All the Incarnations of Immortality books begin with some kind of hook, a gimmick, to introduce the story. This, the second book in the series, uses the legalities of ghosthood and adoption (really) to get things rolling in typically humorous style. It tells the story of Norton, an unassuming hero who assumes the incarnation of Time, "Chronos".

"Bearing an Hourglass" is also, at the end, one of the hardest to understand books in the Incarnations series - I found that a strategy that worked well was to assume that Piers knew what he was talking about, and that all would become clear in the end. It worked. All in all, this is not my favorite book in the series, but it's good enough, and necessary if you want to get to the next book, With a Tangled Skein. . .

Confidence Index: 3