Rating: 
Summary: Death has job trouble, doesn't he?
Review: Here we are again. Death, the skeletal fellow who goes around wearing black robes, carrying a scythe, riding a pale white horse (named Binky), and TALKS LIKE THIS, has once again grown tired of the job and gone to try to forget things by joining the... um... (glancing at a piece of paper) the Klatchian Foreign Legion.That's an in-joke about how NOBODY in the Klatchian Foreign Legion can remember anything. ...so, his granddaughter Susan inherits the job accidentally. Meanwhile, the young bard Imp y Celyn starts to make it big when he finds a magical guitar and music takes over his soul. He changes his name to Buddy... ...and, in positively classic Pratchett style, the two plotlines come together in a rush of magic, energy, and Music With Rocks In! I very highly recommend this book to anyone with... well, anyone with a willpower rating of above 10, which is what you need to move.
As Death would likely say, DON'T FORGET. I CAN'T ANYWAY, SO IT'S NOT A PROBLEM. BUT YOU HUMANS... And you don't want to miss the Death of Rats who goes around saying SQUEAK.
Rating:
Summary: "We're on a mission from Glod"
Review: Terry Pratchett is without a doubt one of the most gifted writers to grace the world of literature. His Discworld novel, 'Soul Music', is the most entertaining book I've read in many years. This is the story of Susan Sto Helit- boarding school student, granddaughter of Death, and acting CEO of the family business. When Death joins the Klatchian Foreign Legion to forget (in general), Susan has to take up the scythe and fill in for a time. Not particularly well suited for the job, Susan refuses to collect the life of Imp Y Celyn- a young man who along with a dwarf trumpet player and a troll percussionist, has introduced Music With Rocks In to the good people of Ankh-Morpork. Imp has been influenced by a magical guitar with a life of it's own, and given birth to 'Rock' music. Susan feels it's not right for Imp to 'live fast and die young', and this upsets the balance of nature on Discworld. Assisted by Albert- Death's manservant, and the Death of Rats- Susansets out to find her grandfather and try to set things right. Music With Rocks in has upset every aspect of society in Ankh-Morpork, much like rock'n'roll in 1950's America. The wizards of Unseen University are under a spell like nothing anyone has ever seen. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the whole fantasy/sci-fi genre, but Pratchett's Discworld novels are more akin to flights of fancy... enjoyable on many levels. His works leave the reader with a pleasant sense of fulfillment that few authors can approach. You never find yourself wishing things turned out differently than Pratchett's vision, like so many other novels today. This splendid work has to be read to fully grasp the beauty of it's complex fluidity, and the humorous footnotes are fantastic. I would recommend Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' series to anyone- they are a pleasure to read and finished far too soon.
Rating:
Summary: A Horseman perplexed
Review: Who but Terry Pratchett could seek sympathy for the feelings of the Death of the Discworld? And obtain it? Once again, Pratchett offers readers a rich banquet of deep philosophic questions served with his saucy wit. As usual the repast may be taken lightly, skimming off the quirky characters - the Raven takes the top marks in this book - or the horrid puns emanating from the music [Welsh for Buddy Holly??!! arghh!]. Otherwise, the gourmet PTerry fan may relish fully the issues surrounding life. And death. Pratchett, as always, may be read at many levels. Any Discworld book may be read repeatedly, and this one is no exception. Death is unique among the Four Horsemen - he's the only one that's inevitable. As an Anthropomorphic Personification, Death is something other than simply a blind force. Small feelings burrow through his consciousness. Without a human frame of reference, he cannot comprehend them fully. He is, however, aware that things aren't quite right. He therefore goes off to determine what is wrong. His departure leaves a void demanding filling. His replacement is the daughter of his foundling and his apprentice - Susan Sto Helit. With Susan, Pratchett turns away from Death to examine Life. In this instance, Life shows how powerful it can be, even self generating. Life, the universe itself, may be the result of a musical note. Never mind the Big Bang, how about the Big Bong? Life, through Music, shows its universality through Music With Rocks In. Rock music can be performed by everyone. Talent, discipline, training all may be ignored. Music With Rocks In is little more than the fullest expression of human feeling. Even Susan, much detached from her surroundings, is caught up in its force. In Susan, Pratchett demonstrates the power of his characterisation. She is Death's granddaughter, carrying his "genes" providing inexplicable powers. She can speak with THE VOICE, become invisible, ride Binky. She's human, with a strong sense of justice, vexed by the loss of good people and the survival of bad ones. She wants Death to be "fair", but He can only be what he is - inevitable. Pratchett, of course, must somehow reconcile these views, which he does with his usual panache. Through it all, the Music strives for survival. Pratchett feels that's important because it means survival for us all. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Rating:
Summary: One of Pratchett's finest.
