On a Pale Horse (Incarnations of Immortality, volume 1) by Piers Anthony

A feckless American fails upward to become Death, preserver of worlds.

https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/trying-his-best
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 08:10:13 -0400 (EDT), jdnicoll@panix.com (James
Nicoll) wrote:

On a Pale Horse (Incarnations of Immortality, volume 1) by Piers

Anthony

A feckless American fails upward to become Death, preserver of worlds.

https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/trying-his-best

You forgot to mention that this is a pentology of seven novels.

Novel 6, deals with Satan/the Devil and Novel 7 deals with God. I
found them very interesting. Satan prevents the Holocaust and empties
Hell. No, really.

Some of them were a bit ... long ... for my taste. Not is size; in time-to-read. But I still like them all, but there are indeed better
things to read out there.
--
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

In article <kvd97ldqqc4q5bsut18g32jq3o7oeal4jd@4ax.com>,
Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 08:10:13 -0400 (EDT), jdnicoll@panix.com (James
Nicoll) wrote:

On a Pale Horse (Incarnations of Immortality, volume 1) by Piers Anthony

A feckless American fails upward to become Death, preserver of worlds.

https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/trying-his-best

You forgot to mention that this is a pentology of seven novels.

There was an eighth title, _Under a Velvet Cloak_ published in 2007. I
have not read (or even seen) it but, IIRC, the focus is on Nix the
Incarnation of Night (I think she was mentioned a few times in the
earlier titles).

Novel 6, deals with Satan/the Devil and Novel 7 deals with God. I
found them very interesting. Satan prevents the Holocaust and empties
Hell. No, really.

Some of them were a bit ... long ... for my taste. Not is size; in time-to-read. But I still like them all, but there are indeed better
things to read out there.

--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_. -------------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Paul S Person wrote in article <kvd97ldqqc4q5bsut18g32jq3o7oeal4jd@
4ax.com>:

On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 08:10:13 -0400 (EDT), jdnicoll@panix.com (James
Nicoll) wrote:

On a Pale Horse (Incarnations of Immortality, volume 1) by Piers Anthony

I liked this a lot when I first read it. It was the first book I recall
in which I actually understood why the protagonist liked the love
interest. Luna was a good character in her own right.

A feckless American fails upward to become Death, preserver of worlds.

https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/trying-his-best

You forgot to mention that this is a pentology of seven novels.

Novel 6, deals with Satan/the Devil and Novel 7 deals with God. I
found them very interesting. Satan prevents the Holocaust and empties
Hell. No, really.

Some of them were a bit ... long ... for my taste. Not is size; in time-to-read. But I still like them all, but there are indeed better
things to read out there.

There's an eighth, focusing on Nox. It was written much later, and it
wasn't very good. In fact, it's rather disturbing.

N puvyq vf obhtug nf n frk fynir naq snyyf va ybir jvgu ure bjare. Jura
ur qvfnccrnef, gur puvyq qrpvqrf gb orpbzr n cebfgvghgr, jvgu gur nofheq ernfbavat gung guvf jvyy yrg ure yvfgra sbe arjf bs uvz. Vg trgf
perrcvre sebz gurer.


--
The meek shall inherit, we're told,
But I'm not so easily sold.
For supposing they should,
It would do them no good --
They'd lose it at once to the bold.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 8/6/2026 8:10 AM, James Nicoll wrote:

On a Pale Horse (Incarnations of Immortality, volume 1) by Piers Anthony

A feckless American fails upward to become Death, preserver of worlds.

https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/trying-his-best

While I agree that Anthony is a hack, writing pot-boilers to support
one's family is not without honor.

I really enjoyed 1971's 'Prostho Plus' about a galactic prosthodontist (reallly!) encountering various alien patients. It has a level of
detail that made me assume Anthony had a medical background (he
didn't). It's mainly a comedy.

pt

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

James Nicoll wrote:

On a Pale Horse (Incarnations of Immortality, volume 1) by Piers Anthony

A feckless American fails upward to become Death, preserver of worlds.

https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/trying-his-best

I too had reached the point of reading only the first volume of any
Anthony series. This was readable, but I estimated that the typical second-volume falloff would make the next book unreadable.

