Book Reviews of On a Pale Horse (Incarnations of Immortality, Bk. 1)

An interesting read. I enjoyed the idea of mythological forces personified by average human individuals, with average sorts of problems. Death is every person's right! I hope he doesn't go on strike when it's my turn to take the plunge.

Awesome book - my husband is a major fan Piers Anthony and has a large collection of his books. Thanks again so much for the book and for others interested in reading anything by Peirs Anthony you'll not be disappointed. :)

I thought this Piers Anthony series was great. It has been awhile since I have read them, but they really stuck with me over the years. The concept of really people taking on the job of "death", "fate", "god", "the devil", etc is intriguing to me.

ON A PALE HORSE, by Piers Anthony (1989) DEATH, Book-1
Synopsis
The first book in the "Incarnations of Immortality" series. A young man--at the end of his tether and about to commit suicide--suddenly finds that he has become Death with a capitol "D." Required by the laws of the universe to collect the souls of those who are dying, he travels the Earth unseen by all but those who are moments away from death. As he tries to come to terms with his new existence, he meets other Immortals and begins to fathom his place in the universe.


Size
Height: 6.5 in.
Width: 4.5 in.
Thickness: 0.8 in.
Weight: 5.6 oz.


Publisher's Note
As the Incarnation of Death, Zane must end the lives of others but then he finds himself being drawn into an evil plot of Satan's, to destroy Luna, the woman he loves.

I don't even usually read this genre, but this book hooked me. It made my top ten ever!

Wau,
better than i imagined.
Cool book. Need to checkout the sequel.

What can one say about Piers Anthony? Been a fave of mine since "Spell for Chameleon," many moons ago. This is another of the "magic in the world" kinda books. Definitely fantasy, with magic an everyday commodity and visible all round you, every day. Some of the spells and powers he puts in his characters are truly inventive and original. Written in 1983, it's still futuristic, even today. Piers writes for everyone, so it's good for teens through adults, I'd say.

This book is great! Anybody can read it, regardless of what genres you usually prefer, I think you will enjoy this read.

This is the first book in the Incarnations of Immortality series, and one of my favorites. I'm not a big fan of the Xanath series, but this one took me away! I couldn't put this book down once I started reading it.

I always love Piers Anthony.

Fun.

A fast read, cant wait to get the 2nd book!

This is my favorite series of Piers Anthony's, and On a Pale Horse is a great way to start the series.

Much better than his Xanth books!

In the first book of the Incarnations of Immortality, Piers Anthony takes on Death. Zane, a fairly ineffective person in life, accidentally kills Death instead of committing suicide, and must take over his position. He is almost immediately drawn into an evil plot of Satan's to destroy Luna, the woman he is falling in love with, and must use all the powers of his new position to try to defeat the Father of Lies...

Great start to a series, the concepts he deals with are very deep. I would have liked a better treatment of the female characters however.

My first introduction to this author and I enjoyed this book throughly. I even ordered the remaining 6 in this series.

This was a very addictive book - I couldn't put it down until the very end...even then I didn't want the ride to end!

I found this book to be quite unique.. it wove the world of lives into the world of death in such a way to make it a very extraordinary read.

from the back cover...

Shooting Death was a mistake, as Zane soon discovered. For the man who killed the Incarnation of Death was immediately forced to assume the vacant position! Thereafter, he must speed over the world, riding his pale horse, and ending the lives of others.

Zane was forced to accept his unwelcome task, despite the rules that seemed woefully unfair. But then he found himself being drawn into an evil plot of Satan. Already the Prince of Evil was forging a trap in which Zane must act to destroy Luna, the woman he loved.

He could see only one possible was to defeat the Father of Lies. It was unthinkable- but he had no other solution!

One of the best damn books to open a series ever. While the rest of the Incarnations of Immortality is of questionable value, this book ranks in my top ten. I love the way it looks at death from many different angles, and takes away much of the 'scare' factor. When I was a dark and troubled youth in middle school, this book was surprisingly comforting to me.

did not read.

The Man Who Murdered Death.

Normally I stay from Piers Anthony novels because I despise his Xanth series of books, but a friend recommended it and I gave it a try. This is perhaps one of the best fantasy novels I have ever read. Anthony creates a believable world in which magic and technology co-exist, and the incarnations of Death, Time, Fate, Nature, War, God, and Satan are actually positions which are held by former mortals.

Though the book is fantasy, Anthony weaves his thoughts on life, death, and dying into the story without it seeming obvious (like other authors *cough* Orson Scott Card *cough*).

I recommend this to anyone with even a slight interest in fantasy. I can't read to read the other six books on this series.

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