Some of the book is funny. The troll-dwarf relationship is always good. Glod was very funny as was Cliff. Dibbler was his usual sales-obsessed self. But that was about it, except for the wizards trying to wear leather. The Dean was a riot. And the Librarian with piano exploding (and the way it was explained to the Patrician) was great! This is a book worth reading just to see the Librarian and his antics. 3.5 stars for him.
But Death was funny in the foreign legion, although it got a bit old with him running away, and Albert is not so wonderful (though he does better in later books). I admit I didn't fully understand Death's solution to the problem with the "music," so that didn't help. But the Death of Rats was funny, of course. Death, his granddaughter, Albert are not too hot here, but they improve a lot in future books, but read this book mainly for the Librarian and wizards. They rarely fail to entertain.
In Soul Music Death gets again a major part, although this time the role is played by Death's granddaughter Susan. But do not expect the witty humour that was dominating Terry's classic novel Mort. The main chunk of funny paragraphs is filled with clever puns to the names of famous music bands. Two examples: Lead Balloon (Led Zeppelin) and &U (U2). At the start of the novel this is quite entertaining, but when you have to digest pun number 50 it has lost its originality. At the end of the story the puns are the only thing that drives the story. A story that on its own is very weak and tends to bore the reader.
Soul Music clearly fails in matching the high standards set by the other Discworld novels.
The story begins with a lot of potential. The ideas are fresh and the characters are likeable and "solid". The reader quickly realizes that the unrelated initial plotlines are on a collision course and having read Pratchett's other work, the reader has high expectations as to how the story will cleverly unfold.
Unfortunately, about a third of the way through, the story falls flat. The puns about rock music grow tired almost immediately, yet the reader is continually beat over the head with them. All of the characters become hollow shells and each page feels like more of the same. I found myself longing for the end of the book with a hundred pages still to read.
I feel that this was no where near Pratchett's best work. Only the beginning of the story has the familiar Discworld feel to it. The rest of it feels as if it was written at the last minute under a deadline crunch.
