Mort, Terry Pratchett

Mort is everything you'd expect from a Terry Pratchett novel. It's witty, irreverent and fast moving. Pratchett's ideas are just so good! Mort is the name of the protagonist here, who is chosen by death to be his apprentice. Mort learns the trade and makes a small mistake that has quite big consequences and leads to a lot of running around with little time to spare. It is hugely entertaining and is deceptively poignant in places.

Next I am reading A Good Parcel of English Soil: The Metropolitan Line, by Richard Mabey, which is one of the Penguin Underground Lines series. It's a very pretty book and am enjoying it so far, though it's not quite as entertaining as Mort.

Sketcher, Roland Watson-Grant

Sketcher is narrated by Skid, a nine year old boy when we meet him. He has a vivid imagination and a distinctive voice, he plays with words and similes and his personality really shines through the book and colours the events. 

Skid and his family live in a swamp, just south of 'New O'lins' and Skid grows up juggling his imagination, the beliefs of his family & the wish to escape poverty and the swamp. That said it doesn't feel like the book is about any of those things. It feels like its about magic and growing up in a big family. It is one of those stories where you are constantly wondering what to believe, what is the truth and what is imagination, or a way of seeing things. It treads this line really well, I think in the end you can decide what to believe, or be left wondering.

Next up is Mort by Terry Pratchett.