Rating: 
Summary: Pratchett's Finest
Review: In perhaps Terry Pratchett's best Discworld novel to date, we follow the further adventures of Death - or should I say, DEATH - and the interesting results of his interaction with the Discworld on perhaps, shall we say, a more human level. Add to that the wizards of Unseen University and the combination is...well, unstoppable. The humor and classic wit of Pratchett are at their very best in this book, and are all the better for the touch of a subtle yet important message. If you're in love with the Discworld or if you want to be, this one's a must.
Rating:
Summary: Death........gets fired?
Review: Keeping with Terry Pratchett's "there is no such thing as an impossible plot" line of thinking, Reaper Man showcases an unemployed Death and a world where dying has become a lot harder than it used to be. One of Pratchett's greatest skills has always been showcasing characters who can view the human race from the outside, thereby giving a unique perspective to humans and their many quirks. And no one gives a better commentary on the human race, than Death. For those keeping score, this is the second book in the "Death and Co." sub series of Discworld.
Promptly dismissed after being declared too compassionate and sympathetic towards humanity, Death takes up a job as a farm hand in an attempt to put his centuries of scythe experience to good use. He adopts the name "Bill Door" and begins to craft a normal life for himself. However, without Death doing his Duty, many people on the Disc are having trouble crossing over. And what happens when Bill Door meets the new Death?
Overall, this is above average for Pratchett and has some truly witty commentary on the human condition. This is also a good jumping-on point for new readers as prior Discworld reading is helpful, but not necessary.
Rating:
Summary: What's life without Death?
Review: You wouldn't think about job security becoming a problem for Death, the Defeater of Empires, the Swallower of Oceans, etc., but of course the Discworld is itself a contradiction in terms. When your world is a flat plane of existence transported through space atop the four elephants astride the Great Turtle A'tuin's back, the impossible is surprisingly commonplace. In this bastion of animism and anthropomorphism, not only Death but the mysterious Auditors of Reality have been brought into existence via the mere consciousness running amuck throughout the world. These murkily-defined Auditors, who hate nothing so much as individualism, feel compelled to force Death into retirement for the simple reason that he had taken on something of a personality. If he actually has to die, Death is determined to at least live, and we soon find him working on Renata Flitworth's farm in the plains below the Ramtops under the assumed name of Bill Door. Whereas Death has been known to indulge his curiosity of living men and women from time to time, in this significant Discworld chronicle he slips into the ways of man without conscious effort, and to some extent Bill Door actually does live for a time on the Discworld.Naturally, you don't just replace Death over night; it takes a while for the collective unconscious of all living things to formulate a New Death, and this period of temporary instability proves quite burdensome. One individual particularly unhappy about the current state of affairs is Windle Poons, the oldest of all the wizards in Unseen University. When Death doesn't show up to meet him at the appointed hour, Poons eventually has little choice but to go and reinhabit his old body once again. He's not the only undead person walking around in the days that follow. As if the walking dead weren't problematic enough, inanimate objects begin moving around of their own accord, little glass snow-globes begin turning up everywhere, shopping carts with minds of their own become a menace to society, and the wholly unnatural buildup of life force caused by the absence of a Grim Reaper opens a window on the Discworld for the insidious invasion of the most fearful of all creations. Reaper Man, the eleventh book in the series, is truly one of the quintessential Discworld novels. We get to see plenty of Death and gain much more valuable insight into his outlook on life; his non-human humanity really shines through his skeletal essence on several occasions in these pages. The always-hilarious wizards of Unseen University are in the mix of things as they should be, and they are joined by a number of Pratchett's most singular characters. The remarkable Windle Poons, more alive than ever in his death, climbs out of the wheelchair of a very old, hard of hearing, mentally addled old wizard to become a very personable hero. For the first time we meet Mrs. Cake, the small medium seer who has a habit of answering questions just before they are asked, Mrs. Cake's daughter Ludmilla who happens to be a werewolf, the aforementioned Renata Flitworth, the Death of Rats, and the unforgettable members of the Fresh Start Club formed by zombie Reg Shoe. Those undead creatures who have decided to rally around Shoe's declaration that the dead aren't going to take discrimination lying down any longer include the reluctant vampire Arthur and his wife (Count and Countess Notfaroutoe), a banshee, an exceedingly shy bogeyman, and a wereman. Pratchett's wit and humor are in exceedingly good form throughout, making this one of the most enjoyable and inherently interesting of all Discworld novels.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant.
Review: Reaper Man, to my mind, is the pinnacle of Pratchett's career. This is the first book in the series that truly melded the emotion of some of the previous books with the humor that's always been part of the Discworld universe. However, the emphasis is very much on the former in this case: this is Pratchett's most moving book by far.
There are two basic plots in the book. One is caused by the other, but as the story progresses, there is little correlation between the two. Some people have commented on this as being a flaw, but personally speaking, I don't really see how that matters.
This first plot mainly focuses on Death being fired by the Auditors and Azrael. After this is done, he comes to the Discworld, looking to make a new start. He takes a job with Miss Flitworth at her farm, and things go on from there.
