Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    With a Tangled Skein: Incarnations of Immortality, Book 3
    Unavailable
    With a Tangled Skein: Incarnations of Immortality, Book 3
    Unavailable
    With a Tangled Skein: Incarnations of Immortality, Book 3
    Audiobook13 hours

    With a Tangled Skein: Incarnations of Immortality, Book 3

    Written by Piers Anthony

    Narrated by George Guidall

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Piers Anthony continues the deadly struggle between good and evil in With a Tangled Skein. In this spellbinding novel, Anthony combines a penetrating look at the meaning of life and death with a gripping story of love and loyalty. When the man Niobe loves is shot, she wants revenge. Her only chance is to accept a challenge to solve a maze of riddles devised by Satan himself. But Niobe’s strength is her beauty, not her intelligence, and the fate of the human race hangs in the balance. Can she outwit Satan at his own game, or has her failure already been woven into the very Tapestry of Fate? George Guidall’s enthralling narration captures the essence of Anthony’s rich characters and timeless story. Ingenious, ambitious and hauntingly philosophical, With a Tangled Skein is Piers Anthony at his best.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books Audio
    Release dateMar 10, 2008
    ISBN9781436112000
    Unavailable
    With a Tangled Skein: Incarnations of Immortality, Book 3
    Author

    Piers Anthony

    Piers Anthony is one of the world's most prolific and popular fantasy authors and a New York Times bestseller twenty-one times over. His Xanth novels, including Esrever Doom, Luck of the Draw, and Well-Tempered Clavicle, have been read and loved by millions of readers around the world. While he is best known for his science fiction and fantasy, Anthony incredibly versatile, having also written several novels in other genres, including historical fiction and horror. He lives in Central Florida.

    More audiobooks from Piers Anthony

    Related to With a Tangled Skein

    Related audiobooks

    Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Book CLUB

      Aug 23, 2022

      Book CLUB
      1 min read

    • Article

      August’s BOOK CLUB

      Jul 7, 2022

      Joan by Katherine J Chen (£16.99, HB, Hodder & Stoughton) In this inspired, lyrical reimagining of Joan of Arc’s life, the author transports us inside the head of a young woman whose divinely inspired military gifts were viewed with awe and suspicio

      2 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Sep 7, 2022

      by Ann Cleeves (£20, HB, Pan Macmillan) As we’ve come to expect from Ann Cleeves’ bestselling Vera Stanhope series, this instalment oozes atmosphere and tension. When the five-year reunion of old school friends on Holy Island ends in death for one o

      2 min read

    • Article

      Book CLUB

      Jan 3, 2024

      Book CLUB
      1 min read

    • Article

      Taking Stock

      Mar 2, 2023

      Taking Stock
      4 min read

    • Article

      Great Reads

      Aug 23, 2023

      by Christy Lefteri (£16.99, HB, Bonnier) The best-selling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo’s latest novel explores the aftermath of Greece’s forest fires with her trademark delicate and illuminating style. Irini, Tasso and their daughter Chara live

      2 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Feb 15, 2021

      by Katherine Angel (Verso, ISBN-13 9781788739160) versobooks.com Consent is sexy. To know yourself is to empower yourself. Women want sex as much as men. These mantras proliferate in the post-2017, #MeToo moment of feminism in which we live. But they

      4 min read

    • Article

      Chantelle Jamieson

      May 13, 2021

      Chantelle Jamieson
      3 min read

    • Article

      She’s No Saint

      Jul 3, 2022

      She’s No Saint
      2 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Jan 11, 2023

      by Amita Parikh (£16.99, HB, Little, Brown) Step aboard the circus train in this magical historical novel. Illusionist Lena Papadophoulous is in a wheelchair and feels like an outsider, but wants so much more for her life. When French orphan Alexand

      2 min read

    • Article

      Book CLUB

      Oct 31, 2023

      Book CLUB
      2 min read

    • Article

      October’s GREAT READS

      Sep 16, 2019

      October’s GREAT READS
      2 min read

    • Article

      Midnight’s Twins

      Jun 17, 2020

      RELEASED OUT NOW! 432 pages | Paperback/ebook Author Holly Race Publisher Hot Key Books At times this debut novel bursts with creativity: fitting, as much of it takes place in a world built from the imaginations of people who are asleep and dreaming.

