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hstapp's review
3.0
An interesting concept. A person cursed to live as a board, which is being used as a weapon. I was unsure of it at first, but I really came to enjoy the book as I continued on through the story.
bigotterbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Well, what to say about this book? Number 38 in the Xanth series-I've been reading these since forever ago, started in paperback and now ebooks. This is one of my favorite series and I buy & read every one of them. Always hoping for that elusive WOW like in the first 10 of the series but only sporadically in the last 28. Perhaps I'm just too old for these books? The puns are terrible and the storylines just meander all over the place.
This book starts out with a great premise-beautiful girl asks wishing well for help because she is board with men seeing only her beauty. Notice the spelling of board-the well turns her into an actual board! While she laments this mess, a handsome lunk ambles up to the well and places his wish, picks up our heroine and off on a quest we go. The book goes downhill from there.
Instead of a funny & fun Xanth book, we get a travel guide to Xanth. Our quest takes us to every corner of Xanth as the group tries to stop whatever is destroying the puns that keep Xanth, well, Xanth. Sadly that means we must meet again & again old and new friends & foes. The adult conspiracy is forefront and trampled on as we get way too much kissing, etc. It is exhausting.
The main plot seems to be a straight shot from a-z: remember the puns are everywhere so HAIR/HEIR is obvious. NO IT'S NOT. Anthony takes a complete left turn into another ending that sets up book #39 with even more new characters! As I said, exhausting and I'm a HUGE fan of the series. 2 sad little stars for this one.
This book starts out with a great premise-beautiful girl asks wishing well for help because she is board with men seeing only her beauty. Notice the spelling of board-the well turns her into an actual board! While she laments this mess, a handsome lunk ambles up to the well and places his wish, picks up our heroine and off on a quest we go. The book goes downhill from there.
Instead of a funny & fun Xanth book, we get a travel guide to Xanth. Our quest takes us to every corner of Xanth as the group tries to stop whatever is destroying the puns that keep Xanth, well, Xanth. Sadly that means we must meet again & again old and new friends & foes. The adult conspiracy is forefront and trampled on as we get way too much kissing, etc. It is exhausting.
The main plot seems to be a straight shot from a-z: remember the puns are everywhere so HAIR/HEIR is obvious. NO IT'S NOT. Anthony takes a complete left turn into another ending that sets up book #39 with even more new characters! As I said, exhausting and I'm a HUGE fan of the series. 2 sad little stars for this one.
yellow_star's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
5.0
My favorite comedy narrative book so far. I started the series here and did just fine.
shai3d's review
4.0
I remember when I was much younger and would wait anxiously at the book store for it to open so I could get my next Xanth fix. It has been over twenty years since I have read one of this series yet the memories are vivid. And I do have to say that reading BOARD STIFF sent me right back to those days.
Now I do have to admit that the plot itself isn't that intricate and there was no question about how the book would end. And there were a lot of puns and some were rather lame. Regardless of these facts, this book was fun to read. And there are times when simple is better if it is fun. Would I recommend to my readers? In a heartbeat. Just beware that it is that 'punny.'
Now I do have to admit that the plot itself isn't that intricate and there was no question about how the book would end. And there were a lot of puns and some were rather lame. Regardless of these facts, this book was fun to read. And there are times when simple is better if it is fun. Would I recommend to my readers? In a heartbeat. Just beware that it is that 'punny.'
art_cart_ron's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Xanth has become a truly unique animal.
The series is quasi-crowdsourced through correspondence with fans, and it doesn't seem to have any quality aspirations beyond continuing in a comfortable manner that meets fan expectations.
Who's to say that isn't a wonderful thing? A give and take gift that has gone on for over 45 years - created by a man in his late 80's. It's like visiting an amusement park that you've formed a relationship with.
On the downside, his views on men and women are of a base antiquated and nuance-free sort.