Review: I have read with great enjoyment all of the Discword books I could get my hands on, but of them all, Soul Music is my favorite. It contains all the usual Pratchett trademarks, such as clever allusions, bizzare footnotes, and an underlying message which is as serious as the actual writing is silly. Needless to say, it's one of the funniest things I've ever read. It makes room for all my favorite Discworld characters (i.e. Death and his granddaughter Susan, the Librarian of Unseen University, and the various odd residents of Ankh-Morpork). Anyone who has read any other of the Discworld books with enjoyment needs this one as well, and anyone who hasn't needs this one to start with.
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to snuff I'm afraid...
Review: I'm working my way through the Discworld books for the first time. Although I've greatly enjoyed the previous five, Soul Music really falls short of the mark. The story begins with a lot of potential. The ideas are fresh and the characters are likeable and "solid". The reader quickly realizes that the unrelated initial plotlines are on a collision course and having read Pratchett's other work, the reader has high expectations as to how the story will cleverly unfold. Unfortunately, about a third of the way through, the story falls flat. The puns about rock music grow tired almost immediately, yet the reader is continually beat over the head with them. All of the characters become hollow shells and each page feels like more of the same. I found myself longing for the end of the book with a hundred pages still to read. I feel that this was no where near Pratchett's best work. Only the beginning of the story has the familiar Discworld feel to it. The rest of it feels as if it was written at the last minute under a deadline crunch.
Rating:
Summary: A story that misses a soul.
Review: When Imp enters Ankh-Morpork he has no clue that he is on the verge of changing the way people listen to music. In search of good fortune he left his hometown in Llamedos and hopes to earn some money playing harp in the biggest city - or at least the most crowded - of the Discworld. Regrettably no one ever told him that the Guild of Musicians has a rather 'terminal' policy concerning people who play music without a licence, the rather expensive kind that is. But he is not the only one who cannot pay the fee. Together with a dwarf, a troll and an - ook ook - ape, Imp starts an illegal band and together they play 'Music with Rocks In'. The band is an immediate success, certainly now C.M.O.T. Dibbler is their manager. When people start to ask Imp if he is a bit elvish, it must be clear that something dangerous is at hand. In Soul Music Death gets again a major part, although this time the role is played by Death's granddaughter Susan. But do not expect the witty humour that was dominating Terry's classic novel Mort. The main chunk of funny paragraphs is filled with clever puns to the names of famous music bands. Two examples: Lead Balloon (Led Zeppelin) and &U (U2). At the start of the novel this is quite entertaining, but when you have to digest pun number 50 it has lost its originality. At the end of the story the puns are the only thing that drives the story. A story that on its own is very weak and tends to bore the reader. Soul Music clearly fails in matching the high standards set by the other Discworld novels.
Rating:
Summary: Not badm but Soul Music doesn't quite touch the soul
Review: OK, I wanted to like this book, but it didn't quite work out. After "Men at Arms" this cannot compare. OK, that isn't fair, because this is not a City Watch book. It is like apples and oranges. Also, I am not a fan of rock music culture, so it may be a bit my fault, too. Some of the book is funny. The troll-dwarf relationship is always good. Glod was very funny as was Cliff. Dibbler was his usual sales-obsessed self. But that was about it, except for the wizards trying to wear leather. The Dean was a riot. And the Librarian with piano exploding (and the way it was explained to the Patrician) was great! This is a book worth reading just to see the Librarian and his antics. 3.5 stars for him. But Death was funny in the foreign legion, although it got a bit old with him running away, and Albert is not so wonderful (though he does better in later books). I admit I didn't fully understand Death's solution to the problem with the "music," so that didn't help. But the Death of Rats was funny, of course. Death, his granddaughter, Albert are not too hot here, but they improve a lot in future books, but read this book mainly for the Librarian and wizards. They rarely fail to entertain.
Rating:
Summary: touching, thoughtful, and falling-over funny!
Review: Soul Music is a story about love, death, family, the inevitability of fate, and the power of music. In true Pratchett fashion, it's also a story about the hilarity that ensues when (insert improbable events here).
This is the story of Imp Y Celyn, an ambitious teenage bard who acquires a magic guitar. With the help of his bandmates and his new instrument, Imp brings a new craze to the Discworld -- Music With Rocks In! Little does Imp know that he's fated to die on the night of his band's first performance ... or that there's something in that guitar of his that won't let him.
This is the story of Death, who's had a *very* bad day at work. There was a tragic carriage accident, you see, and he had to go and claim the lives of two of the only mortals he ever allowed himself to care about... So, in an effort to forget, Death runs away to imbibe vast amounts of alcohol and join the Klatchian Foreign Legion.
