And Eternity

This book isn't the best of the series. While all the other Incarnations books were brilliant (my personal favorites were Time, Fate, and especially Evil), this book falls flat of its predecessors. Orlene is supposed to be the main character, but Jolie, Satan's mistress, plays a bigger role. This book did not feel very well-thought out, with Nox wanting Gaw-Two (and what she did to Orlene in the beginning). This in itself doesn't make sense (especially when Piers Anthony said he was done with the series, only to write a book about Nox over a decade later) If Jolie and Gaw-Two were cut from the plot and Orlene played a more integral role, this book would be more coherent.

Vita wasn't a terrible character, but it would have been better if show more Orlene was the only one with Vita, because jolie played too much of a role, eclipsing Orlene in significance.

Like the other books, this has a lot of philosophy and religious discussion, but unlike the other books, the characters aren't as much enjoyable. And when Orlene finally assumes the Office, what of the former Incarnation? He didn't give up his office willingly, so there's no mention of what became of him.

If you read the next book, Under a Velvet Cloak, the thing with Nox and Gaw-Two make more sense, but that doesn't mean that it made sense overall. THAT book was really shoddy and lackluster, and this book could have been handled more tightly. Overall, this book deserves some stars for Orlene's interactions with the other Incarnations and the discussions that come forth, but really, it's the other Incarnations that redeem this book, not Jolie or Orlene. 3/5 stars for a entertaining but ultimately disappointing read. show less

I wish I had not paused to read another book between this one and book six, it messed up my grove, and may have influenced my rating.

This is the culmination of all the previous books. We learned from each of the previous incarnations that there are rules they must follow, even if they seem unfair or even wrong. All the incarnations wish to change them, but the only one with that power has not involved himself with mortals (or immortals) for...centuries at least: the incarnation as good, facilitated by the Christian God.

The vote that Luna had been destined to cast? The vote of whether to declare the office of the incarnation of good as empty so that a replacement could be found. The catch being that once that vote is made, a new show more incarnation can only take office if approved of unanimously by ALL the other major incarnations, meaning Satan must agree too.

A fun read, I think I will miss the series! show less

it took me 20 years to find a copy of this book... a virtual eternity. in the end, i found it a less than solid finish to a great fantasy series but still an enjoyable read from Anthony.

Orlene, Jolie, and a mortal girl named Vita (punch me in the metaphorical face, why doncha) must visit each Incarnation on a quest initiated by Nox -the eighth, eldest, and most mysterious Incarnation. in the end, a new Incarnation of Good (aka God) is installed and all is well with the world.

the story is a bit rushed and no time is devoted to describing the job of the Incarnation of Good as there was in all the other books. i wanted to see Anthony's perspective on how that Office would acquit itself. we did with all the rest, why not with this one? did show more he want THE office to remain aloof and mysterious? beyond the reach of mortal comprehension? then he shouldn't fill that office with a mortal. frankly, i think he didn't know quite how to do it and so relegated himself to a review of the previous books as though doing a new year's recap of events or a nostalgic farewell to all the characters we have come to know and love.

new definitions of good and evil are dealt with, too, albeit in a clumsy manner. others have mentioned Anthony's increasing predilection for describing underage sex in other books of his but to actually read it was somewhat disturbing. while the concept that maturity based on age is an illusion and arbitrarily defined by individual cultures might have merit, Anthony does not do well demonstrating it in this book: the relationship he sets forth as his prime example is simply not believable and feels like an excuse for him to write some soft core of his liking.

he also tackles the evolution vs. creation debate and utterly loses on this one attempting to walk an egalitarian line between them saying that they both are valid while completely neglecting epistemological understandings of the concept of "evidence" and "belief." reading the author's notes at the end of the book, however, added to my confusion because he states plainly that he is firmly in the scientific camp with evolution and sings the praises of Richard Dawkins's The Blind Watchmaker.

apart from these philosophical and moralistic concerns, the book is entertaining and engaging and does provide a way to say goodbye to the series even if it is a bit lacklustre in its method. show less

The earthly incarnations of Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature and Evil have all been explained in the Incarnations of Immortality series and finally Piers Anthony tackles probably the most challenging aspect yet, that of Good. And Eternity focuses on a God that has become ambivalent to the mortal realm and has effectively become a non-existent incarnation. The determinations of what qualifies as sin have become outdated, but with no incarnation of Good available to realign the definitions of good and evil the future of humanity is doomed.

In this setting, we follow an unlikely trio: Orlean (deceased daughter of Nature), Jolie (deceased wife of Satan) and an underage prostitute. The three are set forth on a quest by the incarnation of Night show more that weaves them through the lives of all the Incarnations and they have no idea that the role they play may just save the world.

The seventh, and arguably, the final book in the series closes out the series well. Piers Anthony does an admirable job of tackling the final incarnation of Good though I am sure he upset a few along the way. It is challenging to write a novel that calls out in no uncertain terms that the current God is ineffective and due for replacement, but the six preceding books in the series prepare the reader for this conclusion. In spite of a few "stinkers" (Wielding a Red Sword and Being a Green Mother) the series is worth a read. Will I read them all again? Probably not, but it was a fun ride while it lasted. show less

This is the last of this series that I have read, though I note that Piers Anthony recently wrote an eighth novel, which I suspect is about the incarnation of night. However I will not really consider this novel to be a part of the seven book series as it appears that this book brings the series to a reasonably conclusive end. I do believe that I have read this book (overwise I wouldn't be writing a commentary on it), but it was such a long time ago that I am very vague as to what happened (which is where Wikipedia comes in).
The ideas in this book seem to flow from the rest of the series, and as we come to this book we finally come to understand where Anthony is heading with this series. In the last book we go into Satan's mind to show more discover that while he was the incarnation of evil, he was not necessarily evil himself. In this book we deal with the incarnation of Good, that is God, however, like the last book, we learn that God is not necessarily good, but rather a pompous git that really does not care about anybody beyond his own self importance.
I guess the conclusions of this series mimic where we ourselves are at in our time. However there is a slight difference. It is not a new thing that humanity looks up at God and tells him to get lost. This has been happening since the fall. We have all created our own idea of what God is like and we refuse to actually attempt to get to know what the real God is like. I guess this book is really just a mirror as to how we as a people view God.
The other aspect is that the UN, through debate and political manoeuvring, depose God and then propose to elect a new, and better, God. As far as humanity is concerned, God is not doing his job so needs to be replaced. Thus Anthony implies that reality, and eternity, is just like another nation or corporation. If the government, or the board, is not doing their job, we turf them out and elect new ones. Once again, there is a blurring between what is good and evil, turning evil into good and good into evil; turning the protagonist into the antagonist, and vice versa.
After considering the final book in this series, I am unlikely, actually highly unlikely, to ever return to them, and I guess my encounters with Piers Anthony will end with the Bio of a Space Tyrant series, which is the last series of his that I actually read. show less

The somewhat disappointing but inevitable conclusion to the series. Still an enjoyable read.

I wasn't sure when I started this one that I could get into it but somehow it caught me and I had to keep reading. Since this review is in 2018 and I first read the book in 1990 and then waited till 2007 for the final book in the series which I have not yet read but I do not like the blurb on the back. I really really hate when a blurb puts me off a book because I often find that, if I persevere and read it because it is part of a series, I often find I like the book and that the blurb really had little to do with the story. This particular book could have stood as the final book in the series. All the ends were tied up for the reader and really nothing else was needed. The entire series pleased me.