Title ~ On A Pale Horse
Series ~ Incarnations of Immortality, #1
Author ~ Piers Anthony
Publisher ~ Del Rey
Published ~ 1 September 1983
Genre ~ Fantasy
*Book source ~ My home library
My Rating ~ 5 bites out of 5
Zane
is a mediocre man that has led a less than stellar life. After purchasing a
worthless Wealthstone from a magic shop he decides he’d be better off dead.
Having acquired a gun by chance he decides to aerate his head. However, right
before he pulls the trigger Death walks through the door startling Zane. Zane
turns the gun on Death and kills him instead. The door opens again and Fate
walks in to tell him that since he killed Death he must now fill the office.
Zane’s life is about to get weird.
Back
in 1997 a friend gave me a copy of this book. I had no idea what it was about
or that I would devour it and all subsequent sequels with a veracity little
seen. I was fascinated with the idea that Death is an office held by a living
person. Not just Death, but Time, Fate, War and Green Mother as well as God and
Satan though their offices were a tad different than the others. Also, the
setting is interesting, where science and magic live side-by-side. How cool
would that world be?
It
was interesting watching Zane struggle to fulfill his office to the best of his
ability. He may have been a loser in life, but he wanted to do a good job as
Death. There were times he wanted to give up (not possible while his soul was
in balance) and times when the rules frustrated him. So he changed some of them
to suit his purpose hoping that when his trial time was up he would get a good
report.
Among
all the things Zane has to learn about the job there is a much larger plot
going on behind the scenes and it has to do with a woman he meets through a
powerful magician client. Her name is Luna and he falls in love with her. But
Satan has other plans for her and it becomes a battle between Satan and Death,
a battle Zane is determined to win.
The
subject matter got a little weighty at times, but it really didn’t take away from my
enjoyment of this book. Since 1997, I have read this book several times and
have enjoyed it each and every time.
That's awesome this is a re-read book for you! It sounds pretty interesting. I like the idea of all these "forces" having offices. I'd suggest the book Breaking the Devil's Heart by H.A. Goodman. It's more serious than this one sounds, but I loved it!
ReplyDeleteThanks! And thanks for the rec. I'll be looking it up! :)
DeleteWhoa, I haven't read anything by Anthony since Jr. High and my teacher told me the content was too mature for me. Pfft. Now I want to read the book I read back then and see what the big deal was, because I don't remember. It wasn't part of this series, but this does sound good.
ReplyDeleteAnthony has a ton of stuff out there. lol I loved this one of the series. I'm still trying to reread book 2, but the Time paradox stuff is hard for me to wrap my head around. I'll have the review for that one on 2/4. :)
DeleteFirst hand over the time-piece Carol I so need that device! Oh a reaper book..interesting., I love books with Death and Fate as characters. Lovely review!
ReplyDeleteNo! It's mine! *runs away with it* J/k lol I want that necklace though. :D Fate has her own story in book 3, With a Tangled Skein. I'm trying to have that review for 2/21. :)
DeleteIn all the years I've been reading fantasy, for some reason I've never picked up Piers Anthony. I suppose one of these days I should rectify that. Anthony's Death sounds a little like Terry Pratchett's Mort, but more serious. Glad you had the chance to re-read it -- I love re-reading old favorites!
ReplyDeleteHe is quite prolific. I've only read a small portion of his books, but have enjoyed them. :)
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