Teen Cafe’

After blazing through the first two books of Incarnations of Immortality, On a Pale Horse and Bearing an Hourglass, I could not wait to read the third. The book began the same as the others, focusing on the mortal life of the Incarnation and moving in towards their time as an Immortal. Piers Anthony’s odd sense of humor is back once again, with a woman’s spin on it. The main character of this book, Fate, is composed of three women of different ages. While the book is based on Fate, it focuses mostly on Niobe (who becomes Clotho and Lachesis). Atropos is the third part of the three characters of Fate, and is not talked about as much as the other two, but still is an important part of the story. The book is once again drastically different than the first two books, making it all the more fun to read. Also, now that I know the jest of how the tales are told, I know what to expect.

This book does something very different, as it has the same character take on the role of different aspects of the same Incarnation. Niobe acts as Clotho, the youngest version of Fate, returns to her mortal life, and then later becomes the middle-aged Lachesis, another part of Fate. It was quite interesting to see an Incarnation return to his previous mortal life after being Immortal.

The story does fill in some family tree elements, as you learn that Niobe is the grandmother of Luna, who is the wife of Zane from On a Pale Horse and is the Fate who had relations with Norton from Bearing an Hourglass. It is also told that Niobe’s other daughter, Orb, will become an Incarnation herself and marry Satan. This story does indeed shed some light on things to come, but also creates many new mysteries. The book truly lives up to the greatness of the first two and does so in its own way.

Pros: Great story, does things the other stories did not do, keeping the series fresh, Explains things in the story that shed light on the relation of the characters

Cons: Does not explore such unique areas as the other two did

Overall: 8.5/10

Going back in time to read an older book!

After reading the first book, On a Pale Horse, I had very high expectations for the sequel. Once again the first few chapters made me worried, but the story quickly picked up. The humor from the first has been replaced by constant suspense, which seems suited for the book, as the protagonist is Time. The story is just as good as the first, but seems very different, as if written by a different author. The humor has been misplaced by just pure oddness, and the ways things are described are as different as the characters in the book themselves. The story is told in third person, but the way things are described seem to follow the way the main character would perceive them, not as how Piers Anthony would. Norton, the character who becomes Chronos, the Incarnation of Time, has a somewhat inanimate object that can come alive in his snake ring; “Sning” much as Zane from the On a Pale Horse had his horse/car.

Unfortunately, the book only scratches the surface of the life of Chronos, but you do get to learn much about the way he lives. The story was once again very compelling and hard to put down, but I just feel like going a little farther into the life of Chronos would have been nice. I liked how the story went back to scenes from the first book, viewing them through Norton’s eyes. Hopefully future books in the series will go deeper into the life of Norton. Overall though, another great novel in the series, making Incarnations of Immortality even better.

Pros: Great story, Still very hard to put down, another interesting subject for a story, Writing is very different but still great

Cons: Humor is replaced by just pure oddities, Does not go very far into the live of Norton

Overall: 9/10

Bearing An Hourglass (Incarnations of Immortality, Book 2)

This is the fourth movie in a very good series of films. All the movies in the series so far have been very good and true to the original stories, and this one does not disappoint. I would not suggest watching this if you have not read or watched the first three, because you can’t really enjoy the story if you skip them. If you are not watching the movies, I recommend reading the 5^th and 6^th books in the series.

The book transitions very well to a movie, and I have to say, being able to watch a 700+ page book in about 2 hours is very nice. The movie cleverly adds small scenes and removes unneeded parts from the book which makes the movie flow better. This keeps the movie interesting, even if you have already read the books.

The actors do an amazing job of playing the parts and feel just like the characters from the book. The supporting characters are also surprisingly good which in turn makes the movie better. The supporting characters add little bits of fun and humor in between the conversations of the main characters.

The special effects of the movie are really stunning, and make one of the most amazing ending scenes I have ever seen. The spells and creatures are beautiful and look very dangerous and real.

The movie does a great job of recreating the suspense in the book, and does so magically. Overall, the movie was really an amazing film.

Special Effects: 9/10

Acting: 9.5/10

Story: 9/10

Cleverness: 9/10

Trueness to the books: 8/10

Pros: Great special effects and acting. Stunning new performance from the supporting cast, Each story gets better than the last

Cons: None

Overall: 9/10

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Widescreen Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (Harry Potter 4)