      1 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Jul 22, 2020

      Book Club
      1 min read

    • Article

      “Wicked Fox” Is An Engrossing – If Convoluted – YA Fantasy

      Aug 22, 2019

      Kat Cho’s debut novel “Wicked Fox” is a little complicated, but the poignantly rendered family relationships and fantasy drama are worth the ride.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Heretical Thinking

      Jun 15, 2022

      What appeals about the setting? GH: The scale of it, the hopelessness of it, the monstrousness and the nobility of the human race… I’ve been a science fiction fan all my life and I can honestly say that the Horus Heresy is one of the great pieces of

      1 min read

    • Article

      Great Reads

      Apr 12, 2023

      by Alaina Urquhart (£18.99, HB, Penguin) Serial killer ‘The Butcher’ is pretty twisted. He enjoys ‘playing’ with his victims before ‘releasing’ them into the Louisiana swamplands without a chance to escape, before hunting them down again for sport. F

      2 min read

    • Article

      Books Of The Month

      Oct 14, 2022

      HellSans By Ever Dundas That one person’s heaven can be another’s hell is brilliantly and graphically depicted in this novel set in a near-future Britain. The general population is in a near-constant state of bliss induced by a typeface used on all s

      2 min read

    • Article

      May’s BOOK CLUB

      Apr 23, 2020

      Q by Christina Dalcher (£12.99, HarperCollins) Imagine a world where every child’s potential is determined by a standardised measurement – their Q quotient. In this shocking and powerful dystopian novel, children not reaching their full potential are

      2 min read

    • Article

      Book CLUB 1

      Aug 24, 2021

      Book CLUB 1
      2 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Sep 9, 2020

      Book Club
      1 min read

    • Article

      May’s BOOK CLUB

      Mar 30, 2023

      Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld (£16.99, HB, Transworld) TV scriptwriter Sally Milz is over romance, or so she thinks. In the week leading up to a famous late-night TV show, singer Noah Brewster steps into the host role. As they start to connect

      4 min read

    • Article

      Hot Off The Press

      Aug 17, 2023

      When the sun's out, kicking back with a good book is the perfect activity when we've got five minutes of peace. We're sharing the Chat team's top summer reads to get lost in while soaking up those rays… Real life editor Lianne says: ‘While I love a s

      2 min read

    • Article

      We Loved It

      Jan 14, 2020

      Ambitious, insightful and distinctive, Catherine Chung’s latest novel is a beautiful exploration of the human condition. Katherine has always felt like an outsider, both for her diverse parentage and her talent for numbers. But her history becomes a

      1 min read

    Reviews for With a Tangled Skein

    3.5/5

    31 ratings20 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      A nice addition to the Incarnations series. These are always unique to what I've read before, simply because most people cannot handle writing from the perspective of immortality. Fun and entertaining.
    • 4/5
      Re-read 2018The first of the books about the female Incarnations, this one deals with Fate in all of her aspects. I can't say much about it because there are spoilers for both the earlier books and future books in the series. My only issue is that the main character sees herself as a delicate female even after assuming part of the aspect of fate. She just can't see just how tough and capable she is even when doing some bad a** things.
    • 3/5
      piers Anthony is a male chauvinist. seriously! "she knew she could weave,she was a woman". i thought i could be non-judgmental, cant help it when things keep repeating, like objectification and generalization.
    • 3/5
      Interesting series.
    • 3/5
      The sexist Anthony stands out in this third book of the series. I do like it still, but he could have done so much better. Still refreshing my memory for when/if I get to #8, which I've not read...
    • 3/5
      Niobe loses her young husband to attack by Satan. When she tries to get him back, she instead becomes an aspect of Fate. Through it all, she is determined to keep Satan from becoming all powerful.

      I first read this book in the early 90s. I liked this one better than the first two of the series. Upon reading it a second time, I liked it, but not as much as I did as a young adult. If you like Piers Anthony, you will certainly like this. The misogyny gets a little tiresome after a while.
    • 4/5
      Less confusing that the story of Chronos (time), I really enjoyed my first delve into the realm of a female Incarnation--and actually in this case 2 Incarnations.

