Authors: Piers Anthony, Piers A. Jacob
ISBN-13: 9780380752867, ISBN-10: 0380752867
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Date Published: February 1991
Edition: Reprint
New York Times-bestselling author Piers Anthony has written over one hundred books. His first fantasy, A Spell for Chameleon, won the August Derleth Fantasy Award for best novel in 1977, and commenced his acclaimed Xanth series.
After an overwhelming succession of tragedies, life has finally, mercifully ended for Orlene, once-mortal daughter of Gaea.
Joined in Afterlife by Jolie her protector and the sometime consort of Satan himself together they seek out a third: Vita, a very contemporary mortal with troubles, attractions, and an unsettling moral code uniquely her own.
An extraordinary triumvirate, they embark on a great quest to reawaken the Incarnation of Good in a world where evil reigns facing challenges that will test the very fiber of their beings with trials as numerous, as mysterious, and as devastating as the Incarnations themselves.
With this seventh book Anthony concludes his series called the Incarnations of Immortality. Previous works have focused on Death, Time, Fate, War, Earth, Evil; the subject here is the Incarnation of Good, and the setting is an alternate Earth where Magic and Science share power. Each of the offices of these Incarnations must be filled by a human who will not age while occupying the position. Following the theme of the series, this book is concerned with the transition to a new Incarnation of Good. Each Incarnation has different rules for change, and that of Good requires the agreement of all six other Incarnations, including Evil, a decided complication that the other five must deal with. Anthony's excellent prose and well-thought-out plotting deliver an enjoyable and logical surprise solution to the conflict, following the resolution of Luna Kaftan's critical vote (a subplot of the entire series). (Jan.)