Meeting with Death.. (Incarnations of Immortality Series - Piers Anthony in general)

Member Name: vhart

Product:	Incarnations of Immortality Series - Piers Anthony in general
Date:	28/12/00 (77 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: interesting premise, strong plots

Disadvantages: a lot of books to get through!

In this series of books (which consist of seven), Anthony creates a parallel world. This world is roughly similar to our own, it is based on 'Earth' in the very near future, but as well as technology there is the presence of magic. 'Magic' isn't the flash-bang wizard-type magic, but, for example, magic stones and amulets, spells that allow one to prolong life, and in this Anthony tries to create a magic that could exist alongside technological advances.

The world created is a world where God and Satan are very real, and lodged in a battle for the souls of the people of earth (I know, some people might consider this a reality, and I don't want to offend anyone, but bear with me!).

The so-called 'incarnations' are also real people. Time, Death, Nature, Fate and War as well as Evil and Good.

Each of the books deals, in turn, with the 'ordinary' people who become these 'incarnations'. The first book, 'On a Pale Horse' deals, unsurprisingly, with 'Death' and a man who finds himself becoming 'Death' (who, incidently, is a remarkably sympathetic character... just doing a job!).

The second book 'Bearing an Hourglass' is, unsurprisingly related to the man who becomes Time, and this I found to be the hardest book to follow, possibly because 'Time' can jump across different times, and lives backwards, so it can be easier to get lost in it.

Then follow Fate (With a Tangled Skein) and War (Wielding a Red Sword) and then Nature (Being a Green Mother). Of course, the addition of female 'incarnations' allows for romance, an opportunity that Anthony does not allow to slip!

Anthony doesn't stop there, and quite ambitiously, he continues with Evil (For Love of Evil) and then to Good (And Eternity), and, yes, the 'ordinary' (although they become less ordinary as you continue) people who gain these roles, which can be per
ceived as a God/Satan role, with each residing in their own Heaven and Hell. The other 'incarnations' incidently, reside in Purgatory (but they have very nice houses, so it isn't as bad as it sounds!).

As the series continues, unsurprisingly, the protagonists tie in with each other and create a larger canvas and it creates one of those 'that's why he did THAT' feelings, which is quite satisfying as you move towards the end.

It is an interesting world view that Anthony presents, because he does borrow heavily from classic myths, religious elements and folklores of these different aspects, which makes them interesting in those respects.

I first read this series about 10 years ago and have come back to it occasionally. I think the first book remains my favourite, along with 'For the love of evil', the sixth book, about the 'incarnation' of Evil and although it is possible to read the books independently of each other, it becames (unsurprisingly) harder to follow if you haven't read the preceding ones.

These books combine science fiction with fantasy, in a way that makes it easier to follow. I don't usually like hardcore science fiction, but found these books presented a fascinating alternative reality, and it made me think, which I am grateful to the author for.

Summary: