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"I have lost all sense of home, having moved about so much. It means to me now--only that place where the books are kept."
Faith Of Tarot
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Faith Of Tarot
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2 journalers for this copy...
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2005/4Faith of Tarot concludes the trilogy that began with God of Tarot and continued with Vision of Tarot . Although I thought the series started off pretty good, unfortunately each successive book got a little bit worse. I'm sorry to say that this scored even a half a star lower than book two, and two stars lower than book one. And it palls by comparison to Anthony's Incarnations of Immortalities, a series of books so good it graces my permanent collection. I kept reading this just to find out which God Piers would say controls Planet Tarot. But let me just say that it is pretty much as I supsected from the end of book 2, and more than ever, I wish he'd just ended it with a dream sequence at the end of book 1. So, this last novel opens up with a gratitiously disgusting chapter, complete with a couple of actual turd-slinging riots -- on a trip through hell on the way to a Black Mass. During the shocking ceremony, after Therion rapes Amaranth, he challenges Paul to kill his own surrogate daughter, Carolyn. Paul ends up bargaining for her life by giving up his own testicles. Charming. Of course, keeping in mind that this was the chapter entitled Violence, with each chapter being prescribed it's own particular Tarot card...I will say the author did try very hard to get this card-chapter thing to flow, and at some times he did a better job than at others. Okay, so the next thing we know, Satan is here. Satan literally puts Paul on the couch and pyschoanaylizes him. I DID like how Mr. Anthony gave a satisfying explanation for Satan here, that to me is more satisfying than your typical evil-doer, Prince-of-lies bit. Here, Satan is not only the working aspect of God, the one we can relate to (since God is so lofty we can't understand Him), but he is also the Yang to God's Yin; and a guy you can really LEARN from. But I digress. So, to recap: in book 1, we found out about Paul's adult occupations and what brought him to the Holy Order of Vision. In book 2, we found out about his college days. And now in book 3, we find out about his youth. So, at least Piers is consistent and logical. It turns out that Paul's earliest days were spent with his foster family in Africa where he was as a chronic bed-wetter. Also, apparently he had some strong desire to prove he was as good as any girl -- and he ends up with a clothespin up his butt. Hmmmm -- did we really need to know about that? Anyway, after a bully picks on him (I wonder why?), young Paul enrolls in Judo where he excells in self-defense. It is in this Judo class that he meets his first young love, a fellow student -- Karolyn. After Paul competeles his Satanic therapy, he finds himself suffering through another Animation This time he is thrown into Europe circa 1392. He meets a travelling preacher; a man from a sect of Christian heretics called the Waldenses. Apparently these Waldenses have the last complete set of Tarot cards -- including many that have been lost to history. This deck has a symbolic five suits, instead of the standard 4, -- which makes a mystical total of 100 cards, instead of the usual 78. After teaching Paul all he knows about this Tarot deck, this preacher suddenly dies of Bubonic Plague. Paul himself is forced to become the evangelist, that is until the Inquisition catches up with him! Then, after a stint with plague so brief, you would have scarcely known he was ill, Paul recovers. To save himself from impending torture, he burns up the incriminiting Tarot, losing it forever. After he escapes with Amaranth and her lover, the mad King Charles VI, the Animation switches to the far future...long after Paul has died. Paul's soul is being conjured up by an alien named Herald the Healer. Paul is now able to tell of his experiences with true Tarot, and from Herald he learns of his place in history. And it is here where Paul makes his final revelations about the God of Tarot, the significance of Animation and the meaning of the choices he's made. So the Animation ends. Paul's adventures on Planet Tarot end with another attack by the Big Foot monster that we were introduced to in the earlier books. Okay, so it's a Scooby-Doo ending, but at least he gave it closure. The book ends with your typical hollywood-style happy ending, with the characters being paired off into romantic alliances, where the implication is they all live happily ever after. Even Paul goes home to find love right under his nose (Awwwwwww.) Aside from the perspective the author gives us of Satan, the best thing about these books was the religious history. Turns out the Waldenses were a real sect, and I had a good time learning more about them on the internet afterwards. Also the biblical history as interpreted through archealogist's eyes was very refreshing. And it jogged my memory on a few things, too. So as much as I complain about the story, the book on the whole did have some merit. In other words, another good idea, with kind of a lousy execution. This book is reserved for Synergy, as she has books 1 & 2 already. I look forward to reading her thoughts about this series, to see if she gets something out of it I didn't. |
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