The Grim Reaper: Difference between revisions

[[File:the-death.jpg|frame|[[I Have Many Names|The Stealer of Souls, Defeater of Empires, Swallower of Oceans, The Ultimate Reality, Harvester of Mankind,]] atop [[Discworld|atop his mighty steed, Binky]]]]

* [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld]]'' novels take this even further: Death is a character in his own right, with thoughts, feelings (sort of), and a genuine personality. He's the central figure of several books in the series, and has appeared in every book (even if only for a line or two) except for ''[[Discworld/The Wee Free Men|The Wee Free Men]]''. Oh, and he {{smallcaps|Always speaks in small caps}}, how the author depicts "a voice like lead slabs falling on a marble floor." In a subversion of the reaper's traditional portrayal, Death is one of the most likable and sympathetic characters in the series, to the extent that [[Daydream Believer|Pratchett fans due to meet the real one soon have expressed their hopes that he's like the one in the novels.]] For {{smallcaps|"What can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the [[Discworld/Reaper Man|Reaper Man]]?"}}

** Although Death is largely a nice person, you ''really'' [[Beware the Nice Ones|don't want to get him mad]]. The Auditors of Reality have discovered this several times over, and a good guy like the titular protagonist of ''[[Discworld/Mort|Mort]]'' can get on his wrong side with near-fatal results.

** Though Death performs his duty for every living thing on the Disc, from humans to tube worms, his brief retirement in ''[[Discworld/Reaper Man|Reaper Man]]'' left a void that was filled with a separate Death for every creature: Death of Rats ({{smallcaps|Squeak}}), Death of Mayflies (a trout), Death of Trees (a chopping sound), and so on, to say nothing of the malevolent, [[The Lord of the Rings|Witch King-like]] replacement Death of Humans. When he returned, Death recalled all of them... except for Death of Rats.<ref>and the Death of Fleas</ref> It's a lonely, eternal job, and it's nice to have someone to share it with.