This is the story of Susan Sto Helit, a teenage girl who's recently lost both of her parents in a tragic accident. Left at a stuffy boarding school, Susan has no idea that she is the granddaughter of Death himself, and that she's about to get stuck running the family business.
This book is everything Pratchett fans have come to expect and more. It's a hilarious pastiche of the history of rock and roll, a style of music that has no place in a medieval fantasy world. It's a welcome addition to the subset of Discworld books that star Death, who is terribly good at his job, but wishes people weren't always so unhappy to see him. It's a prime example of the inspired blend of satire, high fantasy, and just plain silliness that makes Terry Pratchett one of the most popular fantasists in the world.
This is probably my favourite Discworld novel so far, and that's saying something. It's not absolutely necessary, but I suggest you read Mort before picking up this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Play that funky music...
Review: Soul Music, the sixteenth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, is decidedly weaker then the other books in the Death sub-series. Like the other Death books, Death has taken a break and something must be done in the meantime. This time, however, it results in a disjointed narrative that isn't quite up to Pratchett's standards. I'm of two minds on Soul Music. It is tremendously funny, with wonderful homages to various rock and roll elements. There are numerous Blues Brothers riffs, lots of Meat Loaf references, along with song lyrics and various band names that are parodied. "'A song about Great Fiery Balls. [...] Couldn't really make out the words, the reason bein', the piano exploded.'" These sorts of references permeate the book, and make it a joy to read. Some of the band names in the book include "We're Certainly Dwarfs (They Might be Giants), "Suck" (Kiss), "The Surreptitious Fabric" (The Velvet Underground). I'm sure you can see where this is going. On the other hand, the Death aspect of this story covers ground that's already been covered, to an extent. Yet again, Death has decided to walk away from it all and visit humanity. Once again, somebody has to take over his job. Yet again, the person who does so has trouble with the "moral" aspect of it. In Mort, Mort fell in love and couldn't bring himself to "kill" a little girl. In this one, Susan has qualms about "killing" innocents and letting bad people live out a full life. Why can't it be the other way around? It feels very recycled, and it's only saved in Soul Music because Susan is interrupted by the onset of this strange music that's making everybody go weird. The other problem with the book is the incredibly disjointed feeling that it has. I used that word in my Reaper Man review as well, but that book was so good that it made up for it. This time, however, it's even worse. The Death storyline doesn't get much time, with only a couple of scenes with the Foreign Legion, then a couple of scenes back in Ankh-Morpork before finally being called back. Susan's story takes forever to begin, as she is first approached by the Death of Rats, is skeptical, has it shown to her, explores Death's house, etc. It got to the point at the beginning of the book that it came to a screeching halt whenever the story left the music and went back to Susan. All of that being said, though, Soul Music is still a very entertaining book. The characters are wonderful, with only Susan being slightly boring. The other characters are either very well developed, or just in there for the sake of the joke (like the band that continually changes its name because, well, they suck and they can't get any recognition). The three main band members (Imp, Glod and Cliff) are great, all being true to their racial characteristics (dwarves love gold, and so does Glod, etc), yet being wonderful personalities as well. The wizards are back yet again, wreaking havoc with everybody and everything. All but the Ridcully seem to be taken over by this new type of music, and the scenes between Ridcully and the Dean are priceless (the Dean acts like a child who is being denied while Ridcully is the father figure who is sending the Dean to his room without any supper). The jokes come fast and furious whenever the wizards are around. Death, when he is around, is as funny as always. There's something about a personification of an aspect of life "trying to forget" that's really funny, even more so in Pratchett's execution of it. Next to Reaper Man, this book comes up a bit short. It's still entertaining, and you'll still enjoy it. I would definitely recommend it. I would read a few Discworld books in between the two, though. If you don't, you may find yourself feeling worse about Soul Music then you actually should.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Book
Review: This is the 16th in Pratchett's Discworld series. I'm torn between giving it a four or a five star rating. I really enjoyed the book and there are a lot of really funny things that make you laugh out loud when you read it. But, something seems to be missing. The best I can come up with is the lack of some character development and a minor quibble with a motive. For character development, I think Pratchett could have done some more with both Susan and with "Buddy." Susan doesn't seem to grow much with the plot. She starts out one way and essentially ends up the same way. "Buddy," on the other hand, gets hardly any character development at all. Even though he's one of the main characters, he's pretty much of a blank throughout the book. My quibble with a motive is that the reason Death is trying to forget isn't clearly explained. I'm 99% certain it has to do with a couple of deaths he had to oversee, but he keeps talking about bony knees (which would apply to someone else). Other than that, this is a very good book with a lot of good humor.
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