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Xanth #1
A Spell for Chameleon
Xanth was the enchanted land where magic ruled - where every citizen had a special spell only he could cast. It was a land of centaurs and dragons and basilisks.
For Bink of North Village, however, Xanth was no fairy tale. He alone had no magic. And unless he got some - and got some fast! - he would be exiled. Forever!
But the Good Magician Humfrey was convinced that Bink did indeed have magic. In fact, both Beauregard the genie and the magic wall chart insisted that Bink had magic. Magic as powerful as any possessed by the King or by Good Magician Humfrey - or even by the Evil Magician Trent
Be that as it may, no one could fathom the nature of Bink's very special magic. Bink was in despair. This was even worse than having no magic at all..and he would still be exiled!
For Bink of North Village, however, Xanth was no fairy tale. He alone had no magic. And unless he got some - and got some fast! - he would be exiled. Forever!
But the Good Magician Humfrey was convinced that Bink did indeed have magic. In fact, both Beauregard the genie and the magic wall chart insisted that Bink had magic. Magic as powerful as any possessed by the King or by Good Magician Humfrey - or even by the Evil Magician Trent
Be that as it may, no one could fathom the nature of Bink's very special magic. Bink was in despair. This was even worse than having no magic at all..and he would still be exiled!
344 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1977
1765 people are currently reading
16907 people want to read
About the author
Piers Anthony
430Ìýbooks4,173ÌýfollowersThough he spent the first four years of his life in England, Piers never returned to live in his country of birth after moving to Spain and immigrated to America at age six. After graduating with a B.A. from Goddard College, he married one of his fellow students and and spent fifteen years in an assortment of professions before he began writing fiction full-time.
Piers is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and lives on a tree farm in Florida with his wife. They have two grown daughters.
Piers is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and lives on a tree farm in Florida with his wife. They have two grown daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,969 reviews
December 11, 2014
I saw A Spell for Chameleon on a shelving cart the other day and realized two things. First, that I'd read it before and enjoyed it, but had forgotten it completely. Second, that the author was Piers Anthony, who's been described as an outrageous sexist even among sci-fi/fantasy writers. So I picked up a copy, for nostalgia's sake but also to see if Anthony was so bad (he couldn't be, right? I mean, I liked this before...). And after reading it again, all I can say is...
HOW DID I MISS THIS? HOW?
On the second page--second. page.--we get this:
And that's just page 2. Without spoiling anything, Chameleon's entire character presents problems. A lady centaur's recital of Xanth's history is interrupted with infantile comments about her boobies. Aforementioned Sabrina will not give up everything she knows & loves to follow Bink into exile, and therefore she doesn't love him enough (another example of childishness, but it also shows how Anthony views women as less than people, more like accessories). Every married woman is either a shrew or a dried-up husk. Says protagonist Bink,
But that's not the worst moment. No. The worst thing about this book is that Anthony has, for no visible plot-related purpose, inserted a fake rape trial into his book so he can dismiss the idea of date rape. As the judge explains the "not guilty" verdict:
"'Then I presume she would have fled him at the outset, had she disliked him--and that he would not have forced her if she trusted him.'"
*emits primal scream*
Everything's couched in such artless language, too, which just makes it worse. It's all "needs" "urges" "absolutely beautiful" "me tarzan, you jane." Even born mouth-breathers can write well (see: Lawrence Durrell, Henry Miller), so what gives?
The only reason I can figure for my earlier positive impression (aside from being 12 at the time & clueless) is that I was taken in by Anthony's imaginative world-building & skillful plotting. Because--I'll give him this--he has entertaining ideas (e.g., tangle trees, conscious landscapes & buildings). I also, despite loathing Bink, remained curious about his particular power--Anthony strongly hints at it throughout the book without giving it away. There's enough good in this book that I wish Anthony was a better writer/thinker/person. But he's not.
HOW DID I MISS THIS? HOW?
On the second page--second. page.--we get this:
"Bink looked at the girl beside him as she stepped through the slanting sunbeam. He was no plant, but he too had needs, and even the most casual inspection of her made him aware of this. Sabrina was absolutely beautiful--and her beauty was completely natural. Other girls managed to enhance their appearance by cosmetics or padding or specialized spells, but beside Sabrina all other females looked somewhat artificial. She was no enemy!"Atrocious writing aside ("absolutely beautiful"--damn it, man, at least TRY), the whole thing oozes creepy pervert syndrome. A female introduced by referring to her effect on the protagonist's penis? Check. The emphasis on "natural" beauty, as if it was some sort of personal accomplishment and not just the luck of the draw? Check. Reference to undesirable women (i.e., those who've put on make-up/padding/whatever, aka artifices taken on to please men, how dare they) as the "enemy"? Check.
And that's just page 2. Without spoiling anything, Chameleon's entire character presents problems. A lady centaur's recital of Xanth's history is interrupted with infantile comments about her boobies. Aforementioned Sabrina will not give up everything she knows & loves to follow Bink into exile, and therefore she doesn't love him enough (another example of childishness, but it also shows how Anthony views women as less than people, more like accessories). Every married woman is either a shrew or a dried-up husk. Says protagonist Bink,
"...the Sorceress Iris seemed beautiful, but I met others who weren't. Once they get old or married, they--" [...:]"'Women don't have to get ugly when they marry,' Fanchon said. [...:] 'Some start out that way.'"Got that? Married = ugly (applies to women only, of course). Wow.
But that's not the worst moment. No. The worst thing about this book is that Anthony has, for no visible plot-related purpose, inserted a fake rape trial into his book so he can dismiss the idea of date rape. As the judge explains the "not guilty" verdict:
"'Then I presume she would have fled him at the outset, had she disliked him--and that he would not have forced her if she trusted him.'"
*emits primal scream*
Everything's couched in such artless language, too, which just makes it worse. It's all "needs" "urges" "absolutely beautiful" "me tarzan, you jane." Even born mouth-breathers can write well (see: Lawrence Durrell, Henry Miller), so what gives?
The only reason I can figure for my earlier positive impression (aside from being 12 at the time & clueless) is that I was taken in by Anthony's imaginative world-building & skillful plotting. Because--I'll give him this--he has entertaining ideas (e.g., tangle trees, conscious landscapes & buildings). I also, despite loathing Bink, remained curious about his particular power--Anthony strongly hints at it throughout the book without giving it away. There's enough good in this book that I wish Anthony was a better writer/thinker/person. But he's not.
February 4, 2009
It took several years for what exactly made me maddest about this book to sink in. I finally figured it out. When our narrator and Chameleon (in ugly phase) were imprisoned together, Chameleon asked for a curtain for some privacy for the chamber pot. Our narrator nodded wisely to himself: a beautiful girl does not mind being looked at, but an ugly girl wants to hide herself from the eyes of everyone. In the absence of being able to pitch the narrator across the room, I settled for the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2024
*** 2024 reread -
I read this back in HS and enjoyed the fantasy and the storytelling, but I read it straight. Now I see that the real hero wasn’t Bink or even Xanth, but rather the author Piers Anthony. His droll word play and comic puns, as well as the breaking of the fourth wall storytelling and asides, make the fantasy story a vehicle whereby he can entertain with his wit and cleverness.
Anthony has been criticized over the past few decades for sexism, misogyny, and lots of other sketchy behavior and that is one reason I stayed away for so long.
But reading his prose, the syntax of his language creation, I see that this can and should be read as a comedy, as much as a fantasy. In fact, some of the dialogue even seemed like it was told with the rhythms of a joke.
Testing this theory, I began to narrate the text in the voices of comedians in my mind and suddenly the delivery became an unrepentant standup telling this wild adventure. I tried out several but the artists who seemed to match up with Anthony best were Dave Chapelle, Bill Burr, or Norm McDonald. Narrating Anthony’s prose in my mind, not just with the voices but with comedic timing and delivery, this made me confirm my idea that this is an elaborate comedy.
But you know who I thought would be the best narrator? How many of you remember Dave Allen at Large? Back in the 70s, if you stayed up late enough, you could watch this Irish cat who would sit on a pub chair and smoke and drink whisky and tell jokes. If Allen, who passed away in 2005, could have narrated Anthony’s work, it would be too funny.
Actually, the comedian tie-in would be a good gauge about whether you would like this. If you’re offended by any of the above comedians, then you likely will not like this book. But if edgy and irreverent are your thing, and you like fantasy, this might be fun.
Basically Anthony describes the fictional world of Xanth, which geographically resembles Florida. Everyone and every creature in Xanth is magical to greater or lesser degrees. Our man Bink maybe has magic, maybe strong magic, but it is elusive and so we go on adventures to learn more and made all the more fun by Anthony’s razor sharp delivery.
One of the most memorable characters is the eponymous Chameleon and her magical talent is the source of much of the criticism from feminists. But haters only caught half the joke as Anthony shows the woman to get the last laugh in true Dolly Parton fashion. I refer to Dolly’s rebuttal when asked if she was bothered by dumb blonde jokes, when she replied, “no because I know I’m not dumb. And I know I’m not blonde.�
Another scene stealer was Trent who is a sort of complicated antagonist. If I were casting a film of this book, I would cast character actor Jeremy Roberts as Evil Magician Trent.
