Mort
 2012 paperback cover; art by Josh Kirby | |
| Author | Terry Pratchett |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Tony Robinson (Corgi); Nigel Planer (Isis) Sian Clifford (Penguin) |
| Cover artist | Josh Kirby |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
| Series | Discworld |
Release number | 4 |
| Sub-series | Death |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Gollancz/Corgi |
Publication date | 1987-11-12 |
| Preceded by | Equal Rites |
| Followed by | Sourcery |
Mort is the fourth Discworld novel, and the first to feature Death as a main character. It is often cited as a good book for new readers to start with, as the first to capture the tone of the majority of the series.
Blurb
Corgi paperback (2012)
Death comes to us all. When he came to Mort, he offered him a job.
Death is the Grim Reaper of the Discworld, a black-robed skeleton carrying a scythe who must collect a minimum number of souls in order to keep the momentum of dying, well...alive.
He is also fond of cats and endlessly baffled by humanity. Soon Death is yearning to experience what humanity really has to offer...but to do that, he'll need to hire some help.
It's an offer Mort can't refuse. As Death's apprentice he'll have free board, use of the company horse - and being dead isn't compulsory. It's a dream job - until Mort falls in love with Death's daughter, Ysabell, and discovers that your boss can be a killer on your love life...
Podcast episodes
Major appearances
These are episodes primarily devoted to discussing this book.
| Date | Show | Episode | External link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-07-04 | Bookclub | “Terry Pratchett”[1] | bbc.co.uk |
| 2015-09-15 | Radio Morpork | “Death is a Family Business” | radiomorpork.wordpress.com |
| 2017-01-23 | Dragon Babies | “Mort, by Terry Pratchett” | dragonbabiespodcast.com |
| 2017-12-08 | Pratchat | “Murdering a Curry” | pratchatpodcast.com |
| 2019-02-15 | The Death of Podcasts | “Mort” | aalgar.com |
| 2019-04-28 | Wyrd Sisters | “Mort” | wyrdsisters.podbean.com |
| 2020-03-09 | The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret | “Schrödinger’s Canapé” (1/3) | thetruthshallmakeyefret.com |
| 2020-03-16 | The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret | “State Of Mind: Eggs” (2/3) | thetruthshallmakeyefret.com |
| 2020-03-23 | The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret | “Horse In My Zen Garden” (3/3) | thetruthshallmakeyefret.com |
| 2020-03-24 | The Compleat Discography | “Mort” | compleatdiscography.page |
| 2020-07-22 | Who Watches the Watch | “Deathy Seinfeld” (1/2) | who-watches-the-watch.pinecast.co |
| 2020-07-29 | Who Watches the Watch | “Discworld the Anime vs Historical Predestination” (2/2) | who-watches-the-watch.pinecast.co |
| 2020-08-02 | Desert Island Discworld | “Tiernan Douieb and Mort” | desertislanddiscworld.com |
| 2021-01-06 | The Disc-Course | “Callout Post for Death” (1/4) | shows.acast.com |
| 2021-01-20 | The Disc-Course | “Erotic Biographies” (2/4) | shows.acast.com |
| 2021-02-03 | The Disc-Course | “Commotion Lotion” (3/4) | shows.acast.com |
| 2021-02-17 | The Disc-Course | “Disctale” (4/4) | shows.acast.com |
| 2021-02-15 | Stuck on Arrakis | “Discworld Book Four” | buzzsprout.com |
| 2021-03-29 | Disc Coverers | “Mort” | anchor.fm |
| 2021-09-29 | Nanny Ogg's Book Club | “Mort” | libsyn.com |
| 2022-05-07 | Unseen Academicals | “Mort” | anchor.fm |
| 2022-12-17 | I’ve Never Read Discworld | “Book 4. Mort” | anchor.fm |
| 2023-05-11 | Just Dads Reading Books | “Mort” | redcircle.com |
| 2023-06-21 | Books w/ Bitches | “Unhinged Bonus Episode 2 MORT” | spotify.com |
| 2023-11-07 | 2 to Ramble | “Mort: Spoiler-free & Spoiler Review” | youtube.com |
| 2024-02-19 | Dining Table Discworld | “Mort” | podbean.com |
| 2024-06-12 | Spilled Inklings | “Mort” | spotify.com |
| 2024-04-29 | SUMthing Good | “EP. 4 Mort” | simplecast.com |
| 2024-08-09 | Bros Before Prose | “"Mort" (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett” | substack.com |
| 2024-09-01 | Discworld Order | “E03 - Mort” | spotify.com |
