Under a Velvet Cloak - Incarnations #8
http://www.amazon.com/Under-Velvet-Cloak-Piers-Anthony/dp/1594262942/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200000468&sr=8-2
So it finally got published, it seems...
Incarnations of Immortality #8, supposedly starring Nox!
Amazon synopsis:
The eighth book in Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series. It is the year 500 AD. Kerena, a beautiful young girl living near King Arthur's Camelot, is apprenticed to Morely the Seer. Morely teaches her fantastic magic, but when he mysteriously disappears, Kerena finds herself out on the street and must resort to prostitution to survive. Kerena prospers as a skilled courtesan until she is taken into service by Morgan le Fey, the sorceress sister of King Arthur. Kerena's knowledge of magic grows as she is required to carry out nefarious deeds for the evil Lady Fey.
One of her missions is to seduce Sir Gawain, Knight of the Round Table, to prevent him from locating the Holy Grail. But Gawain and Kerena fall in love and she conceives his child, a child she discovers is cursed to die an early death. Using her Seer abilities, Kerena tries to locate the fabled Incarnations of Immortality, seeking their aid in removing the taint from her baby. Rebuffed by all seven major Incarnations, Kerena vows revenge. But revenge against such mighty immortals would require an even greater power...
I looked for this in 04 when it was supposed to be published but it never happened... but only by doing a random peek at my old bookmarks and finding the author's site did I remember it shoulda been out.
And it looks like Amazon has it available to order!
Temprah
18 years ago
wow that sounds really interesting. I am a huge fan of the King Arthur legends but I've never read any of this series. Do you (or anyone else) recommend it?
Verileah
18 years ago
I do not like Piers Anthony but this series was the only thing that prevented me from thinking he was a -complete- hack. The first one was good.
imo :).
imo :).
Mileron
18 years ago
I do definitely recommend it.
The premise is that God and Satan have their epic legendary positions - good vs evil - but 5 other "creatures" do intermediate work within a specific "office."
Realms of Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, each are an "office" that a person can "ascend to" (for lack of a better unspoileriffic term) which bestows upon them magical abilities to do things related to their office.
For instance, the Incarnation of Death finds souls "in balance" - that is, equal portions of good and evil on their soul - and judges them and sends them on their way to the afterlife.
But of course, with these "good" Incarnations daily business, Evil always has to meddle ;)
Wiki summary:
Incarnations of Immortality is the name of an eight-book fantasy series by Piers Anthony. The first seven books are each focused upon one of seven supernatural "offices" (Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Evil and Good) in a fictional reality and history parallel to ours, with the exception that society has advanced both magic and modern technology. The series covers the adventures and struggles of a group of humans, called "Incarnations", who hold these supernatural positions for a certain time.
Just don't actually read the Wiki page, cuz it'll spoil a lot.
The premise is that God and Satan have their epic legendary positions - good vs evil - but 5 other "creatures" do intermediate work within a specific "office."
Realms of Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, each are an "office" that a person can "ascend to" (for lack of a better unspoileriffic term) which bestows upon them magical abilities to do things related to their office.
For instance, the Incarnation of Death finds souls "in balance" - that is, equal portions of good and evil on their soul - and judges them and sends them on their way to the afterlife.
But of course, with these "good" Incarnations daily business, Evil always has to meddle ;)
Wiki summary:
Incarnations of Immortality is the name of an eight-book fantasy series by Piers Anthony. The first seven books are each focused upon one of seven supernatural "offices" (Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Evil and Good) in a fictional reality and history parallel to ours, with the exception that society has advanced both magic and modern technology. The series covers the adventures and struggles of a group of humans, called "Incarnations", who hold these supernatural positions for a certain time.
Just don't actually read the Wiki page, cuz it'll spoil a lot.