''Reaper Man'' is a

fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. magic (paranormal), Magic, the supernatural and Legendary creature, magical creatures are common i ...

by British writer

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...

. Published in 1991, it is the 11th ''

Discworld ''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a fl ...

'' novel and the second to focus on

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

. The title is a reference to Alex Cox's movie '' Repo Man''.

Plot

The Auditors of Reality watch the

to ensure everything obeys The Rules. As Death starts developing a personality the Auditors feel that he does not perform his Duty in the right way. They send him to live like everyone else. Travelling to the Octarine Grass Country, he assumes the name "Bill Door" and he works as a farm hand for the elderly Miss Flitworth. She is a spinster whose fiancé, Rufus, died on a last smuggling expedition many years ago. There are rumours that he had had second thoughts about their marriage but she does not believe them. While every other species creates a new Death for themselves, humans need more time for their Death to be completed. As a result, the life force of dead humans starts to build up; this results in

poltergeist In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; ; or ) is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of polter ...

activity, ghosts, and other paranormal phenomena. Most notable is the return of the recently deceased wizard Windle Poons, who was really looking forward to reincarnation. After several misadventures, including being accosted by his oldest friends, he finds himself attending the Fresh Start club, an undead-rights group led by Reg Shoe. The Fresh Start club and the wizards of Unseen University discover that the city of

Ankh-Morpork Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state that is the setting for many Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. Overview Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital. In '' The Art of Discwo ...

is being invaded by a parasitic lifeform that feeds on cities and hatches from eggs that resemble

snow globe A snow globe (also called a waterglobe, snowstorm, or snowdome) is a transparent sphere, traditionally made of glass, enclosing a miniaturized scene of some sort, often together with a model of a town, neighborhood, landscape or figure. The sp ...

s. Tracking its middle form, shopping trolleys, the Fresh Start club and the wizards invade and destroy the third form, a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

. When humankind finally thinks of a New Death, one with a crown and without any humanity or human face, it comes to take Bill Door. Death/Door, having planned for this moment for some time, outwits and destroys it. Having defeated the New Death, Death absorbs the other Deaths back into him, with the exception of the Death of Rats (and ultimately, the Death of Fleas). Death confronts Azrael, the Death of the Universe, and states that the Deaths have to care or they do not exist and there is nothing but Oblivion, which must also end some time. Death asks for and receives some time. He meets up with Miss Flitworth again and offers her unlimited dreams. She asks to go to the local Harvest Dance. They prepare and join the townspeople for a full night of dancing. As the sun is coming up, Miss Flitworth realizes she had died hours before the dance even started. Death escorts her through back history to her old fiancé: as she had believed, he had died in an accident and not been unfaithful. The young couple enter the afterlife together. Returning to the city of Ankh-Morpork, Death meets up with Windle Poons, finally taking him to his afterlife. At the end there is also a discussion between Death and the Death of Rats over what the Death of Rats should "ride", Death suggests a dog while the Death of Rats suggests a cat.

Characters

*Death / Bill Door *Renata Flitworth *Auditors of Reality *Azrael *New Death *Death of Rats *Windle Poons *Mustrum Ridcully *The Librarian *The Senior Wrangler *The Dean *The Bursar *The Lecturer in Recent Runes *Lupine *Ludmilla Cake *Mrs. Cake *Reg Shoe *Schleppel *Mr. Ixolite *Arthur Winkings (Count Notfaroutoe) *Doreen Winkings (Countess Notfaroutoe)

Adaptations

A fragment of this book was adapted in 1996 into a short animated movie entitled ''Welcome to the Discworld'', featuring

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...

as Death.IMD
Welcome to the Discworld (1996)
Retrieved 2009-05-9

References

External links

*
YouTube - Welcome To The Discworld
{{Authority control 1991 British novels Discworld books 1991 fantasy novels Novels about death Novels about alien invasions British novels adapted into films Novels about personifications of death Victor Gollancz Ltd books British comedy novels