Piers Anthony

[Vistyle]

Curious if anyone has read any of his works. It is doubtful since most were written quite awhile ago and were never that popular. However, as a kid I read probably every book in his Xanth series (which is still being added to with over 25 books), the Adept series (I believe 7 or 8 books), Incarnations of Immortality(about a dozen), and the more recent Mode series (only 4 books).

 

I'm currently rereading all of them. I finished the Adept series over the summer and am 3 books into the Incarnations. After that I'll start Mode and then really dig in and reread all the Xanth.

 

Has anyone read the books, if so what are your opinions?

[Eluin Gentry]

I've read all of the Xanth books up to somewhere around 27. I've been trying to buy them all too, but the bookstore doesn't carry most of the early stuff anymore because it is so old. They were truly wonderful and I'll read them a couple hundred times over if I can get my hands on them though.

The Adept series was okay. I never finished it and it was a lot less kid friendly than the Xanth books. Hopefully now that I'm older, it will have more appeal. If I can find those, I may reread them, though I probably will not buy them.

[Vistyle]

True the Adept series was a little non-kid friendly, but if you read the Mode books they are incredibly dark when you learn what the story was all about. Like in the fourth book I was shocked that that's what had happened in the past. (Avoiding spoilers lol)

 

But yea, my mom actually had them and one day I just started reading them at around 10. Now at 20 I'm rereading them and I get the plot and back stories of many of the characters so much better lol. Not to mention all the innuendo

[Nectaris]

I have read most of the Xanth books, I think there are a few of the newer ones I have not read, the newer ones I find aren't quite as appealing as the old ones. I was fortunate in that my Dad liked them, so he already had most of the older Xanth books.

 

I have read a little of his other series, but not much.

[Fabulo]

I nave just started to read his Xanth series, and I'm still not sure whether I like it or not . He has a very specific style of writing, and as I'm reading Piers Anthony after having read another Stephen King's Dark Tower book, it's a bit hard to switch over to.

[Vistyle]

Well in my opinion Xanth is the easiest to like, it's not to specific or focused on one conflict.

 

The Adept series is an interesting take on reality and has a person look at society and acceptance.

 

The Immortals series is a tad bit religious and is an overall look at a conflict between God and Satan, though it is told through the eyes of a specific Immortal in each book (ie. Pale horse is told through Thanatos' eyes, Bearing an Hourglass is through Chronos, etc. ).

 

Meanwhile the Mode series I don't remember too much about but it was a darker atmosphere than the older series.

 

I can't wait to finish rereading Immortals so I can restart Mode and Xanth. My advice is to read them the first time and just enjoy, then reread them after a year or so and see if you get the relation between what he writes and real life society and other topics.

[rubyshoes]

I've read almost all his books. My favorite series is the Incarnations of Immortality. I also have somewhere around ten books autographed by him and I've met him once at a local college here in Florida where he was giving a lecture (that was several years ago).

[Zivia]

I've read quite a few of the Xanth books, own one of them.

They are a good read, but I know not everyone would appreciate them.

I like them, the world is well-constructed, and the rules are firmly established.

My boyfriend would most likely not enjoy them because he is not into the books that have a lot of humor that drives them.

[kadoatie]

I wouldn't say they're unpopular or unknown.. most sf/fantasy books are unknown outside of the genre, but I think Anthony is pretty famous within

The local library has two shelves' worth, almost every single book he's written ( that guy is prolific). His works are also very common in dubious forms on the internet.

 

Tried one of Xanth, tried one of Incarnations of Immortality, and managed to finish a short story. His style isn't to my taste, so I didn't get far.

Does he write in such a way that one has to finish a book to understand or enjoy it?

[Goslander]

My husband absolutely loved them back in school. Now that he's older, he doesn't understand how they appealed to him, which was fine with me because he had enough books to make a pretty penny selling them to a used book store. If you want to buy the older books, raid used book stores. They're an absolute bonanza for lovers of Sci Fi and romance fiction.

 

There were two books, though, that my husband insisted on keeping because he still enjoys them: "****ucopia" and "The Magic Fart." Those two are definitely not kid friendly, unless you happen to be a juvenile Bonobo.