While this is absurdist humor couched in a fantasy setting, Anthony’s characterization is actually quite good and Bink’s inherent anxiety, paranoia and hyper-vigilance played well against the complexities of Trent and Chameleon’s characters. Anthony has some fun with this (more politically incorrect humor) by showing how living amongst every sort of magic requires one to stay alert. There is also some playtime with cognitive dissonance that is particularly relevant for today.
This also may be comparable to Terry Pratchett’s magnificent Discworld series. I am a HUGE Discworld fan and while Anthony lacks the charm that Sir Terry exudes on every page, his is a more acidic humor. Interestingly, Xanth pre-dates Discworld by a few years: Anthony first published A Spell For Chameleon in 1977 and Pratchett put out Colour of Magic in 1983. Here’s a question for fans of both series: is Trent a template upon which Vetinari was based?
So lots of good fun and I’ll need to read some more of these with this better understanding of how to read Anthony’s prose.
I read this back in HS and enjoyed the fantasy and the storytelling, but I read it straight. Now I see that the real hero wasn’t Bink or even Xanth, but rather the author Piers Anthony. His droll word play and comic puns, as well as the breaking of the fourth wall storytelling and asides, make the fantasy story a vehicle whereby he can entertain with his wit and cleverness.
Anthony has been criticized over the past few decades for sexism, misogyny, and lots of other sketchy behavior and that is one reason I stayed away for so long.
But reading his prose, the syntax of his language creation, I see that this can and should be read as a comedy, as much as a fantasy. In fact, some of the dialogue even seemed like it was told with the rhythms of a joke.
Testing this theory, I began to narrate the text in the voices of comedians in my mind and suddenly the delivery became an unrepentant standup telling this wild adventure. I tried out several but the artists who seemed to match up with Anthony best were Dave Chapelle, Bill Burr, or Norm McDonald. Narrating Anthony’s prose in my mind, not just with the voices but with comedic timing and delivery, this made me confirm my idea that this is an elaborate comedy.
But you know who I thought would be the best narrator? How many of you remember Dave Allen at Large? Back in the 70s, if you stayed up late enough, you could watch this Irish cat who would sit on a pub chair and smoke and drink whisky and tell jokes. If Allen, who passed away in 2005, could have narrated Anthony’s work, it would be too funny.
Actually, the comedian tie-in would be a good gauge about whether you would like this. If you’re offended by any of the above comedians, then you likely will not like this book. But if edgy and irreverent are your thing, and you like fantasy, this might be fun.
Basically Anthony describes the fictional world of Xanth, which geographically resembles Florida. Everyone and every creature in Xanth is magical to greater or lesser degrees. Our man Bink maybe has magic, maybe strong magic, but it is elusive and so we go on adventures to learn more and made all the more fun by Anthony’s razor sharp delivery.
One of the most memorable characters is the eponymous Chameleon and her magical talent is the source of much of the criticism from feminists. But haters only caught half the joke as Anthony shows the woman to get the last laugh in true Dolly Parton fashion. I refer to Dolly’s rebuttal when asked if she was bothered by dumb blonde jokes, when she replied, “no because I know I’m not dumb. And I know I’m not blonde.�
Another scene stealer was Trent who is a sort of complicated antagonist. If I were casting a film of this book, I would cast character actor Jeremy Roberts as Evil Magician Trent.
While this is absurdist humor couched in a fantasy setting, Anthony’s characterization is actually quite good and Bink’s inherent anxiety, paranoia and hyper-vigilance played well against the complexities of Trent and Chameleon’s characters. Anthony has some fun with this (more politically incorrect humor) by showing how living amongst every sort of magic requires one to stay alert. There is also some playtime with cognitive dissonance that is particularly relevant for today.
This also may be comparable to Terry Pratchett’s magnificent Discworld series. I am a HUGE Discworld fan and while Anthony lacks the charm that Sir Terry exudes on every page, his is a more acidic humor. Interestingly, Xanth pre-dates Discworld by a few years: Anthony first published A Spell For Chameleon in 1977 and Pratchett put out Colour of Magic in 1983. Here’s a question for fans of both series: is Trent a template upon which Vetinari was based?
So lots of good fun and I’ll need to read some more of these with this better understanding of how to read Anthony’s prose.
March 25, 2013
This book follows Bink as he undertakes an Odyssey-like series of adventures in a search to discover his magical talent. It's set in the land of Xanth, a Florida-shaped land of magic and literal puns reminiscent of Wonderland, or Oz perhaps. I thought Xanth was a pretty fun, quirky world. I particularly liked the history and Anthony's unique take on magic as being an evolutionary biological trait. Really, I would have enjoyed the book thoroughly (even in spite of Anthony's weird love affair with the word balk and all its forms).
Except this book is too darn sexist.
Now, don't get me wrong. It's not the fact that this book can't pass the Bechdel test, or that only women are ever shown doing domestic duties. It's not that female characters are typically either beautiful but evil or stupid or else smart but ugly or nagging. It's not statements like this odd bit: "Chameleon, like most girls, had to answer calls of nature frequently, particularly when she was excited" (p. 311). I mean, what? Whatever, Piers Anthony. It's not even the weird prevalence of nudity, especially female nudity. None of those things really do more than annoy me. At most, I'd take off two stars for them. And really, it's often hard to tell if Anthony himself is at all chauvinistic.
But a couple of things were just bad.
This was the WORST moment (minor spoilerage):
....
No.
No, no.
No, no, no.
No.
No.
And no.
And also no.
And let us conclude with a very firm: NO.
...
NOOOOOOOO!!!
Really I have no other words for that scene. There is just nothing right in that scene and everything wrong. And it wasn't even remotely necessary to the plot! Just...no! And it DOES read as though Anthony endorses THIS kind of horrifying sexism. It's just horrendous. It makes me that special kind of angry where you want to cry. Utterly repulsive.
The second real issue I had was not quite so offensive (not hard to be less offensive than that scene), but it did still rub me the wrong way (VERY spoilery spoilerage).
Due to the combined power of the sexist parts, especially THAT scene, I just could not say that I liked this book. I really would have liked this book. It had so much fun stuff to offer, and I thought the story was delivered really well. But this was not to be. I'm just glad I didn't pay money for this book.
Surprisingly though, I AM going to continue with the series. This is not my first Xanth book. I read one of them in high school, and I remember enjoying it. I do remember Anthony having a liking for dirty jokes and boobs, but I don't recall it being sexist to this level. Maybe I was just oblivious then. But really, the rest of the book was good enough, and my memory of the other book is good enough, that I do want to continue. If it stays this bad, I'll quit. But otherwise, I hope to be able to enjoy some more of the series.
Except this book is too darn sexist.
Now, don't get me wrong. It's not the fact that this book can't pass the Bechdel test, or that only women are ever shown doing domestic duties. It's not that female characters are typically either beautiful but evil or stupid or else smart but ugly or nagging. It's not statements like this odd bit: "Chameleon, like most girls, had to answer calls of nature frequently, particularly when she was excited" (p. 311). I mean, what? Whatever, Piers Anthony. It's not even the weird prevalence of nudity, especially female nudity. None of those things really do more than annoy me. At most, I'd take off two stars for them. And really, it's often hard to tell if Anthony himself is at all chauvinistic.
But a couple of things were just bad.
This was the WORST moment (minor spoilerage):
....
No.
No, no.
No, no, no.
No.
No.
And no.
And also no.
And let us conclude with a very firm: NO.
...
NOOOOOOOO!!!
Really I have no other words for that scene. There is just nothing right in that scene and everything wrong. And it wasn't even remotely necessary to the plot! Just...no! And it DOES read as though Anthony endorses THIS kind of horrifying sexism. It's just horrendous. It makes me that special kind of angry where you want to cry. Utterly repulsive.
The second real issue I had was not quite so offensive (not hard to be less offensive than that scene), but it did still rub me the wrong way (VERY spoilery spoilerage).
Due to the combined power of the sexist parts, especially THAT scene, I just could not say that I liked this book. I really would have liked this book. It had so much fun stuff to offer, and I thought the story was delivered really well. But this was not to be. I'm just glad I didn't pay money for this book.
Surprisingly though, I AM going to continue with the series. This is not my first Xanth book. I read one of them in high school, and I remember enjoying it. I do remember Anthony having a liking for dirty jokes and boobs, but I don't recall it being sexist to this level. Maybe I was just oblivious then. But really, the rest of the book was good enough, and my memory of the other book is good enough, that I do want to continue. If it stays this bad, I'll quit. But otherwise, I hope to be able to enjoy some more of the series.
January 9, 2019
Xanth. Where nothing is quite as it seems, and even inanimate objects can cast spells; where even puns aren’t so much puns, as something else�
He remembered the wild oats he had planted as an adolescent. Sea oats were restless, but their cousins the wild oats were hyperactive. They had fought him savagely, their stems slashing across his wrists as he tried to harvest a ripe ear.
Despite the lightheartedness of the story there is a perilous undertone. Xanth is a magical place, but it can be pretty dangerous too, since it is extremely unpredictable. It’s a place where walking off into the woods at night is almost sure to get you killed, and the method of demise can be as inane as “death by peacefulness� (which essentially boils down to losing all interest in living).
Bizarre dialogue interlude
"May we stop for a drink?"
"Not here! Anyone who drinks from that water becomes a fish."
"A fish? Why?"
