Bearing An Hourglass (Incarnations of Immortality, #2)

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Bearing An Hourglass (Incarnations of Immortality #2)

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 12,076 ratings · 243 reviews

When life seemed pointless to Norton, he accepted the position as the Incarnation of Time, even though it meant living backward from present to past.

The other seemingly all-powerful Incarnations of Immortality—Death, Fate, War, and Nature—made him welcome. Even Satan greeted him with gifts. But he soon discovered that the gifts were cunning traps. While he had been distrac...more

Mass Market Paperback, 372 pages

Published September 12th 1985 by Del Rey (first published 1984)

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Apr 09, 2012 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: A Sadist.

Shelves: audio, tried-to-read, george-guidall-read

Poor George Guidall is such a great voice actor that he's often hired to read horrible novels. But even a rose growing out of shit is still a shitty rose.

I own maybe 4 books in this series and have owned them for about ten years. I keep trying to get into Book 1 but I just cannot. So this attempt was via Audio and with one of my favorite narrators George Guidall.

More than halfway complete but I cannot continue. I really like the characters, i just hate this story! This novel is contaminated wit...more

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Mar 31, 2012 Aaron rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2011

Going into this, I was very worried that a story involving a lord of time might get convoluted as time travel does. Fortunately Anthony kept that aspect to a perfect level for me, only straying to a dizzying nature a few times. During these times, even the main character was appropriately confused which kept me involved. The duties and gadgets of Chronos were less interesting to me than Thanatos', but Norton was an interesting character and the ideas behind his powers and their effects were intr...more

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Dec 31, 2008 Dj rated it 2 of 5 stars

2.5 stars really. Unsatisfying ending. Sections are standalone short stories with the main character, but unrelated to overall plot in every but the vaguest sense. These sections are bad sci-fi, extremely shallow and fun. The meat of the book is mediocre. Overall a forgettable book. The shining light are several 30 page stretches of shallow fun. This being the second book of his I've read, I now am saddened by the thought that adolescents (and please not adults) would become introspective by Pie...more

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Jan 10, 2012 David Sarkies rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

One of the things that I like about Wikipedia is that contain plot summaries of books that I read many years ago and as such they jog my memory so that I really don't have to reread them (which is a good thing is some cases because a lot of these books I really am not interested in reading again, and anyway, there are a lot of books on my self which have a much higher priorty).
I was about to write off this book as pulp until I read the plot again and noticed that this, like the first one, is q...more One of the things that I like about Wikipedia is that contain plot summaries of books that I read many years ago and as such they jog my memory so that I really don't have to reread them (which is a good thing is some cases because a lot of these books I really am not interested in reading again, and anyway, there are a lot of books on my self which have a much higher priorty).
I was about to write off this book as pulp until I read the plot again and noticed that this, like the first one, is quite twisted. It is set years after the first book, but the events in the first book to have a major role to play in this book, and the antagonist (Satan) is using the events in this book in an attempt to undo the events in the first. The protagonist is a nomad named Norton who is given the hourglass after his beloved dies and he becomes time. The catch is that he lives backwards, so he begins when he is old and ends at either birth or conception (which not really all that clear). The problem with living backwards is that it puts a dampner on being able to have relationships (though he is able to temporary move forward). Also, he is able to move through time from the beginning to the end.
Satan appears again at the antagonist, and looking over the plot, Anthony does a good job in making him the deceitful trickster that he is often portrayed as. This, I think, does bring out the truth of who Satan is, rather than the demonic creature that simply wants to destroy everything. Instead he comes as a friend and lies, lies, and lies. He will offer a gift, but the gift is in fact a trap that will enable him to achieve his goals, and in this one it is to prevent Death's girlfriend from becoming a politician. He is also a master of illusions in that he creates a belief that Time can actually travel off world, but in reality he never actually leaves Earth.
As mentioned, looking over the plot of this book reveals that it is a lot more than just some simple good guy verse bad guy book (though it still is in many cases) and like the first book, Satan doesn't die, but rather admits defeat and slinks off to plan his next intrigue.(less)