Edited November 15, 2010 by Goslander

[Kanaye]

My very first Xanth novel was "Harpy Thyme". I think I was 11.

 

I must have read that book over 100 times. It's still my favorite one, even though I haven't read it in a long while. (I'm 25 now)

 

I actually took "The Gloem's Geis." out of the library last night. Haven't had a chance to read it yet though. I'm thinking of order Harpy Thyme through interlibrary loan. I hope I enjoy it as much now as I did then.

[simkim]

I'm a Xanth fan - he's working on his 29th or is it 30th Xanth novel now. Actually that was supposed to come out last month, I'll have to look that up later.

 

I also adore his DoOon mode books - haven't read any of the others.

 

My very first reading from his massive writings was "Dragon on a Pedestal". I was about maybe 20 years old. I didn't realize there were puns until the fourth or fifth time I read one of his Xanth books. See, I'm deaf, so catching puns are a bit difficult, as I haven't any idea other than the really really obvious ones like boot rear. That one is my favorite pun, btw.

 

Sometime, I intend to amass all of his Xanth books along with DoOon series.

 

He's talented, for sure.

[Emmejo]

The only one I've read is Dream a Little Dream a collaboration with Julie Brady. I really enjoyed it, but I have always been skittish about starting his series because they are so long and involved.

 

I have to agree with kadoatie that within the genre he is well known, if for nothing else for writing a lot of books.

[simkim]

Eesh, some errors in my previous post I must correct.

 

I first started reading Piers Anthony when I was around 13 (MAYBE 14) - not at age 20.

 

Anthony is working on the 37th one.

 

34th one is out - Knot Gneiss. The 35th and 36th ones are probably being edited, printed, blah blah whatever it is that publishers do.

 

There, now my errors have been fixed.

 

I just started rereading the Xanth books - jumped around a couple books, then went back to the beginning for fun.

 

Currently on my 15th one which is "Golem in the Gears".

 

Kanaye, do you mean "Geis of the Gargoyle" or "Golem in the Gears"?

[emetib92]

The first books I ever read by Piers Anthony were Virtual Mode b.1 of Mode Series, and Split Infinity b.1 of Adept series. I got them 5 years ago from my Aunt because she was cleaning out her attic. I have been hooked ever since.

 

One of my favorite books of his is Zombie Lover. It's chock full of puns and he often pokes fun at his characters, making a humorous and refreshing change from the usual violence and crazineness often found in the Xanth series..

 

And I agree that Piers Anthony is extremely popular for his genre. He's a very good author and keeps up with his fans. One of my favorite things about his books is that at the end of some of them he lists where/who his ideas for characters/puns/places came from, talks of his personal life, talks about and lists letters from fans. He tries to connect to his readers and, shows his passion for his art. Its something not many authors bother doing.

 

***Ive been slowly building up my collection of Piers's books by going to used book stores.

 

 

Edited January 10, 2011 by emetib92

[simkim]

Definitely a highlight to read the readers' input list at the end of the books. I really love the way he put in Jenny Elf.

 

Jenny was nearly completely paralyzed in a horrible accident. She was hit by a drunken driver (please don't ever drink and drive!!!!) when she was 12 years old.

 

Piers responded to a letter by the mother of Jenny which resulted in a more upbeat little girl. At first, she could only communicate by blinking her eyes - that was all she could move! Now, she's able to move a bit more, but she never will be able to experience life the way most of us do.

 

The author decided to create a character based on Jenny and had her be a major character in many of his later Xanth books. That is one dedicated author.

 

Letters To Jenny is a book of letters that Jenny and Piers wrote to each other. I haven't found this book yet, but I plan to when funds are available to me again.

 

That in itself makes for an amazing author. An author who has penned nearly 150 books and is still using readers' input - he'll always be a hero to me and a beloved author.

 

 

[Lady of B'sini]

Piers Anthony is one of my favorite authors. I started with the Xanth series (my sister gave me the first couple out of the series) I read everything I can find by him. I am a major sci-fi/fantasy fan. Thanks to Piers, so are my children, and their children...(I'm 60) I am also very fond of Steven Asprin, Steven King, Anne McCaffery, Anne Rice, Mercedes Lackey, Douglas Adams.....well, I could go on listing, but you get the picture, lol. I also re-read the major series over and over. No matter how many times I read them, I get something new and more in depth each time.

