I thought this was not as good as the previous books. It lacks the substance and it was entirely predicatable. I will continue reading the other books in the series but I hope the author does a better job than this.

Wielding a red sword tells the story of war.

As with all the others so far in this series it also revolves around the battle with Satan, however in this one I found it more so than the rest. Much of the action occurs in hell itself for a start and I think War's close relationship with death, violence, and hatred means that he is much closer to Satan as an incarnation.

I'm continuing with the series however none of the books compare at all to the first which I could not put down, starting to become a tiresome series but one which I could not possibly leave down at this point.

Name: Piers Anthony
Born: 6th August 1934
Died: n/a
Nationality: British American
Most Famous Works: Xanth Series
First Novel Published: Chthon

Not as good as the first book "On a Pale Horse", however still very enjoyable, towards the end I found the story dragging a bit and it seemed that the author really didn't know where to go to finish it off and because of this the ending seems very abrupt.
Saying all this I will still continue to read the rest of the series and look forward to meeting some more Incarnations and hearing their stories. Brilliant Idea!!

Name: Piers Anthony
Born: 6th August 1934
Died: n/a
Nationality: British American
Most Famous Works: Xanth Series
First Novel Published: Chthon

So, the third book in the series about Fate this time. The thing I like about this book which differs enormously from the previous 2 is that the incarnation of fate consists of three parts. One weaves the threads of life, one measures them and the last cuts them.

Niobe is the main character in this and we see her taking over the role of one of the aspects. Like the other books in the series we discover that Niobe has a vital role in foiling Satans plans and so he interferes in her life to try to stop this.

Niobe's life is tracked much more so than in the previous books, in that we see her as a young woman, marrying a man she doesn't want to marry and we also see her grow old and have the oppurtunity to meet her children and follow their lives too.

If you are thinking of reading this book then I take it you have read the other 2 in the series, and all I can say is this book is a much more personal view of the main character, and because of this I found her life and her story meant more to me than Death and Fate. Saying this I still prefer "On a pale Horse" for the story, however as a character, fate was much more intriguing and appealing.

Name: Piers Anthony
Born: 6th August 1934
Died: n/a
Nationality: British American
Most Famous Works: Xanth Series
First Novel Published: Chthon

This is the story of Orb who during the course of this novel becomes Nature / The Green Mother / Gaea.
This book differs significantly from the others in that I would say three quarters of it centre around Orb's life before she takes over as the incarnation of Nature. I found that in this way much like With a Tangled Skein, the main character was far more accessible and it was easier to identify with her.

In this book which is book 5 of the series I especially liked the way each characters stories are now coming together so much, and am looking forward to the next few installments to see exactly how this ends.

Name: Piers Anthony
Born: 6th August 1934
Died: n/a
Nationality: British American
Most Famous Works: Xanth Series
First Novel Published: Chthon

For Love of Evil is the 6th book in the series, detailing at long last Satans life before his appointment to the incarnation of evil. I think that Parry is one of the most interesting of the incarnations, and although some may think this book a little slow as it describes in short the events of the proceeding 5 books, I found it very interesting to finally see events from Satan's point of view.

We see the other incarnations from Satans point, we see how they treated him when he took the role, and interestingly enough we also get a fleeting image of the incarnation of Good, (God).

Despite some repitition, the story never lost its grip on me, in fact I've been far more interested in this story than I have in the last couple in the series. I think probably because it is reaching its climax and I just can't wait to see what happens and how it all winds up.

In the authors note, Piers Anthony states that there is only one book left in the series "And Eternity", however by the looks of things he had some unfinished business and "Under a Velvet Cloak" was published in 2007.

So with one more left on my shelf and one still to be purchased I'm nearing the end of the saga.
Look forward to it!

Name: Piers Anthony
Born: 6th August 1934
Died: n/a
Nationality: British American
Most Famous Works: Xanth Series
First Novel Published: Chthon

Hmmm, what to say about this, the supposed final book in the series. Well firstly I suppose I should mention that "Being a Green Mother" was actually supposed to be the final book in the series, however Piers Anthony apparently got so much fan mail regarding the incarnations of good and evil that he felt he had to continue and tell their story too.