| 2025-02-09 | Fantasy Talks Live | “Discworld Deep Dive Episode Three - Mort” | podbean.com |
| 2025-07-07 | Reading Room Ruffians | “A Taste of Death (Mort by Terry Pratchett)” (1/2) | buzzsprout.com |
| 2025-07-21 | Reading Room Ruffians | “Oh Lort it's Mort! (Mort by Terry Patchett)” (2/2) | buzzsprout.com |
| 2025-09-25 | If We Survive This | “Mort” | buzzsprout.com |
| 2025-10-13 | Oktarin[2] | “Gevatter Tod” (1/19) | acast.com |
| 2025-10-20 | Oktarin | “Erste Schritte” (2/19) | acast.com |
| 2025-10-27 | Oktarin | “Der erste Tag im Job” (3/19) | acast.com |
| 2025-11-17 | Oktarin | “Ein freier Nachmittag” (4/19) | acast.com |
| 2025-11-24 | Oktarin | “Der erste Auftrag” (5/19) | acast.com |
| 2025-12-01 | Oktarin | “Der Tod eilt zur Rettung” (6/19) | acast.com |
| 2025-12-08 | Oktarin | “Keri's Unleben” (7/19) | acast.com |
| 2025-12-15 | Oktarin | “Im Garten von Tod” (8/19) | acast.com |
| 2025-12-22 | Oktarin | “Kneipentour als Tod” (9/19) | acast.com |
| 2025-12-29 | Oktarin | “Lasst uns die Prinzessin retten” (10/19) | acast.com |
| 2026-01-05 | Oktarin | “Mensch sein erlernen” (11/19) | acast.com |
| 2026-01-12 | Oktarin | “Midlife Crisis” (12/19) | acast.com |
| 2026-01-19 | Oktarin | “Tod auf Jobsuche” (13/19) | acast.com |
| 2026-01-26 | Oktarin | “Glück in der Lohnarbeit” (14/19) | acast.com |
| 2026-02-02 | Oktarin | “Das Schicksal des Universums” (15/19) | acast.com |
| 2026-02-09 | Oktarin | “Zwei Minijobs und ein wütender Zauberer” (16/19) | acast.com |
| 2026-02-16 | Oktarin | “Den Tod beschwören” (17/19) | acast.com |
| 2026-02-23 | Oktarin | “Sturkopf Mort” (18/19) | acast.com |
| 2026-03-02 | Oktarin | “Das Finale von Gevatter Tod” (19/19) | acast.com |
| 2025-12-18 | Világos Könyvklub[3] | “Kedélyes disznóhúsos pite - avagy Mort könyvkibeszélő”[4] | lumifalva.hu (mp3) |
| 2026-04-02 | Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction | “Mort 1: The Uncommon Man” (1/3) | transistor.fm |
| 2026-04-22 | Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction | “Mort 2: What Should Be Will Be” (2/3) | transistor.fm |
| 2026-05-08 | Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction | “Mort 3: Just Us” (3/3) | transistor.fm |
Other appearances
Episodes where there's significant discussion of the book, but it's not the focus of the episode.
| Date | Show | Episode | External link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-08-05 | The Pratchett Podcast | “The Pratchett Podcast Episode 10” | thepratchettpodcast.wordpress.com[5] |
| 2012-09-05 | The Pratchett Podcast | “The Pratchett Podcast episode 11”[6] | thepratchettpodcast.wordpress.com[5] |
| 2020-09-08 | My Hill to Die On[7] | “Are We Having Fun?” | myhilltodieon.com |
| 2021-05-26 | Fiction Fans | “A Master of Djinn & Mort” | fictionfanspodcast.com |
| 2024-02-25 | Fable FellaZ | “Mr. Samson Cat”[8] | acast.com |
| 2024-12-26 | Meče • Mýty • Magie | “Zeměplošské království SMRTĚ – Sekáč, Mort a vše, co jste chtěli vědět o tomto sympaťákovi”[9] | spotify.com |
| 2025-10-26 | Portsmouth People, Portsmouth Stories[10] | “The Phoenix Players are performing Terry Pratchett's Mort”[11] | expressfm.com |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ This is a BBC Radio program later released as a podcast, or at least made available as via BBC Sounds. Features Terry Pratchett talking about the book with fans.
- ↑ In German.
- ↑ In Hungarian. The title translates roughly as “Bright Book Club”.
- ↑ Translates roughly to “A Cheerful Pork Pie - or Mort, the Bookworm”.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Post with info only; audio no longer available.
- ↑ This episode includes co-host Rhys giving his thoughts on the book, having missed the deadline to read it for the previous episode.
- ↑ Have also done episodes containing discussions of Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters, Guards! Guards! and Reaper Man.
- ↑ Also discusses Tamsyn Muir’s Harrow the Ninth.
- ↑ In Czech; discusses both Mort and Reaper Man.
- ↑ From local Portsmouth radio station Express FM.
- ↑ A brief interview with a local amateur theatre company in Portsmouth in the UK, putting on a production of Stephen Briggs’ adaptation.