With a Full Bookcase (Incarnations of Immortality Series - Piers Anthony in general)

Member Name: shroud

Product:	Incarnations of Immortality Series - Piers Anthony in general
Date:	12/03/08 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: well written, intelligent fantasy

Disadvantages: none really

Incarnations off Immortality came to my attention by virtue of one of the books being for sale at an airport. The prospect of flying for hours alone without a book and no in flight film frankly did not appeal, especially given the layover time I had between flights. So, I went to the bookshop, saw their meager offerings, and having previously read his Xanth novels, picked up a copy of On a Pale Horse. Which is incidentally, the book that put the whole reaper concept in place for a certain TV show writer/producer who went on to create Dead Like Me.

Piers Anthony is perhaps best known for the Xanth novels, which take place in a magical realm known as Xanth, where puns are the norm and actually often reflect the reality. The books have been around for decades, and it would not be unfavourable to say that Mr Anthony and Mr Pratchett seem to share a similar sense of humour and wit, and a similar type of literature, despite there being obvious differences of style and format to their fantasyworlds. I purchased this book knowing full well the book was about a man who became death, but did half expect it to be tongue in cheek. Not so. What followed from the very first page of that book, and each other the others in the series, is a serious fantasy novel that is nothing to giggle over, yet that is not entirely devoid of humour.The books take place in a fictional parallel universe, whose history and technological achievements mirror our own. There is a difference, though, and that is magic is real, and there are supernatural beings in the form of the Incarnations who move the world behind the scenes.The main Incarnations are Death, War, Nature, Time, Fate, Good, Evil, and Night.. The twist on the incarnations is not that they are as gods, but that they are actually offices, held by previously mortal persons. Each of the books focuses on an office, and tells the story of the person who is occupying that office, or comes to occupy it. Each of the stories stands on its own, but is also intertwined with what happens in the other books as the characters all appear, and work to keep a balance as Incarnations are removed from power, and new ones are incarnated to take their place. Taken altogether, the books also complete a longer story arc, so it is best to read them in order.

The business of becoming Incarnated is not as random as it first appears, with familial links and bloodlines emerging, nor is the office absolute. Each incarnation must ponder everything they do within that office, and mistakes are costly to the world about them. Such mistakes can occasionally be rectified, but it takes the assistance and agreement of the other Incarnations to undo it, such as that of Time to turn back the clock to undo a catastrophe. While the persons who are incarnated have certain attributes that lends them to being selected for the office, it does not mean they are perfect. Each of the characters has flaws that are often fatal, and it is up the other Incarnations to redress the balance, even towards the end of ousting an Incarnate who has become unsuitable.

While not overtly humorous and having a serious slant on the storyline approach, this is not to say it is without humour. Magic and technology co-exist in this world, and not just behind the lines. Magic carpets and cars co-exist, and other magical things make an appearance, often to lighten the mood of the story from being too dark, yet without being an absurd distraction. Lesser Incarnations such as Sleep, Love, Pestilence, and Hope also appear , but they are background characters mainly to assist the main Incarnations, and to help flesh out the concept fully and to move the storylines along in a logical fashion.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book so much that when I found the others, I read them all. They were entertaining and intelligent, with storylines that challenged the meaning of life and revealed aspects of the human condition. It was fantasy with heart, and a purpose, that was none the less exciting, gently humorous in places and beguiling.

Summary: Piers Anthony explores what it is to be human, using the Incarnates