Death (Discworld)
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 is specifically the Discworld itself; he is only a part, or minion, of Azrael, the universal Death. He has been generally used by Pratchett to explore the problems of human existence, and has become more sympathetic throughout the series.
Machine of Death
All of the stories featured in "Machine of Death" center around a device which, when provided with a blood sample, can identify the way a person will die. The machine relays this information by printing a short word or phrase, which serves as the title of each story, on a small card. The machine is never wrong, but often vague or cryptic. The premise was inspired by an episode of Ryan North's "Dinosaur Comics".