"The river is trying to restock itself.�
So, the first half of the book is undoubtedly silly. So what? In fact, it’s more than silly, it’s often frankly bizarre and most likely best enjoyed with your hallucinogen of choice close at hand.
The book is also written in episodic format. I’m not sure whether it was originally intended to be, or published separately as, a short story collection. I did seem to detect echoes of ’s Dying Earth saga in here.
Whenever I rate a book I try to bear in mind when it was written. That’s to say, what may have been relevant in 1977 (when A Spell For Chameleon was published), may not be relevant today, but should not by default disqualify the book. Or, for example, if the book was written for a younger audience, I should not be rating it down for being immature, because it may be exceptionally suited to its target audience. The book was well received, at any rate, and it won the August Derleth award.
Only a phenomenal series of coincidences had saved his skin. He knew that coincidence was an untrustworthy ally.
The ridiculousness of the book is its own reward. It’s (almost) impossible to take it seriously. This is particularly true for the first half of the story, but the tone changes somewhat in the second half. The latter sequences deal with themes like the nature of the magic of Xanth, its relation to the “real� (mundane) world and the Xanth gene pool. Also: redemption, haunted castles and zombie crocodiles.
Despite its apparent flaws, there are some genuinely touching moments, however fleeting. Perhaps, at its heart this is just a love story, perhaps not, but the essence of the book is really captured by the following line:
It was dangerous to play with magic unless the precise nature of the spell was understood.
I totally expected to dislike it (from reading the reviews here), but it was a fun read and rather different to some of the other stuff around. [read: guilty pleasure]
3.5 stars
A spell for Chameleon.
What an astonishing enchantment.
He remembered the wild oats he had planted as an adolescent. Sea oats were restless, but their cousins the wild oats were hyperactive. They had fought him savagely, their stems slashing across his wrists as he tried to harvest a ripe ear.
Despite the lightheartedness of the story there is a perilous undertone. Xanth is a magical place, but it can be pretty dangerous too, since it is extremely unpredictable. It’s a place where walking off into the woods at night is almost sure to get you killed, and the method of demise can be as inane as “death by peacefulness� (which essentially boils down to losing all interest in living).
Bizarre dialogue interlude
"May we stop for a drink?"
"Not here! Anyone who drinks from that water becomes a fish."
"A fish? Why?"
"The river is trying to restock itself.�
So, the first half of the book is undoubtedly silly. So what? In fact, it’s more than silly, it’s often frankly bizarre and most likely best enjoyed with your hallucinogen of choice close at hand.
The book is also written in episodic format. I’m not sure whether it was originally intended to be, or published separately as, a short story collection. I did seem to detect echoes of ’s Dying Earth saga in here.
Whenever I rate a book I try to bear in mind when it was written. That’s to say, what may have been relevant in 1977 (when A Spell For Chameleon was published), may not be relevant today, but should not by default disqualify the book. Or, for example, if the book was written for a younger audience, I should not be rating it down for being immature, because it may be exceptionally suited to its target audience. The book was well received, at any rate, and it won the August Derleth award.
Only a phenomenal series of coincidences had saved his skin. He knew that coincidence was an untrustworthy ally.
The ridiculousness of the book is its own reward. It’s (almost) impossible to take it seriously. This is particularly true for the first half of the story, but the tone changes somewhat in the second half. The latter sequences deal with themes like the nature of the magic of Xanth, its relation to the “real� (mundane) world and the Xanth gene pool. Also: redemption, haunted castles and zombie crocodiles.
Despite its apparent flaws, there are some genuinely touching moments, however fleeting. Perhaps, at its heart this is just a love story, perhaps not, but the essence of the book is really captured by the following line:
It was dangerous to play with magic unless the precise nature of the spell was understood.
I totally expected to dislike it (from reading the reviews here), but it was a fun read and rather different to some of the other stuff around. [read: guilty pleasure]
3.5 stars
A spell for Chameleon.
What an astonishing enchantment.
October 5, 2024
“Your teacher didn’t lie to you � He merely edited his information, …�
“� on orders from the King, so as not to force on the impressionable minds of children the things their parents did not want them to hear. Education has ever been thus.�
Omigod, a truer word was never spoken. Given the current right-wing discussion of Critical Race Theory it seems particularly appropriate to take Anthony’s comment to heart and to remember that history, a living thing, is always written from the unique perspective of the people that are actually doing the writing. But I digress.
A SPELL FOR CHAMELEON is a young adult, coming of age, adventure fantasy that is built around the much-loved trope of magic versus non-magic. Xanth is a land of magic where every citizen must have some special magic spell to cast, no matter how minor or inconsequential. But Bink has no magic and, on his twenty-fifth birthday, he faces eternal exile from his native land. And so (like all good male leads in adventure fantasy novels), he departs on a quest � a mission to determine how he might release the hidden magic that he is convinced is his genetic birthright.
And, A SPELL FOR CHAMELEON might have been a charming, endearing, and quite exciting young adult fantasy, to be sure, except for that “but� that rational modern readers would face. The only question is whether that “but� becomes sufficiently distracting to overwhelm the story and to detract from other positive aspects of the novel such as Bink's fascinating ruminations on the nature of magic. Piers Anthony must have been a misogynist for the ages because his character Bink is sexist to an extreme that verges on ridiculous. He has a sophomoric juvenile fascination with sex and, in particular, is absolutely besotted with female breasts, female posteriors, female legs, and the attributes of a curvaceous female body in general. Even in situations of imminent, life-threatening danger, Anthony allows his hero’s thoughts to turn to matters of sex and feminine beauty. It went beyond silly and, for me, became distracting and aggravating. As always, of course, YMMV but I’ll have to leave that for you to judge.
But, the overall summary is that A SPELL FOR CHAMELEON is a classic young adult fantasy that did not stand the scrutiny of a modern adult reading. Not recommended.
Paul Weiss
“� on orders from the King, so as not to force on the impressionable minds of children the things their parents did not want them to hear. Education has ever been thus.�
Omigod, a truer word was never spoken. Given the current right-wing discussion of Critical Race Theory it seems particularly appropriate to take Anthony’s comment to heart and to remember that history, a living thing, is always written from the unique perspective of the people that are actually doing the writing. But I digress.
A SPELL FOR CHAMELEON is a young adult, coming of age, adventure fantasy that is built around the much-loved trope of magic versus non-magic. Xanth is a land of magic where every citizen must have some special magic spell to cast, no matter how minor or inconsequential. But Bink has no magic and, on his twenty-fifth birthday, he faces eternal exile from his native land. And so (like all good male leads in adventure fantasy novels), he departs on a quest � a mission to determine how he might release the hidden magic that he is convinced is his genetic birthright.
And, A SPELL FOR CHAMELEON might have been a charming, endearing, and quite exciting young adult fantasy, to be sure, except for that “but� that rational modern readers would face. The only question is whether that “but� becomes sufficiently distracting to overwhelm the story and to detract from other positive aspects of the novel such as Bink's fascinating ruminations on the nature of magic. Piers Anthony must have been a misogynist for the ages because his character Bink is sexist to an extreme that verges on ridiculous. He has a sophomoric juvenile fascination with sex and, in particular, is absolutely besotted with female breasts, female posteriors, female legs, and the attributes of a curvaceous female body in general. Even in situations of imminent, life-threatening danger, Anthony allows his hero’s thoughts to turn to matters of sex and feminine beauty. It went beyond silly and, for me, became distracting and aggravating. As always, of course, YMMV but I’ll have to leave that for you to judge.
But, the overall summary is that A SPELL FOR CHAMELEON is a classic young adult fantasy that did not stand the scrutiny of a modern adult reading. Not recommended.
Paul Weiss
July 15, 2013
A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony, first in the Xanth series, was to be my quickie 49th book on my list. It proceeded to keep me delayed for days.
This book is toxic.
From a scene where it's explained how horrible it is for men to be convicted of rape and how women make up accusations, to two scenes where the main character is sexually attracted to fourteen year olds, and the fact that the main character could not think or look at a woman without thinking about their fuckability factor, the creepshow going on in this book was unending.
The worst, however, is near the end, where he's with a woman who for reasons I won't explain currently had the intellect of a very stupid child where he thinks 'no, I won't tell her what sex is, her mind is too young' and then proceeds to have sex with her in the next paragraph. Seriously. This is what's going on.
Looking up Piers Anthony, I found his preoccupation with teenage or younger and the intellectually challenged being molested was a big thing with him. From ages five and up, with the child being the 'instigator'.
I do not recommend this book. It's the first one to get an F on my list.
Why did I read it? When I was a preteen, I was majorly into the Xanth books after reading Dragon On a Pedestal in the school library. I stopped reading as a teenager when he wrote the ridiculously stupid The Color Of Her Panties, so I thought I'd revisit my childhood. Instead I spent most of it sick and disgusted.
On a side note, if Piers Anthony could have turned off the badtouch for at least a few chapters, there was actually an interesting story going on in the book. Unfortunately he ruined it by writing with his dick, not his hands.
This book is toxic.
From a scene where it's explained how horrible it is for men to be convicted of rape and how women make up accusations, to two scenes where the main character is sexually attracted to fourteen year olds, and the fact that the main character could not think or look at a woman without thinking about their fuckability factor, the creepshow going on in this book was unending.