I read only one other Anthony, his "The Shade of the Tree", which made
me somewhat sad, thinking of the writer we could have had.

But his better books just didn't give him a living wage, so I can't
blame him for writing what the market would buy.

William Hyde

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

I really enjoyed 1971's 'Prostho Plus' about a galactic prosthodontist >(reallly!) encountering various alien patients. It has a level of
detail that made me assume Anthony had a medical background (he
didn't). It's mainly a comedy.

The problem with the Piers Anthony comedies is that really they are all the same. The premise is amusing but after you read a couple of books they start to wear quickly. Prostho Plus is a good start. Maybe read one of the Xanth novels but if you read more than two or three you'll start to get annoyed. --scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Scott Dorsey wrote in article <1154g6l$6sl$1@panix2.panix.com>:

Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

I really enjoyed 1971's 'Prostho Plus' about a galactic prosthodontist >(reallly!) encountering various alien patients. It has a level of
detail that made me assume Anthony had a medical background (he
didn't). It's mainly a comedy.

The problem with the Piers Anthony comedies is that really they are all the same. The premise is amusing but after you read a couple of books they start to wear quickly. Prostho Plus is a good start. Maybe read one of the Xanth novels but if you read more than two or three you'll start to get
annoyed.

Prostho Plus is more overtly funny than the Xanth books, IMO.

The early Xanth books haven't aged well. Anthony's sexism looks a lot
worse in retrospect. The books do get better in that respect as they go
along; Night Mare is downright feminist.

My personal "Sexist, but somehow the series is still good" award goes to
James White and his Hospital Station series. It features interspecies medicine, aided by the doctors holding copies of alien psyches within
their minds -- but women can't, because "their pretty little minds" are
too narcissistic to handle the reality of another ego, so only men are attending physicians.

There is also the astonishingly ridiculous character of Murchison, a hot
nurse who later morphs into a pathologist as White tries to figure out
what to do with her, who never says or does one plausible thing. White
writes about methane breathers and energy beings, but the one creature
which baffles him completely is a female member of his own species.

--
The meek shall inherit, we're told,
But I'm not so easily sold.
For supposing they should,
It would do them no good --
They'd lose it at once to the bold.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> wrote:

Prostho Plus is more overtly funny than the Xanth books, IMO.

I strongly agree about that today, because the Xanth books are basically outrageous strings of bad puns with a thin plot holding them together.
I thought this was hilarioud when I was twelve but I am no longer twelve.

The early Xanth books haven't aged well. Anthony's sexism looks a lot
worse in retrospect. The books do get better in that respect as they go >along; Night Mare is downright feminist.

All of the characters in the Xanth books are ludicrous stereotypes, which
again worked well when I was twelve but not today. The women are not the
only ones but they do come across more poorly than the men.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:14:46 -0700, Robert Woodward
<robertaw@drizzle.com> wrote:

In article <kvd97ldqqc4q5bsut18g32jq3o7oeal4jd@4ax.com>,
Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 08:10:13 -0400 (EDT), jdnicoll@panix.com (James
Nicoll) wrote:

On a Pale Horse (Incarnations of Immortality, volume 1) by Piers

Anthony

A feckless American fails upward to become Death, preserver of

worlds.

https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/trying-his-best

You forgot to mention that this is a pentology of seven novels.

There was an eighth title, _Under a Velvet Cloak_ published in 2007. I
have not read (or even seen) it but, IIRC, the focus is on Nix the >Incarnation of Night (I think she was mentioned a few times in the
earlier titles).

I made a note of this, and plan to check it out.

Thanks.
--
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 17:30:34 -0400, William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com>
wrote:

James Nicoll wrote:

On a Pale Horse (Incarnations of Immortality, volume 1) by Piers

Anthony

A feckless American fails upward to become Death, preserver of worlds.

https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/trying-his-best

I too had reached the point of reading only the first volume of any
Anthony series. This was readable, but I estimated that the typical >second-volume falloff would make the next book unreadable.

I read only one other Anthony, his "The Shade of the Tree", which made
me somewhat sad, thinking of the writer we could have had.

