Fourth Discworld book and the first to really develop the character of Death, going from the sadistic murderer of the earlier books to the complex sympathetic-to-humans figure who does his Duty. However, it did build upon themes raised in a brief foray to Death's house in The Light Fantastic. Mort follows the story of Mort, a young boy who is chosen to become Death's apprentice. Mort is one of the most popular early Discworld novels and won a contemporary award for best Gothic Novel of the year, despite Terry Pratchett's protest that it wasn't Gothic.