[Reading] Pyramids by Terry Pratchett

Pyramids by Terry Pratchett is a very amusing book (so far). I really enjoyed the movie of his first two books. The movie was titled The Colour of Magic - and was quite enjoyable!

My favourite part in the book so far is when the new king (Pharoah), a young man is looking at his dead father just newly mummified:


"Part of him, which still lived in Ankh-Morpork, said: this is a dead body, wrapped up in bandages, surely they can't think that this will help him get better? In Ankh, you die and they bury you or burn you or throw you to the ravens. Here, it just means you slow down a bit and get given all the best food. It's ridiculous, how can you run a kingdom like this? They seem to think that being dead is like being deaf, you just have to speak up a bit."

My favourite character in the whole Discworld series is Death. As can be seen by this excerpt, wherein the now dead Pharoah is observing his body's preperation for mummification:

"Behind him a voice said, GOOD MORNING.
The king turned.
'Hallo', he said. 'You'd be -"
DEATH, said Death.
The king looked surprised.
'I understood that Death came as a three-headed giant scarab beetle,' he said.
Death shrugged, WELL. NOW YOU KNOW.
'What's that thing in your hand?'
THIS? IT'S A SCYTHE.
'Strange-looking object, isn't it?' said the pharoah. 'I thought Death carried the Flail of Mercy and the Reaping Hook of Justice.'
Death appeared to think about this.
WHAT IN? he said.
'Pardon?'
ARE WE STILL TALKINGA BOUT A SCARAB BEETLE?"

Yes. In the movie, Death has the honour of having the voice talent of Christopher Lee. Nice touch, I think....