I have re-read this Discworld book the most so far, and along with Small Gods it's one of my most favorite books I have ever read.
I think what makes it so special for me is that it's a Death book,
Death's journey as a mortal is silly and heart-wrenching and bittersweet. The writing is so amazing that every element comes through beautifully.
It's the first book that brings out the wizards of the unseen university as a character in themselves, elaborating more on what we saw in Moving Pictures and Equal Rites as well to some extent,
They become so much more enjoyable after Ridcully joins them, together their interactions and shenanigans are so entertaining
( reason why I find The Last Continent so hilarious ).
— “Who did you speak to?"
“The big one with the red dress and a mustache like he’s trying to swaller a cat.”
“Ah. The Archchancellor,” said Windle, positively.
“And there was a huge fat one. Walks like a duck.”
“He does, doesn’t he? That was the Dean,” said Windle.
— “All it’s doing is moving around slowly and eating things,” said the Dean.
“Put a pointy hat on it and it’d be a faculty member,” said the Archchancellor.
— “Anyway, didn’t we bury him?” said the Lecturer of Recent Runes.
“And now we dig him up again,” said the Archchancellor. “It’s probably a miracle of existence.”
“Like pickles,” said the Bursar, happily.
— “Yo!” said the Dean.
“Yo what?” said Ridcully.
“It’s not a yo what, it’s just a yo,” said the Senior Wrangler, behind him. “It’s a general street greeting and affirmative with convivial military ingroup and masculine bonding-ritual overtones.”
“What? What? Like ‘jolly good’?” said Ridcully.
“I suppose so,” said the Senior Wrangler, reluctantly.
Ridcully was pleased. Ankh-Morpork had never offered very good prospects for hunting. He’d never thought it was possible to have so much fun in his own university.
“Right,” he said. “Let’s get those heaps!”
“Yo!”
“Yo!”
“Yo!”
“Yo-yo.”
For the first few books, with every book, the Discworld universe was slowly expanding, and post Pyramids the writing style becomes addictive so every book is just amazing.
and Reaper Man touches on such a deep and meaningful theme in a way that only Discworld can – light-hearted yet still deep.
I was dealing with some personal loss, the grief never goes away but this books helps me so much.
I am so glad that it exists.
— "No one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away—until the clock he wound up winds down, until the wine she made has finished its ferment, until the crop they planted is harvested. The span of someone’s life, they say, is only the core of their actual existence."
It's simply beautiful.
by taanukichi