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Sep 03, 2012 Tom rated it 1 of 5 stars

The second book of the Incarnations of Immortality series follows the life of Norton who takes on the mantle as the Incarnation of Time in an effort to maintain a relationship with a former love who committed suicide. The basic plot is that Satan wants to undue events from the previous novel, On a Pale Horse, either by preventing Zane from assuming the mantle of Death or preventing Luna from achieving political success. Both events which thwart Satan’s goals. Satan attempts to trick Norton into

...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Sarabeth rated it 1 of 5 stars

I read this book in Middle School and thought it was amazing. I just had the chance to re-read this and found myself asking, "What was I thinking?!"

Norton's story was interesting at first, but then somehow the story goes to hell! He ends up in a space western, then randomly in a fantasy thread, all of which take pages and pages that just seem like filler. There is no relation between these "adventures" and the main plot line of the story. When the plot DOES decide to make an appearance, it proce...more

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Jan 03, 2011 Chak rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Readers of fantasy looking for a vacation book

Recommended to Chak by: YMCA share-a-book shelf

Shelves: fiction, sci-fi-and-fantasy, ymca-share-a-book

Bearing an Hourglass was a disappointment. On a Pale Horse was a hard act to follow. Hourglass was off to a quick and compelling start, but once Norton became so downtrodden that he was easy to manipulate into accepting the Office of The Incarnation of TIme, the book started to unravel for me. He was a well-developed protagonist who was easy to root for, and the idea of Time living his life backward was a good one (in fact, it was this idea that got me to pick up the first three books of this se...more

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Sep 04, 2010 Jaimey rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I found this book while going through my bookshelf. Although, I wouldnt quite call it a bookshelf. Having little room at my house, I dumped alot of my books on a shelf in a massive internal wardrobe. Unfortunately, the shelf is starting to bend and because I'm renting this freaked me out. So, with visions of a splintered wardrobe, tumbled books, dog eared pages to unbend and an angry landlord with a scary mother, I'm moving all my books onto the floor. In the process, I'm reminiscing over my fav...more I found this book while going through my bookshelf. Although, I wouldnt quite call it a bookshelf. Having little room at my house, I dumped alot of my books on a shelf in a massive internal wardrobe. Unfortunately, the shelf is starting to bend and because I'm renting this freaked me out. So, with visions of a splintered wardrobe, tumbled books, dog eared pages to unbend and an angry landlord with a scary mother, I'm moving all my books onto the floor. In the process, I'm reminiscing over my favourite books and wasting a lot of time, and eventually find a book that I have never read. Its 'Bearing an Hourglass' by some guy called Piers Anthony. I have no idea where it came from but it was probably an impulse buy from a garage sale or second hand bookstore, which I'm prone to do because I find buying stuff is therapeutic, and buying second hand books is way cheaper than paying a psychiatrist.

Bearing an Hourglass is book 2 of the Incarnations of Immortality series. Its about a wanderer called Norton who takes the role as the incarnation of Time, known as Chronos. The book however spends a lot of time on the character's background before he becomes Chronos. While this usually means a book is slow to get going, I actually enjoyed it. Its hilarious: The character, Norton, starts off as a vagabond wanderer with no money, spending his time using his knowledge of magic and science to survive in the synthetic forest parks that mankind has created in the future. He meets a ghost that requests he impregnate his living wife so that he may have an heir. In exchange, the ghost will provide finance and teach him how to kill dragons. After much harassment from the ghost, Norton visits the widow and they actually fall in love. However, after the child is born, she completely ignores him, and when the child dies, she suicides. Norton goes back to the forests completely broken, however the ghost haunts him still, advising that he has organised another woman to be his 'widow' and asks him to repeat the process. Norton is disgusted and eventually moves to Mars, but the ghost haunts him there also. Eventually the ghost finds another man to do the job, but feels guilt with how Norton has been affected. The ghost pulls a few strings and gets Norton the job as Chronos, the Incarnation of Time, who can travel in time and alter the past and future. The whole depth to the background made me laugh. The character was a wanderer, magician, physicist, ladies man, dragon slayer, ghost whisperer, spaceman and Incarnation of Time - and experienced this all without reaching a discernible plot. When the devil enters the picture and begins toying with Norton and altering reality, we soon figure out what Norton's role is as the Incarnation of Time.

