Being a Green Mother

I picked up this book at the library at my highschoool. I was not aware that it was part of a series, it had simply caught my interest so I picked it up and checked out. I was a bit confused, since it was the fifth in a series, but the story still reads very well on its own, and after I read more Incarnations books, the stories made sense, especially since right after this, I picked up With a Tangled Skein, and it helped me to better understand the relationships between Orb and Niobe, and their respective roles as Incarnations. Overall a great book with creative retelling of various myths and Bible stories to give us a fun take on religion and philosophy.

Orb Kaftan is born into a special family. Her father can make magical music and her mother was once an aspect of Fate. Her half-brother is a powerful magician and her niece can see auras and paint them. Orb herself has an incredible amount of music magic. As she grows her talent grows with her and when she becomes an adult she sets out to find the ultimate music of all, the Llano. Traveling all over Europe to various gypsy camps, she seeks the elusive music. In India she falls in love, but he’s taken from her. Continuing her quest in the United States has her meeting several new people who become important to her including Natasha, a handsome man who teaches her more about the Llano. But is everything the way it seems? Her mother has show more taken up the mantle of Fate again and comes to warn Orb about the prophecy that she will marry Evil and to offer her the job of the Green Mother. Orb has some big decisions to make and having lost one man she loved will she lose another?

I know I’ve said that I love this series, but if I had to pick a favorite inside it I’d say this one was it. Of course, it’s been many years since I read books 6 & 7, so I’ll need to reread those to be sure, but for now, this book is the one. Starting when Orb is four and following her into adulthood I love reading about all she has experienced. Though she is a tad obsessive about the Llano, at least she’s a decent person. My favorite part of the whole book is at the end. I’ve cried each time I’ve read it and I can’t remember what happens in the next book. So, I’m really looking forward to reading For Love of Evil. Of course, neither library system near me has it and I have no idea where I’ve stored my copy. Gah! show less

Orb, a musician with innate magic, is on a quest for the ultimate music, the Llano, which controls life itself. Fate, her mother warns her, she's destined to marry Satan, leading to a prophecy-fulfilled marriage with the charming musician Natasha, who is Satan. Orb becomes the incarnation of Nature but destroys the world in an attempt to thwart evil, only for Chronos, Time, to reverse it, forcing her to marry Satan for real, culminating in Satan's surprising abdication of evil after falling for her love song.

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

Orb knew there was something special, something otherworldly, about her musical ability. When singing and playing her harp, she senses a gathering of power she can never quite grasp fully, but dedicates her life in search of the llano, the true song of nature. Her quest leads her around the world, finding and losing love, and ultimately she assumes the role of the Incarnation of Nature. But what about the fortuneteller who, when she was still a little girl, prophesied that Orb would marry Evil?

I remember being blown away at this book’s climax the first time I read it in high school. This time around show more it wasn’t quite as impressive, as some aspects of Anthony’s writing style have become irritating to the more experienced reader in me. There is no natural progression to any of the relationships, and as a result they are hardly believable. The spoken dialogue is awkward, written in a style that seems far too formal, even accounting for an alternate reality. Despite its flaws, I’m still going to finish re-reading the series. show less

Orb spent her life searching for the magic song of the Llano. When she meets Natasha, she feels as if she’s met her match. She begins to become more than a musician as she becomes more enmeshed with the Llano.

This is my favorite of the series. I like how everything in the other books comes together in this book. Although I truly hate the name Orb (really- how stupid a name is this?), I really do like her character. I still don’t like the misogyny that is so prevalent in Anthony’s books, but I’m able to look past it a little in this book. My biggest complaint with this book, though, is how he didn’t name the members of the band- it smacks of laziness on the author’s part.

I have read some reviews that have said this book was to be the last in the series, an I can understand that because Anthony does a superb job of tying everything together from the previous four novels. But I also know there are three more books I can't wait to read!

This book is much like the others--where it follows the process of a new incarnation taking office, however, it differs in that the new Green Mother doesn't take her office until the last hundred or so pages. The majority of the book is Orb's (Luna [Death's girlfriend]'s 'cousin/sister' and Niobe [Fate]'s daughter, War's old girlfriend, and Orlene [Time's gf]'s mom) quest for the song of the Llano--the song that can heal the sick, cure addiction, etc.

A good read!

Being a Green Mother has the distinct honor of being the worst of the five Incarnations of Immortality Books thus far. In the fifth book, Piers Anthony tackles the incarnation of Nature, the supposed most powerful of the earthly incarnations. However, I take issue with several points in this book: (1) Orb Kaftan begins manipulating the powers of nature well before she takes office. In previous stories, the Incarnations have stepped in to correct the situation when this occurs and (2) 98% of the book is spent on Orb the mortal and her taking on the role of nature has very little impact on the storyline.

My advice for those contemplating reading this series. Stop at book three and read something else. That said, I am about to start book show more six: For Love of Evil. I am prepared for disappointment. show less