Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Recently my friend (who's review is also here I think) lent me his copy of "On a Pale Horse," the first book in this series. I loved it and immediately read the next two books. But Skein was just amazing. Anthony was original once again, taking the three famous mythologic Aspects of Fate- Clotho, the spinner; Lachesis, the weaver; and Lachesis, the cutter of threads- and giving them distinct roles, duties, and powers. This book took place over a long period of time and managed to do so smoothly, for I felt as if Niobe had actually experienced 80-something years and developed from a stubborn young woman to a wize old one. There were a few aspects (pardon the pun) I was unsatisfied with, namely the fact that it wasn't made clear enough that the man who fills the office of Chronos who she interacts with first in the novel is not Norton from the last book in the series; her encounters with him seem almost exactly the same as the ones in the that novel. I was able to know this was not the case because I did the math, and in order for that to be Norton, Luna would have to be born while her father was only four years old. Later in the novel it was made more evident, but it still leads to misunderstanding. Whatever the case, its still an excellent book, second only to "Inherit the Wind." Satan's maze was creative, despite being slightly tedious, and it expanded well on the life of the mysterious Magician Kaftan of the first novel in the series. I particularly like that this book was full of many smaller incidents that made the larger story, much like in the first book- a quality which was lacking in the second. Now I've begun the fourth book. I've heard wonderful things about book six and I can't wait to get to it. This series is an excellent choice for anyone who likes creative another-way-of-looking-at-things type books whith lots of characters and secrets. Before closing, you might note that the branches of the family tree in Skein are awfully close... its as close as it can get to incest without actually being it. Enjoy this book and the rest of the series!

. . .this is a much stronger effort in the "Incarnations of Immortality" series than "Bearing an Hourglass".

While the first volume of this series involved Death, and the second Time, this volume turns to Fate -- in all three of her traditional aspects. Like the previous volume, the stage is set rather well in the opening chapters. Unlike the previous volume, the novel continues well! Of particular note: the relationship of the three women who share the single body of Fate; the recognized voluntary "temporariness" of their several assignments; the role that Fate has to play with relation to Free-Will (a concept Anthony seems to accept); and (on a rather humorous note) the visit of Fate and Nature to a temporary "hell" constructed for the sole purpose of convincing humanity that hell is, after all, a pretty nifty place. (The women were not fooled!)

The greatest weakness? The final battle between Fate and Satan. Totally unconvincing, even for fantasy.

Nevertheless, like "On a Pale Horse", this novel should be read by seminary students to give them fresh perspectives on the difficult questions which people ask in times of crisis.

An outstanding read.

I loved the first book, wasn't too wild about the second one, but could not put this third book down. It was WONDERFUL, a great addition to the Incarnations of Immortality series. It is nice to see the big story really start to develop. I had started loosing hope on the second book (I would suggest skipping it) but am really committed to the story now that I've finished the third one.

Niobe is a character and her life is a real joy to read. It is great to see how her hand in the great game that Satan has bestowed upon the Incarnations. The story never lets up and never gets boring. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

After "Bearing an Hourglass" I just wasn't sure if I wanted to continue with Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series, but was convinced by the reviews here on Amazon to give the third book a shot. I have to say that I enjoyed Fate's story almost as much as Death's story "On a Pale Horse". "Skein" is packed with great characters that you really cheer for. I don't even want to give away a hint of the story, but I felt that "Skein"'s plot has been the best of the series so far, and really makes you want to read the next book of the series. Anthony's unique writing style is so much fun. And the story of Fate is just so imaginative and engrossing you won't be able to put this book down once started. With Summer almost upon us, I would highly recommend you throw a copy of "Tangles Skein" into your beach-bag with you tanning lotion, as this almost a perfect summer read.

When I first read "On a Pale Horse" (book one of the Incarnations of Immortality series) I was utterly blown away. It was a fantastic, thought provoking, highly original and imaginative story, and I couldn't wait to read the next in the series.

Next came "Bearing an Hourglass". Whilst nowhere near as good as On a Pale Horse, it was still enjoyable and had some interesting and original ideas.

Then came "With a Tangled Skein". With a Tangled Skein is not as good as Bearing an Hourglass, and totally inferior to On a Pale Horse.

I am sorry to say that I see a pattern here, and it is not one I like so much. It seems that I like each book in the series less than the one before it.

There are a lot of things wrong with With a Tangled Skein. Its extremely sexist, the characters are not all that well developed and the conflict isn't really very interesting. I thought the role of Fate was one of the more boring, which was a big dissapointment to me because I expected to find it a lot more interesting than it was.

The overall conflict concerning Satan was poorly done. Satan was a very shallow character, uninteresting and not at all very frightening. There was no sense of danger to the main character, and for the most part, I found much of that part of the story very dull.

This was a weak, uninteresting book. I did read it, and I got through it quite quickly. I enjoyed it enough to finish it, but I was left feeling that I'd wasted my time. I thought things might pick up towards the end, but they didn't.

