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Speaking for the Xanth series as a whole Apr 10, 1999 (19 of 20 found this helpful)
I have read all 22 Xanth novels. Six of them really stand out as good stories: Good, moral, heroic main characters, cool talents and magical abilities, good storyline. They get pretty serious, and it almost seems that Piers is trying to teach young readers through the good, moral, honorable, heroic characters, how to act in real life. But most of them get so congested with puns that there's really nothing going on, and it just gets corny. The six good ones are A Spell for Chameleon#1 Castle Roogna#3 Ogre, Ogre#5 Crewel Lye: A Caustic Yarn#8 Heaven Cent#11 and Question Quest#14. Faun & Games#21 had an OK character named Atilla the Pun. The puns get on my nerves. I like puns, I just don't like Piers Anthony's puns. When he started this series he wrote for young men. Now he writes for troublesome adolescents, it seems. He can't go a book without mentioning breasts and panties. Yes, there is a romance in virtually every Xanth book, but still, the sexual inuendos don't fit; they're out of context. I guess Piers just ran out of cool magic talents for his characters. Because let's face it: that's what made the series. When it had magicians with interesting talents that one could base an entire story on the ramifications of them, it was a good series. It isn't anymore. Read the first 14 and then stop.
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a fun beginning Feb 18, 2003 (14 of 18 found this helpful)
This is the book that first got me reading fantasy novels. I read this for the first time when I was in 8th grade, I believe (now 23 years old). At the time I found it to be a simple, fun to read novel that got me interested in the world Piers Anthony created. It also got me interested in other fantasy novels, and I moved along from Anthony to Eddings, Brooks, McCaffrey, Feist, Jordan, and Martin. Anthony's Xanth series is what got me started, however.
I think I've read about half of the Xanth series, and it is apparent that the novels are becoming less and less serious. The books become filled with puns, and everything magic is punned. A Spell for Chameleon is the first Xanth novel, however, and there is very little of the punning that the series is known for (and may be the downfall of the series). This first novel sets up the series and defines what Xanth is and what kind of land this is. Xanth is shaped like Florida, but is not actually connected to the United States. It is a separate world filled with magic. Anthony teases that all of the magical creatures in Earth's legends actually were real (dragons, centaur, harpy, sphinx, etc), but they came from Xanth by mistake. Xanth is a magic land is somehow connected to our world, but not in any fixed location. The human population of Xanth was settled by Mundanes (our world is called Mundania) in a series of waves of Invasion, as the Mundanes (from various parts of the world) discovered passages to Xanth. While humans don't naturally have magic when they arrive, any children born in Xanth do in fact possess magic.
When this novel begins, we know there is a Shield blocking any more Waves of invasion from Mundania (prior waves had been mostly violent). The king is an old man with failing health and he has decreed that any citizen who has reached his 25th birthday must be able to demonstrate his magical talent (everyone has just one) or be exiled to Mundania (beyond the Shield). Bink is a young man nearing his 25th birthday and he has not yet discovered his talent. He is journeying to the Good Magician Humphrey to discover his talent. As Bink travels, we learn more about what type of land Xanth is, and discover some of the most prominent features of the land. Humphrey knows that Bink has a Magician level talent, but is unable figure out what the talent is. Bink is still to be exiled.
While I feel that the novel has lost something over the years, it was still a very enjoyable read and it is fun to revisit the world of Xanth.
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good for the right demographic.... Jul 12, 2000 (11 of 14 found this helpful)
You tend to see polarized reactions to Xanth. People either love it, or hate it. I think thats because the Xanth series has a limited appeal (mainly to boys between the ages of 11 and 14).
You see, I have been in both positions. In my pre and early teens I read just about every Xanth book there was, by my late teens I wouldn't get near any of Anthony's work. At the grand old age of 22 I can look back and see why I enjoyed it when I enjoyed it.
Anthony does the entire sword and sorcery thing and adroitly mixes in lots of sexual tension and innuendo. The later is what makes it so appealing to teenage boys. Young guys swimming with hormones just eat it up. However, once you get out of the initial stages of adolesence, Xanth, with its puns and predictable plot line, becomes very boring.
You'll gobble this book up, as well as its subsequent sequels, if you're in the aforementioned demographic, but probably won't like it if you aren't (although I have talked to a few women in their 20's and early 30's who like it). When it comes down to it Xanth is like one of those teeny-bopper rock groups, you really dig it for a short time, and then throw it away with disgust.
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Painfully sexist and cliche Dec 29, 2001 (9 of 17 found this helpful)
Anthony seems to lack a basic grip of common courtesy, and any grip at all of sense. A Spell for Chameleon operates on the basic principle that pretty women cannot be intelligent and intelligent women are, by nature, ugly; a theory that is degrading to women everywhere. Anthony also makes no secret of this thesis, stating the above overtly towards the end of the book. Anythony's puns are trite and dull, and his characters tired cliches. By far, one of the worst fantasy writers I have every read, to the point where even mentioning his name is banned at some fantasy cons.
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Xanth series 1-14 review... Entertaining quick reads Feb 11, 2004 (9 of 11 found this helpful)
I passed by these books everytime I went to the book store. I didn't think I would enjoy these novels, they looked too childish. I finally ran out of other fiction to read, so I picked the first book up in a used book store. Boy was I surprised. I enjoyed it so much I decided to buy the whole series. This series definitely has a quirky side to it. However it is a very enjoyable fantasy series. Full of excellent imagery, characters and storylines. Mr. Anthony is constantly coming up with interesting new stories for this series. The puns don't destroy the fantasy element. They add an enjoyable sidenote. These novels took me through a variety of emotions (most of which either had me chuckling or laughing outloud). "Question Quest" (book #14) is the last book in the series that I have read so far. I definitely plan on reading the rest though.
I have read more than 450 fantasy novels in the past 15+ years, so I am always trying to find something a little new and entertaining. Xanth definitely fills this requirement. I highly recommend these novels for a quick light read.