Blood on Stone.

Sabriel by Garth Nix part one of the Old Kingdom trilogy.

"The bell was twisting in her grasp, trying to sound of its own accord, a sound that would make her walk in Death."

In ages past a wall was made from blood, stone and charter magic to separate two kingdoms from one another.

In Ancelstierre there are cops, cars and cameras. People are born, people go to school, people work and people die and that is their end. It is a land ruled by science.

In the old kingdom there are Charter-stones, carriages and crossbows. People are born, people work and people die but not always forever. It is a land ruled by magic. It is a land ruled by death.

Sabriel is a sixth form schoolgirl in Ancelstierre, she is pretty, smart and privileged. Her father is a necromancer. Her father is the Abhorsen one of the few dedicated to quieting the restless dead of the old kingdom.

When her father goes missing she takes up his bells and sword (tools of necromancy) and sets off into the Old Kingdom in an effort to find him. soon she is fighting for the survival of the charter itself.

This is the start of a very original seres with a new magic system and a very real main charactor. It is so good my sister is reading it! (that is rare FYI) I certainly enjoyed it.

One at a time.

Reaper man, a discworld novel by Terry Pratchett

What happens when Death goes on holiday?

Windle Poons is 130 and like all good wizards he knows when he will die, it just happens to be tomorrow and he's been looking forward to it for a very long time.

After a bit of a party Windle Poons dies and his spirit leaves his body only to find that there is.... nowhere to go. Being a pragmatic sort of person Mr Poons goes back. He finds that as a dead person he is more alive, more in control and certainly more mobile than he has been in years.

Windle Poons begins to have fun...

A new zombie on the loose isn't the only odd thing happening on the Discworld, clothing is getting up and walking away, furniture is putting down roots and things are starting to float around. The cause of all this, it seems, is an excess of life. You see Death does not kill you, he just takes away your life and without him the life just floats around wondering what to do with itself.

The problem is that Death is having a holiday as a human pending his permanent and enforced retirement. The Auditors of Reality have decided that Death is too slow and nice and are bringing in a new model. So Death gets to find out what it means to be human and he likes it....

There are also strange snow globes appearing in the nooks and crannys of Anka-Morpork......

Classic Terry Pratchett book, not one of his better works in my opinion but as original and good as usual, worth a read anytime.