I am an avid fantasy fan, and upon recommendations from a few friends, I began to read Piers Anthony's immortal series. While On a Pale Horse was interesting and unique enough to hook me in. The series started to decline as I began to notice a pattern in these books that was quite disturbing.

First, each book is essentially the same plot. Each have a mortal person who is seemingly unremarkable, that person suffers some tragedy - becomes an incarnation, Satan tricks them, they get revenge on Satan. All three books follow this outline in pretty much the same way. I stopped reading after With a Tangled Skein, but I'd be willing to bet a million dollars that the next incarnation books follow that same plot as well.

Next, and what was most surprising to me was the sexism in his books. The first book it went almost unnoticed, but by the second, I started picking up on how Piers enjoys portraying his women. He goes into remarkable detail into describing the women in his books; he intricately talks about their "heaving bosoms",perfect figures, and the way their flesh bounces and jiggles, ect. But nowhere does he ever mention, for example, a man's bulging biceps or hard abs. In fact, he barely describes the male characters at all. This imbalance lead me to having a detailed picture in my mind of the female characters, while the male characters became a sort of grey blob in my mind.

Then I read With a Tangled Skien. Now, I'm not the type of person to scream "sexist!" everywhere I see it. In fact, I pretty much can't stand femi-natzis. However, when the main character of the book I'm reading is crying every other page for no apparent reason, I start to scratch my head. Is this what Piers Anthony thinks of women? That they cry and fly into emotional rages at the drop of a hat. Not to mention, Niobe, the main character is less intelligent than the characters of the previous books. I got so used to the smart, resourceful male characters of the first two books, that the uselessness of the female leads in the third book was a slap in the face. I don't understand why Piers couldn't have made her just as intelligent as Death or Chronos. She pretty much could not do the simplest brain teasers on her own, she gave up too quickly, determined that she was not intelligent enough to figure it out on her own. Eventually, she had to receive help from her husbands in order to complete the challenges. The last straw was pretty much towards the end of the book when she faced a challenge and thought roughly "I'm not a strong, muscular man; I'm a weak, fleshy woman"
Comon! Really? Not to mention the incarnations are immune to any kind of physical harm - OH wait! except the female ones because they can be raped. Which almost happens at least 4 times in this book.

I wondered why these books were so highly recommended by my two friends (they pretty much described them as the best books ever written), and I realized that they would seem to be the best books ever written - for a teenage male.

What if death, time, fate, war, nature, evil and good were not mere concepts but offices held by actual people, like any other occupation?

Although initially opposed to her arranged marriage to a 16-year old, 21-year-old Niobe accepts and eventually grows to love her husband Cedric. When Cedric sacrifices his life in place of a death that was meant for her, Niobe, heartbroken, accepts an invitation to become Clotho, the youngest aspect of the immortal incarnation of Fate, whose responsibility it is to weave the threads in the great tapestry of life. While learning her new role, Niobe also learns that she herself has become entangled in the insidious plots of Satan, the incarnation of Evil.

I haven't enjoyed books 2 and 3 nearly as well as On a Pale Horse, the first in the series.

"With A Tangled Skein" continues the "Incarnations of Immortality" series as Niobe confronts her father about an arranged marriage to Cedric Kaftan. A charming romance and improved character development advance the series satisfactorily surrounded by cheap behavior of regularly narrow-minded male and silly female figures. In addition, one finds the characteristic vocabulary and extended logical reasoning as in most fast-paced Piers Anthony narratives. An unrelenting confrontation against Satan's designs and the ingenious influence of Fate could have weaved an exceptionally interwoven novel.

As with the prior novel, a separate Incarnation (combining the three Aspects of Fate - Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) propels the action while interfacing among the additional primary Incarnations. Chronos changing office reveals an enlightening experience, conducted in a captivating approach. A few smart yet outrageous situated puzzles challenge the reader preceding the solution.

Meanwhile other chapters appear quite ridiculous, approaching Gaea's residence and the maze in the final chapters. Living people interact among the Incarnations as a part of normal life with little surprise. And the youngest Aspect of Fate, Clotho, debases herself too casually.

I recommend this series to any fan of the fantasy genre. However those of a highly inflexible religious background or intolerant attitude towards religion might want to avoid the selection.

Thank you.

This was the first of the Incarnations books that I read, and fell in love with the series within the first couple of chapters. I was already a Piers Anthony fan, loving the Xanth series, but this series is much more mature and has deeper plots and characters than the light Xanth books do. You feel for the characters, come to love them, and this is what happened when I began reading about Niobe and her life. Honestly, this book has changed and influenced my life in a many ways, and silly as that may sound.

While this is a stand-alone novel, much like Anthony's other series books, I highly suggest reading this one begining to end--it will help with understanding some of the later books, as this is one series that is incredibly interwoven.

This is a great book up until the last two chapters. Then, the whole plotline becomes so artificial and tedious! Once again as in the previous book, there is a Deus ex Machina completely unrelated to what already has happened just to force the book to end.

Nevertheless, the rest of the book is worth 5-stars and is a much better book than Bearing an Hourglass.