Our campaign to support the Bindery continues with the second of Castalia Library’s new line of Signed First Editions, DEATH AND THE DEVIL by Vox Day. Herewith follows a summary of the 150-page book, which is a collection of related short stories about the anthropomorphic personification of one of the cosmic constants, Death.
Death and the Devil: A Darkly Comic Anthology
This imaginative collection reimagines Death as the universe's most overworked civil servant—an immortal being drowning in paperwork. Through twelve interconnected tales, Death grapples with everything from cryonically frozen billionaires who refuse to accept they're dead to revolutionary dictators demanding to speak to his manager.
The anthology shines when exploring Death's unexpected ventures into the world of the living. Watch him bomb spectacularly at open mic nights before finding his comedic voice with haikus about mortality. Follow his disastrous foray into speed dating with a goth girl who takes her romantic obsession with him much too far for her own good. Experience his management nightmare when he hires the world's worst intern at the worst possible time in human history.
The premise is genuinely creative and well-executed
Some moments of real humor and touching philosophical insight
The Death character is consistently well-developed
Several stories, particularly "Death and the Cat with Eight Lives" and "Death and the Maiden", show genuine narrative skill
At its heart, this is a meditation on loneliness, purpose, and connection wrapped in dark humor. Death's encounters range from the absurd to the profound. The collection builds to genuinely moving moments while maintaining its comedic edge—imagine Kafka meeting Douglas Adams at a particularly morbid dinner party.
Perfect for readers who enjoyed Terry Pratchett's Death novels, Neil Gaiman's anthropomorphized concept of The Endless, or those who enjoyed the bit about Death playing chess in The Seventh Seal. The stories work both as standalone pieces and as a larger narrative about finding meaning in endless routine—even when your job literally involves doing the same thing over and over again for eternity.
Dark, witty, and surprisingly touching, this anthology proves that even Death can use a good laugh sometimes.
DEATH AND THE DEVIL will also be published by Castalia House in traditional hardcover and ebook editions. Please enjoy the following excerpt from the story “Death Writes a Haiku”.
Death stared at the blank paper he'd been given. A moment in nature that moved him? Most of his interactions with nature involved collecting the souls of creatures that had reached their appointed time. But perhaps that was the point—to draw from his own experience.
He picked up his pen and began to write, counting syllables with meticulous care.
After ten minutes, Sylvia called time, and the sharing began. The retired accountant had written about his garden. The greeting card writer had composed something about butterflies. The therapy-mandated attendee had come up with a surprisingly poignant piece about rainfall.
"Mr. Grimm?" Sylvia said finally. "Would you like to share your haiku with us?"
Death cleared his throat, a sound like distant thunder, and read:
AUTUMN LEAVES FALLING.
NONE OF THEM HIT THE GROUND.
I AM BUSY TODAY.
There was a long silence in the room. Someone coughed uncomfortably.
"That's... very interesting, Byron," Sylvia said finally. "I appreciate the unexpected twist at the end. Perhaps a bit morbid, but then art should challenge us. Does anyone have constructive feedback for Byron? George?"
The accountant pointed out that the syllables were incorrect.
“His arrangement is five-six-six. It’s supposed to be five-seven-five.”
Death nodded. Indeed. The accountant was correct. Somehow, he had gotten the syllable count wrong.
"Well, that’s a start! Let's move on to our second attempt," Sylvia said brightly. "This time, try to incorporate a sense of wonder or surprise—the philosophical 'aha' moment that is traditional in many haiku."
Death bent over his paper again, determined to improve. This time, he tried to focus on the concept of wonder, as suggested. When it was his turn to read, he was ready:
SNOWFLAKES UNIQUE FALL
EACH ONE NEVER REPEATED
LIKE ALL YOUR BRIEF LIVES
The therapy attendee visibly flinched.
"Again, very... distinctive, Byron," Sylvia said, her smile becoming somewhat fixed. "You certainly have a consistent voice emerging. Perhaps for our next attempt, we could focus on something a bit more uplifting? Perhaps something a little more cheerful?"
Death nodded, though he wasn't entirely sure what made her consider his observations to be, presumably, downlifting. He was simply making personal observations that pointed toward larger truths. Wasn't that precisely what he’d been instructed to do?
He did his best to project a sense of a cheerful smile at the teacher. For some reason, she unaccountably turned grey.
DEATH AND THE DEVIL can be purchased in the two usual locations. If you happen to have any trouble with your credit card being approved at Arkhaven, please try NDM Express.
BINDERY UPDATE:
We have some good news this morning, as today we did a first test on one of the two machines we’re intending to buy, and it passed our test with flying colors. We’ll be doing a second and final test sometime over the next two weeks, but we’re 95 percent confident that the system is exactly what we need for our production process to operate efficiently while delivering the quality we require.
Saw this and immediately ordered one. Beautiful.
Beautiful writing! Complimenti davvero!