The second plot is based around the death of Windle Poons: and his subsequent return, because of the 'lapse in service' caused by Death's exit. Poons was 130 years old, and his return from the dead makes him 'live' again, ironically enough. For him, death is not like a sleep: it is more like waking up again. The problem is that the rest of the world soon raises objections.
While I have mentioned the fact that Reaper Man is the most moving Discworld book, this is not to say that it isn't funny. In fact, some of the scenes in this installment are nothing short of hilarious, particularly in Poons' side of the story. The attempts of his fellow wizards to 'help' him out, and their military endeavors in the latter part of the book (Yo!) are just sidesplitting.
Death's side of the story is very different. There is some humor here and there, (see the scene with the dyslexic rooster), but for the most part, it has a slight air of melancholy to it: at points, it is almost brooding in nature. The character of Miss Flitworth is rather tragic, and Death's interaction with her makes for some very serious conversation. He learns more about humanity in the process, and it definitely leaves a mark, as can be seen in later Discworld books.
Also of note is the landscape Death's story takes place in: Pratchett does an excellent job here. The images he conjures up in his descriptions are wonderful: one can almost imagine the wind whistling through the stalks of golden corn, gleaming in the sunlight. The imagery is also appropriate: i.e. the harvest and all that implies.
The characters in Reaper Man are some of the best ever featured in a single Discworld book. Of particular note are the people in the Fresh Starters club: each individual is immaculately crafted, and very, very funny. Dibbler turns up, as does Sgt. Colon and Modo the dwarf, whose musings on life in the University are amusing, in their own way. However, the wizards steal the show, as always: their antics in this one had me in fits.
Speaking of great characters, Windle Poons (along with Ronald Saveloy in Interesting Times) is probably the best one book character Pratchett ever created. In many ways, Poons is probably the only time a wizard in the Discworld series actually lives up to the image used so often in fantasy: he is noble, fair and wise, a man who knows what the right thing to do is, and goes out and does it, no matter the cost to himself. His saving of Ankh Morpork at the hands of what the extra life force hatches up is an example of this.
The book rolls along at a good pace, and is of uniformly high quality throughout. However, it's the last 30-40 pages of it that make it the classic it is, for they are deeply moving. The somberness of Death's side of the story draws on to its logical conclusion, and at the very end, permeates Poons' side as well. The portrayal of said emotion is handled well: it is not nauseatingly overdone, nor is it too bleak. It's very matter of fact, leaving the reader to pick up on whatever he/she may. Pratchett also uses some great lines in the book: the very last one, spoken by Azrael, is of particular note.
Reaper Man, like a fair number of Pratchett's books, is a celebration of life. It is death that makes us truly appreciate life for what it is, and this, I believe, is the author's message here. This theme, mixed in with some of the best humor the series has seen, is what makes Reaper Man Pratchett's finest book, and a classic novel in every sense of the word. Highest possible recommendation.
Rating: 
Summary: Death is fired!
Review: Death has been fired by the mysterious auditors, and discworld (especially Ankh-Morpork) suffers a ton of "undead" people and things. This is especially true of the 130-year-old wizard Windle Poons who expected to die then found Death missing. At first, the other wizards don't believe it. It is humorous how they try to "help" Poons by burying him under the ground (under one of Ankh-Morpork's busiest intersections), and he thanks them for their persistence. But, of course, none of ths will work without Death who is happily working with his scythe on a farm. Naturally, Death would work well cutting grain. Here we have several plot lines: Death being fired and, first, seeking a new job then, second, seeking to get his job back; the wizards and Windle Poons; and the problems with shopping carts and a growing magic mall that wants to take over the city. I really didn't care for the mall plot line, but seeing the wimpy wizards try to act brave like soldiers was funny. Death was funny as he adjusted to life like a normal person, just good old Bill Door (even though his appearance didn't change), and he was especially good at confronting his successor at the end. Also, the way Poons, though dead, finally starts to "live" is funny (there are benefits to being undead). We also meet the zombie Reg Shoe and the timid banshee Ixolite (too shy to scream, so he leaves a note under the door). And let us not forget the Death of Rats, too. So, I would really say 3.5 stars. Though I didn't like it all, just meeting some of these characters that will come back in future books and seeeing how Death outsmarts the auditors is worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Not one of the best.
Review: I woud rate it 3 1/2 stars, if I could.
It was a real disappointment to me. It is most definitely not one of the good Diskworld ones; infact, it's the worst I have read. I love the Diskworld series, and have read a fair amount of them.
This is about Death. To put it bluntly; he loses his job and becomes a reaper man.
Meanwhile, with no one to take all the souls away, things are a mess in Ankh-Morpork. Furniture is flying around (more like a flying squirrel fly's, really), and undead are not that rare (they're actually more 'well done', being very tough). And a stash of little glass globe-things are appearing; the kind that you shake and the snow flys up and they have the city of Ankh-Morpork as the figure inside.
And then, carts start appearing. Useful; until they run away with your things in them.
Rating:
Summary: The first of many great blooms.