      This is the story of Fate--or at least a woman Niobe who becomes an Aspect of Fate in her life. The story about Death may still be more interesting to me, but this was a great one! :)
    • 2/5
      With A Tangled Skein (Des Schicksals dünner Faden) ist der dritte Band aus der Reihe der Incarnations of Immortality von Piers Anthony und befasst sich mit einem sehr interessanten Charakter: der Inkarnation des Schicksals. Hierzu bedient sich Anthony bei der griechischen Mythologie, in der das Schicksal von drei Schwestern verkörpert wird. In dem vorliegenden Roman handelt es sich nicht um Schwestern, sondern um drei willkürlich gewählte Frauen, die in einem einzigen Körper miteinander verschmelzen, jedoch Individuen mit verschiedenen Aufgaben bleiben. Während die griechischen Vorbilder eine nicht zu unterschätzende Neigung zur Gehässigkeit aufweisen, sind die Frauen der Inkarnation überaus rechtschaffen und pflichtbewusst.Die Dreifaltigkeit dieser Inkarnation hätte dabei so manche spannende Charakterentwicklung eröffnen können, doch der Autor verschenkt dieses Potential, indem er auf die beiden anderen Aspekte so gut wie nicht eingeht und sich allein auf Niobe konzentriert. Neben einer kurzen Einführung zu den verschiedenen Zuständigkeiten besitzen die drei auch kaum besondere Fähigkeiten, interagieren nur selten wirklich miteinander und wechseln so häufig, dass dem Leser kaum Zeit bleibt, die einzelnen Aspekte näher kennen zu lernen.Interessant ist es dagegen wieder zu erleben, wie die einzelnen Fäden aus den vorangegangen Romanen erneut aufgegriffen und die Bände zu einem Gesamtbild verwoben werden – Hintergründe bekannter Figuren werden noch weiter ausgebaut und das Fundament für eine übergeordnete Handlung endgültig gefestigt. Dabei erstreckt sich die Handlung über einen Zeitraum von ca. 80 Jahren, was einerseits sehr viele Ereignisse aufzeigt, andererseits hat das auch mal unnötige Längen zur Folge.Was With A Tangled Skein letztlich aber ungenießbar macht und sämtliche guten Ideen im Keim erstickt, ist der omnipräsente Sexismus. Piers Anthony schreibt hier aus der Sicht einer weiblichen Inkarnation, aus der Sicht einer ganzen Gruppe von Frauen und scheitert damit auf ganzer Linie. Seine Vorstellungen davon, wie Frauen denken, reagieren oder handeln, kann man nur als klassische Altherrenphantasie bezeichnen, in der Sex zur Universallösung wird.Es beginnt relativ harmlos mit einer klar getrennten Rollenverteilung: Atropos, die Alte, übernimmt die Aufgaben einer Großmutter, Lachesis, die mütterliche Frau mittleren Alters, kümmert sich um die Ordnung, und Clotho, die blühende Jugend, wird die besondere Aufgabe zuteil, ihren männlichen Mitspielern sexuell zu Diensten zu sein. Als man nach einem Wechsel endlich glaubt, nun eine neue, selbstbewusste und emanzipierte Clotho präsentiert zu bekommen, die aufräumt mit den Klischees, wirft sie sich und ihre Jungfräulichkeit bei der erstbesten Gelegenheit demütig einem stereotypen Macho vor die Füße (den sie kurz zuvor geschlagen hat, weil er sie für eine Geisha – hier gleichbedeutend mit einer Prostituierten – gehalten hat). Warum? Weil seine enorme Männlichkeit Clotho die Augen öffnet und ihr ihre Fehler bewusst macht – sie entbrennt binnen Minuten in Liebe zu ihm.Die Inkarnation des Schicksals, in deren Händen so viel Macht liegen sollte, wird unter Anthonys Feder zu einer weinerlichen, hilfsbedürftigen, oberflächlichen, emotional unberechenbaren, irrationalen und intellektuell beschränkten Puppe, die die Führung eines Mannes braucht, um sich im Leben zurechtfinden zu können, der sie beschützt und ihr die einfachsten Denkspiele verständlich macht. Ein Glück, dass die große Gegenfigur Satan unsere Protagonistin in einem faden Endkampf mit denselben Rätseln konfrontiert und sie dank der Lehren ihrer Ehemänner gerade noch in der Lage ist, den Teufel auszutricksen. Auch hier geht wieder nichts ohne sexuelle Gefahren. Damit einhergehend: mehr als unerfreulich ist der Umgang mit dem Thema Vergewaltigung, das in diesem Roman mehrfach zum Einsatz kommt. Seien es nun ein Dämon, der dies als Methode sieht, der eigentlich unverwundbaren, weiblichen Inkarnation doch noch zu schaden, oder Frauenfiguren, die ihre eigene Erfahrung damit wie ein unspektakuläres Kavaliersdelikt herunterspielen. Wirklich, Herr Anthony, …wirklich? Man weiß bei all den Klischees und bestenfalls seltsamen Ideen kaum, wo man mit dem Aufzählen beginnen und wieder aufhören soll.Das alles schafft natürlich nicht nur ein stereotypes Frauenbild, sondern, das muss man der