The Grim Reaper

No this is not me making a wise arsed Halloween blog. Death may be an odd hero figure. For me personally do not think so. The figure of Death in a fantasy novel brings a very real sense to the whole story. The beings of fantasy worlds are like us and have a life cycle. The Grim Reaper gives a continuity to a series of novels, Death in Discworld being a prime example.

Dealing with mortality in fantasy can help us deal with it in reality. If everyone was immortal and good in a novel would anyone actually bother to read it. I very much doubt it. There has to be conflicts, power struggles etc to keep the reader interested.

For me the Grim Reaper is not some evil overlord. She is an angel, a dark one possibly, most are if you annoy them, but nonetheless an angel. It is quite comforting really to know when the time comes, crossing from physical to spiritual that angel will be with me.