Reviews

On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony

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queenofstrays's review

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

billymac1962's review against another edition

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3.0

This was quite good. How could you go wrong with a story about a hapless schmuck who kills Death and therefore must take over his job? It's a quick read, with some truely sentimental moments, a few funny ones, and several interesting ideas on the whole life/death thing.
This is the first novel in the Incarnations series, but this is the only one I was really interested in, so it stops for me here. A recommended fun read.

violetturtledove's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I feel like I should be a little tentative when judging the first book in a series like this, it's a good opening but it really all depends on how the rest of the series plays out.

The world is a fun mix of fantasy and futuristic technology, it's set in our world but at an unspecified future date. It's lively and easy to get into, the serious subjects are kept light with puns and surreal aspects, and it has a fun bureaucratic take on the afterlife.

On the subject of the incarnations themselves... It's hard not to make comparisons to The Sandman and Discworld; this was earlier than one and the other was just getting started. They deal with some similar themes but I feel the morality is a bit more heavy-handed here.

There's also the fact that this author can be a little crass when dealing with sex and female characters - there's quite a gross plot point involving virginity, but other than that it's not too bad (opinions may vary on this, some of his work I feel has aged quite badly).

On the whole, it may not be mind-blowingly original to a modern reader with a larger range of fantasy to compare it to, but it's certainly engaging enough to make me want to continue with the series.

ingres77's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

sydgolt's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

worst book i’ve ever read.

Content Warnings

malloryhughson's review against another edition

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I read 2 horribly long boring chapters of this misogynistic book and I can’t do it anymore :( I tried. A cool story/concept with dreadful execution so thanks Piers Anthony for wasting my time