Soul Music [Mass Market Paperback]

Terry Pratchett (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 27, 2003

When her dear old Granddad -- the Grim Reaperhimself -- goes missing, Susan takes over the family business. The progeny of Death's adopted daughter and his apprentice, she shows real talent for the trade. That is until a little string in her heart goes "twang."

With a head full of dreams and a pocketful of lint,Imp the Bard lands in Ankh-Morpork, yearning to become a rock star. Determined to devote his life to music, the unlucky fellow soon finds that all his dreams are coming true. Well almost.

In this finger-snapping, toe-tapping tale of youth,Death, and rocks that roll, Terry Pratchett once again demonstrates the wit and genius that have propelled him to the highest echelons of parody next to Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Carl Hiaasen.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Soul Music is the 16th book in the bestselling Discworld series, with close ties to the fourth book, Mort. Susan Sto Helit is rather bored at her boarding school in the city of Ankh-Morpork, which is just as well, since it seems that her family business--she is the granddaughter of Death--suddenly needs a new caretaker. --Blaise Selby

From Publishers Weekly

Nepotism is given an unusual spin in Pratchett's 14th Discworld novel, as Death's granddaughter picks up the scythe when the Grim Reaper takes a vacation. Trolls, dwarves, magicians and rock music?music played with rocks?figure in this amusing but overlong romp, which begins with the formation of a band by aspiring musician Imp y Celen (aka Buddy). Arriving in the city of Ankh-Morpork, Buddy finds a magical guitar which enables the group?a rock-playing troll, an ax-wielding dwarf and an Orangutan pianist?to drive crowds wild. But the instrument causes conflict between the motley crew and Susan, Death's granddaughter, who is just adjusting to her new post. Many of the ensuing comic situations involve Death trying to get drunk, though Pratchett's liberal application of jokes scores as many misses as hits. Extraneous plot information slows the pace as the narrative rattles to a colossal, albeit uninspired, conclusion. Science Fiction Book Club main selection.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch (May 27, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061054895
• ISBN-13: 978-0061054891
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (110 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #165,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was fifteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe. Terry worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, including his first Discworld novel, The Color of Magic, in 1983. In 1987 he turned to writing full time, and has not looked back since. To date there are a total of 36 books in the Discworld series, of which four (so far) are written for children. The first of these children's books, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, won the Carnegie Medal. A non-Discworld book, Good Omens, his 1990 collaboration with Neil Gaiman, has been a longtime bestseller, and was reissued in hardcover by William Morrow in early 2006 (it is also available as a mass market paperback (Harper Torch, 2006) and trade paperback (Harper Paperbacks, 2006). Terry's latest book, Nation, a non-Discworld standalone YA novel was published in October of 2008 and was an instant New York Times and London Times bestseller. Regarded as one of the most significant contemporary English-language satirists, Pratchett has won numerous literary awards, was named an Officer of the British Empire "for services to literature" in 1998, and has received four honorary doctorates from the Universities of Warwick, Portsmouth, Bath, and Bristol. His acclaimed novels have sold more than 55 million copies (give or take a few million) and have been translated into 36 languages. Terry Pratchett lives in England with his family, and spends too much time at his word processor.  Some of Terry's accolades include: The Carnegie Medal, Locus Awards, the Mythopoetic Award, ALA Notable Books for Children, ALA Best Books for Young Adults, Book Sense 76 Pick, Prometheus Award and the British Fantasy Award.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#86 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#12 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#14 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#15 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#19 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

#21 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Science Fiction

#12 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#14 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#15 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#19 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

#21 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Science Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I Know, It's Only Rock N Roll March 9, 2001

By James D. DeWitt VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

No one agrees on which is the best Terry Pratchett novel, but a lot of his fans, myself included, would name this as a candidate. In this novel, he takes his manic punning, wordplay and double- and triple-entendre to the highest level.

Soul Music has three narrative threads: Death takes a holiday (which Pratchett fans will remember from _Mort_), Mort's orphan daughter, Susan Sto Helit, and her attempts to cope with the family legacy, and the discovery of rock and roll on the disc. The three stories intertwine and the result, for me, ranged from snickers to guffaws.

