Book:Reaper Man

Reaper Man
Cover art by Josh Kirby
Co-author(s)
Illustrator(s)
Publisher	Victor Gollancz
Publication date	May 1991
ISBN	0552134643
Pages	286
RRP
Main characters	Death, U.U. Wizards, Renata Flitworth
Series	Death Series
Annotations	View
Notes
All data relates to the first UK edition.

Blurb

Death is missing – presumed ... er ... gone. Which leads to the kind of chaos to always expect when an important public service is withdrawn.

Ghosts and poltergeists fill up the Discworld. Dead Rights activist Reg Shoe – "You Don't Have to Take This Lying Down" – suddenly has more work than he had ever dreamed of. And newly deceased wizard Windle Poons wakes up in his coffin to find that he has come back as a corpse. But it's up to Windle and the members of Ankh-Morpork's rather unfrightening group of undead* to save the world for the living.

Meanwhile, on a little farm far, far away, a tall, dark stranger, by the name of Bill Door, is turning out to be really good with a scythe. There's a harvest to be got in. And a different battle to be fought.

In passing we learn of many things. The lifecycles of Mayflies and Counting pines; of the Klatchian Foreign Legion, where men go to forget; of the true colour of infinity; and of chocolate, flowers, and gemstones as items which ease the path to a lady's heart.

* Arthur Winkings, for example, became a vampire after being bitten by a lawyer. Schleppel the bogeyman would be better at his job if he wasn't agoraphobic and frightened of coming out of the closet. And Mr Ixolite is a banshee with a speech impediment, so instead of standing on the roof and screaming when there's a death in the house he writes "OooEeeOooEeeOoo" on a piece of paper and pushes it under the door.

Characters

Main characters

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

Minor characters

• Gabby Wheels
• Duke Bottomley
• William Spigot
• Captain Douglas
• Albert
• Sal Lifton
• Ned Simnel
• Rufus
• Fred Colon
• Modo
• Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler
• Havelock Vetinari

Cameos and Mentions

• Giamo Casanunda
• Mrs. Drull
• Mr. Gorper
• The late Prissal Teatar

Locations

• Death's Domain

• Ramtops
  • Octarine Grass Country
    • Sheepridge

• Ankh-Morpork
  • The Shades
  • River Ankh

• Howondaland
  • The Lost Jewelled Temple of Doom of Offler

• Pseudopolis (mentioned)
• Khan'Li (mentioned), destroyed long ago by 'the little carts'
• Dungeon Dimensions (mentioned)
• XXXX (mentioned)

Sentient Species

• Dwarfs
• Gargoyles
• Golems (mentioned)
• Humans
• Undead

Supernatural Entities

• Auditors of Reality
• Death
• Ghosts
• The Gods
• Imps
• Hogfather (mentioned)
• Things from the Dungeon Dimensions (mentioned)
• Old High Ones

Things and Concepts

• Scumble
• Combination Harvester
• Tear of Offler

External links

Reaper Man Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File

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