Incarnations of Immortality
#3004.02 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 7 books Status Complete 1983–1990 Reading commitment High Piers Anthony Last reviewed 2026-08-30
Overview
A seven-novel cycle in which ordinary mortals take up one of the great cosmic Offices: Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Evil, and Good, and become its Incarnation, wielding its power while navigating an eternal, often bureaucratic, struggle between Heaven, Hell, and the human world. Each novel centers on a different Incarnation taking up their Office, with recurring characters crossing between volumes as the overall cosmology builds toward a final reckoning with Satan himself.
Epic fantasy, Comic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (7 works) counts toward ranking
Incarnations of Immortality Piers Anthony
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | On a Pale Horse | 1983 | 1 | core | 4.13 (41,931 ratings) |
 | Bearing an Hourglass | 1984 | 2 | core | 3.96 (24,016 ratings) |
 | With a Tangled Skein | 1985 | 3 | core | 4.01 (21,418 ratings) |
 | Wielding a Red Sword | 1986 | 4 | core | 3.96 (20,024 ratings) |
 | Being a Green Mother | 1987 | 5 | core | 3.98 (19,192 ratings) |
 | For Love of Evil | 1988 | 6 | core | 4.13 (14,912 ratings) |
 | And Eternity | 1990 | 7 | core | 3.87 (12,760 ratings) |
The original seven-book run, one novel per Incarnation (Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Evil, Good), published together as a complete cycle 1983-1990.
Library / Expanded (1 work)
Incarnations of Immortality (Expanded) Piers Anthony
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Under a Velvet Cloak | 2007 | 8 | N/A |
An eighth Incarnation (Night) added seventeen years after the original cycle concluded.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Incarnations of Immortality? Incarnations of Immortality's Core Canon is 7 books, plus 1 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for Incarnations of Immortality? Publication order, starting with On a Pale Horse. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Incarnations of Immortality finished? Complete (1983–1990).
- How much reading does Incarnations of Immortality take? High reading commitment (estimated from 7 Core Canon books · ~2,491 pages).
- How is Incarnations of Immortality ranked? #300 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 154,253 reader ratings across 7 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #300?
Ranked #300 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.02 across 7 core books.
- Backed by 154k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #299, Burningblade & Silvereye (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 7 books · Complete · 154k ratings · Ranks #300 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (7 Core Canon books)
- On a Pale Horse (1983)
- Bearing an Hourglass (1984)
- With a Tangled Skein (1985)
- Wielding a Red Sword (1986)
- Being a Green Mother (1987)
- For Love of Evil (1988)
- And Eternity (1990)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Suggestions computed from what Incarnations of Immortality and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Green Rider Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.17
- The Imager Portfolio Epic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.16
- The Witcher Dark fantasy / Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.16
- Nightrunner Epic fantasy / Sword & sorcery · Complete · High commitment · 4.14
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.02 across 154,253 ratings on 7 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: Incarnations of Immortality, Pendragon Cycle, Myth Adventures accepted 2026-08-30
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Incarnations of Immortality Tier 2
- bookseriesinorder.com: Incarnations of Immortality Tier 3
Last reviewed: 2026-08-30
Rule: Core Canon is the original seven-novel run (1983–1990), one book per founding Incarnation, published as a complete cycle. Under a Velvet Cloak (2007), an eighth Incarnation added seventeen years later, is Expanded.