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Death (Discworld)
Encyclopedia
Death is a fictional character
in Terry Pratchett
's Discworld
series and a parody
of several other personifications of death
. Like most Grim Reapers, he is a black-robed skeleton
usually carrying a scythe
. His jurisdiction, so to speak, is specifically the Discworld itself; he is only a part, or minion, of Azrael, the universal Death.
Death's hollow, peculiar voice is represented in the books by unquoted ; since he is a skeleton, he has no vocal cords to speak with, and therefore the words enter the head with no involvement from the ears. His "voice" is often described using a morbid metaphor, such as two concrete blocks being rubbed together, or the slamming of coffin lids; these descriptions have become less frequent in recent novels. In the first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic
, as well as in Eric
, all direct written references to Death are proper nouns; thus, for example, "he" is written as "He." This is usually reserved for the Discworld gods
and is not featured in any of the other novels.
Death is not invisible; however, most people's brains refuse to acknowledge him for who he is, unless he insists. Under normal circumstances, only those of a magical disposition (e.g. witches
and wizards), children, and cats can see him, or allow themselves to see him. Due to his eternal nature, Death can ignore such things as walls or magic spells; he exists through all time, and therefore things lasting merely centuries are not as real as he is. He can only go where people believe in death and can only see people who can die.
Wizards, witches, and significant figures such as kings
have the prerogative of being collected by Death himself, rather than one of the lesser entities. Most other souls are collected by another functionary, such as the anthropomorphic personification of scrofula
. However, Death himself must collect some minimum number of souls, worked out by a system called the "nodes," in order to keep the momentum of dying going. His selection of ordinary deaths may be based on the showiness of the death, such as a common thief being incinerated by a dragon. In addition to wizards and kings, he has shown up for numerous ordinary people, at least two dogs, at least two kittens, a swan, and an incredibly small sea creature (possibly a tube worm
). These events are usually of importance within the story, so Death's appearance may simply be considered a plot device
. He has also appeared in situations where characters are in mortal peril; for example, Death has appeared before Rincewind
on numerous nearly-fatal occasions. Similarly, in Thud!
Samuel Vimes
has a near-death experience, which means that Death has a corresponding "near-Vimes experience", in which he appears before the stricken Vimes sitting in a deckchair reading a mystery novel.
Death has appeared in every Discworld
novel, except for The Wee Free Men
and Snuff
, and had a possible cameo at the end of Johnny and the Dead
(the character was not identified, but spoke in unquoted small caps).
. His task is not to kill, but to collect. He harvests the old, worn-out souls of the dead. He is a necessary service as life force that isn't properly removed from the Disc tends to produce unusual behaviors and phenomena. Death is intrigued by humans and their cultures, and attempts to imitate their lives by adopting a daughter (Ysabell) and building a house; however, without the emotions and biological needs that motivate humans, he is unable truly to understand why humans do the things that they do and his imitative actions often have fundamental flaws (such as the towel
s in his bathroom being completely solid).
He is fond of cat
s, who can see him at all times, and curry
, the consumption of which is described by Death as like biting a red-hot ice cube.
Death is fascinated by humanity. His interest is coupled with bafflement: it's a favorite point of Pratchett's that the habits and beliefs that are grown into instead of being rationally acquired are an essential part of being human. As Death is an outside observer, his imitations are intricate but marked by a fundamental lack of comprehension. When acting as a stand-in for the Hogfather (a figure similar to Santa Claus
) he starts by greeting the children with from force of habit, until reminded not to do so. He is especially intrigued by humanity's ability to complicate their own existence, and their ability to actually get up in the morning without going insane from the sheer prospect of what life entails (from his perspective).
This fascination with humanity extends to the point of sympathy towards them, and he will often side with humans against greater threats, notably the Auditors of Reality
. He has on a number of occasions bent the rules to allow a character extra life (e.g., the little girl rescued from the fire in Reaper Man). Death has also indicated that he will oblige dying humans by playing a game with them for their lives, much like the personification of Death in The Seventh Seal
; the games he offers include chess, though he consistently has trouble remembering how the knights move, and another game
(referred to by Death as "Exclusive Possession" in the book, presumably based on Monopoly), which the challenger lost despite having "three streets and all the utilities". Granny Weatherwax
was able to play cards against Death in a successful bid to save a child's life, Granny's hand having four queens while Death's had only four "ones"
. (A hand of four aces would generally beat a hand of queens in poker
, but Death chose to consider them low, giving the old witch a "wink" in the process.)
In the same way that his granddaughter, Susan, has been described as "Helpfulness Personified" in terms of her personality—Death, by his own admission, could very well be described as 'Duty Personified' in terms of personality; in Hogfather, in a discussion with Albert, Death commented that,
In many ways, he is a character who epitomises the bleakness of human existence. In Reaper Man
, in which he is rendered temporarily mortal, he becomes frustrated and infuriated with the unfair inevitability of death, a theme that continues through later books. In Soul Music he expresses misery at the fact that he is capable of preventing deaths but is forbidden to do so. Despite his general lack of emotion, the Auditors of Reality are one of the few things actually capable of angering him; he also gets angry upon hearing of Rincewind (In Eric
for example, his eyes turn red at the mention of Rincewind). Terry Pratchett
even says in The Art of Discworld
that he has received a number of letters from terminally ill fans in which they hope that Death will resemble the Discworld incarnation (he also says that those particular letters usually cause him to spend some time staring at the wall).
Death has developed considerably since his first appearance in The Colour of Magic
. In this, he was quite a malicious character and follows Rincewind around wanting him to die. At one point he deliberately stops a character's heart, though this may have been Death's stand-in, Scrofula. By the time of Mort
he had gained the sympathetic and humorous personality he has in later books. In more recent novels, he has been used to examine recent developments in theoretical physics
as, being supernatural
, he is able to witness such events firsthand, although being a cat lover, he is not fond of the Schrödinger's cat
thought experiment, believing it cruel to the cats involved.
. Within the domain, his home looks like a Victorian
house with a garden and is well tended, but is predominantly in shades of black and decorated with a skull and crossbone motif. It is called "Mon Repos", and is much larger on the inside
, because Death has not quite mastered the art of scale. Similarly, because he does not quite understand real distance compared to perspective, the surrounding terrain is actually relatively close, but blurred to appear farther away. Death adds a large golden wheat field to the grounds after the events of Reaper Man
. There is also a tree swing, created by Death for his granddaughter Susan
, which swings through the trunk of the tree.
In addition to the inside of the house being larger than the outside, there are doors that are several yards tall and at the same time a few feet tall. He has a bathroom which he never uses, with a bar of bone-white, rock-hard soap and a towel rack with hard towels attached to the rack. The only usable items in the bathroom are a small bar of regular soap and one normal towel, both brought there by his manservant Albert.
The plumbing of his house has greatly confused him and in Death's Domain, it is explained that the pipes are completely solid, as is the u-bend for the florally-decorated toilet. The towels he originally constructed are also useless; he didn't realise that they had to bend, fold and be soft. In his 'bedroom' (which he never actually sleeps in), he has a violin, which he attempts to play. However, as with everything in his domain, he cannot create, only mimic. Therefore, he creates a racket, instead of music. This is said to greatly frustrate him.
, Death is unambiguously identified as a male, and in Soul Music and Hogfather
Susan calls him her grandfather or "Granddad". When asked to describe Death, in the second Discworld computer game, the protagonist Rincewind
hazards a guess, "Well, I suppose he's a man. You have to look at the pelvis, don't you?" In the comic strip adaptation of Mort, Death is seen in mirrors as a black-bearded human wearing a black cloak, and also seen as this when he needs to be seen by the living.
Many non-English languages must provide a grammatical gender
to each object, and death is often a feminine noun. As such, translations of early novels sometimes refer to Death as a woman. This is generally changed, however, by the time of Reaper Man
. Also, the personification of Death varies from country to country leading to further confusion, for example the Russia
n personification is that of an old woman, the Czech version uses a (normally non-existent) male variant of the usually female word for death for his name. Explanations are given in footnotes, often with a pun.
In the earlier books and in Thief of Time
Death works with War, Pestilence, and Famine, three other Horsemen of the Apocralypse. Like him they have become more human than their roles require. Death himself explains this in Thief of Time by saying that "form defines function." In Thief of Time they are reunited with Kaos, the Fifth Horseman, who had previously left before the group became famous and now works as a milkman under the name Ronnie Soak. With the exception of Thief of Time, the other Horsemen do not generally appear in the books focused on Death.
