I like a good second-or-thirdhand paperback. I like my pages yellowed, reeking of old smoke. And being the badass I think I am, I like to break All The Rules and judge books by their covers. Just as I can be swayed with a good movie trailer, the bent, ripped cover art of sy-fy (!) and fantasy books call to me at thrift stores and yard sales alike.
This is how I came to own Bearing An Hourglass (which as it turns out is Book 2 of Incarnations of Immortality, what is it with me reading sequels first?) and how I came to love it. As in, I want to marry it. Read it every night, down by the fire. Make sweet sweet butt-love to the Hourglass.
Seriously, I'll be looking for the rest of the series.
Norton hangs out. He goes camping, he meets a ghost. A friendly-ish ghost. Had a wife, but no heir. Wants to hire Norton to father an heir, it's all legal (and it's all spoiler-free because that's just the initial set-up) and Norton is convinced to do the job, but (of course) falls for the widow. It's all very Melrose, but in a world where there are (say) dragons, but also (say) escalators.
Now follow me here. In this "universe", regular humans have some very big jobs. There is a guy who's job it is to be Death. There's a woman (women?) who act as Fate. And wouldn't you know it- Norton, who just bums around all day, gets a chance to be Time.
Along with his little truth-o-meter demon SNake rING (or "sning"), he travels to the ends of time and back and forth a little more and back just a smidge as he tries to get the hang of his new Symbol of Office, the hourglass. The hourglass has all sorts of time-relating powers and can fold up to fit in his pocket. And he has that fabulous cloak (which drew me to the cover) that will age your hand off if you try to grab at him.
I haven't even hit upon the meat of the book yet, the part where Satan (what the hell?) comes and effs things up for Norton, sending him on a quest that has him battling bug-eyed monsters in outer space and saving a winged unicorn.
All the while, LIVING BACKWARDS like some super awesome Benjamin Pitt.
I could go on and on, but it's late. And I have a fire going...
Are you planning on winning this thing by the end of the month? Because at this rate you'll be the champion.
ReplyDeleteOh my God, I love this series! I have probably read it 6 times. You have to read the other books, especially the first one, On a Pale Horse. Each book is about a mortal who takes one of the offices of the Incarnations of Immortality. Death is a good book, as is Fate. The others are still pretty good, but not as awesome.
ReplyDeleteWow I forgot about that series! In retrospect I think the Satan one and the War one were the ones I found the most surprisingly entertaining, Death is good because he's the first book so he sets up the world a little better. I vaguely remember God (the last book) being a little anticlimactic though. Might have to pick these up again, I'm glad you enjoyed this one!
ReplyDeleteI've read this series a bazillion times. It was my favorite as an adolescent, and I've given away, bought, lost and bought again about three sets of the series. It's Piers Anthony at his best!
ReplyDeletePS I read the fifth book first, and then all the others out of order, and I honestly think that enhanced my experience of the series. There are a lot of interrelationships and parallel plots amongst the books, and it was fun to have to unravel them instead of having them laid out in temporal order.
ReplyDeleteMan, I haven't read Anthony in years. I recall that I thoroughly enjoyed this series. If I ever see you use the phrase "sy-fy" again, I will hunt you down, strangle you with dental floss and ear-spelunk your corpse. Way to get me all stabby at 5:30 in the morning.
ReplyDeleteoh goodie! i'm glad this book wasn't a series fluke, because i enjoyed the holy hell out of it. i couldn't put it down (seriously, i've been walking around with it, stopping occasionally to kiss its pulpy bulk and rub it briskly against my bare chest and belly and...)
ReplyDeletewhy hadn't you folks told me how good it was before now? some friends you are!
Hmm, I have this series in a box somewhere, haven't read it in about 8 years. Think I'm going to dig it out again. Thanks for the reminder geep!
ReplyDeleteI totally have the third book (With A Tangled Skein, which I had to look up because I read it AGES ago) in this series! THAT I GOT AT A YARD SALE!
ReplyDeleteWe are practically MIND TWINS.
And now I need to start scouring yard sales/the library (library books have a great smell too) for the rest of the series. Yay!
P.S. Nice review! It got me all excited, and not just in the dirty way! In the geeky reading way!
Piers Anthony was a particular favorite when I was a young sci-fi devotee and now you've made me want to go back and re-read this series. Nice work, sir!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds awesome. I don't read a lot of sci-fi, but if you keep on reviewing these crazypants/awesome-sounding books, I may start reading them more.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I do believe I'll need to add some SciFi to my CBR2 list. This actually sounds interesting...
ReplyDeleteNot to quibble, but I believe that the Incarnations of Immortality series falls firmly under the category of Fantasy. There is very little in the way of advanced technology, but plenty of magic and mythology. Either way, it's a series worth reading.
ReplyDelete1. I want to read these books RIGHT NOW.
ReplyDelete2. That first paragraph had me giggling like a 12 year old. At work. My co-worker's giving me a weird look, and I'm going to have to explain.
3. You are completely right about used books. I've been using the CBR as an excuse to rampage through the op shops. I'm getting a lot of double takes from snarky old ladies though...