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

I absolutely dreaded reading this book. It was a book club selection and as soon as I heard, "Fantasy Sci-Fi" I started to tentatively dream up excuses to pass on the meeting. But, since it was just a few bucks on my Kindle, I downloaded it and glanced through the first few pages.I'm glad I did. It's been a long time since I looked forward to reading a book every night! So much fiction these days is predictable pap (don't get me started on "women's lit") that I sludge through just so I can smile and sip wine though a book club meeting that usually has to do with some thinly disguised romance novel. So I'm glad this book was recommended and I'm glad I stretched myself and read it. It's a very fast and easy read, too. But it does require a good amount of creative brain power to abandon yourself into the world of this book.Piers Anthony is a weird dude. And the book is a bizarre trip through Death's experience in the sci-fi world of the future. I found the odd anecdotes of the people he came across in his occupation to be much more interesting than the fantasy world and rigors that accompany his chores. But still, it pulls together nicely, and if I'm ever at a loss for something to read, I'll get the second book in the series, which I rarely do.

As Piers Anthony is one of my favorite authors from my formative years, and as Amazon does not allow half-stars, I'm being generous by rounding up this 3.5-star book to 4 stars.Overall, this is a fun exploration of an alternate Earth where magic and science coexist in equal parts. One of the side effects of the magic is the existence of the incarnations of Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Good, and Evil, each of which are offices held by a succession of previously mortal folks.This is a fun conceit, and well-handled by Anthony. It was especially enjoyable when I first read it as a 13-year-old in the mid-80s. Zane, the new officeholder of Death, is a likable sort, if not particularly bright, and the book follows him as he encounters the other incarnations and ultimately foils Satan's nefarious plans.The book isn't without its flaws. Dialogue is clunky. Anthony's well-known propensity to focus on female physiques is abundant (and was likely a selling point at 13). The odd matchsticks metaphor repeatedly revisited doesn't compute.That said, it's a good example of what would now likely be cataloged as YA fantasy. It's a fine beginning of a septology that I thoroughly enjoyed (excepting volume 2). It's original and well-written, with one of his signature verbose author's notes, which I always loved and have a special resonance now in light of the This American Life episode that featured what an avid fan did with the information included in them.

It's the extreme, it's the alluring, it's the sine qua non of life, isn't it?If graveyards, sickness and old age don't scare you, and assuming you are old and experienced enough, why would they, you must read the Author's Note at the end -- after you finish this book, before you even start reading it, or somewhere in the middle.My experience is the middle option. I am saving this book for a tasty vacation. But, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the note at the end. Who can tell what made me start there? But, having finished reading it in one breath -- ok, who is scared of an hyperbole? -- I can tell you that it's a gem and a very valuable one as opposed to the cheap ones from North Carolina the note mentions.If you want to write a book, any book, even a PhD thesis, the note tells you the one thing you must do. All other paths are to be entered at your financial and emotional peril.Piers also comes clean on his year of personal problems. Having read many of his books, Xanth and especially my favorite GeoOdyssey, I would put him up with the most transparent of authors. Hermann Hesse anyone? All of his demons as well as better angels are out of the deepest recesses of his soul.I posit that's the main reason I come back to books written by Piers as well as any other author worth their pen, or keyboard, or speech dictation tool.It's like I am reading a treatise of my own psyche, the universal one that connects us all, as Jung pointed out with his phrase: the collective (kind of) unconscious. It's coming out. Let it. That's how we will come out of this black or white, racist, worse, discriminatory nightmare where we project out of our minds all that we don't understand and therefore we hate, and can't help but see it in others. We blame instead of feel obviously guilty.There is another, a better way: know that we all do wrong when we don't know any better. It is time, now, we get to know ourselves and move towards more understanding and acceptance, let alone tolerance.

It's an excellent start to the series. I gave this book, and much of the series, 4 of 5 stars though because the author has two problems with his writing that's easily identifiable:1 - Piers Anthony seems to focus on women and sexual connotations a bit much imo. This is fine if the stories call for it, but hardly any of his books call for it. The ideas just seem to be there as a sprinkling of 'flavor' every possible chance to add it.2 - There are huge blocks of the story that go off on seemingly inconsequential tangents for the amount of the story that's written in these parts. Condense and move on is what I would say about those bits. It's almost as if he didn't know what to write for the next twenty pages, so just kept those bits going until the next major story transition.Piers Anthony writes like this too in his other series, especially for his Apprentice Adapt series where he can't seem to keep the character in one phase for very long, constantly going back and forth too frequently for massive story distractions like the games.That's all my personal take, these books are very good though overall. I would absolutely check them out and enjoy the stories.

Reminds me a lot of Discworld and the way that the late great Sir Terry Pratchett related to Death.This is probably the greatest black comedy novel ever written about the Grim Reaper, it is a lot of fun which is also just as intelligent, if you love mythology, philosophy, psychology, or are just a free spirit by nature with an open mind and an open heart then you will understand a lot of the hidden meanings contained within Piers Anthony's stories. I have bought many books about the Grim Reaper and this was the best.If you love Terry Pratchett's Discworld series especially Mort, Reaper Man, Soul Music then you will love Piers Anthony and On A Pale Horse.

I have read this book many many times, so much so it was falling apart therefore buying this copy, was of a quality equal to new and delivery was on time.

On a palehorse ....Death becomes youThey should put this on curriculumLighthearted look at Death .

Someone had written on the closed book pages and I had bought it as a present so was a little disappointed but hey still enjoyed the read.

I set out to like it - had heard it was great - but it reminded me of those sci fi books that are all about spacecraft and metal things with no personality or message.sorry..Philip K Dick won my heart years back and this doesn't come near...