. He is first seen as the overly-thoughtful son of a farmer in the Octarine Grass Country, near the Ramtops. Having proved himself unworthy as a scarecrow
he is chosen by Death to be his apprentice
. Mort is described as being very tall and skinny, with muscles like knots in string. He has a shock of bright red hair, and walks as if he is made entirely of knees.
Mort starts off at the bottom, learning to accept his position while mucking out
the stable
s, and trying to ignore Ysabell, Death's adopted daughter. When Death feels in need of a break, Mort takes over The Duty. Unfortunately for Mort, his feelings for a teenage princess of Sto Lat get in the way of his job and he starts off a chain reaction of events by impulsively preventing her assassination. Reluctant to tell his master about his gaffe, Mort tries various unsuccessful methods to fix the situation. After fighting and losing to Death, Mort is given an extra lease on life when the Grim Reaper chooses to turn over his Lifetimer. This allows Mort to stay in the world of the living.
After the events of Mort, Mort leaves Death's service and marries Ysabell. The couple are given the title of Duke
and Duchess of Sto Helit, and later also become the parents of Susan Sto Helit
. They subsequently meet their end after a freak accident sends their carriage plunging into a ravine, as revealed in Soul Music. They had discussed this with Death and had turned down his offer to extend the duration of their existence, by letting them stay in his domain, on the grounds that it wouldn't be the same as actually lengthening their lives.
In The Light Fantastic
, Rincewind overhears Twoflower teaching the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, (Death, Famine, Pestilence and War) how to play bridge. At one point, War refers to Death as "Mort" but we later learn that the only people in the room (other than Twoflower) were Death, Famine, Pestilence and War. The name might be a possible reason as to why Death chose Mort as his apprentice.
In the Cosgrove Hall animation
of Soul Music
, Mort is voiced by Neil Morrissey
. In 2004 BBC Radio 4
adapted Mort, with the title character voiced by Carl Prekopp
and Ysabell being voiced by Clare Corbett. Mort is included in Wayne Barlowe
's Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy
.
daughter of Death, who saved her as a baby when her parents were killed in the Great Nef desert (no explanation has been given as to why he did this; Ysabell said that "He didn't feel sorry for me, he never feels anything... He probably thought sorry for me."). When first encountered she is a sixteen-year-old girl with silver hair and silver eyes who, it transpires, has been sixteen for thirty-five Discworld 'years' (no time passes in Death's Domain
). During her encounter with Rincewind
(see below), her behaviour is sufficiently flamboyant as to cause him to believe she is "bonkers". When Mort first encountered Ysabell, he was given the impression of "too many chocolate
s". She also has a fixation for the colour pink
.
Ysabell first appeared in The Light Fantastic
, where she met Rincewind, and was surprised to learn that he was not actually dead. This state of affairs might not have continued long if the Luggage had not intervened. During the events of Mort
it became clear that Ysabell was competent in carrying out the work of her father including The Duty and 'doing the nodes'. This mainly involves figuring out which deaths needed to be attended to personally, an important aspect of all reality. Before Mort arrived she shared her home with Albert, Death's manservant.
, he attempted to gain immortality by reciting the Rite of AshkEnte (a ritual to summon Death) backwards, believing this would force Death to stay away from him. However, this instead brought him directly to Death's Domain
. Since time in Death's Domain does not flow in the same way as it does on the Discworld
, Albert succeeded, in a way, at gaining immortality. Before returning to the world during Mort
, "Albert" had 91 days, three hours and five minutes of Time left on the Disc, most of which he spent shopping and using the soap and baths at the "Young Men's Reformed Cultist of the Ichor-God-Bel-Shamharoth's Association" (Death is not very good at making plumbing
). As of Hogfather
, he has only a few seconds left, and can no longer leave Death's side. Albert is a highly idiosyncratic cook, believing everything needs to be fried to get rid of the germs, including porridge.
Albert's childhood
was touched upon lightly in Hogfather, revealing that he comes from a very poor family (even by Ankh-Morpork standards). This novel also suggests that he is fond of pork pies with mustard
and adores drinking sherry
.
There was a statue of Alberto in the hallway of Unseen University
, inscribed (apart from the usual student scribbles) with "We Shall Not See His Like Again." This, of course, turns out to be entirely wrong. After the destruction of the statue in Mort, and the wizards' belief that the returned Albert was the statue, it is suggested that a new one be built in a very secure place such as the dungeon (allegedly to prevent it being defiled by students). Alberto Malich was a powerful wizard, perhaps the most powerful a wizard can be (though not likely a Sourcerer). This is reflected in how easily Albert devised a spell to slow the passage of time (a near-impossible feat with Discworld magic) indefinitely around a small area.
When Death goes missing in Soul Music, Albert tries to find him on the Disc, but gets robbed and his life-timer (hourglass of life) is broken. After this incident, Albert has approximately 34 seconds left, and thus cannot return to the world of the living anymore, as Death cannot make his life longer. The remaining sand is now kept in a bottle in Albert's bedroom. However, Albert is able to temporarily return to the Discworld during the events of Hogfather
, although in this instance he merely inhabits the pseudo-reality created for the Hogfather to allow him to travel around the entire world in a single night, and hence is not actually in the world, strictly-speaking.
While Death and Albert seem to get on rather well, it is a fragile relationship. In Mort, Albert returns to the world to help Death, but seems ready to attack him when it looks like he has his former job as Archchancellor back. He also seems not to trust Death with his life-timer, which is why he takes it with him in Soul Music. Frequently, Albert finds himself trying to keep Death "on course" when his master becomes too human. He and Susan
do not get on very well.
; Death tried a skeletal steed, but kept having to "stop and wire bits back on". Death also tried a fiery steed, but it repeatedly set his barn and his robe on fire.
Binky is rather more intelligent than most horses and is a pure, milky white
(it is noted in some novels that Binky is an exception to the biological rule of "grey" equines). He can fly by just creating his own ground-level, as well as travel through time and across dimensions, sometimes leaving glowing hoofprints in his wake, but is in all other respects a perfectly ordinary horse. He is well-treated, and loyal to his master and Susan. His shoeing is done by Jason Ogg, the Lancrastian blacksmith of mythical skill. Binky is not immortal, but while in Death's service does not age. Binky gains part of his powers by sharing one of Death's qualities: he's so much "realer" than ordinary things such as walls, great distances, or time that he can simply ignore them.
Death gave Susan a "My Little Binky
" gift set for her third birthday. It was returned by her parents, fearing that it would make her a less "normal" child.
, Mr. Pin in The Truth
, and Mr. Pounder in Maskerade
.
He was one of a disparate multitude of death-personifications created during Death's absence in Reaper Man
. The Death of Rats refused to be reabsorbed into Death himself upon the latter's resumption of his duties; therefore Death kept him around for company. The Death of Fleas also escaped reabsorption, but has not been seen since Reaper Man
. The Death of Rats resembles a rodent
ine skeleton walking on its hind legs, wearing a black robe, and carrying a tiny scythe.
The Death of Rats more easily finds ways around the Rules than Death does, and has assisted Susan
in Soul Music
, Hogfather
, and Thief of Time
. He sometimes travels with a talking raven named Quoth who also acts as his translator.
The Death of Rats, like Death, speaks in small caps
, but has a vocabulary consisting of words such as and , the last used when it laughs, although its speech can be interpreted from context much like the Librarian's.
In the mythology of the Changeling Clan in The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
the Death of Rats is known as the Bone Rat.
. He hangs around with the Death of Rats. He was named Quoth by his previous owner, a wizard with no sense of humour who was attempting to make a joke by referencing the famous line in "The Raven
" by Edgar Allan Poe
. Quoth refuses to give in to this stereotype by saying "the N word" (Nevermore). At times he acts as steed and interpreter for the Death of Rats. He has a constant craving for eyeballs (a reference to ravens pecking the eyes out of corpses) and frequently mistakes various other objects for eyeballs, such as olives and walnuts. He was originally one of the ravens from the Tower of Art, the magical properties of which gave him his ability to speak.
