Death Works Trilogy

Death Works Trilogy, also called Steven De Selby Trilogy by Trent Jamieson.

Genres and Sub-Genres[]

Urban Fantasy / Noir Urban Fantasy

Series Description or Overview[]

The Death Works Trilogy is about Death, well, working for Death. Death is a business, and it can get pretty rough. It’s set in Brisbane, Australia. There are explosions, the Underworld, and a vast cosmic threat that is a little bit Lovecrafty. ~ Death Works | Trentonomicon

Lead's Species[]

Psychopomp: humans who send souls on to the Underworld

Primary Supe[]

Reapers / Death

What Sets it Apart[]

Death as a corporation

Narrative Type and Narrators[]

First Person narrative told by Steven de Selby

Books in Series[]

Death Works Trilogy:

Death Most Definite (2010)
Managing Death (2011)
The Business of Death (2011) ~ Omnibus that includes all three books

Themes, Motifs, Symbolism[]

Death: Steven de Selby is Australia's Death. A job that has been foisted upon him, and one that he doesn't want. In this book, despite himself, he must learn about the true nature of Death.
Love: Love at first sight is easy, what comes after is much harder.

World Building[]

Setting[]

Brisbane, Australia;

Places:

Deepest Dark: an Underworld locale;
Queensland
Underworld
Melbourne
Corolla
Stirrers
Wesley Hospital
Toowong
Wintergarden
Albion
Mount Coot-tha
George St
Brisbane River
Queen Street Mall
Sydney
One Tree
South Africa
Perth
Kurilpa Bridge
Hell
Hill

Supernatural Elements[]

✥ Psychopomps, reapers, ghosts, spirits, Death, Underworld, Gods, magical fig tree, Gods, Stirrer God, Hell, deadly corporation, zombie-ghosts, Death Inc., , ,

Glossary:[]

Psychopomps: "Pomps"; humans with the ability, and the responsibility, to send souls on to the Underworld after their bodies die
Stirrers: zombie-esque restless spirits who refuse to go to the Underworld, but instead take over the physical bodies of the dead or suck out the essence of the living.
Stirrer God:
One Tree, a huge, magical fig tree that serves as a limbo-type place where souls stop off before being absorbed by Orpheus Maneuver the tree on their way to the Underworld
Orpheus Maneuver: Steve performs an Orpheus Maneuver in Hell (Orpheus story)
Regional Manager (aka RM): 13 RMs, each of whom holds part of Hungry Death within himself or herself.
Death Moots: a meeting of all 13 RMs.

Groups & Organizations:[]

MortMax: deadly corporation—Death.

World[]

In this world, death is a deadly corporation that is called MortMax. Death Most Definite introduces us to Steven de Selby, who belongs to a family of psychopomps in Brisbane, Australia, who have worked for MortMax for generations. Psychopomps are humans with the ability, and the responsibility, to send souls on to the Underworld after their bodies die. The mythology of this world is complex, with the central focus on the One Tree, a huge, magical fig tree that serves as a limbo-type place where souls stop off before being absorbed by the tree on their way to the Underworld. Some of the action also takes place in the Deep Dark, which is an Underworld locale.

In this world, there are 13 RMs, each of whom holds part of Hungry Death within himself or herself. The sometimes hold Death Moots (a meeting of all 13 RMs). ~ Fang-tastic Fiction

Protagonist[]

Steve is a hard-drinking, troubled young man who has always taken his pomp duties somewhat lightly, with his personal life always coming first. In book 1, however, someone is murdering the psychopomps of Brisbane, and soon Steve finds himself all alone.

Steve is basically a nice guy, but with enough flaws to make him an interesting hero with whom we can empathize. The supporting characters have plenty of depth, so we look forward to Steve's interrelationships with them. The series is similar to Simon R. Green's Nightside series and Secret Histories/Eddie Drood series, so if you like Steve's adventures, you might want to give them a try. ~ Fang-tastic Fiction

Orpheus story

Sidekick[]

Name: — What: — Sidekick-to: — About: — Book First Seen In:

Recurring Characters[]

Characters	What	About
Steven de Selby	psychopomp	ability to send souls on to the Afterlife / Underworld
Mr. D	Death	Steven's boss; missing;
Lissa Jones	soul of a dead pomp	she saves Steve from an assassin; Steve's love interest;
Rillman	former Ankou	seemingly returned from the Underworld to seek vengeance against Steven, partly because Rillman's own Orpheus Maneuver failed, while Steve's succeeded (in the previous book

To expand the table, right-press or (Control-press on a Mac)—choose add row.