[rubyshoes]

Definitely a highlight to read the readers' input list at the end of the books. I really love the way he put in Jenny Elf.

 

Jenny was nearly completely paralyzed in a horrible accident. She was hit by a drunken driver (please don't ever drink and drive!!!!) when she was 12 years old.

 

Piers responded to a letter by the mother of Jenny which resulted in a more upbeat little girl. At first, she could only communicate by blinking her eyes - that was all she could move! Now, she's able to move a bit more, but she never will be able to experience life the way most of us do.

 

The author decided to create a character based on Jenny and had her be a major character in many of his later Xanth books. That is one dedicated author.

 

Letters To Jenny is a book of letters that Jenny and Piers wrote to each other. I haven't found this book yet, but I plan to when funds are available to me again.

 

That in itself makes for an amazing author. An author who has penned nearly 150 books and is still using readers' input - he'll always be a hero to me and a beloved author.

I read Letters to Jenny years ago - I don't think I have my copy anymore but I did enjoy reading it.

 

Incarnations of Immortality remains my favorite series.

[Autana]

Piers Anthony is one of my favorite authors! I was lucky that my uncle had all the xanth series, the incarnation series and the adept series (yes he is also a great fan ^^) so I could pretty much read them all. Now I try to buy them as they come out, but since I don't live in the USA it can be hard

A weird thing a saw the other day was the Xanth books translated in french... I bought A spell for Chameleon and it was... weird Puns don't translate well, and french is not a language that allows puns as well as english. But it was great to reread it ^^

Also you might like this lineage : http://dragcave.net/lineage/pINS ^^

[emetib92]

Thats an awesome lineage I am so jealous. I saw an egg a few months ago that had a great great grandma named Xanthippe. It made my day

[kingsdaughter613]

The problem with the amazing Xanth books is that - despite the author's warnings - everyone thought they were for kids. Some of them are, but a good chunk are not. And there are so many that I can't find them all!

 

I've read all the ones I could find, Adept - which I own - and IofI. If anyone knows where I can get the one about Nyx let me know! Only one I can't find. They really are amazing. Never heard of Mode, but I know what I'm going to reward myself with once the semester is over...

Edited May 16, 2011 by kingsdaughter613

[Draco Knight]

I read quite a bit of his stuff when I was a kid, and remember loving it.

 

I had no idea he even lived in Florida, so imagine my complete shock when I'm helping a customer at work with a nagging suspicion that he's REALLY FAMILIAR.

 

When he leaves my manager is all, "Huh, Piers Anthony. Awesome."

 

I'm all, "O.O WHAT?!?!?!"

 

I wish I could have asked him to sign my Nook.

[Princess613]

I recently discovered Xanth, and, true to form, I generally prefer the older/earlier books. He deals with some topics I don't like, but the puns...

[Kanaye]

My very first Xanth novel was "Harpy Thyme". I think I was 11.

 

I must have read that book over 100 times. It's still my favorite one, even though I haven't read it in a long while. (I'm 25 now)

 

I actually took "The Gloem's Geis." out of the library last night. Haven't had a chance to read it yet though. I'm thinking of order Harpy Thyme through interlibrary loan. I hope I enjoy it as much now as I did then.

I did enjoy it as much I did then.

 

I actually went out and bought it. Now I have a copy of my very own.

 

I actually emailed him an idea for a character and a few puns and he responded back! Can you believe it?!

[Dawnwing]

My first Xanth book was Demons Don't Dream - one of my mom's work friends gave me a random bag full of books and that was in it. I'm glad I started with that one and read it twice before trying the whole series - it was fun to go back and see all the characters again. It also kept some things a surprise - for example, I had no clue that the Gap Dragon would later become friendly to the main characters, I still saw it as a fearsome beast when I read the earlier books.

 

I probably only like the ones up to that book, though I've read all (32?) plus the encyclopedia thing and the Gamebook (took AGES for the librarians to hunt down since it wasn't in the interlibrary system). I own about four of them - Castle Roogna, Centaur Aisle, Man from Mundania, and Demons Don't Dream.