On a Pale Horse (Incarnations of immortality, #1)

by Piers Anthony

In this first novel of the Incarnations of Immortality, Piers Anthony combines a gripping story of romance and conflicting loyalties with a deeply moving examination of the meaning of life and death. This is a novel that will long linger in the reader's mind. 

Shooting Death was a mistake, as Zane soon discovered. For the man who killed the Incarnation of Death was immediately forced to assume the vacant position! Thereafter, he must speed over the world, riding his pale horse, and ending the lives of others. 

Zane was forced to accept his unwelcome task, despite the rules that seemed woefully unfair. But then he found himself being drawn into an evil plot of Satan. Already the prince of Evil was forging a trap in which Zane must act to destroy Luna, the woman he loved.

He could see only one possible way to defeat the Father of Lies. It was unthinkable—but he had no other solution!

• ISBN10: 0345338588
• ISBN13: 9780345338587
• Publish Date: 12 September 1986 (first published 1 January 1983)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Del Rey Books
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780345338587

Reviews

[inlibrisveritas]

It had some really interesting ideas at play, and I appreciate that he attempted to tackle some socio-political issues within the text but it just didn't work for me. The writing was okay but the characters were absolutely one-note.

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On a Pale Horse was a readalong pick for a group on Litsy and I always leap at the chance to read more notable genre authors that I haven’t tried before, so I bought myself a copy. In the end, however, I felt mostly disappointed and irritated by the story and unsure if I will continue the series at all.

On a Pale Horse focuses on Zane who kills Death and is expected to take over the office, and we are set on a journey through his acceptance of the job to his rivalry with Satan. I really like some of the ideas in this. The idea of the different immortal ideas like Death, Nature, and Time being offices that can be taken over by mortals is kind of cool. And I liked the portions that dealt directly with this. However, it was overshadowed by so many problems.

The first is subjective, but I didn’t like the writing style…which read so much younger than the actual content. I can see why so many people consider this a series for teens, but parts of it are so problematic that I wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending it to anyone. There is a ton of sexism and it is blatant. Every woman is judged based on her looks, and it is mentioned that women are purely emotional and don’t have a logical bone in their body. There are small instances racism and there is a moment that crosses the line when it comes to age of consent. He makes excuses for it in an off-handed way that just didn’t sit right with me. Add all of this to a somewhat bland writing style that doesn’t allow for actual character development or definition and you end up with a dud.

I am curious to see how he handles the later books which focus on the female avatars of Immortality but I feel like I would really struggle to get to that point. Even with the interesting concept somethings were several steps too far for me.

[Ace]

I liked it but it seemed to lack....something? It's one of those books that I enjoyed but didn't at the same time? I KNIW THIS MAKES NO SENSE, regardless it was a good book.

[wyvernfriend]

While the story was interesting there were times that the preaching broke the suspension of disbelief.

This is the story of a man who kills death and finds himself with the job. The first part of the story is all about this growth into the role and his understanding of the importance of Death. Then he finds himself embroiled in a plot by Satan.

It's interesting, the afterword by the author is fun, the concept of a world a little like ours where magic and technology co-habit and where magic is regarded as just another technology is fun, but it didn't quite truly work for me. If I had read it while younger I would have probably enjoyed it more.