In this installment - we have a sort of traveling clip-show of visits with characters from previous editions, on a mission that can turn on a dime. So... a pretty common theme in Xanth.
The series is quasi-crowdsourced through correspondence with fans, and it doesn't seem to have any quality aspirations beyond continuing in a comfortable manner that meets fan expectations.
Who's to say that isn't a wonderful thing? A give and take gift that has gone on for over 45 years - created by a man in his late 80's. It's like visiting an amusement park that you've formed a relationship with.
On the downside, his views on men and women are of a base antiquated and nuance-free sort.
In this installment - we have a sort of traveling clip-show of visits with characters from previous editions, on a mission that can turn on a dime. So... a pretty common theme in Xanth.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Sexual harassment
librarydanielle's review against another edition
5.0
I received this egalley from netgalley. I also saved this as a reward for successfully moving for a new job. it's been tormenting me for weeks.
I love piers anthony. I love the puns, I love the eye rolling, I love the goofy. I love how the xanth books follow a "formula" of a quest with a hero/heroine and all kinds of shenanigans. I love how ivy is still king too. (it's interesting how people constantly harp on anthony for the panties and men being frozen by breasts, but ignore the whole female king argument in a previous book. I tend to think of the panties/breathing thing as a comment upon society and the emphasis we place on the female body rather than sexism. think about it, freaking out over panties is silly. in xanth and in mundania.)
while I very much enjoyed this story it wasn't my favorite. it had all the elements, but imo, didn't quite measure up to the standard I have for the xanth books. it was still awesome and was very hard for me to parcel out though. the running gag of sequens of events started to get a little old for me, with it being a necessity for the book to move on. I would have preferred a little less dependence on this pun. I would also have liked to meet more xanth people, the triplets aren't my favorite, though they are interesting (they're too powerful, there's no challenge for them). (I also don't like ida's moons, they annoy me.) that being said, this had all the elements of a good xanth novel. a villain, hero, heroine, quest, companions, danger. I gave it five stars since, even though it isn't my favorite xanth book, I loved it enough to force myself to read slower.
I love piers anthony. I love the puns, I love the eye rolling, I love the goofy. I love how the xanth books follow a "formula" of a quest with a hero/heroine and all kinds of shenanigans. I love how ivy is still king too. (it's interesting how people constantly harp on anthony for the panties and men being frozen by breasts, but ignore the whole female king argument in a previous book. I tend to think of the panties/breathing thing as a comment upon society and the emphasis we place on the female body rather than sexism. think about it, freaking out over panties is silly. in xanth and in mundania.)
while I very much enjoyed this story it wasn't my favorite. it had all the elements, but imo, didn't quite measure up to the standard I have for the xanth books. it was still awesome and was very hard for me to parcel out though. the running gag of sequens of events started to get a little old for me, with it being a necessity for the book to move on. I would have preferred a little less dependence on this pun. I would also have liked to meet more xanth people, the triplets aren't my favorite, though they are interesting (they're too powerful, there's no challenge for them). (I also don't like ida's moons, they annoy me.) that being said, this had all the elements of a good xanth novel. a villain, hero, heroine, quest, companions, danger. I gave it five stars since, even though it isn't my favorite xanth book, I loved it enough to force myself to read slower.
lrconnol's review against another edition
4.0
It doesn't matter how many Xanth novels I read, I still love them, and I still love all the puns!
waden34's review against another edition
3.0
The format of this book was a bit different than the others which made it fairly interesting. Each chapter was a new adventure unto itself. While they all had some marginal bearing on the overall story, they were pretty well self contained. Since the main story was somewhat dull and boring, these separate quests made me enjoy this book more than I normally would have.
angelahayes's review against another edition
4.0
4 Stars
Board Stiff is the thirty-eighth book in the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. Candy is a beautiful woman who is so bored with the direction her life has taken. She seeks adventure, excitement, and romance. When she makes a wish at a wishing well, she gets far more than she every imagined. So, be careful for what you wish for- because it may come true.