The worst, however, is near the end, where he's with a woman who for reasons I won't explain currently had the intellect of a very stupid child where he thinks 'no, I won't tell her what sex is, her mind is too young' and then proceeds to have sex with her in the next paragraph. Seriously. This is what's going on.
Looking up Piers Anthony, I found his preoccupation with teenage or younger and the intellectually challenged being molested was a big thing with him. From ages five and up, with the child being the 'instigator'.
I do not recommend this book. It's the first one to get an F on my list.
Why did I read it? When I was a preteen, I was majorly into the Xanth books after reading Dragon On a Pedestal in the school library. I stopped reading as a teenager when he wrote the ridiculously stupid The Color Of Her Panties, so I thought I'd revisit my childhood. Instead I spent most of it sick and disgusted.
On a side note, if Piers Anthony could have turned off the badtouch for at least a few chapters, there was actually an interesting story going on in the book. Unfortunately he ruined it by writing with his dick, not his hands.
June 23, 2008
I wish I could give this book a higher review. The storytelling is tight, the magic is interesting, and it can be occasionally funny. But the characters are mostly two-dimensional, with maybe an extra half dimension added to The Evil Magician Trent and to Chameleon of the book's title. And oh my god is this thing sexist. Chameleon herself could be a truly great character if Anthony had much interest in watch she thinks of her condition, of how her thinking changes as she changes, or in any other aspect of her as a person. But no, she's just Teh Hottie reward for our annoying hero, Bink, who as a stand-in for the author (and why not presume as much) is a whining douchebag. He's supposed to be 25 years old? Really? I've met 12 year old boys with more maturity.
June 1, 2020
The Xanth series and Piers Anthony are two things that were first recommended to me about 25 years ago. Why has it taken me this long to read any? Who knows!?
A Spell for Chameleon is a very basic and easily readable fantasy story. As many popular fantasy series are made up of hefty tomes that are full of excessive descriptions and questing, this book and series (from my first impressions of skimming descriptions of other books in this series) is not quite so daunting. It might be a good place for someone to start if they want to try out the fantasy genre, but are not ready for a huge commitment.
I went into this one thinking it was going to be excessively humorous. The exact expectation I had was somewhere between Monty Python and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. But, in the end, the humor was much more subtle and not quite so distracting. I think it is kind of fun to look for the clever puns and tongue in cheek dialogue that my lead to a snicker here or an “I see what he is trying to do� there, but nothing too overpowering.
When I started reading this, I was checking out reviews and saw that many people loved this book, but many also were unhappy with some of the sexist sentiments shown by the characters. I can honestly say that I may not have noticed them as anything more than characterization used by the author to advance character development. And, I was reading this with a book club, and we agreed that if we were not aware that some saw it this way, we may not have noticed it quite as strongly. Also, in the end I do feel like it was an integral part of main character development. However, I can see how it can be felt by some to be distracting and even inappropriate. I would need to read a few more books in the series to determine for myself if it feels like it should be toned down for propriety sake.
So, all in all a rewarding fantasy experience. I think fans of the genre will find a lot to enjoy here. If you are sensitive to sexist stereotypes, the use of them in character development might be too distracting for you to enjoy. I will leave that decision in the eye of the beholder!
A Spell for Chameleon is a very basic and easily readable fantasy story. As many popular fantasy series are made up of hefty tomes that are full of excessive descriptions and questing, this book and series (from my first impressions of skimming descriptions of other books in this series) is not quite so daunting. It might be a good place for someone to start if they want to try out the fantasy genre, but are not ready for a huge commitment.
I went into this one thinking it was going to be excessively humorous. The exact expectation I had was somewhere between Monty Python and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. But, in the end, the humor was much more subtle and not quite so distracting. I think it is kind of fun to look for the clever puns and tongue in cheek dialogue that my lead to a snicker here or an “I see what he is trying to do� there, but nothing too overpowering.
When I started reading this, I was checking out reviews and saw that many people loved this book, but many also were unhappy with some of the sexist sentiments shown by the characters. I can honestly say that I may not have noticed them as anything more than characterization used by the author to advance character development. And, I was reading this with a book club, and we agreed that if we were not aware that some saw it this way, we may not have noticed it quite as strongly. Also, in the end I do feel like it was an integral part of main character development. However, I can see how it can be felt by some to be distracting and even inappropriate. I would need to read a few more books in the series to determine for myself if it feels like it should be toned down for propriety sake.
So, all in all a rewarding fantasy experience. I think fans of the genre will find a lot to enjoy here. If you are sensitive to sexist stereotypes, the use of them in character development might be too distracting for you to enjoy. I will leave that decision in the eye of the beholder!
June 27, 2013
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.
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.
December 30, 2015
read this in junior high while staying at my aunt's house. read it on an ugly couch covered in plastic. read it cover to cover, realized I loved it, then read it again. jacked off to it too. my aunt's house was next to a smelly sewage plant so it was sort of a struggle at that. but I soldiered on! read it a third time years later but the magic was gone. years after that, when I was living in a punk rock flophouse, the couch was donated to us. oh the memories on that couch.
July 23, 2008
This is a stand-in for the entire Xanth sequence, since it is currently running at 30-odd books and counting. And I love all of them.
Ultimately, this is a series that you either "get" or you don't. And if you don't, then nothing I (or anyone else!) can say here will make any difference.
I don't like them for the writing quality. Even after all this time, Anthony still has trouble putting a sentence together, or making his dialogue sparkle or creating a convincing character (either male or female!) Not even for the puns, although they are rarely a disappointment (although lately he has taken to shoe-horning entire paragraphs of them together as though he wants to get them out of the way.) And when he uses one for a title, it's always a doozy: who else would dare to call a novel ?!
It's for the ideas and the structures. One Xanth novel often contains more ideas than some novelists manage in an entire career. He plays with multiple character viewpoints in subtle patterns. He slips in forward and backward references to other novels let alone the current plot. He creates huge plot-holes for himself and then delights in tidying up the loose ends and inconsistencies further down the line. The list goes on. There are few authors who can write more than 30 books in one series (and this is probably only half of Antony's total output) and still find ways to surprise the audience.
Ultimately, this is a series that you either "get" or you don't. And if you don't, then nothing I (or anyone else!) can say here will make any difference.
I don't like them for the writing quality. Even after all this time, Anthony still has trouble putting a sentence together, or making his dialogue sparkle or creating a convincing character (either male or female!) Not even for the puns, although they are rarely a disappointment (although lately he has taken to shoe-horning entire paragraphs of them together as though he wants to get them out of the way.) And when he uses one for a title, it's always a doozy: who else would dare to call a novel ?!
It's for the ideas and the structures. One Xanth novel often contains more ideas than some novelists manage in an entire career. He plays with multiple character viewpoints in subtle patterns. He slips in forward and backward references to other novels let alone the current plot. He creates huge plot-holes for himself and then delights in tidying up the loose ends and inconsistencies further down the line. The list goes on. There are few authors who can write more than 30 books in one series (and this is probably only half of Antony's total output) and still find ways to surprise the audience.
September 6, 2020
I am slightly embarrassed to admit it, but I enjoyed this. A Spell for Chameleon is light and fun with a lot of cleverness thrown in, but it is sexist as hell.
The sexism is so pervasive and absurd that I have to wonder if it is purposeful sexism or attempted satire. Either way, it left a weird taste in my mouth.
2.5
The sexism is so pervasive and absurd that I have to wonder if it is purposeful sexism or attempted satire. Either way, it left a weird taste in my mouth.
2.5
July 9, 2015
Originally posted on .
Usually I love ripping apart the books I hate. But no, I've been avoiding writing this review. Why? This is the most sexist fantasy book I've ever read. That's saying something. Merely thinking about this book makes my skin crawl. Below the cut, you'll hear more, there will be spoilers, there will be a lot of gross talk about rape culture, and a shitton of sexism will be unveiled.
So, there's a story behind why I read this book. One of my friends went with me to the library (as all good friends ought to do) and we were rifling through the SFF section and my friend comes back with this book. They tell me that it's funny, it has a ton of puns, and no really, it's a good book. And I was side-eyeing it like whoa, but figured I'd give it a shot.
I start reading the book, and I immediately have legitimate questions. We have the whole standard "we don't need to know what the men look like, but if we don't know the cup size of the female characters, she's not described well enough" situation. We have the "25-year-old" protagonist acting like a horny 12-year-old boy at best. We have a "boys will be boys" scene where his father laughs it off that Bink tried to "sew wild oats" which would have bound a nymph to him as the "fertilizer figure" (because he watered them with his own urine) so he could use her as a sex toy.
His mother is kind of upset about this, but see, it's not because the whole idea is disgusting. It's because she's jealous that his father did it at one point, but screwed up and the nymph "got away."
Oh, but then his father tells Bink that it's not what he wanted anyway, because he doesn't want a mindless sex toy. That's not enough of a challenge. But then goes on to dehumanize women in telling Bink how he'd be bored with a beautiful woman with no mind.
Blah, blah, blah, Bink is about to go see the wizard because his hot girlfriend really hopes he has magic so he won't get exiled but it's hard because epic quests have to be, and he meets a centaur. We hear a lot from Bink about how hot this centaur would be if she weren't a centaur. She then explains to him about how pretty much every human in Xanth descends from a series of awful rapes as one group took over the next.