Maybe its a bad reflection on me, but this story of the incarnation of Good just bored me, much preferred "For Love of Evil", however do like the notion that the incarnation of Good is in heaven so busy contemplating his own worthiness that he has zoned out the entire world. Think the author may have been having a bad day during that chapter!!

Mainly this book is about 3 women;, Orlene, who is the daughter of Nature and War, granddaughter of Fate, ex-wife of Time, Step daughter of Evil, and I think maybe cousin to Luna, wife of Death....it can be quite confusing. Jolie, who is the ghost of Satans wife, and Vita, a young prostitute thatl they are helping to get off this worlds version of heroin.

Strange mix you might say, and you'd be right. The plot is basically this, Orlene's baby died and as a result, Orlene committed suicide, hence becoming a ghost and meeting with Orlene. Int the afterlife, she discovers that the incarnation of Night Nox has taken guard of her baby, and has set her a challenge, in order to cure the baby's sickness and restore him to life she must obtain something invaluable from each of the incarnations, and each of them ask that she prove herself worthy.

So really its just a way of revisiting the incarnations, and discovering the one we have not so far met, the incarnation of Good.
I just wasn't hugely impressed with this.

Another thing I must mention is that, this book was followed years later by another incarnation tale, this one relating the story of Nox, this was just published last year as far as I know and perhaps Piers Anthony may start telling the stories of the lesser incarnations next!

Name: Piers Anthony
Born: 6th August 1934
Died: n/a
Nationality: British American
Most Famous Works: Xanth Series
First Novel Published: Chthon

Just another fantastic installment of the great "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series. Each new story is better than the last - the action is getting more intense, the danger more real and more powerful. Plus, Riordan's knowledge of Classical Greek Mythology is superb. He turns that knowledge into something both useful and entertaining - education can be fun! I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoyed Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or similar fantasy genre series'. It's not nearly as sophisticated as Lord of the Rings and the narrative construction doesn't "progress" through time the way that the Harry Potter novels do, but it's still a worthy, exciting read. Light but fruitful. Can't wait to get number four!

I can't believe dionysus would actually help a half blood. And why would zoe leave her home. Couldn't she just stay and play with the dragon instead of leaving to join the hunt. If anything bad happened up there, she wouldn't be able to go, therefore endangering the hunt.

Pretty awesome read - as good as the first (The Lightning Thief). Exciting, fun, educational, suspensful... I dig it. Can't wait to finish the series with The Titan's Curse.

this book is a little more boring until they get to the sea, and when Percy is in the hamster cage Ha ha ha!!! I can't believe the pirates are Ares sons. How could they let some sorceress turn them into guinea pigs?

Even worse than the first. So predictable.

I so miss Harry Potter. =(

Rick Riordan closes out the "Percy Jackson & The Olympians" series with a bang. This was, in terms of action, suspense, character development, and emotional attachment the best of the five books in the series. While "The Lightning Thief" will hold a place in my heart as the first novel in the series, "The Last Olympian" did more than any of its predecessors to hoist the series out of the realm of independent reader and into the more adult literature. Unfortunately, character detail, plot, backgrounds, and even description still leave much to be desired. Riordan, unlike some of his competition -the most obvious being J.K. Rowling- does not do much to allow his characters to grow from year-to-year. Though the challenges that Percy and his friends face become greater and more dangerous with each new installment, they remain relatively the same from book to book. Percy as a twelve year old, in book one, is not much different than Percy the sixteen year old, in book five. Riordan tries to develop the characters, he scrapes the surface of emotions these kids and teens would be feeling, had they really been placed in such precarious, dangerous, confusing circumstances, but realism doesn't quite make a strong impression on the fantasy of this series. Still, this last book was exciting, moving, and - most importantly for me- still had a creative, fun way of teaching its readers about greek mythology. There are also many underlying morals - the danger we face by turning our backs on history and believing ourselves to be all-knowing - that our actions do not have consequences. That lesson, above all, is probably the true triumph of "The Last Olympian."