Piers Anthony’s Incarnations of Immortality was an engaging and fascinating series. From On a Pale Horse to, what I believe is the best, For Love of Evil, I was hooked on the series. And Eternity is the final conclusion of the series, ending with the ultimate Incarnation, the Incarnation of God. (Note: I’m not counting Under a Velvet Cloak here.) While the first five books were solid on their own right, For Love of Evil really gave an entirely new perspective on the whole series and worked nicely as a sequel to a series meant to be finished. However, And Eternity was a rather disappointing follow-up to a wonderful book and a less than exhilarating conclusion to an otherwise excellent series. The book takes a somewhat different route than the first five. Rather than Orlene taking up the Office of Good and battling it out with Satan, it instead focuses on her trying to save her baby. For this, Nox requires some sort of item from each Incarnation, which leads to many trials for Orlene. In doing so, she teams up with Jolie, Parry/Satan’s old wife and Vita, the singer from book 5, Being a Green Mother, who is apparently now a whore on a drug known as Spelled H. I know Piers Anthony is notorious for being somewhat immature, but he really takes it to a whole new level this time. Vita, being a whore, often shows her naughtier side, particularly with a much older judge. Like any Incarnations book, there are a lot of sex scenes, but none so uncomfortable or out of place than here including Nox changing Orlene into a man who attempts rape Jolie or the subtler moment where Jolie forgets to where clothing because she’s used to being a ghost. There are further scenes where Vita almost gets raped and/or threatened to get raped. While some may try to argue that since sex is just a natural part of life, it should be put into a novel without any reluctance, to me, Piers Anthony still has those strange fetishes he has yet to don.While there are some interesting things that happen, the novel tends to stray quite a bit from actually talking about the Incarnation of Good. The book seems to go off in no real direction and lacks the emotional tension or epic scope of the last novels. There are some interesting parts, such as the debate between creationism and evolution. Like the last book, there is some definition about what defines good and evil. However, the book just seems to meander on in no precise direction and is too littered with sexual scenes that are seemingly intended for nothing more than fan service.Incarnations of Immortality has quickly become one of my favorite series, but sadly, And Eternity is an extremely disappointing conclusion to what was an otherwise great series. I’d say read this one if you have to but otherwise, just stick to the first six. It works as an attempt to wrap everything up, but For Love of Evil does the same thing much better.
This book isn't the best of the series. While all the other Incarnations books were brilliant (my personal favorites were Time, Fate, and especially Evil), this book falls flat of its predecessors. Orlene is supposed to be the main character, but Jolie, Satan's mistress, plays a bigger role. This book did not feel very well-thought out, with Nox wanting Gaw-Two (and what she did to Orlene in the beginning). This in itself doesn't make sense (especially when Piers Anthony said he was done with the series, only to write a book about Nox over a decade later) If Jolie and Gaw-Two were cut from the plot and Orlene played a more integral role, this book would be more coherent.Vita wasn't a terrible character, but it would have been better if Orlene was the only one with Vita, because jolie played too much of a role, eclipsing Orlene in significance.Like the other books, this has a lot of philosophy and religious discussion, but unlike the other books, the characters aren't as much enjoyable. And when Orlene finally assumes the Office, what of the former Incarnation? He didn't give up his office willingly, so there's no mention of what became of him.If you read the next book, Under a Velvet Cloak, the thing with Nox and Gaw-Two make more sense, but that doesn't mean that it made sense overall. THAT book was really shoddy and lackluster, and this book could have been handled more tightly. Overall, this book deserves some stars for Orlene's interactions with the other Incarnations and the discussions that come forth, but really, it's the other Incarnations that redeem this book, not Jolie or Orlene. 3/5 stars for a entertaining but ultimately disappointing read.
What do You think about And Eternity (1991)?
This book is absolutely awful, awful, awful! But so fun to read. Please never read it. I have never read any other books in the series, but just opening to a random page and reading a few paragraphs from this one has given me a fairly good sense of the plot."Two ghost ladies share the body of an underage prostitute who is addicted to Heroin (oddly called 'H' in the book), who goes on to fall in love with a forty year old judge. Later, the ladies go to Hell and bumble around. Weird, uncomfortable sex occurs and hilarious sentences are found." At one point, creationism versus evolution is debated in order for a magic orb to let them leave an area. They have to argue it or the magic orb won't let them leave. So they do. For three pages.Everyone is related to everyone, one character ascends into godhood, and really, you can tell a weird old guy was writing these ladies. There's at least two depictions of rape, underage sex, and many scenarios involving prostitutes. And Satan's name is Natasha. Never ever read this book.
—Flavia
I used to love reading Piers Anthony. I started in the mid eighties, reading all of the Xanth, Blue Adept and Incarnations of Immortality series. Somewhere around book 14 of Xanth, I got sort of a creepy feeling reading his books. The stories seemed to focus more and more on panties and young teens discovering sex in a very childlike manner. The final Blue adept book made me uncomfortable for the same reasons. However, this book blew me away. One of the characters in the book was a judge in his mid 50s. He takes a 12 year old prostitute and has her live at his house. He writes several paragraphs about struggling with being sexually attracted to her. Then he writes several more paragraphs justifying his attraction even though it is illegal, he was a judge AND she was put into his home for protective custody so she would not be in sexual situations with adults. It reminded me of some writings I've seen for NAMBLA. And then he decides that they can have a consensual sexual relationship. And they have lots of sex-- and call each other cutsie names. After reading this book, I felt dirty. I also quit reading Piers Anthony books.
—Kewpie
Let me start with this. I had already resolved to give this novel no more than 2.5 stars. The fact that I have bestowed an additional half a star has to do with how well the book redeemed itself once reaching Chapter 12. Mind you, there are only 14 chapters. The first 11 chapters really feel more like an exploration of Mr. Anthony's views on sexuality and morality rather than a story of entertainment for its readers. It just did not mesh. There were certain points interspersed throughout the first 11 chapters that were worthwhile, but they were truly rare. Chapter 12 brings Evil into the fold and that is where the story becomes truly structured and enjoyable. It's like reading something from a legitimate author. Who wouldn't love that?! So, I'd recommend this book for the simple fact that it contains three great chapters at the end. There is one book left in the series focusing on the Incarnation of Night, Nox. I will read it since I have read the series through to its end twice (once when it was destined to be concluded in 5 novels, and again when it was to be concluded in 7 novels). I don't think Mr. Anthony will live long enough to end it again. 8 novels should be it! However, I dread reading about his sexual desires as Nox has a tendency to be 'lust uninhibited'.
—David Zerangue
