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A review by ryner
Bearing an Hourglass by Piers Anthony
2.0
What if death, time, fate, war, nature, evil and good were not mere concepts but offices held by actual people, like any other occupation?
Norton is the man who became Time. Grieving for a love lost and spending his time aimlessly wandering, he accepts the opportunity to become the immortal incarnation of Time. This means living his life backwards with respect to the rest of the world, and assisting Fate in navigating and repairing the great tapestry of life. Norton discovers that it also means extricating himself from the devious traps laid by The Father of Lies himself.
I first read Anthony’s Incarnations of Immortality series in high school and thought they were superb. I’m now reading them again and, while I still find the premise of Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Good and Evil being mere offices fascinating, the more experienced reader in me is viewing them with a more critical eye. Entirely too much time is spent on Norton’s “visits” to the sci-fi/fantasy realms, and not nearly enough on his experiences while learning his new office. In addition, almost every character in the book is a two-dimensional stereotype, which grows wearisome.
Norton is the man who became Time. Grieving for a love lost and spending his time aimlessly wandering, he accepts the opportunity to become the immortal incarnation of Time. This means living his life backwards with respect to the rest of the world, and assisting Fate in navigating and repairing the great tapestry of life. Norton discovers that it also means extricating himself from the devious traps laid by The Father of Lies himself.
I first read Anthony’s Incarnations of Immortality series in high school and thought they were superb. I’m now reading them again and, while I still find the premise of Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Good and Evil being mere offices fascinating, the more experienced reader in me is viewing them with a more critical eye. Entirely too much time is spent on Norton’s “visits” to the sci-fi/fantasy realms, and not nearly enough on his experiences while learning his new office. In addition, almost every character in the book is a two-dimensional stereotype, which grows wearisome.