Review: I love the Discworld, but I have to say, that though the series was amusing to me, it was not something I felt everyone needed to read. Then I read Reaper Man. I felt Mr. Pratchett's writing bloomed in this book, and following books have proved that Reaper Man was no accident. The two stories with a similar theme, Death finally experiencing what life is about and a Grand Wizard realizing he had never really lived until after he died are wonderful. Though Mr. Pratchett has written, and hopefully will continue to write more, Reaper Man is still my favorite.
Rating:
Summary: Life is Habit Forming
Review: Most Terry Pratchett fans are well acquainted with death, or rather, with DEATH. Discworld's skeleton-with-a-scythe has bit parts in almost every volume, and starring roles in many. But few of us have ever thought of what Pratchett's world would be like if a group of universal bureaucrats decided to hand him a golden hourglass and, politely but firmly, show him the door. One thing we can count on though is that in Discworld, nothing ever goes as planned. The wizards of the Unseen University first notice the problem when Windle Poons fails to make it to the afterlife. Instead, he finds himself back in his body, to the embarrassment of the entire faculty. Evadne Cake the medium first notices when her crystal ball starts shouting. Then a compost heap attacks Modo the gardener. Screws keep unscrewing themselves and the entire city of Ankh-Morpork has a massive attack of poltergeistism. And... And... There is just way too much living going on. Poons, thanks to a note pinned to the inside of his coffin, discovers a support group for the undead. Not a very big one - Reg Shoe the Ghoul, Doreen and Arthur the not-quite-upscale vampires, Lupine the wereman, Schleppel the bogeyman, and a banshee so timid that it leaves notes for people (OOoooEeeeOooEeeeOOOeee). Together and separately the Wizards, the undead, and Mrs. Cake set out to make sense of chaos. Before chaos makes mincemeat of them. In the meantime, Death is pursuing his retirement. Posing as an itinerant, he takes a job as a farmhand. No matter that he is a 7-foot skeleton, no matter that he harvests hay one blade at a time. People, he discovers, actually like him. An unusual situation for someone whose name used to be Death. It's Bill Door now and proud of it. This is classic Pratchett work. He is a master at poking us in the eye, tickling our tummies, and warming our hearts, all at the same time. Be prepared for an unending supply of perfectly atrocious puns (an alchemist is nearly killed by a sharp retort) and twisted sentences (people become werewolves by contracting genetics at an early age). Be prepared to learn about the sex life of cities, why there is a Death of Rats but not a Death of Cats, and the folly of automated farm machinery. Above all be prepared to laugh.
Rating:
Summary: Death and Miss Flitworth
Review: Picture an enormous room chock-full of hour glasses (one with your name on it): "...Add the sharp clicking of bone on stone, getting closer. "A dark shape crosses the field of vision and moves up the endless shelves of sibilant glassware. Click, click. Here's a glass with the top bulb nearly empty. Bone fingers rise and reach out. Select. And another. Select. And more. Many, many more. Select, select. [Whew, the dark shape passed by the one with your name on it!] "It's all in a day's work. Or it would be, if days existed here. "Click, click, as the dark shape moves patiently along the rows. "And stops. "And hesitates. "Because here's a small gold timer, not much bigger than a watch. "It wasn't there yesterday, or wouldn't have been if yesterdays existed here. "Bony fingers close around it and hold it up to the light. "It's got a name on it, in small capital letters. "The name is DEATH." So, now that Death of Discworld, old Mr. Bones himself discovers he's about to shuffle off this immortal coil, bite the Big One, cease to exist, dissolve and leave not a rack of ribs behind---what's he going to do? He decides to Hell with it (or to It with hell) and goes on vacation. No Death means no one on Discworld can truly die, including a one-hundred-and-three year-old wizard named Windle Poons, oldest faculty member of the Unseen University. He is scheduled to pass over into the Great Beyond at 9:30 P.M., in the midst of a 'going-away' party that his fellow wizards are throwing for him. A few seconds past the appointed half hour, Windle swigs his last rum and dies--sort of. But the Big Guy with the scythe doesn't show up, so Windle finally climbs back into his one-hundred-and-three year-old body. He's neither alive nor dead and what's worse, another faculty member has already moved into his room. Read "Reaper Man" to find out how its two unlikely heroes, Death and Windle Poon are finally reconciled. P.S. I'd like know how Terry Pratchett keeps coming up with all of these wacky Discworld stories. In "Reaper Man," one character says nothing but 'SQUEAK' and another says nothing but 'Oook,' and yet I understand them--and really like them. Death also seems like an okay sort of dude, although I wouldn't invite him to my going-away party. P.P.S Don't take that personally, Mr. Bones!
Rating:
Summary: Remember the part when . . .
Review: The wonderful thing about Pratchett's novels is that they're endless retrospective. That is, no matter how long it's been since you've read one, you can still require specific moments in the book with uncanny accuracy and they're still gut-splittingly funny. There are too many of those kinds of moments in the book to describe. An almost endlessly entertaining book, and one of Pratchett's best, next to Small Gods and Soul Music.
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