by Piers Anthony

I haven't read the previous Xanth Novels but had heard they were really good so thought I would dive in and see how it goes.

 

The first thing that struck me was that the writing seems directed at a very young audience, both in tone and word choices. Referring to a woman's genitals as her "whatever" was taking it a little far in my opinion.

 

The set up of the first story reminded me of many classic fairy tales. A woman makes a wish at a magic well and everything immediately goes spectacularly wrong. Check.

 

This of course leads to a question and off we go. Visit the mysterious local wizard, check.

 

This volume contains three separates stories; Board Stiff, Five Portraits and Isis Orb. Each story is self-contained, but I felt they were written to a younger audience and I felt as if I were reading children's fairytales. I think I would have enjoyed the stories more as a teenager. I would recommend them to someone who enjoys reading more YA, as the sense of humor is good but it just wasn't the sort of thing that could take me to deep pov.

Isis Orb, the 40th installment in Piers Anthony's wildly successful Xanth series, is a comfort novel. Filled with the types of characters and puns we've all grown to love, Isis Orb is like a warm hug from an old friend.

 

It is a story Anthony has told several times, that of a bit of a bumbler who has a wish, who goes to visit the Good Magician, and sets out on a quest. It's a tried and true plot for Anthony, but it holds up to the the new characters and situations. With characters like Cylla Cybin, who has the power of causing hallucinations (Psilocybin, a chemical that causes hallucinations), to Faro Heights, a winged centaur who is afraid to fly, Anthony doesn't disappoint his readers.

 

The story focuses on Hapless and his party trying to take a magical orb from Isis. Yes, that Isis, the Egyptian Goddess. They meet interesting characters along their way, driven by Hapless and his magic box. The box is a reminder to him to "think outside the box", which he does in order to meet the other five members of his party. Each party member is introduces separately, which gives readers a chance to get to know each new member before the next one arrives, which is nice. The confrontation with Isis was rather interesting. Rather than direct confrontation, the encounter took an educational bent, allowing the reader to see a side of a mis-remembered deity. 

 

The puns are plentiful, as anyone who has read an Xanth novel will tell you. This is no different. There are ones that will make you groan, and ones that will give you a moment's pause until you decipher what it is. And the "Adult Conspiracy" is alive and well here too. The Adult Conspiracy is a natural feature in Xanth to "protect" all characters under the age of 18 from "knowledge that could being them great harm". It's another continuing theme in all the Xanth books.  

 

It's another Xanth novel, one that I highly enjoyed reading, and that will get talked about and passed around in some circles. I've been a fan of them since the mid 80's, so picking up Isis Orb wasn't a stretch, it was a bit of a comfort back to my formative years of just starting to read fantasy novels. It's not the best Xanth I've read, it's not the worst either. It's fun, it's entertaining, it reads fast, and it'll make you smile and groan. Give it a shot, it's a fun little story.

 

 

Isis Orb
Piers Anthony
Series: The Xanth Novels
Paperback: 300 pages
Publisher: Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy (October 18, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 150403631X
ISBN-13: 978-1504036313

 

In the interest of disclosure, I was provided an ARC by the publisher.

Least enjoyable of the six Xanth books I've read so far, but still a good yarn. I don't think this one was as clever as the others, just more straightforward story telling with existing characters. Still enjoyed it...and will tackle the next one soon.

Pretty much follows the standard Anthony formulae at this point in the Xanth series...protagonist is introduced (Esk), encounters problem (demoness Metria), sets out on quest to solve problem and meets characters on the way (Volney, Chex, Latia, Marrow), a love interest (Bria), and travels through Xanth eventually solving problem and winning love interest. I still enjoy reading Anthony's Xanth series, but they are starting to follow the same theme.

So, Piers Anthony is a pervert, a sexist pervert. That this particular book was written in 1977 is no excuse. That out of the way, what we have here is a classic light fantasy full of nice ideas and concepts. But the story lacks direction, a bit like a badly planned Dungeon and Dragons session: "an encounter! another encounter! a fight! you fall in a hole! Oh, look, a dragon! a sexy babe! another fight!" What also annoyed me was the constant rationalization. Characters talk all the time about their motives, fill the plot holes by ad hoc explanations, etc. Rule number 1, Piers: Show, Don't Tell. Final argument for why this book sucks: rape apology. Yeah, that's right. There is actually a rape trial in this book. (Spoiler alert: rapist gets scot-free, of course). Let's look at a couple extracts: "Bink felt sorry for his opposite. How could she avoid being seductive? She was a creature constructed for no visible purpose other than ra- than love". " 'Your opposite, the one you almost raped'. The bailiff smiled, making a signal with one hand (...) 'Not that I blame you' ". At that point, there's just nothing left to say. I finished the damn book... and I doubt I'll read anything else by Anthony in the near future.PS: Breasts breasts breasts getting married is what you should do breasts let's get married.