A review by violetturtledove
Bearing an Hourglass by Piers Anthony

adventurous challenging funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

As the second of a series, this follows the same basic plot as the first: someone takes on the office of one of the 'incarnations of immortality' (in this case, Time), we are introduced to the various aspects of the role as he learns the job, and a large plot point hangs on a woman being offered as a prize or incentive.

This one was much more imaginative than the first, I think maybe I've seen other stories of Death personified, so the concepts regarding Time here come across as much more original. The time-magic aspect does get very confusing, and I'm not convinced it all makes sense, but it works well enough to carry the story along.

There are some quite silly 'side quests', which on one hand I do understand are poking fun at more typical fantasy/scifi tropes, but they do drag on a bit. I also noticed a repeated device where the main character will 'feel something not quite right' with an idea or explanation, which is a hint to the reader that there's a twist they may be able to figure out. Some of these are fairly obvious in the situation, some are more obtuse, and one was something I thought the main character had already figured out chapters ago.

On the whole, a fun (if a bit ridiculous) read, and I'm going to carry on with the series.