Fairness halber sagen, auch ein stereotypes Männerbild, bei denen beide schlecht abschneiden. Es wäre sicher interessant zu erfahren, wie männliche Leser dieses Buch bewerten und erleben.Mit On A Pale Horse (Reiter auf dem schwarzen Pferd) hat Anthony einst ein ungewöhnliches Universum mit einer wunderbar gelungenen Verschmelzung von Technik und Magie erschaffen, bereits Bearing An Hourglass (Der Sand der Zeit) konnte schon nicht mehr mit dem Auftaktband mithalten. In With A Tangled Skein sind all diese Ansätze endgültig hinfällig. Der Weltenbau ist praktisch nicht existent und die Handlungsorte sind äußerst begrenzt.Vorerst ist also die gelungene Idee der Inkarnationen der einzige Grund, diese Reihe fortzusetzen. Bleibt zu hoffen, dass Anthony im vierten Band Wielding A Red Sword seine anfängliche Stärke aus On A Pale Horse endlich wiederfindet. Bis dahin stellt With A Tangled Skein den vorläufigen Tiefpunkt dieser Buchreihe dar.
    • 5/5
      *Book source ~ My home libraryNiobe is 21 and her father finally puts his foot down and arranges a marriage for her to 16-yr-old Cedric Kaftan. No matter how much she cries and argues her father doesn’t waver in his stance, so she ends up married to Cedric. After a rocky beginning they make a go of the marriage before Cedric is shot and killed. Niobe finds out that Cedric had taken the bullet meant for her due to an evil plan of Satan. Satan should have left things alone because now Niobe is out for revenge. Even if she has to assume an aspect of Fate she intends to make the Devil pay for taking away the man she loved.Niobe’s life is certainly an interesting one. From her marriage to Cedric to her role as Clothos and beyond, she has a definite link to a woman who will foil Satan’s ultimate plan. No wonder he tried to take her out when she was younger. However, if he hadn’t tried to have her killed then her husband wouldn’t have taken her place and she wouldn’t have assumed the office of Clothos. Oh, what a tangled web he tries to weave…and weaving is the province of Fate. He should have just left it all alone.This story is interesting from beginning to end and Niobe has a long long life. I did get a bit confused at the end when she has to navigate the maze, but that didn’t stop my enjoyment of the book on the whole. I can’t say any more without giving away key plot points, but I can say it’s not a dull moment. I love seeing all of the Incarnations coming together to foil Satan’s Big Plan. I’m looking forward to revisiting Book 4 which is about Mars.
    • 4/5
      A nice addition to the Incarnations series. These are always unique to what I've read before, simply because most people cannot handle writing from the perspective of immortality. Fun and entertaining.
    • 5/5
      #3 of the Incarnations series-- Piers Anthony Knows how to write stories that not only keep your attention but keep their story thread though out all of his series. Wonderful JobSet around the time of World War I, a young Irish (around 21-23) woman named Niobe has a marriage arranged for her by her parents. Her husband-to-be is a teenage boy (16-17) named Cedric Kaftan. She considers him too immature for her, but can find no way out of the marriage. Although Niobe at first hates being married to a "child", Cedric's good nature, kind heartedness, and desire to make his wife happy and safe win her over, and she soon falls madly in love with her husband. Cedric shows that he is an intellectual prodigy. With some prodding and nurturing from his wife as well as from his mentor, Cedric accepts a scholarship to attend college and hone his magical abilities. As he matures and finds his niche in magic and wetland studies, he and Niobe have a child: Cedric Jr. With a bright future certain, and wizardry greatness assured, life in the Kaftan house was happy indeed. Sadly a few years later, Cedric learns of a plot to kill Niobe. Seeing no way to avert it, Cedric leaves school, goes home to Niobe, hastily puts his affairs in order, and sets in motion the only way he can save his wife's life..... by taking her place. On the fateful morning, Cedric wakes up to make love to his wife one last time, kisses her goodbye and goes into the woods to face his destiny. Awakened by gunshots, Niobe learns her husband is assassinated as part of a plot by the agents of Satan. She learns not only of the plot, but that she, and not her husband, was the real target. Upon learning this, Niobe's hatred for having her husband's life cut short, makes her vow to make Satan pay. She is invited to join the Incarnation(s) of Fate, and then the problems start.
