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I have only given this book four stars, but I would call it my favourite book ever written without hesitation.

90% of this book is an absolute goldmine. It deals with an inspired theological question: what happens if people stop being able to die? In Discworld terms, the answer is clear: without a chaperone, all that life builds up, and weird stuff starts happening. There are three central threads to the plot, and two of them are fantastic; Reaper Man focuses on Death attempting to retire as a human would (to devastating effect), an ancient wizard robbed of the right to die (but cured of his infirmity), and something to do with lifeforce condensing itself into shopping trolleys, which is fine too, I guess.

Admist the usual silliness, it deals with some infinitely deep topics, and very cleverly balances an endless life trying to find meaning with a life at its end that has been suddenly - and rudely - extended indefinitely. Although Discworld revels in characters slowly developing over the course of the series, this book condenses a full mid-eternity crisis for a central character into sub-300 pages in an absolutely masterful fashion. Better yet, thanks to TP's refusal to take your familiarity for granted, it is an excellent springboard for new Discworld readers who didn't get on with The Colour of Magic.

Could do without the shopping trolleys, though (as amusing as it was).