Mort : (Discworld Novel 4) Pratchett Terry (2012)

The Discworld is much like our own world, if ours consisted of a flat planet balanced on four elephants standing on the back of a giant turtle. Death comes to everyone, and when he comes to Mort, he offers him a job. Death is the Discworlds Grim Reaper, a black-robed skeleton with a scythe who must collect a minimum number of souls to keep the momentum of dying alive. He is also fond of cats and endlessly baffled by humanity. Soon Death longs to experience what being human has to offer, but to do so he needs help. Mort cannot refuse the offer: as Deaths apprentice, he receives board, the use of the company horse and the reassurance that being dead is not compulsory. It seems like a dream job until Mort falls in love with Deaths daughter, Ysabell, and discovers that having Death as your employer can be disastrous for your love life. This is the fourth Discworld novel and the first book in the Death series; the novels can be read in any order.