In between all of this, the book is totally bogged down with some really hard to follow scientific stuff on how time works and why it works, and how it interacts with magic, space, and the other incarnations. It had me totally baffled throughout the book.

I would have to say the book isnt great on its own, but I've been missing the bigger picture - this is a second book of an 8 book series. Each book is focussed on a different Incarnation. The Incarnations work together so the books apparently all interweave into each other. The idea has spiked my interest and I'll be on the lookout for Piers Anthony the next time I'm in a second hand bookstore. (less)

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Feb 16, 2011 Sarah Jane rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: mythology, fiction

Despite my indifference (and at times annoyance) with On a Pale Horse, I went ahead and plowed through Bearing an Hourglass. I won't rant at length about this one, but suffice it to say that I'm equally unimpressed. I'll reiterate, for the sake of those I know who swear by this series, that I probably would have enjoyed it when I was younger (read: less discerning). Piers Anthony's writing is just...well...not great. I think this series suffers from a flaw I've found in many fantasy books: when...more Despite my indifference (and at times annoyance) with On a Pale Horse, I went ahead and plowed through Bearing an Hourglass. I won't rant at length about this one, but suffice it to say that I'm equally unimpressed. I'll reiterate, for the sake of those I know who swear by this series, that I probably would have enjoyed it when I was younger (read: less discerning). Piers Anthony's writing is just...well...not great. I think this series suffers from a flaw I've found in many fantasy books: when an author attempts to apply too many powers and too many limits to power simultaneously, it's very hard to prevent contradictions and loopholes in the story.

For anyone that isn't familiar with the series, it's seven books long and each book focuses on a particular "incarnation of immortality." They are the incarnations of Death, Time, Fate, Nature, War, Evil, and Good. The general basis of the series, as near as I can tell, is Satan attempting to gain power and the other earthly incarnations (meaning those other than God) attempting to prevent Satan's rise to power. Pretty straight forward.

The plots of the first two books have been interesting, although I found many drawbacks. Most notably, as I said before, the writing is just so-so. Anthony is very redundant. Dialogue is mediocre. For example, characters tend to say exactly what they're going to do and what they think. To give you an idea of what I mean, a moment in the book might go something like this:

Zane saw the girl falling from the roof. "Oh gosh! She's falling! I should save her. Don't panic. What can I do? Maybe I should catch her. Yeah. I'll catch her. I should move under her." Zane moved forward to catch the girl. "Look, I caught you!"

Obviously, that's an exaggeration, but not by much. Needless to say, after 300 pages, it gets a bit old.

Many parts of the book are contradictory, too. Others just don't make sense. For example, people moving backwards in time don't usually say, "emit ni drawkcab gnivom m'I." They say, "time in backward moving I'm." Although, sometimes they do the latter. It's not consistent. Also, some people moving backward in time are aware of said movement, but can't do anything about it (that's acceptable) but other people can. In general, I just find things like that frustrating.

Finally, both On a Pale Horse and Bearing an Hourglass had deus ex machina endings. Super lame.

