Reaper Man
by Terry Pratchett
★ Top 10 book of 1991 · #6 on Best Books of 1991
When Death grows weary of his duties, his Discworld bosses retire him, and he sets about enjoying life. With no Grim Reaper on the job, the dead refuse to stay dead, and the aging wizard Windle Poons joins the hunt to bring Death back.
Best for: Discworld fans who enjoy comic fantasy with wizards and an existential Death
Reaper Man is #6 on BookWard's Best Books of 1991, out of 23 1991 books that cleared our data bar.
What Reaper Man is about
Death has developed a personality, and the Auditors of Reality don't approve. They force him into retirement and hand him a timer of sand that counts down his own life. Calling himself Bill Door, he takes work as a farmhand for Miss Flitworth and learns what it is like to have only so much time. Meanwhile, with nobody doing his job, life force piles up and strange things start to happen. Windle Poons, a wizard of Unseen University, finds himself undead and joins a club for others in the same state. The eleventh Discworld novel is funny and kind-hearted, asking what makes a life worth having. It works well for newcomers to Terry Pratchett as well as longtime fans.
Reaper Man on the Best Books of 1991
Reaper Man came out in 1991. Of the 23 books first published in 1991 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #6 on our Best Books of 1991 list.
Why it made the list: 266 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.3 out of 5 (71 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
It earns Reader favorite.
Nearby on the 1991 list
- Shiloh Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, #4
- The Firm John Grisham, #5
- Witches Abroad Terry Pratchett, #7
- Chrysanthemum Kevin Henkes, #8
See all Best Books of 1991 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1990 Best Books of 1992.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 140 want to read it, 2 are reading it now and 124 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.3 out of 5 from 71 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 74 | 55% |
| Reader love | 96 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 4 | 20% |
Questions about Reaper Man
When was Reaper Man published?
Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett was first published in 1991.
Was Reaper Man one of the best books of 1991?
Reaper Man is #6 on BookWard's Best Books of 1991, out of 23 1991 books that cleared our data bar. 266 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.3 out of 5 (71 ratings).
Why is Reaper Man on the Best Books of 1991 list?
266 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.3 out of 5 (71 ratings).
More of the best books of 1991
- Outlander Diana Gabaldon, #1
- Needful Things Stephen King, #2
- American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis, #3
- Shiloh Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, #4
- The Firm John Grisham, #5
- Witches Abroad Terry Pratchett, #7
See the full Best Books of 1991, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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