Masters of Death

Masters of Death (2018) is an urban fantasy novel by Olivie Blake, a pseudonym for novelist Alexene Farol Follmuth, who has written popular titles such as the Atlas series and One for My Enemy. Masters of Death follows Fox D’Mora, the godson of Death, as he and a group of supernatural creatures seek to defeat a demon king, Volos, who kidnapped Death and holds him hostage in an immortal game of gambling. With the help of vampire real-estate agent Viola, a ghost named Tom Parker, Fox’s long-lost love Brandt, and other characters who exist in between mortality and immortality, Fox defeats Volos by using the mortal ability to experience emotion. In a final game between Fox and Death, Fox wins, thus restoring relationships that were divided by the game and the boundary of life and death. The novel explores themes surrounding the meaning of life and the importance of love and emotion.

This guide refers to the 2022 reissued Tor Publishing Group Libby e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain references to murder, death, and compulsive behavior.

Plot Summary

Viola Marek, a vampire real-estate agent, needs to sell the Parker mansion, which is haunted by the ghost of the previous owner, Tom Parker. Tom believes that he will remain a ghost until he solves his murder. Viola enlists the help of Fox D’Mora, a medium and the godson of Death, to help Tom.

When Fox summons Death at the Parker mansion, he does not answer. Brandt Solberg, Fox’s ex-boyfriend, stumbles upon the group while robbing the house. Brandt is a demi-god, and he tells Fox that their unexpected meeting means that Death is in danger, as Death had set terms where Brandt was unable to find Fox. The archangels Raphael and Gabriel arrive at the Parker mansion and tell Fox that Volos, a demon king, kidnapped Death and is holding him captive at the immortals’ game. Volos has taken the form of Tom’s great-grandfather, Tom Parker I. The immortals’ game is an illegal game where immortals, and sometimes mortals, gamble against Death to see if they can improve their lives. Fox remembers Brandt giving him a watch that he stole from Time so that Fox would stay young forever. However, Brandt gambled Fox in a game against Death. When Brandt lost, Death forbade him from seeing Fox again, and he banned Brandt from the games so that he could not win Fox back.

Fox plans to beat Volos in the game. Raphael and Gabriel tell Fox that Tom must go with him to the tables. Brandt transports Fox, Tom, and Viola to Death’s house, and they find one of the game’s ledgers. Tom Parker I is on the ledger. Brandt then transports them to the tables. Fox finds Death bound to one of the tables, where Death explains that the game involves each player facing their past mistakes; failure to face the past means losing the game. Since Volos has set up the game like a tournament, if Fox defeats Volos, his final opponent will be Death. Volos wants to win so that he can master and control Death, thereby destroying all mortals.

Tom discovers that Brandt murdered him to earn another chance to play the games and win back Fox. Fox now plays the game against Brandt; Brandt tells Fox that when he first played the game, Death took his truth away. Brandt confesses that he has never been able to tell Fox how he really feels about him as a result. Brandt returned to the game to win back his truth so that he could tell Fox how much he loved him. Even though Fox understands, he tells Brandt that he never would have gambled their relationship, which wins him the round against Brandt.

During the game between Volos and Fox, Fox appeals to the body of Tom Parker I. Through the game, Fox sees that Tom Parker I murdered his entire family in exchange for immortality from Volos. Volos then possessed his body to control him. Fox appeals to Tom Parker I’s body, asking him about his guilt. His guilt becomes so strong that he affects Volos, and Fox wins the game. Afterward, Fox faces Death. Death confesses to Fox that he regrets making Fox feel inferior over his mortality. He tells Fox that he loves him. Fox realizes that his mortality makes him strong because he cherishes every moment of his life. Fox defeats Death with this realization and wins the game, ensuring that Volos cannot take power. In exchange for his win, Fox ensures that Tom and Viola will be happy. The archangels return Tom and Viola to their mortal forms so that they can live out their lives together.

Fox gambles his watch back to Time in exchange for Brandt’s truth. Brandt finally tells Fox how much he loves him. Fox and Brandt reject their immortality and grow old together. Death tells the reader that he hopes that they will not be too frightened when Death comes because life’s reward is living well.