Death sits over a book, leaning into it as though hanging on a great speaker's every word. Every other minute after silent minute, Death turns a page, scrabbling with its bony finger for a grip on the paper. Occasionally, it brings its hand up to its mouth as though it might lick the phalanges with an absent tongue before turning the next page. Near the end of the book, a whisper slips from between the Reaper's teeth, like the last hissing breath of a dozen dying folk. Someone close enough to Death, close enough to be quite reasonably nervous, might think the whisper sounds a little like the words, "Oh, no."

"No, really?" it breathes again, and it turns the pages faster until it reaches the end. "I can't believe he did it," Death says. "It makes sense, but still... wow."

Death reaches for the next book in the series. Later whispers sound more like, "Really?" and "Oh, but... why?" along with, "God, he kills more people than I do."

In the end, Death took George R.R. Martin before he could finish the series. In a one-of-a-kind press conference, Death stated, "It seemed like the humane thing to do."