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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
I remember LOVING this book when I read it the first time... the end has a nice romantic twist. However, you definitely lose a lot of that when re-reading because you don't get the same impact of surprise at the end. In addition, this book is SO SEXIST... if I have to read about one more buxom maiden skip-kicking her feet in alarm/joy/whatever I might throw up.
First read in high school; re-read in January 2008.
First read in high school; re-read in January 2008.
I’ve been meaning to read Piers Anthony’s Xanth series for decades now…and…I am enjoying it. At least once I’ve gotten at least 1/3 of the way in to the story. The writing feels so juvenile but Anthony has such a unique way of presenting and upending our view of our own culture and its attendant myths and fairy tales.
On par with the first book and much better than the second book, The Source of Magic.
A witty, light-hearted and fanciful story set in the magical world of Xanth. I can see why so many people love this series. They're a bit chaotic for me. The characters plunge from one weird misadventure into the next, rapidly, and I find my ADD kicks in and suddenly I'm thinking about what each of these strange creatures looks like and the logistics of zombie moat monsters (wouldn't they dissolve?).
Dor is so, so much better a character than his father Bink. He was precisely what the series needed to keep my interest. While the book is definitely still a product of his time with the sexist and condescending attitudes of that time, it's easier to ignore that with the twelve-year-old narrator who doesn't spend all of his time obsessing about women. Granted there are definitely inappropriate moments that feel a bit skeezy like a twelve-year-old watching a nymph and faun orgy. And he has a lot of inappropriate sexual thoughts about women but there's a lot more going on between those moments.
In this story, not every scene involved a female character or thoughts about a female character, or conversations about a female character in the way that the previous novel did, and honestly anything to do with female characters is where Anthony goes wrong with the series. There are longer bouts of action and a larger focus on friendship than anything else. The world of Xanth is as magical as it ever was and having Dor as a narrator really allows you the chance as a reader to experience that magic in a way his father Bink never did. Additionally, though still sexist, he's not even half as sexist, or dirty old man obsessed, as his absent father. And yeah that needs to be mentioned, Bink and Chameleon have mostly left the raising of their child to Millie the maid, and the monarchs making them even less likable as characters than they were in their own stories.
Dor comes to the realization that women are people too with abilities that should be acknowledged and respected. Between books 2 and 3 this series moves forward by leaps and bounds in its treatment and attitudes toward women. It definitely still has a long way to go, but it's not an effort to keep listening because you're drowning in sexist rhetoric. It's comfortable back into the product of its time and the focus turns less to women and more to the actual story. Like always, in addition to creating amazingly inventive worlds like Xanth, Anthony puts forth an intriguing story. This particular story even adds an element of urgency the previous novels in the series simply did not possess. I was on the edge of my seat listening to Dor's story, wanting to know what happened next. There are parts of this that I guessed fairly early on, but it was nice to have that confirmed. I would have greatly appreciated a final conversation between Dor and Jonathan to bring the story full circle but overall I definitely enjoyed this ending.
Dor grew tremendously as a character in this story and the series overall is finally starting to remind me of why I adored it so much as a teenager. I'm really enjoying this trip down memory lane and reentering the world of Xanth. Again I do add the qualifier that you have to go into this noting when it was published and remembering it's a product of it's time, but if you can do that, I'd definitely recommend it.
In this story, not every scene involved a female character or thoughts about a female character, or conversations about a female character in the way that the previous novel did, and honestly anything to do with female characters is where Anthony goes wrong with the series. There are longer bouts of action and a larger focus on friendship than anything else. The world of Xanth is as magical as it ever was and having Dor as a narrator really allows you the chance as a reader to experience that magic in a way his father Bink never did. Additionally, though still sexist, he's not even half as sexist, or dirty old man obsessed, as his absent father. And yeah that needs to be mentioned, Bink and Chameleon have mostly left the raising of their child to Millie the maid, and the monarchs making them even less likable as characters than they were in their own stories.
Dor comes to the realization that women are people too with abilities that should be acknowledged and respected. Between books 2 and 3 this series moves forward by leaps and bounds in its treatment and attitudes toward women. It definitely still has a long way to go, but it's not an effort to keep listening because you're drowning in sexist rhetoric. It's comfortable back into the product of its time and the focus turns less to women and more to the actual story. Like always, in addition to creating amazingly inventive worlds like Xanth, Anthony puts forth an intriguing story. This particular story even adds an element of urgency the previous novels in the series simply did not possess. I was on the edge of my seat listening to Dor's story, wanting to know what happened next. There are parts of this that I guessed fairly early on, but it was nice to have that confirmed. I would have greatly appreciated a final conversation between Dor and Jonathan to bring the story full circle but overall I definitely enjoyed this ending.
Dor grew tremendously as a character in this story and the series overall is finally starting to remind me of why I adored it so much as a teenager. I'm really enjoying this trip down memory lane and reentering the world of Xanth. Again I do add the qualifier that you have to go into this noting when it was published and remembering it's a product of it's time, but if you can do that, I'd definitely recommend it.
Great addition although a little male centric in the plot line. But a good story all the way around.
We meet Dor in this book, son of Bink and Chameleon. Dor travels back in time through a tapestry to obtain a restoring elixir to help Millie's true love, Jonathon the zombie, become human again. A lot of previous things come together in this book, like the reason the Gap is forgotten, etc.
A fun read to get lost in!!
A fun read to get lost in!!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced