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I see your point on how Death can be used as a symbolical element in a novel, story, play... whatever.  But I guess my reasoning behind 'stories dying if the characters die' is that to me the characters are one of the most important aspects of the story, if not THE most important.  Because the plot or the message behind the plot may be of great importance, but it is hard to convey this to the reader without the use of characters.  This is what I mean to say, which I guess goes somewhat along with your tangent.  I share the same confusion as you: no connection, no desire to re-read.  Connection is necessary, you need to engage the reader.  And admittedly, I did not feel engaged by this novel at all; at parts I even wanted to just stop and move on.