He was first seen in Soul Music
, and since then has made appearances in all novels involving Susan Sto Helit. Neil Pearson
voices him in the Sky One
adaptation of Hogfather.
to rid the world of sloppy thinking.
The New Death comes from human belief, but is quite different from the original. Though he has the usual black robe, he is larger and has only smoke underneath his robe, rather than bones. He rides the classic skeletal steed, in contrast to the special, but nevertheless very real, Binky. Instead of a scythe he wields a weapon "which may, at some point in its evolution, have incorporated aspects of a scythe, in the same way a scalpel incorporated aspects of a stick". In place of a face or skull, the new Death wears a crown, and is prideful, dramatic, cold, and cruel; the literal embodiment of humanity's fear of death. He chooses to arrive exactly at midnight and appears in a flash of lightning purely for the dramatic effect, something the old Death finds demeaning and rather excessive. When he corners Bill Door, he mocks him and beats him instead of finishing the job.
The new Death is destroyed by Bill Door, using the scythe
he used on the farm; a humble garden tool, not the infinitely sharp implement of Death, but sharpened by his rage and the harvest. Bill Door was disgusted and horrified by New Death's callous attitude toward humanity, and his victory is the triumph of the compassionate "reaper man" over the tyrant who has no care for the harvest.
, Death appears outside the circle, behind the wizards, and in Reaper Man
a wizard comments that he believes Death only stays in the circle for the look of the thing. The Rite is not tuned to Death himself, but rather whoever happened to be doing the job; Mort
(then Death's apprentice) was almost forced to respond to the summons, and Susan Sto Helit
(his granddaughter) was summoned and subsequently bound. This does not, however, appear to apply to Death himself, although he may do so out of politeness.
Since Death is professionally involved in almost everything that is going on everywhere, the Rite is usually performed so that he can be questioned on otherwise inexplicable phenomena. This is usually done only when all other avenues have been exhausted as most powerful wizards are quite old and therefore unwilling to attract the attention of Death. Death hates being summoned because he is always summoned at the worst possible time, such as when he is at a party.
There are twelve ways of performing the Rite, but eight of them cause instant death, and so might just be considered to summon Death in the "usual" manner, and the ninth is very hard to remember. This leaves three ways to safely summon death: Although the Rite can be performed by a couple of people with three small sticks and 4 cc of mouse blood or even with a fresh egg and two small sticks, the wizards (Ridcully excepted) prefer to do it the old fashioned way, with heavy equipment consisting of numerous drippy candles, octograms written on the floor, thurible
s, and similar paraphernalia. They feel it's not "proper" wizardry if it's not showy enough.
In the Discworld
books, the Rite has been used a number of times:
and Wyrd Sisters
, Death was voiced by Christopher Lee
.
adaptation of Hogfather he was voiced by Ian Richardson
. The actor who played the physical Death in Hogfather was Marnix van den Broeke
, a 6 foot 7 inch tall Dutchman.
In the 2008 adaptation of The Colour of Magic
, Van Den Broeke reprises the physical role, with Lee returning to the voice after the death of Richardson.
played the part in the adaptation of Mort, John Rowe played him in The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, and Michael Kilgariff voiced Death in Episode 4 of Small Gods. In both Guards! Guards! and Wyrd Sisters Death is credited as being played by himself (In Guards! Guards! he is actually voiced by Stephen Thorne
who also played Sergeant Colon).
, Nigel Planer
, Stephen Briggs
, Tony Robinson
, and Celia Imrie
in their audiobook readings.
and later by Nigel Planer.
who played Susan Sto Helit in the same TV series), while in the Discworld 2 game, the voice is credited as Katherine the Crocodile. The Death of Rats also appears in Discworld Noir
.
's 1996 animated
Soul Music
, Albert was voiced by Bryan Pringle
. In BBC Radio 4
's 2004 adaptation of Mort, he was voiced by Philip Jackson
.
In Sky One
's live-action version of Hogfather, Albert was played by David Jason
.
Albert also makes an appearance in the computer game Discworld 2: Missing Presumed...!?, voiced by Nigel Planer
.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
's Discworld
Discworld
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
series and a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of several other personifications of death
Death (personification)
The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood...
. Like most Grim Reapers, he is a black-robed skeleton
Skeleton
The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...
usually carrying a scythe
Scythe
A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...
. His jurisdiction, so to speak, is specifically the Discworld itself; he is only a part, or minion, of Azrael, the universal Death.
Death's hollow, peculiar voice is represented in the books by unquoted ; since he is a skeleton, he has no vocal cords to speak with, and therefore the words enter the head with no involvement from the ears. His "voice" is often described using a morbid metaphor, such as two concrete blocks being rubbed together, or the slamming of coffin lids; these descriptions have become less frequent in recent novels. In the first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic
The Colour of Magic
The Colour of Magic is a 1983 comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, and is the first book of the Discworld series. Pratchett has described it as "an attempt to do for the classical fantasy universe what Blazing Saddles did for Westerns."...
, as well as in Eric
Eric (novel)
Eric, also known as Faust Eric, is the ninth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. It was originally published in 1990 as a "Discworld story", in a larger format than the other novels and illustrated by Josh Kirby...
, all direct written references to Death are proper nouns; thus, for example, "he" is written as "He." This is usually reserved for the Discworld gods
Discworld gods
The Discworld gods are the fictional deities from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. The Discworld, being a flat disc supported on the backs of four elephants on top of a giant flying turtle, exists in a region of the universe where reality is somewhat less consistent than it...
and is not featured in any of the other novels.
Death is not invisible; however, most people's brains refuse to acknowledge him for who he is, unless he insists. Under normal circumstances, only those of a magical disposition (e.g. witches
Witches (Discworld)
A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involves the witches of Lancre. They are closely based on witches in British folklore and a slightly tongue-in-cheek reinterpretation of the Triple Goddess....
and wizards), children, and cats can see him, or allow themselves to see him. Due to his eternal nature, Death can ignore such things as walls or magic spells; he exists through all time, and therefore things lasting merely centuries are not as real as he is. He can only go where people believe in death and can only see people who can die.
Wizards, witches, and significant figures such as kings
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
have the prerogative of being collected by Death himself, rather than one of the lesser entities. Most other souls are collected by another functionary, such as the anthropomorphic personification of scrofula
Scrofula
Tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis refers to a lymphadenitis of the cervical lymph nodes associated with tuberculosis. It was previously known as "scrofula".-The disease:...
. However, Death himself must collect some minimum number of souls, worked out by a system called the "nodes," in order to keep the momentum of dying going. His selection of ordinary deaths may be based on the showiness of the death, such as a common thief being incinerated by a dragon. In addition to wizards and kings, he has shown up for numerous ordinary people, at least two dogs, at least two kittens, a swan, and an incredibly small sea creature (possibly a tube worm
Siboglinidae
Siboglinidae, also known as the beard worms, is a family of polychaete annelid worms whose members made up the former phyla Pogonophora and Vestimentifera. They are composed of about 100 species of vermiform creatures and live in thin tubes buried in sediments at ocean depths from 100 to 10,000 m...
). These events are usually of importance within the story, so Death's appearance may simply be considered a plot device
Plot device
A plot device is an object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot....
. He has also appeared in situations where characters are in mortal peril; for example, Death has appeared before Rincewind
Rincewind
Rincewind is a fictional character appearing in several of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. He is a failed student at the Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpork, and is often described by scholars as "the magical equivalent to the number zero". He spends just about all of his time...
on numerous nearly-fatal occasions. Similarly, in Thud!
Thud!
Thud! is Terry Pratchett's 34th Discworld novel, released in the United States of America on September 13, 2005, the United Kingdom on 1 October 2005. Thud! was released in the U.S. three weeks before it was released in Pratchett's native UK, to coincide with a United States signing tour...
Samuel Vimes
Samuel Vimes
Samuel "Sam" Vimes is a fictional policeman from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. As of his latest promotion, his full name and title is; "'His Grace, His Excellency, The Duke of Ankh; Commander Sir Samuel Vimes": When serving as Ambassador for Ankh-Morpork, he is also referred to simply as...
has a near-death experience, which means that Death has a corresponding "near-Vimes experience", in which he appears before the stricken Vimes sitting in a deckchair reading a mystery novel.