The big news is that rock and roll comes to the disk, through the agency of a pawnshop guitar and a skilled harpist, whose name translates as "Bud of Holly" and who looks kind of Elvis[h]. With a dwarvish horn player named Glod and a trollish drummer named Cliff, the band Music with Rocks In takes the Discworld by storm. The Librarian, the monk... orangutan who runs the Wizard's library, sits in on keyboards, and exceeds even the excesses of Jerry Lee Lewis. You cannot imagine a rock music issue that Pterry doesn't reach. Women fans pitch articles of clothing; espresso shops appear; rock promoters - C.M.O.T. Dibbler, of course - arrive; even the sedate wizards wear leather, do their best James Dean and show they, too, are "Born to Rune."

Parts of the book are a pastiche of "Blues Brothers" ("We're on a mission from Glod"), "Spinal Tap," and "Woodstock." Other parts are simply Pratchett's own mad invention. And this book also features Pterry's best pun - "some felonious monk;" possibly the best pun in literature since Niven's and Gerrold's _The Flying Sorcerors_. You can spend a lot of time just working out the puns.... And let me note that Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" gets the treatment it righteously deserves.

But while Buddy and his band tour with their roadie Asphalt and inescapably head towards Dead Man's Curve, and while Death does his best to learn how to forget with the help of the Klatchian Foreign Legion and alcohol, Susan makes increasingly frantic efforts to keep what passes for reality on the Discworld from coming completely unstuck. With the help of the Death of Rats, Albert and other favorites, the Disc is saved, but not without some uncommon poignancy.

There are scholarly articles on whether Pratchett writes parody or satire. However labelled, this was the high water mark for his experiments with the pure form. Anglo-American literature has never had as brilliant a satirist/parodist as Terry Pratchett. He may have written better Discworld books, but I'm not sure he has written a funnier book. Especially if you know and like rock music.

"Bee There Orr Bee A Rectangular Thyng" Read more ›

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Death has job trouble, doesn't he? June 11, 1997

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Here we are again. Death, the skeletal fellow who goes around wearing black robes, carrying a scythe, riding a pale white horse (named Binky), and TALKS LIKE THIS, has once again grown tired of the job and gone to try to forget things by joining the... um... (glancing at a piece of paper) the Klatchian Foreign Legion.

That's an in-joke about how NOBODY in the Klatchian Foreign Legion can remember anything.

...so, his granddaughter Susan inherits the job accidentally.

Meanwhile, the young bard Imp y Celyn starts to make it big when he finds a magical guitar and music takes over his soul. He changes his name to Buddy...

...and, in positively classic Pratchett style, the two plotlines come together in a rush of magic, energy, and Music With Rocks In!

I very highly recommend this book to anyone with... well, anyone with a willpower rating of above 10, which is what you need to move.

As Death would likely say, DON'T FORGET. I CAN'T ANYWAY, SO IT'S NOT A PROBLEM. BUT YOU HUMANS...

And you don't want to miss the Death of Rats who goes around saying SQUEAK.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "We're on a mission from Glod" May 21, 2000

By "caarnold2"

Format:Paperback

Terry Pratchett is without a doubt one of the most gifted writers to grace the world of literature. His Discworld novel, 'Soul Music', is the most entertaining book I've read in many years. This is the story of Susan Sto Helit- boarding school student, granddaughter of Death, and acting CEO of the family business. When Death joins the Klatchian Foreign Legion to forget (in general), Susan has to take up the scythe and fill in for a time. Not particularly well suited for the job, Susan refuses to collect the life of Imp Y Celyn- a young man who along with a dwarf trumpet player and a troll percussionist, has introduced Music With Rocks In to the good people of Ankh-Morpork. Imp has been influenced by a magical guitar with a life of it's own, and given birth to 'Rock' music. Susan feels it's not right for Imp to 'live fast and die young', and this upsets the balance of nature on Discworld. Assisted by Albert- Death's manservant, and the Death of Rats- Susansets out to find her grandfather and try to set things right. Music With Rocks in has upset every aspect of society in Ankh-Morpork, much like rock'n'roll in 1950's America. The wizards of Unseen University are under a spell like nothing anyone has ever seen. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the whole fantasy/sci-fi genre, but Pratchett's Discworld novels are more akin to flights of fancy... enjoyable on many levels. His works leave the reader with a pleasant sense of fulfillment that few authors can approach. You never find yourself wishing things turned out differently than Pratchett's vision, like so many other novels today. This splendid work has to be read to fully grasp the beauty of it's complex fluidity, and the humorous footnotes are fantastic.... I would recommend Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' series to anyone- they are a pleasure to read and finished far too soon. Read more ›

