by Piers Anthony, published in 2001.Xanth, the one fictitious world in which all else are real . . .. . . Er, or something.This is indeed another (number 26) Xanth novel by Piers Anthony, full of puns, low necklines and magical mayhem. So after twenty six novels in the same magical world, has the magic departed or is it still about in force?I would say that this particular story is not outstanding in the series of Xanth novels, but that does not mean it is not enjoyable for it surely is. It would appear that the Demon Earth has been abducted by another of his/her/its kind and only the unlikely inhabitants of Xanth can save him/her/it - oh, and add in one Mundane as well, romance and an almost omnipotent Roc and well, you are in Xanth.You see, with the Demon Earth missing, gravity which is his/her/its prime power is going to wane until it is no more. Xanth, and every other realm, won’t survive if this happens. So, when Cynthia Centaur goes to as Magician Humphrey if she will breed true with Che, ask a service task she must gather the six rings of Xanth and assemble the Swell Foop to rescue Earth . . .Sounds confusing, but the plot is rather straight forward and riddled with puns as you would expect. In fact, I found the plot very plotted - if that makes any sense. It went like, ring one - check, ring two - check, and so on. Not the greatest, but then the reason most of us return to Xanth is not for the amazing convoluted plots, but to bask in the silliness (with pointed though subtle overtones of morality) which is Piers Anthony’s creation.I say well done again for that, and now I have to go and read “The Dastard” (Xanth number 25), which I somehow skipped (in all the years I have not done that). It was on my bookshelf next to Doone Mode, and the covers were both very dark (which is not usually a Xanth thing) and so I grabbed Swell Foop when I should have grabbed The Dastard.If you have never read any Xanth, you should really pick up “A Spell for Chameleon” and see if it is for you.Another thing I enjoy about the Xanth novels (at least the last dozen or more) is the author’s notes in the back. He relates the tale of writing that particular novel and you get an insight into the mind of the creator. He also lists the puns he uses from contributors too. He can be found online at hipiers(dot)com I believe.I would list all the Xanth novels to date - but there just isn’t room . . .
