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A review by chally
Bearing an Hourglass by Piers Anthony
4.0
The underlying premise of this series is that concepts such as Death, Time, Nature, Fate and War each have an immortal incarnation: a mortal man or woman who takes on the role for a given period of time, and whose job is to take care of all worldly matters pertaining to that concept.
The first story introduced Death to us. Bearing an Hourglass is the second book, and as might be guessed from the title it’s about Time. Norton is an ordinary man who agrees to take on the role of Time after a series of misfortunes and disappointments in his mortal life – specifically, the loss of the woman he loved.
As Chronos, he is obliged to live his life backwards, which makes interaction with other people confusing and difficult. This is merely one of a number of mind-bending ideas set forth in this story. Mr Anthony’s grasp of complicated time-based paradoxes is considerably better than mine, I admit, but I enjoyed the challenge of keeping the convoluted plot straight as Chronos does increasingly weird things with the flow of time.
Learning his new job is difficult for Norton, as might be expected, but this is further complicated by the activities of Satan, the Incarnation of Evil. Norton may be brand new on the job, but he’s launched into the thick of things right away as Satan tries to use Norton’s inexperience for his own ends. This portrayal of Satan wasn’t that original, I suppose: he’s a sharp-suited, urbane, smooth-talking businessman. But I didn’t mind that; he was fun to read about, and his plots are suitably fiendish.
Which brings me to an interesting point about this series. Satan’s latest plot relates back to the tricks he was pulling in book one (On a Pale Horse). Having previously read that book I could see some of it coming; if I hadn’t it would have been a different experience, as most of it would have been a surprise. Knowing what Satan was trying to pull somewhat earlier than Norton didn’t at all ruin the experience though; it was interesting, and a clever way to connect the two books.
I had mixed feelings about Norton himself. He is a bloke with a one-track-mind. Even after he loses the one woman he sincerely loved, he’s so easily distracted by an attractive female (of which there is always a very ready supply). He lets go of the aforesaid former love rather easily in the end, and this supposedly driving motivation just fades away. He came across as a rather flimsy hero, then, whose love isn’t worth much.
All told though, this was an enjoyable read. The first book was more fantasy than science fiction; this one was more science fiction than fantasy. I’m looking forward to the third book: I’m sure there are some more surprises in store.
The first story introduced Death to us. Bearing an Hourglass is the second book, and as might be guessed from the title it’s about Time. Norton is an ordinary man who agrees to take on the role of Time after a series of misfortunes and disappointments in his mortal life – specifically, the loss of the woman he loved.
As Chronos, he is obliged to live his life backwards, which makes interaction with other people confusing and difficult. This is merely one of a number of mind-bending ideas set forth in this story. Mr Anthony’s grasp of complicated time-based paradoxes is considerably better than mine, I admit, but I enjoyed the challenge of keeping the convoluted plot straight as Chronos does increasingly weird things with the flow of time.
Learning his new job is difficult for Norton, as might be expected, but this is further complicated by the activities of Satan, the Incarnation of Evil. Norton may be brand new on the job, but he’s launched into the thick of things right away as Satan tries to use Norton’s inexperience for his own ends. This portrayal of Satan wasn’t that original, I suppose: he’s a sharp-suited, urbane, smooth-talking businessman. But I didn’t mind that; he was fun to read about, and his plots are suitably fiendish.
Which brings me to an interesting point about this series. Satan’s latest plot relates back to the tricks he was pulling in book one (On a Pale Horse). Having previously read that book I could see some of it coming; if I hadn’t it would have been a different experience, as most of it would have been a surprise. Knowing what Satan was trying to pull somewhat earlier than Norton didn’t at all ruin the experience though; it was interesting, and a clever way to connect the two books.
I had mixed feelings about Norton himself. He is a bloke with a one-track-mind. Even after he loses the one woman he sincerely loved, he’s so easily distracted by an attractive female (of which there is always a very ready supply). He lets go of the aforesaid former love rather easily in the end, and this supposedly driving motivation just fades away. He came across as a rather flimsy hero, then, whose love isn’t worth much.
All told though, this was an enjoyable read. The first book was more fantasy than science fiction; this one was more science fiction than fantasy. I’m looking forward to the third book: I’m sure there are some more surprises in store.