Wednesday 8 February 2012

On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony



Zane is on the brink of suicide and about to pull the trigger when the Grim Reaper walks in through the door and he shoots him instead.However there is a small law of the universe that says whoever kills death becomes death.A little reluctant at first he discovers that becoming death is not an easy task, especially when a beautiful young woman and Satan himself make an appearance.

This book was recommended by a work colleague who thought it would be my kind of book and so it became my ninth read of the year.I wasn't disappointed and was pleasantly surprised.'On a Pale Horse' is very original and extremely imaginative and the story is pretty decent.

Ok so I may have read better stories and it doesn't really pack much of an emotional punch, but the sheer brilliance of this author to create such a fun and original world makes up for it. I can't believe I have never encountered Piers Anthony before and I will definitely be hoping to read more of his books, especially the rest of this series of which this was the first.

Me and my work colleague agreed that this was a great read and a bit like Terry Pratchet but not as wacky or funny.I also found the Author's note at the end to be a fascinating insight into his writing process and fellow writers out there may find it interesting too.


4/5

2 comments:

  1. I've read most of Anthony's xanth series and all of the Incarnations of Immortality. I just reread On a Pale Horse last year and recently pulled out Bearing An Hourglass to reread. His stories are original. Glad you liked it.

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  2. I love the Incarnations of Immortality series but stopped at And Eternity. Phase is great and so are the first 15 or so of Xanth....I got tired of them but it may be because I read too many in a row.

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