of war, anyone who has been on the wrong end of, say, a peasants' revolt will know that in skilled hands it is fearsome.”