Death has appeared in every Discworld
Discworld
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
novel, except for The Wee Free Men
The Wee Free Men
The Wee Free Men, first published in 2003, is the second Story of The Discworld book for younger readers. A sequel, A Hat Full of Sky, appeared in 2004 , a third book, Wintersmith appeared in 2006, and the fourth, I Shall Wear Midnight, was released in September...
and Snuff
Snuff (Pratchett novel)
Snuff is the 39th novel in the Discworld series, written by Terry Pratchett. It was published on 11 October 2011 in the United States, and 13 October 2011 in the United Kingdom...
, and had a possible cameo at the end of Johnny and the Dead
Johnny and the Dead
Johnny and the Dead is the second novel by Terry Pratchett to feature the character Johnny Maxwell. The other novels in the Johnny Maxwell Trilogy are Only You Can Save Mankind and Johnny and the Bomb...
(the character was not identified, but spoke in unquoted small caps).
Personality
Death is efficient but not cruel, and sees his job as a necessary public servicePublic services
Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...
. His task is not to kill, but to collect. He harvests the old, worn-out souls of the dead. He is a necessary service as life force that isn't properly removed from the Disc tends to produce unusual behaviors and phenomena. Death is intrigued by humans and their cultures, and attempts to imitate their lives by adopting a daughter (Ysabell) and building a house; however, without the emotions and biological needs that motivate humans, he is unable truly to understand why humans do the things that they do and his imitative actions often have fundamental flaws (such as the towel
Towel
A towel is a piece of absorbent fabric or paper used for drying or wiping. It draws moisture through direct contact, often using a blotting or a rubbing motion. Common household textile towels are made from cotton, rayon, bamboo, nonwoven fibers or a few other materials.-Types of towels:* A bath...
s in his bathroom being completely solid).
He is fond of cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
s, who can see him at all times, and curry
Curry
Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
, the consumption of which is described by Death as like biting a red-hot ice cube.
Death is fascinated by humanity. His interest is coupled with bafflement: it's a favorite point of Pratchett's that the habits and beliefs that are grown into instead of being rationally acquired are an essential part of being human. As Death is an outside observer, his imitations are intricate but marked by a fundamental lack of comprehension. When acting as a stand-in for the Hogfather (a figure similar to Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
) he starts by greeting the children with from force of habit, until reminded not to do so. He is especially intrigued by humanity's ability to complicate their own existence, and their ability to actually get up in the morning without going insane from the sheer prospect of what life entails (from his perspective).
This fascination with humanity extends to the point of sympathy towards them, and he will often side with humans against greater threats, notably the Auditors of Reality
Auditors of Reality
The Auditors of Reality are fictional godlike beings in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. They are one of the major recurring villains in the series, although they lack the necessary imagination to be truly evil....
. He has on a number of occasions bent the rules to allow a character extra life (e.g., the little girl rescued from the fire in Reaper Man). Death has also indicated that he will oblige dying humans by playing a game with them for their lives, much like the personification of Death in The Seventh Seal
The Seventh Seal
The Seventh Seal is a 1957 Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a medieval knight and a game of chess he plays with the personification of Death , who has come to take his life. Bergman developed the film from his own play...
; the games he offers include chess, though he consistently has trouble remembering how the knights move, and another game
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
(referred to by Death as "Exclusive Possession" in the book, presumably based on Monopoly), which the challenger lost despite having "three streets and all the utilities". Granny Weatherwax
Granny Weatherwax
Esmerelda "Esme" Weatherwax is a fictional character from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. She is a witch and member of the Lancre coven. She is the self-appointed guardian of her small country, and frequently defends it against supernatural powers...
was able to play cards against Death in a successful bid to save a child's life, Granny's hand having four queens while Death's had only four "ones"
Ace
An ace is a playing card. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the case of the Ace of Spades...
. (A hand of four aces would generally beat a hand of queens in poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
, but Death chose to consider them low, giving the old witch a "wink" in the process.)
In the same way that his granddaughter, Susan, has been described as "Helpfulness Personified" in terms of her personality—Death, by his own admission, could very well be described as 'Duty Personified' in terms of personality; in Hogfather, in a discussion with Albert, Death commented that,
In many ways, he is a character who epitomises the bleakness of human existence. In Reaper Man
Reaper Man
Reaper Man is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1991, it is the 11th Discworld novel and the second to focus on Death. The title is a reference to Alex Cox's cult movie Repo Man.-Plot:...
, in which he is rendered temporarily mortal, he becomes frustrated and infuriated with the unfair inevitability of death, a theme that continues through later books. In Soul Music he expresses misery at the fact that he is capable of preventing deaths but is forbidden to do so. Despite his general lack of emotion, the Auditors of Reality are one of the few things actually capable of angering him; he also gets angry upon hearing of Rincewind (In Eric
Eric (novel)
Eric, also known as Faust Eric, is the ninth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. It was originally published in 1990 as a "Discworld story", in a larger format than the other novels and illustrated by Josh Kirby...
for example, his eyes turn red at the mention of Rincewind). Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
even says in The Art of Discworld
The Art of Discworld
The Art of Discworld is a descriptive book of the world of the Discworld as portrayed in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. It showcases the art of Paul Kidby with descriptions of characters and locations by Pratchett and some details of the development of the art by Kidby himself.The book...
that he has received a number of letters from terminally ill fans in which they hope that Death will resemble the Discworld incarnation (he also says that those particular letters usually cause him to spend some time staring at the wall).
Death has developed considerably since his first appearance in The Colour of Magic
The Colour of Magic
The Colour of Magic is a 1983 comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, and is the first book of the Discworld series. Pratchett has described it as "an attempt to do for the classical fantasy universe what Blazing Saddles did for Westerns."...
. In this, he was quite a malicious character and follows Rincewind around wanting him to die. At one point he deliberately stops a character's heart, though this may have been Death's stand-in, Scrofula. By the time of Mort
Mort
Mort is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth Discworld novel and the first to focus on the Death of the Discworld, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels...
he had gained the sympathetic and humorous personality he has in later books. In more recent novels, he has been used to examine recent developments in theoretical physics
Theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
as, being supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
, he is able to witness such events firsthand, although being a cat lover, he is not fond of the Schrödinger's cat
Schrödinger's cat
Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment, usually described as a paradox, devised by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935. It illustrates what he saw as the problem of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics applied to everyday objects. The scenario presents a cat that might be...
thought experiment, believing it cruel to the cats involved.
Home
Death lives in an extradimensional realm called Death's DomainDeath's Domain
Death's Domain is a book by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs, illustrated by Paul Kidby, fourth in the Discworld Mapp series. It was first published in paperback by Corgi in 1999. It was the second in the series to be illustrated by Kidby...
. Within the domain, his home looks like a Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
house with a garden and is well tended, but is predominantly in shades of black and decorated with a skull and crossbone motif. It is called "Mon Repos", and is much larger on the inside
Tesseract
In geometry, the tesseract, also called an 8-cell or regular octachoron or cubic prism, is the four-dimensional analog of the cube. The tesseract is to the cube as the cube is to the square. Just as the surface of the cube consists of 6 square faces, the hypersurface of the tesseract consists of 8...
, because Death has not quite mastered the art of scale. Similarly, because he does not quite understand real distance compared to perspective, the surrounding terrain is actually relatively close, but blurred to appear farther away. Death adds a large golden wheat field to the grounds after the events of Reaper Man
Reaper Man
Reaper Man is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1991, it is the 11th Discworld novel and the second to focus on Death. The title is a reference to Alex Cox's cult movie Repo Man.-Plot:...
. There is also a tree swing, created by Death for his granddaughter Susan
Susan Sto Helit
Susan Sto Helit , once referred to as Susan Death, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. She is the "granddaughter" of Death, the Disc's Grim Reaper, and, as such, has "inherited" a number of his abilities...
, which swings through the trunk of the tree.
In addition to the inside of the house being larger than the outside, there are doors that are several yards tall and at the same time a few feet tall. He has a bathroom which he never uses, with a bar of bone-white, rock-hard soap and a towel rack with hard towels attached to the rack. The only usable items in the bathroom are a small bar of regular soap and one normal towel, both brought there by his manservant Albert.