There's a point where she jumps over a crevasse and he grabs her boobs. He apologizes, sure, but then laughs about it later when a guy asks him "where he held on." Oh, and he questions later whether he did it on purpose or not.
Oh, and the next scene.
Bink gets to a town and a guy agrees to help him as long as he'll get some help in return. See, he needs to take care of some unpleasant business.
A rape trial.
Oh, no, wait, this is a mock-trial where we have 3 women and 3 men get together. No one (except the victim and the rapist) know who is actually the victim and the rapist, so it saves everyone from the messy fallout of having raped someone. After all, she would be ruined if someone found out she had been raped. And it's just so hard if all your neighbors know you're a rapist.
At the end, everyone agrees that it's best to just not deal with this, to save everyone involved. Oh, and if they ever talk about it again, they'll be tried with contempt of court. Yay! Nothing like shutting up the survivor who was pressured into being silent with the treat of legal action if she ever speaks up again!
But the trial itself isn't even the skeeviest part.
Bink's opposite (the girl who is sitting across from him) is quite lovely. So lovely, that Bink describes her as thus:
"Grim-faced, looking betrayed, the three girls shook their heads, no. Bink felt sorry for his opposite. How could she avoid being seductive? She was a creature constructed for no other visible purpose than ra—than love."
That was the point at which I messaged my friend, saying "Uh, when was the last time you read this book?"
They weren't sure, but were pretty sure they were a teenager. I then sent them that quote, and they basically had the same reaction I had. And then realized that oh, no, it wasn't the Xanth novels they were remembering. It was the Myth Adventures series by Robert Asprin. All of this pain for nothing. Nothing.
During this pause, I went to go look at other reviews. And I was shocked that the above quote didn't make it into most reviews, even reviews talking about rape culture. And then I discovered that they released an edited version in 2012 to "simplify" it. And by simplify, they meant "get rid of the worst of it." Although, "the worst of it" still means a hella gross book.
Later, the bailiff refers to the her as "the girl you almost raped... not that I'd blame you."
I think someone has serious issues with women. I just don't understand how anyone can say Piers Anthony himself isn't sexist. Say all you want that he just isn't good at writing women (although that on its own is a sign...); the problem here is that he doesn't think women are people. He clearly has a fixation with rape and possession that's not healthy.
And at this point, this review is making me physically ill. So I'll get to the end:
The love interest's magical power? She has magical PMS. On her "lunar cycle" which is referred to as "the feminine cycle" in the same breath, she goes from being incredibly dumb but well, so pretty you can't help but rape her according to all this, to ordinary and average, to incredibly ugly and incredibly smart.
So she's perfect for the protag because due to ... women burning him? ... he's come to the idea that he can't trust women who are both beautiful and smart. A lot of people have put it this way: in this book, women can be beautiful, smart, or good. Choose two.
There's also some weird stuff about a guy who says he'd fuck his dog if she were a beautiful woman, the protag being hot and bothered by the body of a fourteen-year-old, and just a whole bunch of shit.
Do not read this book.
Usually I love ripping apart the books I hate. But no, I've been avoiding writing this review. Why? This is the most sexist fantasy book I've ever read. That's saying something. Merely thinking about this book makes my skin crawl. Below the cut, you'll hear more, there will be spoilers, there will be a lot of gross talk about rape culture, and a shitton of sexism will be unveiled.
So, there's a story behind why I read this book. One of my friends went with me to the library (as all good friends ought to do) and we were rifling through the SFF section and my friend comes back with this book. They tell me that it's funny, it has a ton of puns, and no really, it's a good book. And I was side-eyeing it like whoa, but figured I'd give it a shot.
I start reading the book, and I immediately have legitimate questions. We have the whole standard "we don't need to know what the men look like, but if we don't know the cup size of the female characters, she's not described well enough" situation. We have the "25-year-old" protagonist acting like a horny 12-year-old boy at best. We have a "boys will be boys" scene where his father laughs it off that Bink tried to "sew wild oats" which would have bound a nymph to him as the "fertilizer figure" (because he watered them with his own urine) so he could use her as a sex toy.
His mother is kind of upset about this, but see, it's not because the whole idea is disgusting. It's because she's jealous that his father did it at one point, but screwed up and the nymph "got away."
Oh, but then his father tells Bink that it's not what he wanted anyway, because he doesn't want a mindless sex toy. That's not enough of a challenge. But then goes on to dehumanize women in telling Bink how he'd be bored with a beautiful woman with no mind.
Blah, blah, blah, Bink is about to go see the wizard because his hot girlfriend really hopes he has magic so he won't get exiled but it's hard because epic quests have to be, and he meets a centaur. We hear a lot from Bink about how hot this centaur would be if she weren't a centaur. She then explains to him about how pretty much every human in Xanth descends from a series of awful rapes as one group took over the next.
There's a point where she jumps over a crevasse and he grabs her boobs. He apologizes, sure, but then laughs about it later when a guy asks him "where he held on." Oh, and he questions later whether he did it on purpose or not.
Oh, and the next scene.
Bink gets to a town and a guy agrees to help him as long as he'll get some help in return. See, he needs to take care of some unpleasant business.
A rape trial.
Oh, no, wait, this is a mock-trial where we have 3 women and 3 men get together. No one (except the victim and the rapist) know who is actually the victim and the rapist, so it saves everyone from the messy fallout of having raped someone. After all, she would be ruined if someone found out she had been raped. And it's just so hard if all your neighbors know you're a rapist.
At the end, everyone agrees that it's best to just not deal with this, to save everyone involved. Oh, and if they ever talk about it again, they'll be tried with contempt of court. Yay! Nothing like shutting up the survivor who was pressured into being silent with the treat of legal action if she ever speaks up again!
But the trial itself isn't even the skeeviest part.
Bink's opposite (the girl who is sitting across from him) is quite lovely. So lovely, that Bink describes her as thus:
"Grim-faced, looking betrayed, the three girls shook their heads, no. Bink felt sorry for his opposite. How could she avoid being seductive? She was a creature constructed for no other visible purpose than ra—than love."
That was the point at which I messaged my friend, saying "Uh, when was the last time you read this book?"
They weren't sure, but were pretty sure they were a teenager. I then sent them that quote, and they basically had the same reaction I had. And then realized that oh, no, it wasn't the Xanth novels they were remembering. It was the Myth Adventures series by Robert Asprin. All of this pain for nothing. Nothing.
During this pause, I went to go look at other reviews. And I was shocked that the above quote didn't make it into most reviews, even reviews talking about rape culture. And then I discovered that they released an edited version in 2012 to "simplify" it. And by simplify, they meant "get rid of the worst of it." Although, "the worst of it" still means a hella gross book.
Later, the bailiff refers to the her as "the girl you almost raped... not that I'd blame you."
I think someone has serious issues with women. I just don't understand how anyone can say Piers Anthony himself isn't sexist. Say all you want that he just isn't good at writing women (although that on its own is a sign...); the problem here is that he doesn't think women are people. He clearly has a fixation with rape and possession that's not healthy.
And at this point, this review is making me physically ill. So I'll get to the end:
The love interest's magical power? She has magical PMS. On her "lunar cycle" which is referred to as "the feminine cycle" in the same breath, she goes from being incredibly dumb but well, so pretty you can't help but rape her according to all this, to ordinary and average, to incredibly ugly and incredibly smart.
So she's perfect for the protag because due to ... women burning him? ... he's come to the idea that he can't trust women who are both beautiful and smart. A lot of people have put it this way: in this book, women can be beautiful, smart, or good. Choose two.
There's also some weird stuff about a guy who says he'd fuck his dog if she were a beautiful woman, the protag being hot and bothered by the body of a fourteen-year-old, and just a whole bunch of shit.
Do not read this book.
November 21, 2012
Am I alone in finding Piers Anthony's work more than a little creepy? This is an adult man writing really adolescent stuff, obsessed with women's breasts (his characters notice them even in life-and-death situations) and really emotionally shallow. I really dislike his portrayal of female characters--to me they all just seem like assemblies of body parts that speak. Its all about how attractive they are or aren't. I find that odd, since I believe the author has daughters and no sons. You would think he would want to help create a better, less-sexist world for his children, if not for society in general. Its a shame, since he does create a semi-interesting world and comes up with some interesting plot twists. I'll continue reading a few more in the series because that's part of my project, but wow, I never want to meet this guy in person--I don't think he sees women as real people.
January 15, 2018
One of the first series that really got me hooked on reading. i had to buy every one of these as soon as they came out (showing my age!) I recommend to anyone who enjoys reading Fantasy and is amused by PUNS.
June 27, 2013
The land of Xanth is a land of magic. Everyone has a magical talent, even some of the animals of the forest. Everyone, that is, except for Bink. And now that he's approaching adulthood, he has to find his magic...or face exile.
I struggled with this one, but I read the first sixty pages before I finally gave up. The writing is entertaining, and the descriptions are vivid. At first, all the thinly-veiled innuendo was amusing, but it quickly went from amusing to annoying. When it began to seem like an Austin Powers movie, meaning that the protagonist becomes enamored with the next girl he sees, and ignored everything else...until he sees another girl who captures his attention...and repeat...and repeat. I finally just couldn't take it anymore. I don't mind some innuendo or "adult" situations in stories, but when the protagonist is basically a prisoner of his sex drive and his thoughts are usually rating all of the women in his immediate vicinity on a scale of how attractive they are, it just gets downright dull.