Author[]

Trent Jamieson

Website: Trentonomicon | Trent Jamieson's Website

Bio: Trent Jamieson is a science fiction and fantasy writer. Trent lives in Brisbane (in Queensland, Australia) with his wife Diana and works as a teacher, a bookseller, and a writer, and has taught at Clarion South. ~ FF & Goodreads

More: Trent Jamieson - Wikipedia and "Death Most Definite"

Cover Artist[]

Artist: Richard Jones – Source: ISFdb: Cover: Death Most Definite

Publishing Information[]

Publisher: Orbit
Author Page:
Bk-1: Paperback, 416 pages, Pub Aug 5th 2010, ISBN-1841498599

Book Cover Blurbs[]

✤ BOOK ONE—Death Most Definite (2010): Steven de Selby has a hangover. Bright lights, loud noise, and lots of exercise are the last thing he wants. But that's exactly what he gets when someone starts shooting at him. Steven is no stranger to death-Mr. D's his boss after all-but when a dead girl saves him from sharing her fate, he finds himself on the wrong end of the barrel. His job is to guide the restless dead to the underworld but now his clients are his own colleagues, friends, and family. Mr. D's gone missing and with no one in charge, the dead start to rise, the living are hunted, and the whole city teeters on the brink of a regional apocalypse-unless Steven can shake his hangover, not fall for the dead girl, and find out what happened to his boss- that is, Death himself. ~ Goodreads | Death Most Definite (Death Works Trilogy #1) by Trent Jamieson

✤ BOOK TWO—Managing Death (2011): It's not easy being Death. For starters, people keep dying. And then, they keep getting up again. Steven de Selby got promoted. This makes the increasing number of stirrers (and the disturbing rumors of a zombie god rising sometime soon) his problem. That time management seminar he keeps meaning to take would also remind him that he's got a Death Moot to plan, a Christmas party to organize, and an end-of-the-world thing to avert. Steven must start managing Death, before Death starts managing him, or this time the Apocalypse will be more than Regional. ~ Goodreads | Managing Death (Death Works Trilogy #2) by Trent Jamieson

✤ BOOK THREE—The Business of Death (2011): Steven de Selby has a hangover. Bright lights, loud noise, and lots of exercise are the last thing he wants. But that's exactly what he gets when someone starts shooting at him. Steven is no stranger to death - Mr. D's his boss after all—but when a dead girl saves him from sharing her fate, he finds himself on the wrong end of the barrel. His job is to guide the restless dead to the underworld but now his clients are his own colleagues, friends, and family. Mr. D's gone missing and with no one in charge, the dead start to rise, the living are hunted, and the whole city teeters on the brink of a regional apocalypse-unless Steven can shake his hangover, not fall for the dead girl, and find out what happened to his boss-that is, Death himself. THE BUSINESS OF DEATH includes the first two volumes of the Death Works trilogy, Death Most Definite and Managing Death, as well as the third volume. ~ Goodreads | The Business of Death (Death Works Trilogy, #1-3) by Trent Jamieson

✤ BOOK FOUR—The Memory of Death (2014): He thought he'd return from Hell a hero. But things are never easy when your business is Death. Steven de Selby gave up his love, his life, and his lucrative position as Head of Mortmax, the corporation in charge of Death. Then he found himself banished to the briny depths of hell. But hell has never held him before. Now Steven's back from hell, after escaping from the cruel Death of the Water, but he's not sure how or why, or even if. No-one at Mortmax trusts him, and he's running out of time to prove he is who he says he is. Steven is about to discover that hell really is other people, and the worst of them may well be himself. ~ Goodreads | The Memory of Death (Death Works Trilogy, #4)

First Sentences[]

Death Most Definite (2010) — know something's wrong the moment I see the dead girl standing in the Wintergarden food court.
Managing Death (2011) — There's blood behind my eyelids, and in my mouth.
The Business of Death (2011) —

Quotes[]

Trent Jamieson Quotes (Author of Death Most Definite) ~ GR
Steven De Selby Series ~ Shelfari

Trivia[]

Awards[]

Read Alikes (similar elements)[]

Reapers

Noir

See category links at bottom page

Notes[]

External References []

Books:

Death Works | Trentonomicon ~ Author
Goodreads | Death Works Trilogy by Trent Jamieson ~ Goodreads
Trent Jamieson - FF
Death Works / Steven De Selby - Series Bibliography ~ ISFdb
Steven De Selby Series ~ Shelfari
Death Works | Series ~ LibraryThing
Death Works series by Trent Jamieson ~ FictFact

Summaries:

World, Characters, etc:

Reviews:

Interviews:

INTERVIEW: Trent Jamieson on ‘Managing Death’ (Orbit) | Fancy Goods

Author:

Community, Fan Sites:

Trent Jamieson (trentonomicon) on Twitter