Basically, my opinion is the same as before: if you're ever stuck in an airport and your flight is delayed for eight hours and one of these books is available, go ahead and check it out. They're not awful. They're just not that great. (less)

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Feb 03, 2008 Monica rated it 3 of 5 stars

The second book in the Incantations of Immorality series. This book describes Norton and his life before and after he assumes the office of Time, and becomes Chronos and battles Satan. This book was more sci-fi and dealth with math and science and physics. The first one, On a Pale Horse, dealth with the office of Death and was more philosophical. Defintely more than a few spelling and grammar errors. I've been noticing that in my books lately. Odd.

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Mar 13, 2011 Peter added it · review of another edition

Time Warp for your brain: This is the second book in an increasingly complex twist of plots. In itself it can stand alone as a good read, but is better read in sequence. Piers does a good job of trying to explain the complexities of living backwards to the normal space-time continuum, although you need to re-read these explanations to fully understand it. The characters in this and other stories are very believable as you recognize yourself in them to a certian degree. It is worth reading the au...more

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Dec 21, 2011 Charlotte English rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

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...more 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.(less)

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Oct 04, 2012 Thom Foolery rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: time-travel, genre-crap, sf, fiction, fantasy, aliens

The short review:

Meh.

The long review:

This was quite a disappointing follow-up to On a Pale Horse , which I partly expected based on the few reviews I read before beginning the second installment of the "Incarnations of Immortality" series.

First, Piers Anthony just isn't that good a writer, although he definitely works hard at it if his author's notes are to be believed. Lots of passages in this book were hampered by awkward prose.

Second, the plot, such as it is, was a jumbled mess. More char...more

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Sep 22, 2007 Barry rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: probably

This book's unusual concept of the main character living his life backward in time is interesting and makes the book worth reading as a learning experience if nothing else. Being the second book in the series, it could stand alone though I wouldn't recommend reading it without reading On a Pale Horse first. Sometimes the character's interactions with others are hard to follow, but it is an enjoyable book.

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Nov 11, 2012 Delicious Strawberry rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: piers-anthony

Out of all the Incarnations, the office of Time seems to be the most baffling one, since Chronos has to live backwards in time. But having power over spacetime (and being able to travel anywhere within) seems to be a more than adequate compensation for having to live backward and seeing everyone move forward. It seems that Mr. Anthony had a LOT of fun writing this book, playing around with the ideas of paradox, time travel, alternate realities, terrene and contraterrene worlds, space travel, and...more

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Jun 21, 2009 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who like Piers Anthony or want a little mind-bending fantasy

I didn't love this book, as I found it a little tedious at times. The characters were a little shallow and predictable. The premise is interesting enough, as most Piers Anthony books are. There are seven incarnations of immortality, and this book is about Norton/Chronos (the Incarnation of Time). The biggest twist is that Chronos lives backwards in time, so his time in office is a countdown from the time he took it to the time he was born. There is a tricky plot of Satan's that has to be undone,...more

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Jun 07, 2011 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-series, reviewed

Bearing an Hourglass is the second Piers Anthony book I’ve read in his eight-book Incarnations of Immortality series and continues the ongoing war between God and Satan through the eyes of each Incarnation. This particular novel focuses on Time or Chronos.

The main character, Norton meets a ghost by the name of Gawain who asks Norton to marry his wife. Norton is put off by this idea at first, but Gawain insists that it is because he needs a child and heir. Norton reluctantly follows but soon be...more Bearing an Hourglass is the second Piers Anthony book I’ve read in his eight-book Incarnations of Immortality series and continues the ongoing war between God and Satan through the eyes of each Incarnation. This particular novel focuses on Time or Chronos.

The main character, Norton meets a ghost by the name of Gawain who asks Norton to marry his wife. Norton is put off by this idea at first, but Gawain insists that it is because he needs a child and heir. Norton reluctantly follows but soon begins to fall for Gawain’s wife, Orlene. After 40 pages or so, Orlene is killed due to a mishap with Mother Nature’s Incarnation and Orlene becomes depressed and kills herself. Gawain then reappears and offers Norton something else: a position as the Incarnation of Time. This way, he can continue to see Orlene. After much pestering, Chronos finally accepts the position. As Chronos, he is fated to live backwards in time. While time is forward to him, it is backward to everyone else.