I remember reading some of Piers Anthony's other books way back in middle school, and I enjoyed them quite a bit...but maybe that was because half of the innuendo flew right over my head back then. Either way, this was a challenge to read.
The other thing I couldn't get into is the "everybody has one magic skill and that's it" thing - and many of the skills were unexceptional or useless at best. It seems so limiting, that I also found it annoying.
But the last straw was the blatant sexism. Yeah yeah, I know, this book was written a few decades ago, but that is no excuse. The rape trial thing was so insanely offensive, I was sure I was reading it wrong...and I quite honestly don't like the message the author was trying to get across. In any of it.
I struggled with this one, but I read the first sixty pages before I finally gave up. The writing is entertaining, and the descriptions are vivid. At first, all the thinly-veiled innuendo was amusing, but it quickly went from amusing to annoying. When it began to seem like an Austin Powers movie, meaning that the protagonist becomes enamored with the next girl he sees, and ignored everything else...until he sees another girl who captures his attention...and repeat...and repeat. I finally just couldn't take it anymore. I don't mind some innuendo or "adult" situations in stories, but when the protagonist is basically a prisoner of his sex drive and his thoughts are usually rating all of the women in his immediate vicinity on a scale of how attractive they are, it just gets downright dull.
I remember reading some of Piers Anthony's other books way back in middle school, and I enjoyed them quite a bit...but maybe that was because half of the innuendo flew right over my head back then. Either way, this was a challenge to read.
The other thing I couldn't get into is the "everybody has one magic skill and that's it" thing - and many of the skills were unexceptional or useless at best. It seems so limiting, that I also found it annoying.
But the last straw was the blatant sexism. Yeah yeah, I know, this book was written a few decades ago, but that is no excuse. The rape trial thing was so insanely offensive, I was sure I was reading it wrong...and I quite honestly don't like the message the author was trying to get across. In any of it.
October 23, 2014
I got book 2 of this series first, read it a couple of times before I finally got the first. I think the first 4 books are well worth reading - a must read for anyone into fantasy books. I think the series is up in the 20 odd count somewhere now. The first 3 or 4 are excellent. After that, I just couldn't get too into it any more. Might just be me.
When this came out, it was unlike any series before it AND was funny on top of that. Humor in this sort of fiction is hard to pull off, but Anthony did it very well.
When this came out, it was unlike any series before it AND was funny on top of that. Humor in this sort of fiction is hard to pull off, but Anthony did it very well.
July 1, 2010
2.5 stars. First in the Xanth series of books. Took me a while to get around to reading this as it has been on my "to read" list for a while. A decently written, fun book with a good system of magic and interesting world-building. Definitely on the lighter side, but I enjoyed the puns and the tone of the book. Not as good as some of Anthony's other books (most notably ), but still a good read.
September 10, 2024
DNF 25% because it's gross and rapey.
Uh, so this is a gross book. I'm not sure what I was thinking, knowing that fantasy circa 1970s written by a man is probably going to be gross. The reason I picked this up is because it was one of the first fantasy books, if not the very first, that I have a memory of reading as a child. Needless to say the misogyny was lost on my young mind.
Putting aside that this book is about some mediocre guy, Bink, trekking across a fantasy land to ask a Sorcerer to make him less mediocre. Let's also put aside the fact that that Bink successfully treks his way across a magical land by literally no virtue of his own. Let's also put aside the gratuitously reference to women's bodies and their "naturalness" or *vomit* whatever other objectifying language is used.
All you need to know is that Anthony randomly put in a, wait for it, RAPE TRIAL into the first quarter of this book. It's bizarre for the main character of a book to just stumble upon a rape trial when it literally has nothing to do with the main story. The worst part is that the judge dismisses the rape trial on the assumption that the victim simply already knew the suspect and so:
Then I presume she would have fled him at the outset, had she disliked him--and that he would not have forced her if she trusted him.
I guess case closed!
And the later, when Bink is looking at the rape victim, here are his inner thoughts:
How could she avoid being seductive? She was a creature constructed for no other visible purpose than ra-than love.
No that's not a typo. The text literally is about to say "rape" and changes it to love. So Bink agrees that the rape victim's purpose is to be raped. YIKES.
Here are a few more gems about said rape victim:
In a few miles her shapely body, obviously not constructed for brute work, would tire, and he'd have to carry her.
He would not be human if he didn't react to her fantastic face and body! But she was so abysmally stupid.
It's totally fine to have a morally dubious main character as long as the narrative voice clearly isn't endorsing that character. But here, this is just a story about a very gross mediocre man written by a gross dude.
HARD PASS. Which is a shame because there probably is a cool story and a very imaginative world going on in the background.
Uh, so this is a gross book. I'm not sure what I was thinking, knowing that fantasy circa 1970s written by a man is probably going to be gross. The reason I picked this up is because it was one of the first fantasy books, if not the very first, that I have a memory of reading as a child. Needless to say the misogyny was lost on my young mind.
Putting aside that this book is about some mediocre guy, Bink, trekking across a fantasy land to ask a Sorcerer to make him less mediocre. Let's also put aside the fact that that Bink successfully treks his way across a magical land by literally no virtue of his own. Let's also put aside the gratuitously reference to women's bodies and their "naturalness" or *vomit* whatever other objectifying language is used.
All you need to know is that Anthony randomly put in a, wait for it, RAPE TRIAL into the first quarter of this book. It's bizarre for the main character of a book to just stumble upon a rape trial when it literally has nothing to do with the main story. The worst part is that the judge dismisses the rape trial on the assumption that the victim simply already knew the suspect and so:
Then I presume she would have fled him at the outset, had she disliked him--and that he would not have forced her if she trusted him.
I guess case closed!
And the later, when Bink is looking at the rape victim, here are his inner thoughts:
How could she avoid being seductive? She was a creature constructed for no other visible purpose than ra-than love.
No that's not a typo. The text literally is about to say "rape" and changes it to love. So Bink agrees that the rape victim's purpose is to be raped. YIKES.
Here are a few more gems about said rape victim:
In a few miles her shapely body, obviously not constructed for brute work, would tire, and he'd have to carry her.
He would not be human if he didn't react to her fantastic face and body! But she was so abysmally stupid.
It's totally fine to have a morally dubious main character as long as the narrative voice clearly isn't endorsing that character. But here, this is just a story about a very gross mediocre man written by a gross dude.
HARD PASS. Which is a shame because there probably is a cool story and a very imaginative world going on in the background.
November 12, 2024
Every fantasy reader of a certain age is at least aware of the Xanth novels. They're a ubiquitous component of a trend of "comedic" fantasy in the late '70s and '80s. You may be surprised to learn the series is up to 47 books now; although TOR noped out in 2013 after book 37, the author has continued to self-publish them. He is 90 years old now.
Many people have vague memories of the books. To my recollection I never read them. I don't think I could have abided jokey fantasy in my teens; the genre was too precious to me (and there was no indication that the Xanth books were anything approaching the elevation of Discworld). I read on a whim several years ago but I remember nothing.
I certainly never heard anyone comment on the books' gross misogyny and pedophilic content. That is, until a favorite podcast (now defunct) reviewed this book, and then I saw plenty of reviews calling out the same once I looked for consensus. Were we simply collectively unattuned to these things in our teens, or culturally during the perverted glory of the 1980s? Certainly some people picked up on it, but I never knew it was a consistent thread in Anthony's books until relatively recently. Granted, I also had no cause to spare a thought of any kind for Xanth for decades.
As part of my self-imposed bad book immersion, I made a plan to read a sampling of Xanth across the ages: this book, a mid series and a late series title, with the idea of seeing just how bad they got. But after reading this one and seeing the grossness first-hand, aside from the general lack of appeal of the book, and seeing comments about Anthony's consistent expression of misogyny, rape apology, and sexualization of minors, across decades of writing, I believe I'll just stop here. "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."
But isn't Xanth supposed to be funny?
There must be something to the books to account for their popularity in their heyday. There's nothing wrong with the technical writing ability. I think there was general appeal in fantasy that didn't take itself seriously, not like that fantasy and sci-fi for nerds. Maybe simply placement in book stores was enough; I certainly used to think that if something was published it must be good, otherwise why would it be out there? This is probably not an uncommon sentiment. Keep in mind this was well before self-publishing was so easy. You know, the good ol' days.
But most of all, Xanth's gimmick is that it's supposedly funny. The later books seem to dig into it more, but even here Xanth is sold as some pun-filled wonderland. So was this book funny? Let me count the ways:
1. Bink. The protagonist has a silly name. Funny? Amusing at all? I mean, it's no Captain Carrot.
2. "A bluejean plantation". In Xanth, most products of industry are simply farmed or gathered. See also beer barrel trees, breadfruit trees that grow whole ready-to-eat loaves, anything you want, because magic. I suppose this conveys that Xanth is a silly place where life is nonsensical.
3. "Sowing your wild oats." In Xanth, if you gather wild oats, plant them, and urinate on them every day, when they grow they'll develop an oat dryad who will be your sex slave. What? This is the first "pun" in the book as far as I can tell. The expression already means to have promiscuous sex, so all this achieves is adding piss and removing consent from the existing double-meaning. Funny?
