Book Review: On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony
Book: On a Pale Horse
Author: Piers Anthony
Genre: Fantasy
Julia Rating: 9
Comments: On a Pale Horse
Now, On a Pale Horse was an interesting book, full of neat ideas, strange situations and interesting characters. It is based in a world where the demi-gods of Earth, Fate, Death, Time and more are alive and well, working as intermediaries for God and the Devil. The book seamlessly integrates the ideas of evolution with religion – which I found very interesting.
The premise is that a young man (Zane) accidentally kills Death, thus having to assume the position himself. It goes through Zane meeting each incarnation, going about his duties as Death in a rather unorthodox manner and generally running into strange situations a person put in his position probably would run into. He also falls in love with a beautiful – yet doomed – young woman that he must save from the grips of Hell too. In pursuit of saving his new love, he runs into an entire plot that the other incarnations are in on – but have failed to inform him of.
The reason I gave it less than a ten is completely personal. I am not into the formality of the writing. Mr. Anthony is a fantastic writer, but he can be too formal for my taste, and he was with this book.