I'm writing this on April 25, 2000. Last reading: about 3 weeks ago

I'm aware of just how prolific Piers Anthony is, yet I've read very little of his work. A friend gave me this one (to keep)... he wasn't too impressed with it, but said it's decent light reading. I have to agree.

As noted on the back cover: "The Man Who Murdered Death... Shooting Death was a mistake, as Zane soon discovered. For the man who killed the Incarnation of Death was immediately forced to assume the vacant position! Thereafter, he must speed over the world, riding his pale horse, and ending the lives of others."... An interesting premise, and there were some fun characters.

The stuff I liked most: the thoughts of fate, the idea of powerful formerly mortal "incarnations" of various aspects of the world, and the ways of arranging matchsticks to represent different kinds of thought processes. (Series: straightforward, linear thought; parallel: safe deduction based on many different paths; star: creative, divergent thoughts; pentagon: schizoid, going round and round, internalizing; - ||| - : creative, sudden jump to conclusion).

The stuff I liked least: how things that should have been exciting were rather bland; the consistant preachiness favoring relatively hurtful or immoral things.

This was a surprisingly successful blend of magic and technology, and beings of a whole range of power. It was usually fun and easy to read. But it's sort of like low-fat instant pudding: generally light and pleasant, but generally unsatisfying and leaving a bad taste.

Some good, some bad. More good than bad, if you want a ride you'll read then forget. And while the characters were reasonably fun, I won't be going out of my way to find any more of the "Incarnations of Immortality" series.