4. "Pulling the shade." A dead person's spirit, called a shade, can linger and hope to possess a living body so it can resolve unfinished business. If you, the living, don't want that to happen, you simply move away from the shade. It's easy, they're slow, you just walk away. This is called "pulling the shade." Is that how puns work? It just means closing a curtain, but also walking away from a shade, ha ha ha?
5. "It is a message from Magician Humfrey, bearing his magic seal." This was a picture of a flippered creature balancing a ball on its snout. Technically a pun because it mixes two meanings of the word "seal." Is this amusing in any way? What makes it a "magic" seal?
6. "I propose a formal duel. Do you wish a second?" "A second, a minute, an hour, whatever it takes." That's some real Marx Brothers comedy right there.
Maybe some people found the book funny. But even ignoring the appalling content, wherein women's value is constantly judged based on their appearance and usefulness as a wife (not just appearance, see: if a woman is exceptionally beautiful but dumb as a post, as the main character literally says, she's only good for being raped. Yes, he states exactly that.) and apparently magical creatures evolve when men bang anything with boobs, like they see a harpy or a female centaur and hey, it has boobs so of course they'll fuck the horse end of it, they just can't help it, what can you expect—even putting aside all of that, the book is horribly boring and pointless. Characters spend endless spans of book time theorizing and debating how magic works in Xanth, which apparently no one has figured out despite humans living there for centuries, like creatures can only be two out of three between intelligence, magical nature, and ability to do magic (this is the main character's idea that goes nowhere despite all the time spent reading about it). The main storyline, about what magic Bink has, if any, resolves in such a convoluted solution with so many caveats and exceptions that it makes little sense, if one even cares any more by that point. There is no reasonable explanation for the main plot driver, that people who don't display a magical ability must be exiled from Xanth, when people whose sole ability is to make a dot appear on a wall are allowed to stay (human laser pointers). Reading it was honestly a dreary experience and I don't see why anyone should care to continue past the first book.
Many people have vague memories of the books. To my recollection I never read them. I don't think I could have abided jokey fantasy in my teens; the genre was too precious to me (and there was no indication that the Xanth books were anything approaching the elevation of Discworld). I read on a whim several years ago but I remember nothing.
I certainly never heard anyone comment on the books' gross misogyny and pedophilic content. That is, until a favorite podcast (now defunct) reviewed this book, and then I saw plenty of reviews calling out the same once I looked for consensus. Were we simply collectively unattuned to these things in our teens, or culturally during the perverted glory of the 1980s? Certainly some people picked up on it, but I never knew it was a consistent thread in Anthony's books until relatively recently. Granted, I also had no cause to spare a thought of any kind for Xanth for decades.
As part of my self-imposed bad book immersion, I made a plan to read a sampling of Xanth across the ages: this book, a mid series and a late series title, with the idea of seeing just how bad they got. But after reading this one and seeing the grossness first-hand, aside from the general lack of appeal of the book, and seeing comments about Anthony's consistent expression of misogyny, rape apology, and sexualization of minors, across decades of writing, I believe I'll just stop here. "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."
But isn't Xanth supposed to be funny?
There must be something to the books to account for their popularity in their heyday. There's nothing wrong with the technical writing ability. I think there was general appeal in fantasy that didn't take itself seriously, not like that fantasy and sci-fi for nerds. Maybe simply placement in book stores was enough; I certainly used to think that if something was published it must be good, otherwise why would it be out there? This is probably not an uncommon sentiment. Keep in mind this was well before self-publishing was so easy. You know, the good ol' days.
But most of all, Xanth's gimmick is that it's supposedly funny. The later books seem to dig into it more, but even here Xanth is sold as some pun-filled wonderland. So was this book funny? Let me count the ways:
1. Bink. The protagonist has a silly name. Funny? Amusing at all? I mean, it's no Captain Carrot.
2. "A bluejean plantation". In Xanth, most products of industry are simply farmed or gathered. See also beer barrel trees, breadfruit trees that grow whole ready-to-eat loaves, anything you want, because magic. I suppose this conveys that Xanth is a silly place where life is nonsensical.
3. "Sowing your wild oats." In Xanth, if you gather wild oats, plant them, and urinate on them every day, when they grow they'll develop an oat dryad who will be your sex slave. What? This is the first "pun" in the book as far as I can tell. The expression already means to have promiscuous sex, so all this achieves is adding piss and removing consent from the existing double-meaning. Funny?
4. "Pulling the shade." A dead person's spirit, called a shade, can linger and hope to possess a living body so it can resolve unfinished business. If you, the living, don't want that to happen, you simply move away from the shade. It's easy, they're slow, you just walk away. This is called "pulling the shade." Is that how puns work? It just means closing a curtain, but also walking away from a shade, ha ha ha?
5. "It is a message from Magician Humfrey, bearing his magic seal." This was a picture of a flippered creature balancing a ball on its snout. Technically a pun because it mixes two meanings of the word "seal." Is this amusing in any way? What makes it a "magic" seal?
6. "I propose a formal duel. Do you wish a second?" "A second, a minute, an hour, whatever it takes." That's some real Marx Brothers comedy right there.
Maybe some people found the book funny. But even ignoring the appalling content, wherein women's value is constantly judged based on their appearance and usefulness as a wife (not just appearance, see: if a woman is exceptionally beautiful but dumb as a post, as the main character literally says, she's only good for being raped. Yes, he states exactly that.) and apparently magical creatures evolve when men bang anything with boobs, like they see a harpy or a female centaur and hey, it has boobs so of course they'll fuck the horse end of it, they just can't help it, what can you expect—even putting aside all of that, the book is horribly boring and pointless. Characters spend endless spans of book time theorizing and debating how magic works in Xanth, which apparently no one has figured out despite humans living there for centuries, like creatures can only be two out of three between intelligence, magical nature, and ability to do magic (this is the main character's idea that goes nowhere despite all the time spent reading about it). The main storyline, about what magic Bink has, if any, resolves in such a convoluted solution with so many caveats and exceptions that it makes little sense, if one even cares any more by that point. There is no reasonable explanation for the main plot driver, that people who don't display a magical ability must be exiled from Xanth, when people whose sole ability is to make a dot appear on a wall are allowed to stay (human laser pointers). Reading it was honestly a dreary experience and I don't see why anyone should care to continue past the first book.
December 24, 2022
I remember when I first read this book, it blew my mind. This was the first time I discovered humorous fantasy (that was before I fell in love with Terry Pratchett and the Discworld). It's a fun ride, but it's also smart and heartfelt and I loved every moment I spent in this book.
I feel like the series goes downhill after a while, like it looses its soul, but this book will always be 5 stars for me.
I feel like the series goes downhill after a while, like it looses its soul, but this book will always be 5 stars for me.
October 18, 2012
Despite what people say about the author's sexism, his fondness for puns (a greater crime in some people's eyes) and the juvenile nature of some of the storytelling, this book has many good qualities, most of which reviewers haven't really talked about.
The central premise here is this: which is preferable, a very beautiful, very dumb woman, or a super smart, wise but ugly woman?
You can probably tell from this that a) the book is aimed at young men, and b) women might find the question, never mind the answer, to be offensive.
And I don't deny that some of his conclusions, even though they are wrapped up inside a lighthearted fantasy story, are a bit chauvinistic, but that isn't the point.
The fact that he would attempt to deal with these issues in this setting (and not in a sneaky, subtle way but right out in the open) is something to be lauded. I'm not saying he's right, although he certainly isn't the only guy to think women who are both very beautiful and intelligent generally aren't very nice people. What I'm saying is Fantasy as a genre is often reduced to wish fulfillment, and that is by far the more juvenile approach.
The 'not all that attractive but plucky' farm girl who the prince falls madly in love with for no apparent reason is more sexist and offensive, in my mind, than anything in this book.
And for young guys to consider the themes here, even if they end up agreeing with som eof the author's rather wayward thinking, is a much healthier thing (at least they have the opportunity to disagree with him) than a young woman reading a sad 'one day my prince will come' piece of pseudo-erotica.
That said, this is an early book in the writer's career. It's a little episodic and characters aren't as well developed as they might have been. The way he brings things together and how he keeps the theme present though gives a glimpse of a writer operating well above the norm.
The central premise here is this: which is preferable, a very beautiful, very dumb woman, or a super smart, wise but ugly woman?
You can probably tell from this that a) the book is aimed at young men, and b) women might find the question, never mind the answer, to be offensive.
And I don't deny that some of his conclusions, even though they are wrapped up inside a lighthearted fantasy story, are a bit chauvinistic, but that isn't the point.
The fact that he would attempt to deal with these issues in this setting (and not in a sneaky, subtle way but right out in the open) is something to be lauded. I'm not saying he's right, although he certainly isn't the only guy to think women who are both very beautiful and intelligent generally aren't very nice people. What I'm saying is Fantasy as a genre is often reduced to wish fulfillment, and that is by far the more juvenile approach.
The 'not all that attractive but plucky' farm girl who the prince falls madly in love with for no apparent reason is more sexist and offensive, in my mind, than anything in this book.
And for young guys to consider the themes here, even if they end up agreeing with som eof the author's rather wayward thinking, is a much healthier thing (at least they have the opportunity to disagree with him) than a young woman reading a sad 'one day my prince will come' piece of pseudo-erotica.
