Reaper Man
by Terry Pratchett · first published 1991
35% recommend65% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Witty, philosophical fantasy centered on Death, who takes a job as a farm hand and sees humanity from the outside; a good entry point to Discworld and loved by readers who return to it over the years.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
They say there are only two things you can count on ...But that was before DEATH started pondering the existential. Of course, the last thing anyone needs is a squeamish Grim Reaper and soon his Discworld bosses have sent him off with best wishes and a well-earned gold watch. Now DEATH is having the time of his life, finding greener pastures where he can put his scythe to a whole new use.But like every cutback in an important public service, DEATH's demise soon leads to chaos and unrest -- literally, for those whose time was supposed to be up, like Windle Poons. The oldest geezer in the entire
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Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, particularly: "Mort" and "Reaper Man"; "Guards! Guards!", "Men at Arms", and "The Night Watch"; "Wyrd Sisters", "Witches Abroad" and "Lords and Ladies"; and "Small Gods" and "Pyramids". The first two are about Death, the second three about…
on “What Would You Recommend to a Bright 14 Year Old?” ↗All of Terry Pratchett's books, but especially "Reaper Man". Read it at a young age, and it has informed my general life philosophy ever since.
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗I agree. I’m a big fan of the DEATH story arc, but outside of Mort and Reaper Man, Amazing Maurice might be my favorite book in the series. So very well written and felt like Pratchett was at his best.
on “Discworld on Page and Screen, Part 1: Serious Comedy” ↗The quote that really has stuck with me was also from Pratchett: "What can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the reaper man?" This caught me in two ways: 1. Death is the release. Whatever suffering you're undergoing, it won't follow you into whatever comes next, even if that is absolute oblivion. The relief would be welcome,…
on “The hospital where staff treat fear of death as well as physical pain” ↗My first was Reaper Man, which isn't a bad place to start. Better from a context point of view to start with Mort perhaps, but not necessary. His take on Death often fills the role of the outsider, trying to understand us and…
on “Discworld on Page and Screen, Part 1: Serious Comedy” ↗…the gatekeepers, etc. If you like Monty Python style humor, you'll probably enjoy those that have Rincewind and/or the Unseen University the most. I love any of the books with Death in it (Hogfather, Reaper Man, Mort, Soul Music, Thief of Time). My son loved all of the Sam Vimes books. If you love police/detective stuff, this is for you. If you want a little more plot, the Tiffany Aching series has that. Read…
on “Discworld on Page and Screen, Part 1: Serious Comedy” ↗That book has one of my favorite quotes, "What can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the Reaper Man?" I don't know why but that brings me to the verge of tears when I read it.
on “The accidental invention of the snow globe (2024)” ↗"No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away." ~ TP, Reaper Man An absolute force. I've got a bookshelf devoted to Pratchett, and it's only going to grow. RIP.
on “Sir Terry Pratchett has died” ↗…OF BIRDS. Death took a step backwards. It was impossible to read expression in Azrael's features. Death glanced sideways at the servants. LORD, WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN? -- Sir Terry Pratchett, "Reaper Man"
on “Sir Terry Pratchett has died” ↗> THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS JUST US I don't think that's a Pratchett original. It was a Ruthless Rap Assassins track before Reaper Man, and I suspect it wasn't original then either. If anybody knows where it originates I would like to know.
on “Sir Terry Pratchett has died” ↗The Annotated Pratchett File lists many similar references Pratchett included in his novels. In this case, it's marked as p35 of Reaper Man: https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/reaper-man.html
on “Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong’s Sudoku solver (2018)” ↗…on its trunk, in pale letters, its precise age. Within a year they were felled almost into extinction by the ornamental house number plate industry, and only a very few survive in hard-to-reach areas. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
on “A Clock in the Forest” ↗Sir Terry Pratchett’s _Reaper Man_ offered that snow globes were effectively seeds for dispersing awareness of new cities / malls.
on “The accidental invention of the snow globe (2024)” ↗"You can't be loony and rich. You've got to be eccentric if you're rich. - Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man
on “What's happening inside the NIH and NSF” ↗Well, although this particular quote is from a book from 2010, Terry Pratchett had been writing about these kinds of problems for decades at that point too, so that fits. For example, in Reaper Man from 1991 shopping malls were invasive parasitical life-forms from another universe.
on “ICE director envisions Amazon-like mass deportation system” ↗