The plumbing of his house has greatly confused him and in Death's Domain, it is explained that the pipes are completely solid, as is the u-bend for the florally-decorated toilet. The towels he originally constructed are also useless; he didn't realise that they had to bend, fold and be soft. In his 'bedroom' (which he never actually sleeps in), he has a violin, which he attempts to play. However, as with everything in his domain, he cannot create, only mimic. Therefore, he creates a racket, instead of music. This is said to greatly frustrate him.
Death's gender
The initial books did not pronounce themselves about the gender of Death, although Ysabell called him 'Daddy', using the pronoun "it". However, in Reaper ManReaper Man
Reaper Man is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1991, it is the 11th Discworld novel and the second to focus on Death. The title is a reference to Alex Cox's cult movie Repo Man.-Plot:...
, Death is unambiguously identified as a male, and in Soul Music and Hogfather
Hogfather
Hogfather is the 20th Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, and a 1997 British Fantasy Award nominee.The Hogfather is also a character in the book, representing something akin to Father Christmas. He grants children's wishes on Hogswatchnight and brings them presents...
Susan calls him her grandfather or "Granddad". When asked to describe Death, in the second Discworld computer game, the protagonist Rincewind
Rincewind
Rincewind is a fictional character appearing in several of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. He is a failed student at the Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpork, and is often described by scholars as "the magical equivalent to the number zero". He spends just about all of his time...
hazards a guess, "Well, I suppose he's a man. You have to look at the pelvis, don't you?" In the comic strip adaptation of Mort, Death is seen in mirrors as a black-bearded human wearing a black cloak, and also seen as this when he needs to be seen by the living.
Many non-English languages must provide a grammatical gender
Grammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...
to each object, and death is often a feminine noun. As such, translations of early novels sometimes refer to Death as a woman. This is generally changed, however, by the time of Reaper Man
Reaper Man
Reaper Man is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1991, it is the 11th Discworld novel and the second to focus on Death. The title is a reference to Alex Cox's cult movie Repo Man.-Plot:...
. Also, the personification of Death varies from country to country leading to further confusion, for example the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n personification is that of an old woman, the Czech version uses a (normally non-existent) male variant of the usually female word for death for his name. Explanations are given in footnotes, often with a pun.
Relations and associates
Death is both the servant and a part of The Old High One known as Azrael, the Death of Universes and ruler of all deaths.In the earlier books and in Thief of Time
Thief of Time
Thief of Time is the 26th Discworld novel written by Terry Pratchett, a 2002 Locus Award nominee.-Plot summary:The Auditors are upset because the human race are living their lives in - what the Auditors consider to be - an unpredictable way...
Death works with War, Pestilence, and Famine, three other Horsemen of the Apocralypse. Like him they have become more human than their roles require. Death himself explains this in Thief of Time by saying that "form defines function." In Thief of Time they are reunited with Kaos, the Fifth Horseman, who had previously left before the group became famous and now works as a milkman under the name Ronnie Soak. With the exception of Thief of Time, the other Horsemen do not generally appear in the books focused on Death.
Lord Mortimer, Duke of Sto Helit
"Mort", short for Mortimer, is the title character in MortMort
Mort is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth Discworld novel and the first to focus on the Death of the Discworld, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels...
. He is first seen as the overly-thoughtful son of a farmer in the Octarine Grass Country, near the Ramtops. Having proved himself unworthy as a scarecrow
Scarecrow
A scarecrow is, essentially, a decoy, though traditionally, a human figure dressed in old clothes and placed in fields by farmers to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.-History:In Kojiki, the oldest surviving book in Japan...
he is chosen by Death to be his apprentice
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
. Mort is described as being very tall and skinny, with muscles like knots in string. He has a shock of bright red hair, and walks as if he is made entirely of knees.
Mort starts off at the bottom, learning to accept his position while mucking out
Manure
Manure is organic matter used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Manures contribute to the fertility of the soil by adding organic matter and nutrients, such as nitrogen, that are trapped by bacteria in the soil...
the stable
Stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
s, and trying to ignore Ysabell, Death's adopted daughter. When Death feels in need of a break, Mort takes over The Duty. Unfortunately for Mort, his feelings for a teenage princess of Sto Lat get in the way of his job and he starts off a chain reaction of events by impulsively preventing her assassination. Reluctant to tell his master about his gaffe, Mort tries various unsuccessful methods to fix the situation. After fighting and losing to Death, Mort is given an extra lease on life when the Grim Reaper chooses to turn over his Lifetimer. This allows Mort to stay in the world of the living.
After the events of Mort, Mort leaves Death's service and marries Ysabell. The couple are given the title of Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
and Duchess of Sto Helit, and later also become the parents of Susan Sto Helit
Susan Sto Helit
Susan Sto Helit , once referred to as Susan Death, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. She is the "granddaughter" of Death, the Disc's Grim Reaper, and, as such, has "inherited" a number of his abilities...
. They subsequently meet their end after a freak accident sends their carriage plunging into a ravine, as revealed in Soul Music. They had discussed this with Death and had turned down his offer to extend the duration of their existence, by letting them stay in his domain, on the grounds that it wouldn't be the same as actually lengthening their lives.
In The Light Fantastic
The Light Fantastic
The Light Fantastic is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the second of the Discworld series. It was published in 1986. The title is a quote from a poem by John Milton and in the original context referred to dancing lightly with extravagance....
, Rincewind overhears Twoflower teaching the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, (Death, Famine, Pestilence and War) how to play bridge. At one point, War refers to Death as "Mort" but we later learn that the only people in the room (other than Twoflower) were Death, Famine, Pestilence and War. The name might be a possible reason as to why Death chose Mort as his apprentice.
In the Cosgrove Hall animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
of Soul Music
Soul Music (TV series)
Soul Music is a seven-part animated television adaptation of the book of the same name by Terry Pratchett, produced by Cosgrove Hall, and first broadcast on 12 May 1997. It was the first film adaptation of an entire Discworld novel...
, Mort is voiced by Neil Morrissey
Neil Morrissey
Neil Anthony Morrissey is an English actor, media personality and businessman. He is best known for his role as Tony in Men Behaving Badly....
. In 2004 BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
adapted Mort, with the title character voiced by Carl Prekopp
Carl Prekopp
Carl Prekopp is a British actor. He played Richard III at the Riverside Studios and originated the part of Lawrence in Tim Firth's stage adaptation of Calendar Girls. He has appeared in BBC Radio 4 adaptations of Terry Pratchett's Mort , Small Gods and Night Watch...
and Ysabell being voiced by Clare Corbett. Mort is included in Wayne Barlowe
Wayne Barlowe
Wayne Douglas Barlowe is an American science fiction and fantasy painter. He has paintedover 300 book and magazine covers and illustrations for many major book publishers, as well as Life magazine, Time, and Newsweek...
's Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy
Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy
Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy is a 1996 fantasy book by artist Wayne Barlowe. It contains his visualizations of different beings from various works of fantasy. The foreword is by John Silbersack, then editor-in-chief at HarperPrism. Interior text is by Neil Duskis.-Species & source:*Alzabo - Gene...
.
Lady Ysabell, Duchess of Sto Helit
Ysabell is the adoptedAdoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
daughter of Death, who saved her as a baby when her parents were killed in the Great Nef desert (no explanation has been given as to why he did this; Ysabell said that "He didn't feel sorry for me, he never feels anything... He probably thought sorry for me."). When first encountered she is a sixteen-year-old girl with silver hair and silver eyes who, it transpires, has been sixteen for thirty-five Discworld 'years' (no time passes in Death's Domain
Death's Domain
Death's Domain is a book by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs, illustrated by Paul Kidby, fourth in the Discworld Mapp series. It was first published in paperback by Corgi in 1999. It was the second in the series to be illustrated by Kidby...
). During her encounter with Rincewind
Rincewind
Rincewind is a fictional character appearing in several of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. He is a failed student at the Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpork, and is often described by scholars as "the magical equivalent to the number zero". He spends just about all of his time...
(see below), her behaviour is sufficiently flamboyant as to cause him to believe she is "bonkers". When Mort first encountered Ysabell, he was given the impression of "too many chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
s". She also has a fixation for the colour pink
Pink
Pink is a mixture of red and white. Commonly used for Valentine's Day and Easter, pink is sometimes referred to as "the color of love." The use of the word for the color known today as pink was first recorded in the late 17th century....
.
