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Book Home  Books Information Mort
Mort
Mort is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett and also the name of its main character. Published in 1987, it is the fourth Discworld novel and the first to focus on the Death of the Discworld, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels.
As a teenager, Mort's personality and temperament made him rather unsuited to the family farming business. In his father Lezek's opinion he thought too much, which prevented him from achieving anything practical. Thus, Lezek took him to a local hiring fair, hoping he'd be picked up as an apprentice by someone; not only would this provide a job for his son, but it would also make his son's ability to think a lot become someone else's problem.
Mort stubbornly holds out to the end of the job fair, refusing to leave until midnight has passed or he gets hired. Just before the clock-bell rings for the 12th time, a man concealed in a black cloak arrives on a white horse. He says he is looking for a young man to assist him in his work and picks up Mort. The man turns out to be Death, and gives Mort an apprenticeship to his "job" of ushering souls into the next world (though his father thinks he's been apprenticed to an undertaker).
It is believed that Death chose Mort partly because Death himself has the nickname Mort (he is called this by the other members of the four horsemen), as well as Mort being the French word for death and the origin of several English words (for example mortal and post mortem).
The pressure of the job (and a crush on a princess who is due to die) forces Mort to make a few mistakes, but like all good heroes, he grows some spine, gains some self control, challenges Death to a duel and waltzes away with the girl in the end, but not the correct girl by normal fantasy standards.
He marries Death's adopted daughter Ysabell and they live relatively happily ever after as the duke and duchess of Sto Helit, due to the small error of the real duke of Sto Helit being killed during the duel.
Their storyline (and that of their daughter Susan) is continued in the later Discworld novel Soul Music.
Mort is the second novel to feature Ysabell (she was introduced in The Light Fantastic) and introduces Death's manservant Albert. It also features a brief cameo by Rincewind. It was later adapted into a graphic novel with art by Graham Higgins.
In the Cosgrove Hall animation of Soul Music, Mort is voiced by Neil Morrissey. In 2004 BBC Radio 4 adapted Mort, with the title character voiced by Carl Prekopp.
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