On A Pale Horse
Revive the old Books put to death!
This is the first Piers Anthony novel I have read, and I was amazed at how amazing Anthony made this story, On a Pale Horse. The series, titled The Incarnations of Immortality, has to do with the aspects of things like Time, Mother Nature, or, as in this one, Death. The first few chapters or two turned me off, as it seemed a little too serious and melancholy, and did not at first notice the humor of the book, even though I had been previously warned about it. He makes the jokes so subtly and artistically you almost have to look to find them. The idea of the story is the only thing that kept me reading in the beginning, as I thought that a story about the Grim Reaper would certainly be interesting. I have really did enjoy the story, and liked learning, as Zane did, about the challenges Death must undertake throughout his “career.” Anthony manages to blend together many religions and myths flawlessly, and creates a novel that just can not be put down. I would be going to bed and finishing a chapter, and then all of a sudden I was halfway into the next chapter.
Anthony creates the perfect character for the story, which happens to be perfect. The character, Zane, is described as having a horrible life, but Anthony really makes it impossible to pity him. Until you learn about his past through him telling it to Luna, the woman he loves, he is portrayed as someone who deserves to be in that situation. He killed his mother, gambled away his inheritance, and now has nothing. Doesn’t exactly sound like someone deserving of pity, does it? Anthony convincingly wove the story into my head, and I can’t wait to pick up the next one in the series.
Pros: Hilarious, Interesting take on the role of Death, Great writing style
Cons: You really need to understand the humor or you won’t like this book, You need some sort of knowledge of mythology to recognize a lot of the names and characters.
Overall: 9.5/10