Ysabell first appeared in The Light Fantastic
The Light Fantastic
The Light Fantastic is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the second of the Discworld series. It was published in 1986. The title is a quote from a poem by John Milton and in the original context referred to dancing lightly with extravagance....
, where she met Rincewind, and was surprised to learn that he was not actually dead. This state of affairs might not have continued long if the Luggage had not intervened. During the events of Mort
Mort
Mort is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth Discworld novel and the first to focus on the Death of the Discworld, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels...
it became clear that Ysabell was competent in carrying out the work of her father including The Duty and 'doing the nodes'. This mainly involves figuring out which deaths needed to be attended to personally, an important aspect of all reality. Before Mort arrived she shared her home with Albert, Death's manservant.
Albert
Albert (originally known as Alberto Malich) is Death's manservant, butler, and cook. Once a wizard and founder of the Unseen UniversityUnseen University
The Unseen University is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. Located in the city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and inept old wizards. The university's name is a pun on the Invisible College...
, he attempted to gain immortality by reciting the Rite of AshkEnte (a ritual to summon Death) backwards, believing this would force Death to stay away from him. However, this instead brought him directly to Death's Domain
Death's Domain
Death's Domain is a book by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs, illustrated by Paul Kidby, fourth in the Discworld Mapp series. It was first published in paperback by Corgi in 1999. It was the second in the series to be illustrated by Kidby...
. Since time in Death's Domain does not flow in the same way as it does on the Discworld
Discworld (world)
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc resting on the backs of four huge elephants which are in turn standing on the back of an enormous turtle, named Great A'Tuin as it slowly swims...
, Albert succeeded, in a way, at gaining immortality. Before returning to the world during Mort
Mort
Mort is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth Discworld novel and the first to focus on the Death of the Discworld, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels...
, "Albert" had 91 days, three hours and five minutes of Time left on the Disc, most of which he spent shopping and using the soap and baths at the "Young Men's Reformed Cultist of the Ichor-God-Bel-Shamharoth's Association" (Death is not very good at making plumbing
Plumbing
Plumbing is the system of pipes and drains installed in a building for the distribution of potable drinking water and the removal of waterborne wastes, and the skilled trade of working with pipes, tubing and plumbing fixtures in such systems. A plumber is someone who installs or repairs piping...
). As of Hogfather
Hogfather
Hogfather is the 20th Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, and a 1997 British Fantasy Award nominee.The Hogfather is also a character in the book, representing something akin to Father Christmas. He grants children's wishes on Hogswatchnight and brings them presents...
, he has only a few seconds left, and can no longer leave Death's side. Albert is a highly idiosyncratic cook, believing everything needs to be fried to get rid of the germs, including porridge.
Albert's childhood
Childhood
Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence. In developmental psychology, childhood is divided up into the developmental stages of toddlerhood , early childhood , middle childhood , and adolescence .- Age ranges of childhood :The term childhood is non-specific and can imply a...
was touched upon lightly in Hogfather, revealing that he comes from a very poor family (even by Ankh-Morpork standards). This novel also suggests that he is fond of pork pies with mustard
Mustard (condiment)
Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...
and adores drinking sherry
Sherry
Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....
.
There was a statue of Alberto in the hallway of Unseen University
Unseen University
The Unseen University is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. Located in the city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and inept old wizards. The university's name is a pun on the Invisible College...
, inscribed (apart from the usual student scribbles) with "We Shall Not See His Like Again." This, of course, turns out to be entirely wrong. After the destruction of the statue in Mort, and the wizards' belief that the returned Albert was the statue, it is suggested that a new one be built in a very secure place such as the dungeon (allegedly to prevent it being defiled by students). Alberto Malich was a powerful wizard, perhaps the most powerful a wizard can be (though not likely a Sourcerer). This is reflected in how easily Albert devised a spell to slow the passage of time (a near-impossible feat with Discworld magic) indefinitely around a small area.
When Death goes missing in Soul Music, Albert tries to find him on the Disc, but gets robbed and his life-timer (hourglass of life) is broken. After this incident, Albert has approximately 34 seconds left, and thus cannot return to the world of the living anymore, as Death cannot make his life longer. The remaining sand is now kept in a bottle in Albert's bedroom. However, Albert is able to temporarily return to the Discworld during the events of Hogfather
Hogfather
Hogfather is the 20th Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, and a 1997 British Fantasy Award nominee.The Hogfather is also a character in the book, representing something akin to Father Christmas. He grants children's wishes on Hogswatchnight and brings them presents...
, although in this instance he merely inhabits the pseudo-reality created for the Hogfather to allow him to travel around the entire world in a single night, and hence is not actually in the world, strictly-speaking.
While Death and Albert seem to get on rather well, it is a fragile relationship. In Mort, Albert returns to the world to help Death, but seems ready to attack him when it looks like he has his former job as Archchancellor back. He also seems not to trust Death with his life-timer, which is why he takes it with him in Soul Music. Frequently, Albert finds himself trying to keep Death "on course" when his master becomes too human. He and Susan
Susan Sto Helit
Susan Sto Helit , once referred to as Susan Death, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. She is the "granddaughter" of Death, the Disc's Grim Reaper, and, as such, has "inherited" a number of his abilities...
do not get on very well.
Binky
Binky is Death's steed, named so by Death because it is "a nice name". He is a living horseHorse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
; Death tried a skeletal steed, but kept having to "stop and wire bits back on". Death also tried a fiery steed, but it repeatedly set his barn and his robe on fire.
Binky is rather more intelligent than most horses and is a pure, milky white
White horse (mythology)
White horses have a special significance in the mythologies of cultures around the world. They are often associated with the sun chariot, with warrior-heroes, with fertility , or with an end-of-time saviour, but other interpretations exist as well...
(it is noted in some novels that Binky is an exception to the biological rule of "grey" equines). He can fly by just creating his own ground-level, as well as travel through time and across dimensions, sometimes leaving glowing hoofprints in his wake, but is in all other respects a perfectly ordinary horse. He is well-treated, and loyal to his master and Susan. His shoeing is done by Jason Ogg, the Lancrastian blacksmith of mythical skill. Binky is not immortal, but while in Death's service does not age. Binky gains part of his powers by sharing one of Death's qualities: he's so much "realer" than ordinary things such as walls, great distances, or time that he can simply ignore them.
Death gave Susan a "My Little Binky
My Little Pony
My Little Pony is a brand of toy ponies marketed primarily to girls produced by the toy manufacturer Hasbro. These ponies can be identified by their colorful bodies and manes and a unique symbol on one or both sides of their flanks...
" gift set for her third birthday. It was returned by her parents, fearing that it would make her a less "normal" child.
The Death of Rats
The Death of Rats, also known as the Grim Squeaker, is not, strictly speaking, a personification in his own right but rather an aspect of Death allowed an independent existence. His purpose is to usher on the souls of dead rodents, as well as assisting Death in other ways. His jurisdiction also seems to cover certain kinds of "ratty" humans, such as Mr. Clete in Soul MusicSoul Music
Soul Music is the sixteenth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, first published in 1994. Like many of Pratchett's novels it introduces an element of modern society into the magical and vaguely late medieval, early modern world of the Discworld, in this case Rock and Roll music and stardom, with...
, Mr. Pin in The Truth
The Truth (novel)
The Truth is the twenty-fifth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, published in 2000.The book features the coming of movable type to Ankh-Morpork, and the founding of the Discworld's first newspaper by William de Worde, as he invents investigative journalism with the help of his reporter Sacharissa...
, and Mr. Pounder in Maskerade
Maskerade
Maskerade is the eighteenth novel in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. The witches Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg visit the Ankh-Morpork Opera House to find Agnes Nitt, a girl from Lancre, and get caught up in a story similar to The Phantom of the Opera.-Plot summary:The story begins with...
.
He was one of a disparate multitude of death-personifications created during Death's absence in Reaper Man
Reaper Man
Reaper Man is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1991, it is the 11th Discworld novel and the second to focus on Death. The title is a reference to Alex Cox's cult movie Repo Man.-Plot:...
. The Death of Rats refused to be reabsorbed into Death himself upon the latter's resumption of his duties; therefore Death kept him around for company. The Death of Fleas also escaped reabsorption, but has not been seen since Reaper Man
Reaper Man
Reaper Man is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1991, it is the 11th Discworld novel and the second to focus on Death. The title is a reference to Alex Cox's cult movie Repo Man.-Plot:...