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Too Old For Rock and Roll? Too Young To Die? March 2, 2005

By Leonard Fleisig TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

The answers to those questions and more may be found in Terry Pratchett's hilariously funny and thoughtful Soul Music.

Soul Music consists of two parallel plot lines which, because this is Discworld and not the earth, converge as they reach the story's horizons. First we meet Imp y Celyn, soon to be known to the world as Bud of the Holly or Buddy, as he travels the long and winding road from his home of Llamedos to Ankh-Morpork. Back home, Imp's music always made his people smile and he knew if he had a chance he could make some people dance and maybe they'd be happy for a while. Unable to raise enough cash to join the musicians' guild, Buddy, after picking up a very odd guitar at a strange music store joins up with Glod the dwarf and Lias the troll and form a musical group. In short order the group has a gig at the Mended Drum.

In the meantime, DEATH is in the midst of his nineteenth nervous breakdown. As DEATH walks through his land of broken dreams, he seems unconcerned about what becomes of those who should now be departed. There will be disastrous consequences for the universe (see Reaper Man) if DEATH does not perform his obligations. The Death of Rats and his raven translator Quoth go desperately seeking Susan, DEATH's granddaughter. She is persuaded by Death of Rats to fill in until DEATH can be found and persuaded to return to work. Susan soon finds herself atop DEATH's horse Binky. She's eight miles high and when she touches down in Ankh-Morpork she enters the Mended Drum to meet her first assignment - - - Buddy. And then all heck breaks loose.

Buddy starts to play the guitar just like he's ringing a bell and the world seems to stop.... It may be that only the good, like Buddy, die young but in this instance Susan says something DEATH would never say: "it isn't fair". Though no fault of her own, Buddy does not go up to that spirit in the sky, Buddy and his music live on. The obvious question becomes why is he still alive and to what purpose?

"Music with rocks in" it becomes the next big thing. Even the wizards at Unseen University fall prey to these musical magic moments, so different and so new. Cut Me Own Throat Dibbler soon makes an appearance and rapidly transforms himself from purveyor of sausages to greedy rapacious rock and roll impresario. Soon, every kid in Ankh-Morpork wants to be a music with rocks in star. They get electric guitars but don't learn how to play. They think with their hair swung right and their pants too tight it will be all right. Little do they know that in the crafty hands of CMOT Dibbler even musicians with talent will soon be in dire straights.

Meanwhile, Susan, Death of Rats and even Albert, DEATH's loyal man Friday, search Discworld for DEATH. DEATH has been seen sitting on the dock of the river in Ankh-Morpork, drinking whiskey and rye with the good ole boys at the Mended Drum, and standing guard at midnight at an oasis manned by the Klatchian Foreign Legion. His internal dialogue is priceless, funny, and thoughtful.

Events proceed rapidly as Dibbler prepares the band for a huge free concert in Ankh-Morpork. This will be Discworld's Woodstock. Will Susan's sense of justice prevail? Will Buddy survive even though the sands in his hour glass are long gone? Will the Librarian get money for nothing and his chimps for free? Will the wizards ride though mansions of glory in suicide machines? The answers to these questions aren't blowing in the wind but they are in the book.

As far as Terry Pratchett's Discworld books are concerned, Soul Music is near the top of the charts . . . with a bullet.

Elvish has left the building. Read more ›