The Xanthe Series is quite a really long series that has spanned many decades. I remember reading the first few books back in the very early 1980’s and was totally captivated by the epic fantasy that unfolded before my eyes. I collected all the books as each new one was released and have revisited them a few times over the years.
I can honestly say that although these books didn’t blow me away as they did the first couple of times I read them- I still really enjoyed all the adventure, magic, swords & sorcery like, epic fantasy that Mr. Anthony is renowned for.
He has imbued his stories with plenty of humour, a playfulness, lots of fun, action, some history, conspiracies, secrets, surprising developments, and much, much more. We meet so many varied and original characters along the way- the books are full of wonderful fictional beasts and paranormal creatures. From centaurs, to demons, dragons, fauns, gargoyles, goblins, golems, harpies, merfolk, elves, nymphs, ogres, zombies, and curse fiends- and a few more I am sure have slipped my mind.
The world of Xanthe is wonderfully rich and vividly descriptive. It is really well written and is so easy to imagine, it came to life before my eyes. Each ‘person’ in Xanthe is born with their own unique magical ability, which is called a ‘talent’. We follow along on many epic adventures and explore the world as the story unfolds.
I have many fond memories of reading this book/series and it’s definitely a series that’s worth exploring- especially for any epic fantasy lover who loves some fun and humour served with their adventure.
Thank you, Mr. Anthony!
Board Stiff is the thirty-eighth book in the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. Candy is a beautiful woman who is so bored with the direction her life has taken. She seeks adventure, excitement, and romance. When she makes a wish at a wishing well, she gets far more than she every imagined. So, be careful for what you wish for- because it may come true.
The Xanthe Series is quite a really long series that has spanned many decades. I remember reading the first few books back in the very early 1980’s and was totally captivated by the epic fantasy that unfolded before my eyes. I collected all the books as each new one was released and have revisited them a few times over the years.
I can honestly say that although these books didn’t blow me away as they did the first couple of times I read them- I still really enjoyed all the adventure, magic, swords & sorcery like, epic fantasy that Mr. Anthony is renowned for.
He has imbued his stories with plenty of humour, a playfulness, lots of fun, action, some history, conspiracies, secrets, surprising developments, and much, much more. We meet so many varied and original characters along the way- the books are full of wonderful fictional beasts and paranormal creatures. From centaurs, to demons, dragons, fauns, gargoyles, goblins, golems, harpies, merfolk, elves, nymphs, ogres, zombies, and curse fiends- and a few more I am sure have slipped my mind.
The world of Xanthe is wonderfully rich and vividly descriptive. It is really well written and is so easy to imagine, it came to life before my eyes. Each ‘person’ in Xanthe is born with their own unique magical ability, which is called a ‘talent’. We follow along on many epic adventures and explore the world as the story unfolds.
I have many fond memories of reading this book/series and it’s definitely a series that’s worth exploring- especially for any epic fantasy lover who loves some fun and humour served with their adventure.
Thank you, Mr. Anthony!
elephant's review against another edition
5.0
I received this book free to review from Netgalley. It is the 38th Xanth book. I have been reading these books since the 1980s close to the time they began being written, when I was in college and my boyfriend and I would fight over who got to read each new novel first. I do think that the earlier books are better than the latter ones, but if you love the Xanth novels, then you will enjoy this one as well. It is full of puns including many computer related puns this time and the plot revolves around a group of characters on a quest. Kandy has been turned into a board by a wishing well and given to Ease, who wished for the perfect woman. Together with Tiara, who has unmanageable hair, Mitch, whose hair is rather unusual as well, Pewter, a manifestation of Com Pewter, and Astrid, a basilisk in lovely human form, the friends traverse Xanth in a variety of settings aided and hampered by magic, puns and Demons as they attempt to save Xanth from a pun destroying virus. Magic, romance, adventure and puns abound in this fun novel. I highly recommend it!