. The Death of Rats resembles a rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
ine skeleton walking on its hind legs, wearing a black robe, and carrying a tiny scythe.
The Death of Rats more easily finds ways around the Rules than Death does, and has assisted Susan
Susan Sto Helit
Susan Sto Helit , once referred to as Susan Death, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. She is the "granddaughter" of Death, the Disc's Grim Reaper, and, as such, has "inherited" a number of his abilities...
in Soul Music
Soul Music
Soul Music is the sixteenth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, first published in 1994. Like many of Pratchett's novels it introduces an element of modern society into the magical and vaguely late medieval, early modern world of the Discworld, in this case Rock and Roll music and stardom, with...
, Hogfather
Hogfather
Hogfather is the 20th Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, and a 1997 British Fantasy Award nominee.The Hogfather is also a character in the book, representing something akin to Father Christmas. He grants children's wishes on Hogswatchnight and brings them presents...
, and Thief of Time
Thief of Time
Thief of Time is the 26th Discworld novel written by Terry Pratchett, a 2002 Locus Award nominee.-Plot summary:The Auditors are upset because the human race are living their lives in - what the Auditors consider to be - an unpredictable way...
. He sometimes travels with a talking raven named Quoth who also acts as his translator.
The Death of Rats, like Death, speaks in small caps
Small caps
In typography, small capitals are uppercase characters set at the same height and weight as surrounding lowercase letters or text figures...
, but has a vocabulary consisting of words such as and , the last used when it laughs, although its speech can be interpreted from context much like the Librarian's.
In the mythology of the Changeling Clan in The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents is the 28th novel in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, published in 2001. It was the first Discworld book to be aimed at the younger market; this was followed by The Wee Free Men in 2003...
the Death of Rats is known as the Bone Rat.
Quoth
A talking ravenRaven
Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...
. He hangs around with the Death of Rats. He was named Quoth by his previous owner, a wizard with no sense of humour who was attempting to make a joke by referencing the famous line in "The Raven
The Raven
"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness...
" by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
. Quoth refuses to give in to this stereotype by saying "the N word" (Nevermore). At times he acts as steed and interpreter for the Death of Rats. He has a constant craving for eyeballs (a reference to ravens pecking the eyes out of corpses) and frequently mistakes various other objects for eyeballs, such as olives and walnuts. He was originally one of the ravens from the Tower of Art, the magical properties of which gave him his ability to speak.
He was first seen in Soul Music
Soul Music
Soul Music is the sixteenth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, first published in 1994. Like many of Pratchett's novels it introduces an element of modern society into the magical and vaguely late medieval, early modern world of the Discworld, in this case Rock and Roll music and stardom, with...
, and since then has made appearances in all novels involving Susan Sto Helit. Neil Pearson
Neil Pearson
Neil Joshua Pearson is a British actor best known for his work on television.-Biography:Pearson grew up in Battersea, London, the son of a panel beater, who left home when he was five, and a legal secretary, and was educated at Woolverstone Hall School, Suffolk, a boarding school, where he first...
voices him in the Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
adaptation of Hogfather.
New Death
The New Death appears in Reaper Man when he comes to collect the old Death, then known as "Bill Door". The New Death is the old Death's replacement as a result of the plot by the AuditorsAuditors of Reality
The Auditors of Reality are fictional godlike beings in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. They are one of the major recurring villains in the series, although they lack the necessary imagination to be truly evil....
to rid the world of sloppy thinking.
The New Death comes from human belief, but is quite different from the original. Though he has the usual black robe, he is larger and has only smoke underneath his robe, rather than bones. He rides the classic skeletal steed, in contrast to the special, but nevertheless very real, Binky. Instead of a scythe he wields a weapon "which may, at some point in its evolution, have incorporated aspects of a scythe, in the same way a scalpel incorporated aspects of a stick". In place of a face or skull, the new Death wears a crown, and is prideful, dramatic, cold, and cruel; the literal embodiment of humanity's fear of death. He chooses to arrive exactly at midnight and appears in a flash of lightning purely for the dramatic effect, something the old Death finds demeaning and rather excessive. When he corners Bill Door, he mocks him and beats him instead of finishing the job.
The new Death is destroyed by Bill Door, using the scythe
Scythe
A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...
he used on the farm; a humble garden tool, not the infinitely sharp implement of Death, but sharpened by his rage and the harvest. Bill Door was disgusted and horrified by New Death's callous attitude toward humanity, and his victory is the triumph of the compassionate "reaper man" over the tyrant who has no care for the harvest.
Rite of AshkEnte
The Rite of AshkEnte (also Ashk'Ente or Ash'Kente) is the ancient magic ritual that summons and binds Death into a circle and prevents him from leaving until invited to do so by the summoning wizard. However this may be wishful thinking on the part of the wizards as, in EricEric (novel)
Eric, also known as Faust Eric, is the ninth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. It was originally published in 1990 as a "Discworld story", in a larger format than the other novels and illustrated by Josh Kirby...
, Death appears outside the circle, behind the wizards, and in Reaper Man
Reaper Man
Reaper Man is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1991, it is the 11th Discworld novel and the second to focus on Death. The title is a reference to Alex Cox's cult movie Repo Man.-Plot:...
a wizard comments that he believes Death only stays in the circle for the look of the thing. The Rite is not tuned to Death himself, but rather whoever happened to be doing the job; Mort
Mort
Mort is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth Discworld novel and the first to focus on the Death of the Discworld, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels...
(then Death's apprentice) was almost forced to respond to the summons, and Susan Sto Helit
Susan Sto Helit
Susan Sto Helit , once referred to as Susan Death, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. She is the "granddaughter" of Death, the Disc's Grim Reaper, and, as such, has "inherited" a number of his abilities...
(his granddaughter) was summoned and subsequently bound. This does not, however, appear to apply to Death himself, although he may do so out of politeness.
Since Death is professionally involved in almost everything that is going on everywhere, the Rite is usually performed so that he can be questioned on otherwise inexplicable phenomena. This is usually done only when all other avenues have been exhausted as most powerful wizards are quite old and therefore unwilling to attract the attention of Death. Death hates being summoned because he is always summoned at the worst possible time, such as when he is at a party.
There are twelve ways of performing the Rite, but eight of them cause instant death, and so might just be considered to summon Death in the "usual" manner, and the ninth is very hard to remember. This leaves three ways to safely summon death: Although the Rite can be performed by a couple of people with three small sticks and 4 cc of mouse blood or even with a fresh egg and two small sticks, the wizards (Ridcully excepted) prefer to do it the old fashioned way, with heavy equipment consisting of numerous drippy candles, octograms written on the floor, thurible
Thurible
A thurible is a metal censer suspended from chains, in which incense is burned during worship services. It is used in the Catholic Church as well as in Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, some Lutheran, Old Catholic, and in various Gnostic Churches. It is also used...
s, and similar paraphernalia. They feel it's not "proper" wizardry if it's not showy enough.
In the Discworld
Discworld
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
books, the Rite has been used a number of times:
- In The Light FantasticThe Light FantasticThe Light Fantastic is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the second of the Discworld series. It was published in 1986. The title is a quote from a poem by John Milton and in the original context referred to dancing lightly with extravagance....
, Death was summoned to be asked about the imminent destruction of the Disc, and later returned to collect one of the high ranking wizards whose time had run out. (The wizard, realising his time was near, locked himself in a room sealed both magically and physically against all ills. In a later book, it is noted doing so probably makes you more likelySuffocationSuffocation is the process of Asphyxia.Suffocation may also refer to:* Suffocation , an American death metal band* "Suffocation", a song on Morbid Angel's debut album, Altars of Madness...
to be found by Death. - In MortMortMort is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth Discworld novel and the first to focus on the Death of the Discworld, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels...
, Albert, briefly returned to the world, summons Death who was having a vacation to let him know that Mort, his apprentice, was doing a terrible job as replacement. While the Rite was being performed, it almost summoned Mort instead. - In EricEric (novel)Eric, also known as Faust Eric, is the ninth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. It was originally published in 1990 as a "Discworld story", in a larger format than the other novels and illustrated by Josh Kirby...
, Death was asked about an occult disturbance that turned out to be RincewindRincewindRincewind is a fictional character appearing in several of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. He is a failed student at the Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpork, and is often described by scholars as "the magical equivalent to the number zero". He spends just about all of his time...
. - In Reaper ManReaper ManReaper Man is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1991, it is the 11th Discworld novel and the second to focus on Death. The title is a reference to Alex Cox's cult movie Repo Man.-Plot:...
, when Death had been forced to retire by the AuditorsAuditors of RealityThe Auditors of Reality are fictional godlike beings in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. They are one of the major recurring villains in the series, although they lack the necessary imagination to be truly evil....
, an Auditor appeared in Death's place to inform the wizards about the situation when they attempted to ask him about the sudden abundance of life force, assuring them that 'normal service' would resume shortly. - In Soul Music, when Death had again taken a break from work, the Rite instead summoned his granddaughter Susan, who was filling in.
- The Rite is also used in the computer game Discworld 2Discworld 2Discworld II: Missing Presumed...!? is the second point-and-click adventure game based on Terry Pratchett's series of fantasy novels set on the mythical Discworld. The game was developed and produced in 1996 by Perfect Entertainment for the PC, and ported in 1997 for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn...
. However, the game requires the player to find not only the three small sticks (of equal length) and 4 cc of mouse blood mentioned above, but also dribbly candles, a vile stench, and some glitter. During the ritual, the wizards perform an off-key version of "Day-O (Banana Boat SongBanana Boat Song"Day-O " is a traditional Jamaican mento folk song, the best-known version of which was sung by Harry Belafonte. Although it is really Jamaican mento, the song is widely known as an example of calypso music. It is a song from the point of view of dock workers working the night shift loading bananas...
)" and Death appears behind them, fresh from vacation, wearing a cork hatCork hatA cork hat is a type of headgear with cork strung from the brim, to ward off insects.Traditionally worn by jackaroos and swagmen in the blow-fly infested Australian outback, the cork hat has become part of the stereotypical representation of the Australian ocker. The shape and material of cork hats...
.
Animated
In the 1997 animated adaptations of Soul MusicSoul Music (TV series)
Soul Music is a seven-part animated television adaptation of the book of the same name by Terry Pratchett, produced by Cosgrove Hall, and first broadcast on 12 May 1997. It was the first film adaptation of an entire Discworld novel...
and Wyrd Sisters
Wyrd Sisters (TV series)
Wyrd Sisters is a two-part animated television adaptation of the book of the same name by Terry Pratchett, produced by Cosgrove Hall, and first broadcast on 18 May 1997...
, Death was voiced by Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
.
Live action
In the 2006 Sky OneSky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
adaptation of Hogfather he was voiced by Ian Richardson
Ian Richardson
Ian William Richardson CBE was a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's House of Cards trilogy. He was also a leading Shakespearean stage actor....
. The actor who played the physical Death in Hogfather was Marnix van den Broeke
Marnix Van Den Broeke
Marnix Van Den Broeke is a Dutch actor and stuntman. He is notable for a recurring appearance as the physical Death in Hogfather , The Colour of Magic He also appeared inTerry Pratchett's Going Postal as Mr. Pump who was voiced by Nicholas Farrell...
, a 6 foot 7 inch tall Dutchman.
In the 2008 adaptation of The Colour of Magic
The Colour of Magic (TV film)
The Colour of Magic is a two-part television adaptation of the bestselling novels The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett. The fantasy film was produced for Sky One by The Mob, a small British studio, starring David Jason, Sean Astin, Tim Curry and Christopher Lee as the...
, Van Den Broeke reprises the physical role, with Lee returning to the voice after the death of Richardson.
Radio
Death has been voiced in all five BBC Radio adaptations of Discworld novels. Geoffrey WhiteheadGeoffrey Whitehead
Geoffrey Whitehead is an English actor. He has appeared in a huge range of television, film and radio roles. In the theatre, he has played at the Shakespeare Globe, St...
played the part in the adaptation of Mort, John Rowe played him in The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, and Michael Kilgariff voiced Death in Episode 4 of Small Gods. In both Guards! Guards! and Wyrd Sisters Death is credited as being played by himself (In Guards! Guards! he is actually voiced by Stephen Thorne
Stephen Thorne
Stephen Thorne is a British actor of radio, film, stage and television.He trained at the and after a time in weekly rep. he played several seasons with the Old Vic Company and the RSC in Stratford and London including a tour to Russia...
who also played Sergeant Colon).
Audiobooks
His voice has also technically been performed by Terry PratchettTerry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
, Nigel Planer
Nigel Planer
Nigel George Planer is an English actor, comedian, novelist and playwright.Planer is perhaps best known for his role as Neil Pye in the cult BBC comedy The Young Ones. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray...
, Stephen Briggs
Stephen Briggs
Stephen Briggs is a British writer of subsidiary works and merchandise surrounding Terry Pratchett's comic fantasy Discworld. The Streets of Ankh-Morpork, the first Discworld map, was co-designed by Briggs and Pratchett and painted by Stephen Player in 1993...
, Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson is an English actor, comedian, author, broadcaster and political campaigner. He is best known for playing Baldrick in the BBC television series Blackadder, and for hosting Channel 4 programmes such as Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History. Robinson is a member of the Labour Party...
, and Celia Imrie
Celia Imrie
Celia Diana Savile Imrie is an English actress. In a career starting in the early 1970s, Imrie has played Marianne Bellshade in Bergerac, Philippa Moorcroft in Dinnerladies, Miss Babs in Acorn Antiques, Diana Neal in After You've Gone and Gloria Millington in Kingdom...
in their audiobook readings.
Computer games
Death has appeared in various other media: in the Discworld Game Series he is voiced firstly by Rob BrydonRob Brydon
Rob Brydon is a BAFTA-nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist...
and later by Nigel Planer.
Theatre
Death has also been played by numerous actors in amateur stage productions of Wyrd Sisters, Mort, Soul Music, and Hogfather, as well as various other plays based upon the novels.The Death of Rats
The Death of Rats has appeared in the animated Soul Music and in the radio play of The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, but has not been given a voice credit for either. In the Hogfather TV series the voice was credited to Dorckey Hellmice (an anagram of Michelle DockeryMichelle Dockery
Michelle Dockery is an English actress of stage and screen. She has become best known for her role as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV drama series Downton Abbey...
who played Susan Sto Helit in the same TV series), while in the Discworld 2 game, the voice is credited as Katherine the Crocodile. The Death of Rats also appears in Discworld Noir
Discworld Noir
Discworld Noir is a computer game based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld comic fantasy novels, and unlike the previous Discworld games is both an example and parody of the noir genre. The game was developed by Perfect Entertainment and published by GT Interactive. It was originally released in 1999...
.
Albert
In Cosgrove HallCosgrove Hall Films
Cosgrove Hall Films was a British animation studio based in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, that once was a major producer of children's television programmes. Cosgrove Hall's programmes are still seen in over eighty countries...
's 1996 animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
Soul Music
Soul Music (TV series)
Soul Music is a seven-part animated television adaptation of the book of the same name by Terry Pratchett, produced by Cosgrove Hall, and first broadcast on 12 May 1997. It was the first film adaptation of an entire Discworld novel...
, Albert was voiced by Bryan Pringle
Bryan Pringle
Bryan Pringle was a British actor who appeared in television, film and theatre productions.Born in Tamworth, Staffordshire but raised in the Lancashire town of Bolton he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. In 1958, he married character actress Anne Jameson; together they had...
. In BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's 2004 adaptation of Mort, he was voiced by Philip Jackson
Philip Jackson (actor)
Philip Jackson is an English actor, known for his many television and film roles, most notably as Chief Inspector Japp in the television series Poirot and as Abbot Hugo, one of the recurring adversaries in the cult 1980s series Robin of Sherwood. Jackson was born in Retford, Nottinghamshire...
.
In Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
's live-action version of Hogfather, Albert was played by David Jason
David Jason
Sir David John White, OBE , better known by his stage name David Jason, is an English BAFTA award-winning actor. He is best known as the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses from 1981, the voice of Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows and as detective Jack...
.
Albert also makes an appearance in the computer game Discworld 2: Missing Presumed...!?, voiced by Nigel Planer
Nigel Planer
Nigel George Planer is an English actor, comedian, novelist and playwright.Planer is perhaps best known for his role as Neil Pye in the cult BBC comedy The Young Ones. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray...
.