On a pale horse
by Piers Anthony · first published 1983
6mentions
2recommended by
6HN commenters
2009–2026first – last mentioned
33% recommend67% neutral
When Zane shot Death, he learned, too late, that he would have to assume his place, speeding over the world riding his pale horse, and ending the lives of others. Sooner than he would have thought possible, Zane found himself being drawn to Satan's plot. Already the Prince of Evil was forging a trap in which Zane must act to destroy Luna, the woman he loved...unless he could discover the only way out.... The first novel of the INCARNATIONS OF IMMORTALITY series.
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…K. Morgan, "Altered Carbon" (very good) Robert A. Heinlein, "The Rolling Stones" (young adult, but good all the same) Robert A. Heinlein, "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" (very good) Piers Anthony, "On A Pale Horse" (very good, never got very far into the series though) Lincoln Child, "Full Wolf Moon" (okay, not great) Lincoln Child, "The Forgotten Room" (pretty good) Lincoln Child, "The Third Gate" (very good)…
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗> Piers Anthony, "On A Pale Horse" (very good, never got very far into the series though) I read the whole series as a teenager, and loved it - especially the way he was able to wrap up the entire series at the end.
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗…is that the major "forces" in the world (time/death/fate/war/etc...) are actually offices which people fill (think The Santa Clause, but without Tim Allen or christmas). The first book of the series is On A Pale Horse. A final word of warning: I read both of these series a long time ago, so it could be that they're actually not as mature as I remember =)
on “Google giving Malware Warning on all search results (now fixed)” ↗Indeed. It's also reminiscent of Death's "Pale Horse" in car mode, from Piers Anthony's novel On A Pale Horse.
on “The 1980 Citroën Karin” ↗"On a Pale Horse"[1] also takes place in a world with magic and science. Airlines have to compete with magic carpet companies and computers are often used to cast magic because they can be incredibly precise. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_a_Pale_Horse
on “Forgotten Religions That Worshipped Electricity” ↗In "On A Pale Horse," Zane kills the current Death and assumes the role. I don't recall that he then steps down in a later book.
on “Chuck Norris Has Died” ↗