    • 3/5
      In the third book of the Incarnations series, With a Tangled Skein, Piers Anthony tackles the aspect of Fate. An immortal divided into three parts: Clotho - who weaves the threads of life, Lachesis - who measures the threads and Atropos - who cuts the threads. Niobe Kaftan, the most beautiful woman of her generation, takes on the role of Clotho in her youth and later is given the opportunity to return as Lachesis. Niobe must use her powers as Fate to foil that wacky Satan and his devious plots. In my opinion, this book focuses more on setting the stage for future novels. We learn of a prophecy that foretells that Luna will love death (see book 1) and that Niobe's daughter Orb will love Evil and will become an incarnation (read: foreshadowing / pre-selling of later books in the series). Fate's role in this book is essentially to ensure that Luna is able achieve her seat in government 20 years hence.I sense that the Incarnations novels are starting to lose some steam at this point, but I won't give up just yet. An entertaining read.
    • 4/5
       This series is definitely very YA. They are easy reads but enjoyable. A very unique concept.
    • 3/5
      For this book, Anthony tells the tale of how the Aspect of Fate works in his Incarnations series. This is the third in the series. After tackling the office of Death and Time, he goes onto Fate. A mortal still occupies the office, but Fate works a little different. Three different mortal women make up the aspects of Fate (Clotho, Atropos, and Lachesis). Our heroine takes on the role of fate on two separate occasions in order to foil Satan’s grand plan, which is so intricate that it involves the mortal children of Niobe (the woman chosen to be Fate twice). As with the other books in this series, the hero/heroine must overcome obstacles both physical and mental to reach the final goal. Anthony’s characters are always tasked to use their brains more than brawn. Even with a world that uses magic on an everyday basis, it’s never used as a crutch to further the story. It’s another enjoyable book in the series.
    • 3/5
      This series starts to take a series drop off at this point. Fate must now contest against Evil to save those she used to know, even though she is now an Immortal. Unfortunately, with Time, Death and Fate all mixed in with this, it starts to feel a little implausible that they can't fix the situation. Still an interesting concept, but by this book it was starting to reach where the concept alone couldn't carry the books.
    • 5/5
      This is the last fun book in the Incarnations of Immortality series. I loved the interaction between the various aspects of fate and the different perspectives the main character gets from playing more than one role.
    • 2/5
      Perhaps a marginal improvement over Bearing an Hourglass, but not enough to raise the rating.
    • 1/5
      Plot: A repeat performance from the previous two books in the series. Character gets mixed up in supernatural business, gets a position as an Incarnation, evil tricks her, she tricks evil, it goes back and forth a bit, and in the end all is relatively well. No surprises here. Characters: The wasted potential is almost painful to watch. Two-dimensional and boring, no development, no credibility. Style: Chauvinism thick enough to cut with a knife. Boring prose and occasionally very strange logic. Plus: It prompts some interesting thoughts, though the book itself never follows them up. Minus: There's an overall oddness about it and it never feels like a good read. Summary: Sorry, but no. The series jumped the shark here.
    • 1/5
      This story followed the typical pattern of all these books. First we get a lot of background on the main character before they are plunged into their role as an Incarnation. Here, because they are new, they are tested by Satan to see if he can get them to trip up and spoil the grand scheme to foil him in some years hence. That plan always centers around Luna, girlfriend of Death, niece of Fate and cousin of the future Nature. Finally there is a test of wits, brains and brawn to foil Satan and make sure that Luna becomes a senator and can balk Satan when the time comes.It is wearing thin. Preachy, sexist and highly repetitive.
    • 2/5
      I don't know if I would have read it except someone gave me a copy of the book. I'm glad they did because I found the book entertaining. I'm still not sure I would go out of my way to read it, though.