With a Tangled Skein, Being a Green Mother and one other in this series alone focus on that feminine strength. I really don't like this book. References to this work on external resources. I heard that this is the low point of the series, so I'll continue on. To understand Anthony's creations, you have to realize how he writes. Another problem is that a substantial amount of the book is simply Norton trying to. I think this series is growing on me a bit. As a fan of the Fantasy and Sci-Fi genres, I felt an obligation to like Piers Anthony's novels. It shows. Sometimes the character's interactions with others are hard to follow, but it is an enjoyable book. Bearing An Hourglass (Downloadable Audiobook) : Anthony, Piers : Bearing an Hourglass is a fascinating, richly imagined tale that reaches beyond the normal science fiction/fantasy realm. He needed to leave the hard science to Asimov in my opinion. Sning - Cool Character or Exposition Plot Device? But I think Anthony first thought of a post incarnation life in later books. Science fiction/fantasy legend Piers Anthony combines a gripping plot with a serious and thought-providing study of good and evil. Monster has "no head .. no crotch .. no heart" p 137. It's still shallow, but at least there is an overall plan. Again, it was not terrifically interesting. And both must learn to survive in environments alien to their own nature. Slowly.) The underlying premise of this series is that concepts such as Death, Time, Nature, Fate and War each have an immortal incarnation: a mortal man or woman who takes on the role for a given period of time, and whose job is to take care of all worldly matters pertaining to that concept. At that point in chapter 1, nobody, not even the protagonist, and definitely not the reader, knew what was going on. I was rather hoping I'd like this title better now that I have more time but time didn't seem to help me understand Chronos any! BiblioCore: app12 Version 8.33.1 Last updated 2020/09/08 12:21, Prince Frederick, Md. Another problem is that a substantial amount of the book is simply Norton trying to figure things out in a logical manner. Despite my indifference (and at times annoyance) with On a Pale Horse, I went ahead and plowed through Bearing an Hourglass. However, it's a definite must to read because if you skip it you'll miss seeing how the incarnations and their stories are intertwined. This series allows him much more room for social and moral commentary while still being fun and escapist reading. I just had the chance to re-read this and found myself asking, "What was I thinking?! after reading two high literature books (Bindi by Paul Maisano and the Unpassing by Chia-Chia Lin), I'm taking a break with the highly-readable if somewhat disreputable Piers Anthony. It seems that Mr. Anthony had a LOT of fun writing this book, playing around with the ideas of paradox, time travel, alternate realities, terrene and contraterrene worlds, space travel, and the like. In this series I found On a White Horse and For Love of Evil (this is my second go around this series, except for book 8, Under a Velvet Cloak, which is kinda why I am re-reading the series, to bone up before reading that) are better stories, this is yet another Anthony feat. It tells the story of Norton, who takes on the office of Chronos (Time). I might try the next book in the series but I am genuinely surprised that I remembered this series with any fondness at all, and mortified that I ordered 5 of the books (only had 2 of my own) to complete the set, with a view to recommending them to the. We’d love your help. Now, Mach has crossed from Proton to Phaze, switching places with his counterpart, Bane. That might make this book a bit too cerebral for some, but those areas can be cataloged and take as "Trek Talk" without too much loss to the story. The tale is a complex one, as one would expect any story about time to be, but the author makes it unnecessarily complicated and is then forced into a need for over explanation, pushing the style towards much telling rather than showing. One thing to keep in mind; this book would be approximately 12 pages long if not for all the time traveling going on. He also mentioned Asimov in his note. I read this book in Middle School and thought it was amazing. Piers Anthony is such a misogynist prick, but he sometimes wrote fun stories. This being the second book of his I've read, I now am saddened by the thought that adolescents (and please not adults) would become introspective by Piers Anthony's implicit statements on the human condition. The shining light are several 30 page stretches of shallow fun. Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books. This storytelling idea holds a great deal of fascination for me. Just remember when these were written there weren't many strong women in the Fantasy genre. Bearing an Hourglass features the Incarnation of Time, someone who can travel to any point in time, can bend time to his will, and who freaking lives backwards.