That said, this is an early book in the writer's career. It's a little episodic and characters aren't as well developed as they might have been. The way he brings things together and how he keeps the theme present though gives a glimpse of a writer operating well above the norm.
June 18, 2021
Wanted to read this one for twenty years, honestly for no other reason than loving the manticore art on the cover. Finally did, and... reactions are mixed.
On the one hand, the pun-driven magical alt-world (based on, of all places, Florida) is entertaining, though not so clever as Discworld. The writing is unobjectionable, the premise and plot are engaging and reasonably original, and the moral argument on just rulership and propaganda at the book's turn was a pleasantly nuanced surprise.
On the other hand, the entire B-storyline of the book consists mainly of exploring lust-fantasy wish-fulfillment, and it's pretty toxic. As many reviewers have pointed out, "it was the 70s, man!", which does help explain why the book was published and how it was able to become popular despite/because of misogynist inclusions. But it is not an argument for why the book should be well-regarded, today or any day. Ripe for a rewrite.
On the one hand, the pun-driven magical alt-world (based on, of all places, Florida) is entertaining, though not so clever as Discworld. The writing is unobjectionable, the premise and plot are engaging and reasonably original, and the moral argument on just rulership and propaganda at the book's turn was a pleasantly nuanced surprise.
On the other hand, the entire B-storyline of the book consists mainly of exploring lust-fantasy wish-fulfillment, and it's pretty toxic. As many reviewers have pointed out, "it was the 70s, man!", which does help explain why the book was published and how it was able to become popular despite/because of misogynist inclusions. But it is not an argument for why the book should be well-regarded, today or any day. Ripe for a rewrite.
September 16, 2011
This 1st Xanth book held my interest. I was reluctant to get into the series based on the many charges of sexism raised by reviewers. A female friend discounted these and I jumped in. Glad I did. Lots of themes in this one pertaining to characteristics and traits of the female gender - intrinsic to the plot - but this did not strike me as denigration. I'm sure some zealot could quote me line and verse in attempt to prove me wrong. I just don't see it. I thought the ending was a bit weak - like he was trying to wrap up loose ends in a hurry - but it won't stop me from continuing in the series.
November 23, 2016
Oh no, no, no..... this could not be it! WHY?! Why was this so bad? Oh, god. This review is GONNA BE TOUGH. This book was SO bad, I forgot I even read the thing!
I believe that in every book, there is at least ONE thing that I enjoy, no matter what the rating. So, I will start this review with the (few) things I enjoyed in this before bombarding the review with everything that has gone SO DARN WRONG.
So, I liked the cover. Yeah, I know, it is not really part of the story, but hey, at least one thing in this book was ok, right? The cover was pretty cool, I guess. The title too. "A Spell for Chameleon". Ooh, such a "cool" title.
Anyhow, I also enjoyed the one part in the beginning about the chameleon. Or wait- was is a lizard? I don't remember. I liked that little paragraph about the little reptile. That had absolutely (well almost) nothing to do with the story.
I liked how the author chose the number of pages this book was written on. Yes. 344 pages. Not more, not less. At least it wasn't THAT long! I could not take it any longer!
OK. Here is the best part of this review...... (drum roll).... all my hates!
So, dear reader, if you enjoyed this book quite a bit, please do not read on, this is going to get nasty.
1. I was outraged at the style of writing.
Like, what the heck?! Was this author drinking or something? (no offense) I found the writing quite.... umm.... (how to say this kindly?!) interesting.....OK. NO. It was horrible. Probably the worst writing style I have ever encountered. Like GOSH!
2. The story itself.
Ok, sure, the idea about having a cool super power was not so bad, but I find that I have already read SO MANY BOOKS ABOUT THE SAME THING!!!! It felt like either it was a copy, or just a ton of other books copied it. I don't know. I just did not enjoy the fact that the main character, had a hard time finding his little itsy bitsy power, and GUESS WHAT THE POWER ENDS UP TO BE?! **SPOILER ALERT** He turns out to be a freakin' magician immune to all magical harm. Blah blah BLAH.
Is it just me, or that is PLAIN BORING? Ok, I guess its just me.
3. The main character.
Eww. The main character of this book was T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E. He just *gags* has the kind of snobby-stuck-up-but-doesn't-want-to-show-it kind of personality. Its the kind of person, that I would not like to be friends with. Eww.
4. Xanth.
Xanth. What kind of stupid name is that?! Like oh my, out of all the cool names you could name a place, Piers Anthony names it XANTH. Its the kind of name that some person (quite desperate person) tries to find a "cool" "elfique" kind of name. But BOOM, that name just makes me cringe.
I think that is all I can say and express towards this piece of garbage. You, dear reader is probably already sick of me hatin' and hatin' this book. At least I was honest, eh?
I believe that in every book, there is at least ONE thing that I enjoy, no matter what the rating. So, I will start this review with the (few) things I enjoyed in this before bombarding the review with everything that has gone SO DARN WRONG.
So, I liked the cover. Yeah, I know, it is not really part of the story, but hey, at least one thing in this book was ok, right? The cover was pretty cool, I guess. The title too. "A Spell for Chameleon". Ooh, such a "cool" title.
Anyhow, I also enjoyed the one part in the beginning about the chameleon. Or wait- was is a lizard? I don't remember. I liked that little paragraph about the little reptile. That had absolutely (well almost) nothing to do with the story.
I liked how the author chose the number of pages this book was written on. Yes. 344 pages. Not more, not less. At least it wasn't THAT long! I could not take it any longer!
OK. Here is the best part of this review...... (drum roll).... all my hates!
So, dear reader, if you enjoyed this book quite a bit, please do not read on, this is going to get nasty.
1. I was outraged at the style of writing.
Like, what the heck?! Was this author drinking or something? (no offense) I found the writing quite.... umm.... (how to say this kindly?!) interesting.....OK. NO. It was horrible. Probably the worst writing style I have ever encountered. Like GOSH!
2. The story itself.
Ok, sure, the idea about having a cool super power was not so bad, but I find that I have already read SO MANY BOOKS ABOUT THE SAME THING!!!! It felt like either it was a copy, or just a ton of other books copied it. I don't know. I just did not enjoy the fact that the main character, had a hard time finding his little itsy bitsy power, and GUESS WHAT THE POWER ENDS UP TO BE?! **SPOILER ALERT** He turns out to be a freakin' magician immune to all magical harm. Blah blah BLAH.
Is it just me, or that is PLAIN BORING? Ok, I guess its just me.
3. The main character.
Eww. The main character of this book was T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E. He just *gags* has the kind of snobby-stuck-up-but-doesn't-want-to-show-it kind of personality. Its the kind of person, that I would not like to be friends with. Eww.
4. Xanth.
Xanth. What kind of stupid name is that?! Like oh my, out of all the cool names you could name a place, Piers Anthony names it XANTH. Its the kind of name that some person (quite desperate person) tries to find a "cool" "elfique" kind of name. But BOOM, that name just makes me cringe.
I think that is all I can say and express towards this piece of garbage. You, dear reader is probably already sick of me hatin' and hatin' this book. At least I was honest, eh?
December 3, 2008
Wow.
i began reading the Xanth series somewhere around the 15th or 16th book many years ago. It was filled with light-hearted drama, action and puns that made me laugh out loud.
But this first book was such an original idea & filled with an amazing amount of tension, thoughts, morals, as well as the drama & etc. that will come to follow.
Bink not only takes an amazing journey through Xanth, into Mundania & back, but also inside & outside himself.
"How many people similarly spent their lives searching for their own spells- some gratitous benefit such as a silver tree or political power or undeserved acclaim- when all they really needed was to be satified with what they already had?"
Well, i'm satisfied with this first step back into the realm of Xanth. To begin at the beginning was very rewarding & i am eager to resume my Quest. =0)
i began reading the Xanth series somewhere around the 15th or 16th book many years ago. It was filled with light-hearted drama, action and puns that made me laugh out loud.
But this first book was such an original idea & filled with an amazing amount of tension, thoughts, morals, as well as the drama & etc. that will come to follow.
Bink not only takes an amazing journey through Xanth, into Mundania & back, but also inside & outside himself.
"How many people similarly spent their lives searching for their own spells- some gratitous benefit such as a silver tree or political power or undeserved acclaim- when all they really needed was to be satified with what they already had?"
Well, i'm satisfied with this first step back into the realm of Xanth. To begin at the beginning was very rewarding & i am eager to resume my Quest. =0)
January 22, 2017
Surely one of the most despised books of all time. I could bash it for hours, so I'll try instead to say some nice things. I commend the author's bravery for sticking to his vision. At times it does portray the less than ideal state of male adolescence. It has lots of fantasy monsters. I abandoned this several times since middle school, and my instincts were correct: for most people it is best avoided. This listening was twenty years in the making, and only possible due to a cassette transferred to Youtube and listened to at high speed. What a mess.
March 6, 2022
So it has been a number of years since I first read this book. I was surprised to find that this wasn't the cringe-worthy pun fest that later books would become. It was more of a straightforward Fantasy book that is well written, has some well-developed characters, and is the basis for a solid world to explore and enjoy. Makes me wonder when it became a pun event more than a story, might have to read some more and see if I can find where this transition took place.
November 1, 2020
I first read this book in college in 1984 and absolutely loved it. I am happy to say after rereading it now 36 years later I enjoyed it just as as much. An excellent first book in what became a classic fantasy series!
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