But his better books just didn't give him a living wage, so I can't
blame him for writing what the market would buy.

I read a bunch of Xanths, /Viscous Circle/, and a trilogy(? three of
/Split Infinity/, /Castle Roogna/, /Blue Adept/, /Juxtaposition/ ?) as
well as the Incarnations of Eternity.

The Xanths and /Viscous Circle/ are long gone. The others remain.
--
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Fri, 7 Aug 2026 12:00:41 -0400 (EDT), kludge@panix.com (Scott
Dorsey) wrote:

The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> wrote:

Prostho Plus is more overtly funny than the Xanth books, IMO.

I strongly agree about that today, because the Xanth books are basically >outrageous strings of bad puns with a thin plot holding them together.
I thought this was hilarioud when I was twelve but I am no longer

twelve.

The early Xanth books haven't aged well. Anthony's sexism looks a lot >>worse in retrospect. The books do get better in that respect as they go

along; Night Mare is downright feminist.

All of the characters in the Xanth books are ludicrous stereotypes,

which

again worked well when I was twelve but not today. The women are not

the

only ones but they do come across more poorly than the men.

I got rid of them all (well, all that I had bought over the years,
anyway) eventually. IIRC, he eventually provided maps showing where
Xanth was at various periods. If that happened, I did find them
interesting. But not interesting enough to keep the books.
--
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Paul S Person wrote in article
<63ne7l5hhgbjqe2ha1vvottvqpaj1fpghv@4ax.com>:

On Fri, 7 Aug 2026 12:00:41 -0400 (EDT), kludge@panix.com (Scott
Dorsey) wrote:

I got rid of them all (well, all that I had bought over the years,
anyway) eventually. IIRC, he eventually provided maps showing where
Xanth was at various periods. If that happened, I did find them
interesting. But not interesting enough to keep the books.

As far as I ever heard, Xanth was always Florida. Did it move
around?

--
The meek shall inherit, we're told,
But I'm not so easily sold.
For supposing they should,
It would do them no good --
They'd lose it at once to the bold.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Sat, 8 Aug 2026 13:41:44 -0400, The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> wrote:

Paul S Person wrote in article
<63ne7l5hhgbjqe2ha1vvottvqpaj1fpghv@4ax.com>:

On Fri, 7 Aug 2026 12:00:41 -0400 (EDT), kludge@panix.com (Scott
Dorsey) wrote:

I got rid of them all (well, all that I had bought over the years,
anyway) eventually. IIRC, he eventually provided maps showing where
Xanth was at various periods. If that happened, I did find them
interesting. But not interesting enough to keep the books.

As far as I ever heard, Xanth was always Florida. Did it move
around?

IIRC, at one time it was in Italy.

But it's been a /very/ long time.
--
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Fri, 7 Aug 2026 07:40:05 -0400 (EDT), kludge@panix.com (Scott
Dorsey) wrote:

The problem with the Piers Anthony comedies is that really they are all the >same. The premise is amusing but after you read a couple of books they start >to wear quickly.

I'm currently having that issue with the Discworld series. I enjoyed
the first four or five, but it's been kind of diminishing returns
since then. Pratchett is a clever, funny writer, but he does tend to
re-use a lot of the same jokes book after book.

That said, I'm up to "Soul Music" and am still enjoying them enough
that I'll probably continue on with the series. I already bought a
few of the later entries in used book stores.

-- Bob

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Thu, 6 Aug 2026 14:08:09 -0400, Cryptoengineer
<petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

I really enjoyed 1971's 'Prostho Plus' about a galactic prosthodontist >(reallly!) encountering various alien patients. It has a level of
detail that made me assume Anthony had a medical background (he
didn't). It's mainly a comedy.

My former dentist (now retired) was a sci-fi fan, and he saw me
reading sci-fi in the waiting room often enough that we started
discussing the topic. He'd tell me at nearly every visit that there
was a Piers Anthony book about a space dentist that he'd read years
ago, but he couldn't remember the title. Now I know.

[Sorry for the late reply - I was on vacation and am now catching up]

-- Bob

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)