Key themes
- Death as a sympathetic character — and what this implies about mortality
- The apprentice who takes the job too literally
- Destiny, fate and the narrative that insists on continuing
About this book
Death takes on an apprentice, with predictably chaotic results; a great entry point to Discworld.
Published in 1987, Mort introduced Death as a major Discworld character and the Death sub-series that followed is widely considered the heart of the series. Death subsequently appeared in dozens of Discworld novels.
Discussion questions
- Death takes on an apprentice because he wants to understand humanity better. What is Pratchett saying through this reversal — what does Death lack that he needs from humans?
- Mort falls in love with a princess he was supposed to let die and rewrites fate to save her. How does Pratchett use this transgression to explore questions about free will and destiny?
- Death is one of Pratchett's most beloved characters — gentle, curious and a little sad. How does this characterisation change your relationship to mortality as the novel progresses?
- The Discworld magic system means that when fate is altered, reality strains to correct itself. What is Pratchett saying about narrative inevitability — and about the stories we tell ourselves?
- Mort is recommended as a starting point for Discworld. What in it establishes the series' moral and comic register — and what is accessible to new readers that later books might assume?
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