| | Comment from (2004-03-31) |
| I've read several of the Xanth novels plus the first five books in the Incarnations of Immortality series. I'm always entertained by his plots -- he managed to write many Xanth books with the same basic premise (protagonist has to find the Good Magician Humphrey) without ever becoming predictable. On the other hand, I find most of his characters to be one-dimensional. The one exception to that rule is Zane in On A Pale Horse, which is also by far the best book I've read by Piers. But other than that one bright spot, his stories are populated with characters only a boy in his young teens would identify with. Female protagonists are especially vapid and obsessed with their appearance. Piers uses this as an opportunity to go on at length about their pretty faces and figures. And worse, older women seem to spend most of their time bemoaning their lost beauty.
Piers Anthony's books are fun for light reading, and I think they're especially good for encouraging young teen boys to read. But these days I can only take him in small doses, and I try to avoid entirely the books with female main characters. |
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| | Comment from (2003-07-18) |
| used to be one of my favorite authors. but i have to say most of what he wrote after the mid 80's turned to crap. the apprentice adept series is excellent. early xanth books are great too so are the first 2-3 of the incarnations series. after that piers started cranking out books like tic-tacs and it showed. quantity went up and quality suffered horribly. :-( |
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| | Comment from (2003-03-10) |
| Piers Anthony holds a special place in my heart, if only for his Florida-shaped fantasy world of Xanth. Xanth got me into fantasy and gave me a (un)healthy dose of wordplay, but the Incarnations of Immortality series gets the blue ribbon for fantasy fiction. You don't even have to read them in order! That said, pick up Wielding a Red Sword, and see what its like to be a true warlord. |
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| | Comment from (2003-03-08) |
| An accomplished author with many titles to his name, Anthony's writing is strong on plot and usually contains a well-developed and engaging cast of characters. Much of his work is series-based, the most popular of which would be the Chronicles of Xanth which number 27 as of this writing. Others of note include Apprentice Adept, Bio of a Space Tyrant, Incarnations of Immortality, Cluster, Mode and Geodyssey. A prolific writer, Anthony has over 100 books written to date, including 20 collaborations.
Plot is generally strong and well put together. Characters are well thought out and dynamic. Plots are very often not formulaic or simple. While protagonists and their opposites are clearly defined, good and evil are not all-pervasive archetypes whose only purpose is the sowing of more of the same, even in the Incarnations series, where both are - quite literally - personified.
Romance is a common theme in Anthony's books, and sex quite often follows. Relationships are overwhlmingly heterosexual and content is rarely graphic (Bio of a Space Tyrant providing notably graphic exceptions). Be that as it may, much of his work is easily accessible to young readers as well as old. |
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| | Comment from (2003-03-08) |
| I credit Piers Anthony (and my dad) for getting me into reading. The first book of his I read was part of the Xanth series (A Spell for Chameleon). I reccomend the first NINE books in the Xanth series (ending with Man from Mundania) the rest seems to lean towards younger readers with its over-the-top assortment of puns and cliches; truly becomes a pathetic shadow of what Xanth novels used to be.
I also reccomend the Incarnations of Immortality series, the entire 7 books (was it 7?) were all highly enjoyable, particularly the one where Satan is chronicled.
All in all, great author to get kids to start reading with! |
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| | Comment from (2003-03-08) |
| I've only read the incarnations of immortality series, and I loved the first book, but each book afterwards was almost a straight carbon copy. It was like he made a blueprint to how each book was going to go, changed the names of the characters, slight alteration to the plot and then started stamping them out. There was a bit too much raunchy stuff in these books for me to recommend them as books for younger readers, but that may not apply to his other works. Overall, they were pretty good for quick reads, but by the end of the series I was pretty bored with it. |
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| | Comment from (2003-03-07) |
| The Xanth series truly got me into reading. Piers is my all time favorite author |
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