Wielding a Red Sword [Library Binding]

Piers Anthony (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1986

Mym was a dutiful son, but rather than agree to his father's choice for his marriage, he took up the Red Sword, symbol of office of the Incarnation of War, in order to ameliorate some of the suffering caused by Earth's constant petty wars. But Mym discovered that Satan was waiting to trap him, and he must now take desperate measures to outwit the evil genius who aimed to destroy the world....

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The fourth book in Anthony's popular Incarnations of Immortality series describes the recruitment of an Indian prince to become the latest Incarnation of Warserving alongside Death, Time, Nature and others. Mym reluctantly accepts the office as a way to cut through the tangled political web that has produced famine in his homeland and trampled on his private life. As hard as Mym works to keep earthly peace, however, Satan is ahead of him with snares and lures that lead to hell. Anthony's setting of a world where both science and magic work was charming in previous volumes but becomes troublesome here: demons coexist with biological warfare; two teardrops from an Incarnation are all it takes to end one aspect of the conflict in Ireland. In fact, most of this weak entry in the series is concerned with finding a proper mate for the hapless Mym. As before, though, the liveliest part of the book is the author's note, a 30-page open letter to his fans in which Anthony feels free to be cantankerous, boastful, whimsical and self-revealing. Major ad/promo.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Inside Flap

Mym was a dutiful son, but rather than agree to his father's choice for his marriage, he took up the Red Sword, symbol of office of the Incarnation of War, in order to ameliorate some of the suffering caused by Earth's constant petty wars. But Mym discovered that Satan was waiting to trap him, and he must now take desperate measures to outwit the evil genius who aimed to destroy the world.... --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Library Binding
• Publisher: Sagebrush Education Resources (October 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0833510258
• ISBN-13: 978-0833510259
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,579,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Piers Anthony is one of the world's most popular fantasy authors, and a New York Times bestseller twenty-one times over. His Xanth novels have been read and loved by millions of readers around the world, and he daily receives hundreds of letters from his devoted fans.In addition to the Xanth series, Anthony is the author of many other best-selling works. Piers Anthony lives in Inverness, Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Series Keeps Getting Better, May 13, 2004

By 

James Duckett (St. George, Utah) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wielding a Red Sword (Book Four of Incarnations of Immortality) (Mass Market Paperback)

I was intrigued by the premise of the first book and have been hooked on this series ever since. And, it just keeps getting better!!!

Piers Anthony does a wonderful job developing his characters and in this book, Mym and Orb are no exception. We got an introduction to Orb in the prior book and it was wonderful to have her come back briefly in the beginning. Mym, however, is a new character. From the beginning, it is hard to imagine a pampered, stuttering prince becoming Mars... but Anthony does a good job of convincingly making it happen.

The only thing I did not like about this book was that the character development was a large part of the book and I had to keep asking myself, "Okay, so, when are they going to have Mym assume the office of War?" But after assuming the office, it gets very good.

Mym is a lot like Zane (Death) from the first book as he assumed the office... not afraid to go against the status quo. War is also like Death in that War does not bring on war (much like Death does not bring on death) but instead facilitates and manages it.

My favorite part of the book is when Mym finds himself in Hell and to get out of Hell he builds and army and attacks the forces of Satan. I thought this was very creative and a lot of fun. It was also wonderful to see War balk Satan twice in this book.

If you've liked the rest of the series, I would encourage you to continue reading it with this wonderful addition.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but only if you like the series., March 12, 2000

By 

"geddysciple" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wielding a Red Sword (Book Four of Incarnations of Immortality) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book wasn't bad by any means, but it lacked the awesome plot themes of "On a Pale Horse" or the intrigue of "With a Tangled Skein." The story was mildly interesting, the office was rather boring, but the characters were (as usual) well developed and deep. If you like this volume, you'll love the rest of the series. Read it only if you are really interested in the series.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars i think the first book was the best, July 24, 2000

By 

S - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wielding a Red Sword (Book Four of Incarnations of Immortality) (Mass Market Paperback)

i must say that i read this book out of desire to complete the series. mars is an interesting character. but it is rather disappointing story actually.

it begins with mar's life as an escaped prince then drifting to the women he becomes involved with. the style of writing was rather dull and plodding to me. *sigh*

the plot picks up in the second half of the book when satan enters the scene again. i found little of the ironical homour i enjoyed in his other books but overall the book was neither here nor there, neither good nor bad.
if you plan to read this series, begin with thanatos' story in the book 'on a pale horse'. now that was a excellent book...