The storyline is interesting, although it takes quite a while before it actually starts. He meets some of the other Incarnations, including Death, who he supposedly met in the last book. (He’s living backwards, remember?) Like Death before him, he also has a fated encounter with Satan himself. Satan is able to take him into fictional stories, the first being a sci-fi one, the second being a fairly generic sword-and-sorcery fantasy. Both of these stories within the story are interesting, although not too related to the overall storyline.

The time-travelling aspect of the book can be quite confusing. It’s hard to keep track of what all the different colors of the hourglass sand stand for. However, Satan’s presence in the story is as entertaining as always. He manages to trick Norton in order to further his chances of becoming a future world ruler. One particular chapter, titled “Drawkcab” consists of Norton living forward in time when everyone else is living, talking and moving backwards. I found it to initially be clever, but reading backwards sentences become somewhat of a chore after a while. (.siht ekil daer yehT) The plot twists are also a pleasant surprise and managed to give occasional shocks to the reader. The entire storyline is a very engrossing one which has an ever-expanding scope of time.

There are a few instances that connect the book to the first one. It certainly is a very interesting combination of the first two books. Since I expected each book to be a stand-alone from the rest, I was certainly pleasantly surprised. I can imagine that the story becomes more and more complex and intertwined as the series progresses.
(less)

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Sep 21, 2007 Jennifer Troike rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who enjoys fantasy

The 2nd book in the Incarnations series, while I love books that deal with Time, this isn't as good as the Death book, but I still love it.

And though it's nice to have read book 1, it's not required. These are independant stories until you get up closer to book 4 or 5, and even then you won't be that confused.

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Aug 31, 2010 Juan Valera rated it 5 of 5 stars

Time is a complicated concept. Humans have known this ever since we first began to entertain the idea of time travel and of paradox. So it should come as no surprise that "Bearing an Hourglass" is a seriously complex novel, with storylines crisscrossing each other at every opportunity. I mean this in a good way; "Hourglass" is a great book if you're looking for a plot that begins as an indecipherable mass of intrigue and slowly (Very. Slowly.) introduces the reader to it, even as the plot itself...more

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Aug 07, 2007 Jeremy rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: most

Shelves: fiction-fantasy

Slightly more adult writing from Mr. Anthony. In this series he reveals the incarnations (Time, Death, War) to be real offices people can enter or vacate. This series allows him much more room for social and moral commentary while still being fun and escapist reading.

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Aug 17, 2010 Larry rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was very excited to read this book because the first in the series (On a Pale Horse) was so difficult to put down. Unfortunately, I almost gave up reading at chapter 7 because it wasn't until then that the story really started. I think Piers Anthony spent waaaaaay too much time trying to give the reader every possible shred of information about the main character's life and eventual plunge into incarnation.

I don't like the main character. He is not the kind of guy I relate to. This makes it d...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Paul rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-fiction

The Incarnations of Immortality series shows us a world were magic and technology have developed together and deities like Death, Time, Fates, War, Mother Earth, Evil, Good, and Night are supernatural "offices" held by humans for a length of time.

Bearing an Hourglass is the 2nd book in the Incarnations of Immortality and we are introduced to the aspect of time. Norton is an average guy and when his life when it starts to get pointless for him. Norton is then convinced to take up the mantle of ti...more

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Oct 04, 2007 Penny Tan added it

Of all the Incarnations, I think this must be the most difficult to adjust to. Imagine living backward while everyone else lives forward. Knowing the future and yet not knowing what happened yesterday for everyone else.

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Jul 25, 2011 François Declercq rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

After reading On a Pale Horse, I decided to look into the second novel of Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series. I'd heard this book wasn't as good as the first but wanted to cast my own judgement on it.

