YMMV / Mort

• Aluminum Christmas Trees: One of the books chronicling Albert's life is from "before they invented spelling". Believe it or not, prior to the spread of dictionaries and printing presses, there was no standard way to spell things. Spelling was done entirely phonetically, and two different spellings of the same word could be completely legitimate; as long as it sounded the same it was fine because most people didn't bother with literacy.
• Growing the Beard: Many fans consider this book to be when the Discworld series started getting really good.
• Harsher in Hindsight: One throwaway line refers to a member of the Ankh-Morpork Night Watch losing his way in the Shades and calling, "Twelve o'clock and all's arrrrrgghhhh....". This was a lot funnier before Guards! Guards! humanized the Night Watch members, and the revelation in Men at Arms that Vimes gives most of his pay to the Watch's widows and orphans turns it from a gag to one of the most Fridge Morbid moments in a Death novel: chances are, the family of the watchman in question is on the list of Vimes' beneficiaries.
• Heartwarming in Hindsight: Death being a cat lover who gives them all the death of kings, after Terry Pratchett's own appointment with the Reaper Man occurred with his cat on the bed with him.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Mort and Ysabell engage in apparent Ship Sinking by matter-of-factly swapping insults about each other's appearances, then agreeing that they shouldn't marry, "if only for the sake of the children." Cue their daughter Susan, who's regarded as good-looking, albeit in a rather gothic, and faintly creepy, sort of way.
  • I'm not made to be a grandfather. I haven't got the right kind of knees.
  • The encounter with the two thugs who mistake Mort for a wizard. They're noted to use dashes instead of swear words, which seems like Narrative Profanity Filter here, but as of The Truth, that may not be the case....
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • Literally; Mort's nightmare of becoming Death and destroying everything is pretty eerie.
  • His later transformation into a Humanoid Abomination version of Death is arguably even creepier for its understated nature, while simultaneously being awesome.
  On your knees, Alberto Malich.

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