372 pages, Ballantine Books,
ISBN-13: 978-0345313157
Incarnations of Immortality is the name of an eight-book
fantasy series by Piers Anthony, of which Bearing
an Hourglass was Book Two. Just like with On a Pale Horse, Bearing an
Hourglass suffers under my adult eyes. There is far less tension as compared
to the previous book, and I found it hard to invest myself in the story since
there was so little I really gave a damn about. The main character’s (Norton) girlfriend
is killed off fairly early on and, while she had potential, she is never really
returned to. In place, we get a bunch of filler and a rather vague plot with
nothing to really latch onto and make you care. Norton seems to trust Satan to
a ridiculous degree; while other characters in the series are legitimately
deceived or forced into situations where they come out losing to the enemy, Norton
simply trusts him at his word, despite knowing full well who he is. Later, he’s
surprised to find that he’s been lied to (um, yeah; “Father of Lies’, remember?)
Norton also relies entirely too much on his nearly-omniscient magic ring to
give him answers when he needs them (I thought of the modern incarnation of
Doctor Who and his G**damn Sonic Screwdriver). I mean, you’re Time! Just take a hop to the future and
see how things would have turned out? Then use that as a further plot device of
avoiding paradox? Entire episodes of the story contribute nothing to the story;
a visit to a space opera realm, a visit to a fantasy realm, and a long,
drawn-out reverse-time episode just drag on and on…and the characters met in
these realms are completely inconsequential to the story, as is apparent even
as you read these sections, not just in hindsight. Besides all that, time
travel (which I have come to loath) is a staple of science fiction and can make
for some of the best stories when done right, but Bearing an Hourglass was a huge squandered opportunity; time travel
should have been the cause of and solution to most of the protagonist’s
dilemmas, but instead, all the fun and peril of time travel is brushed aside
and in its place, the plot tension comes from learning to detect the enemy’s
various deceptions.
Okay,
okay, okay…adult Don is done; now let adolescent Don speak: the character of
Norton is rather likeable; while independent and intellectual he is also oddly naïve,
which is why Satan seems to be able to lead him around by the nose. Just like
Death, the concept of the Office of Chronos is awesome; an entity who lives his
life in reverse time compared to the rest of the world, whose job it is to fix
the timeline when things go awry, and to maybe tweak things at his discretion,
he carries great power but, unlike the other incarnations, he usually must
operate alone. Able to travel forward and backward, able to change the past,
remaining immune to paradox…all of these concepts are fascinating and, the way
they’re written, they work well. It is with these kinds of concepts that Anthony
in particular is so good at coming up with, and why his writing can be so
enjoyable (at least to my younger, not-yet-jaded self). And speaking of Anthony,
he was so capable of creating unique universes and exploring their
implications: his worlds came to life, made you smile, got you excited to see
how things will work, while the humor was almost always understated by just the
right amount, though sometimes coming off as cheesy. There’s really no reason
you’d ever want to read this book on its own; it meanders on and on, while
managing to have little depth; however, in the context of the series, it fits
in well, and the series itself is still fun – yes fun, but no longer as deep as
I thought it was, lo those many moons ago. If you’ve read the first book and plan
to read this second one now, don’t expect much, but don’t forget that this is a
series.
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