After reading about a third of the novel, I was surprised about the criticism it had received. I was finding it just as interesting as On a Pale Horse with the tale of a man, Norton, accomplishing a service to a ghost and it ending tragically. He then takes up the role of Chronos, th...more

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Mar 24, 2013 Nikki13 rated it 3 of 5 stars

“The Man Who Lived Backward.” The second book in the Incarnations of Immortality. Norton is an adventurer who fell in love with someone he can’t have. So what is there to do then to become an Incarnation, the Incarnation of Time where he must live from present to the past.
I love this story but there were times when the explanations of time travel got me confused. Norton had some great adventures thanks to Satan but with help from the other incarnations he finally understands his role as the Inc...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Matthew Esham rated it 2 of 5 stars

My tastes must really have changed over the years. I remember absolutely loving these books when I read them in my early teens, and actually feel back about giving it such a low score now, but I just couldn't enjoy large sections of the book.

I found myself painfully plodding forward during the BEM/Evil sorceress sections of the book. They seemed to have no real point other than to stretch out the content. (And I know, the BEM did play a part at the end when he was figuring out how to get back to...more

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Sep 09, 2010 Lauren rated it 2 of 5 stars

Two stars is generous because there were so many occasions when I wanted to give up on this book. But, it is not in my nature to not finish a book. This came very, extremely, close to being the first book I didn't finish.

This book was supposedly about Norton, who assumes the office of time and has to live backward, all while foiling Satan's ploys to take over the world. If that was really what the book was about, I would have liked it. But don't be fooled, a majority of the book is a philosphic...more

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Feb 24, 2012 Inger Faherty rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Didn't love this one. I think Mr. Anthony's method of having Chronos live backward was awkward, laborious, and inconsistent. I also felt that some of the adventures Satan stuck Norton into were contrived to increase word count. On a personal note - something I can't figure out. I often know what's going to happen next. Now, I read this series 25ish years ago and all I consciously remember is that I enjoyed it (although I remember not liking this one much the first time around either). So here's...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Melissainau rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: NOBODY!

Shelves: sff, books-i-loathed

OK, I'm giving up. I'm about 1/3 of the way through, maybe a little more, and this book is so unutterably horrible that it sucks the joy out of reading. All I feel is guilt that I am not finishing it and a sense of dread at having to return to it. I might try the next book in the series but I am genuinely surprised that I remembered this series with any fondness at all, and mortified that I ordered 5 of the books (only had 2 of my own) to complete the set, with a view to recommending them to the...more

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Apr 19, 2010 Helena rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book confused me. I like Piers Anthony and his other Incarnations of Immortality books but this one I couldn't grasp. Norton, the main character, is chosen to be Chronos and so he has to live backwards from everyone else. See? Slightly confusing. I had to go back and read sections over again to understand. To add to it's confusing-ness the overall plot could drag at times, making it a little boring. This is a book, I think, that you would have to have patience for. If you are looking into r...more

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About Piers Anthony

Though he spent the first four years of his life in England, Piers never returned to live in his country of birth after moving to Spain and immigrated to America at age six. After graduating with a B.A. from Goddard College, he married one of his fellow students and and spent fifteen years in an assortment of professions before he began writing fiction full-time.

Piers is a self-proclaimed environm...more

More about Piers Anthony...

Books by Piers Anthony

On A Pale Horse (Incarnations of Immortality, #1)

With a Tangled Skein (Incarnations of Immortality, #3)

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Trivia About Bearing an Hourglass

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Quotes from Bearing an Hourglass

“Every person professes to love good and hate evil, but in his actions his real preferences emerges.” — 15 people liked it

“Evil can never touch the person who refuses to accept it.” — 3 people liked it

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title link	preview: Bearing An Hourglass
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76659.Bearing_An_Hourglass?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320447862l/76659.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76659.Bearing_An_Hourglass?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Bearing An Hourglass by Piers Anthony[/url]

Bearing An Hourglass (Incarnations of Immortality #2)

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