Why did I read so many Piers Anthony books14 September 2013tIt is really annoying that when I write some things it tends to just come flowing out of my head, while at other times my brain freezes up and I simply do not know what to write (I think they call it writer's block). This is not so much the case with book reviews or other forms of writing, but more when it comes to something like communications with other people or trying to start an email conversation. It is a completely different style of writing and I guess a style with which I am going to have to learn to adapt.tAs for this book, there is pretty much nothing that I wish to write about, though I would like the explore the idea of sex and marriage a bit. I'm not really sure if I actually read this book, and once again I'm not really sure why I actually read so many Piers Anthony books in the first place. Maybe it was because they were readily available, and a little familiar, however I have found his writings in recent years to be somewhat lame, especially compared to other writers to which I have been exposed.tNow I mentioned previously the concept of the sexual revolution and how Anthony does not seem to get the idea in any of his writings. It appears that this comes out a lot in Bio of a Space Tyrant as well as this series. In a way there seems to be this obsession not only with sex but with promiscuity. From following the characters there seems to be little in the way of acknowledgement of faithfulness to a single partner. I wonder if this comes across in Anthony's life as well. I must admit that one of the stories that I have been writing in the past (but having put it on hold due to aspects of the story being a bit too much for some people) that the main character was somewhat promiscuous and parts of it could be considered erotic. Unfortunately, the problem is that I am still writing from a male point of view, and a point of view that seems to treat women as objects, though I have not looked my particular story for a few years now.tI was speaking with a friend the other day about prostitution in the Bible, and about how the presence of a Temple of Aphrodite in Corinth seemed to necessitate Paul writing against prostitution in his letter to the Corinthains. As my friend suggested it was not only adultery but also idolatry that Paul was writing against. However what exactly is adultery? The funny thing is that the Bible never really gives us a definition. The same goes with sexual immorality – what exactly is it? The Bible does drop a number of hints, including orgies and homosexuality as falling under this category, but what is the extent. Many have said (and quite rightly so) that we should not be drawing lines in the sand and seeing how close we can get without crossing it. However true that may be, on the other side we really should not be drawing lines that put people on the otherside and then condemning them as such.tThe definition of adultery is vague though. Is it having sex with somebody who you are not married to when you are married, or is your marital status irrelevant? It could go both ways. However the best idea I heard was that it has to do with breaking faith with a partner. Adultery does not necessarily involve sex, but could simply refer to lying to your partner, or more so breaking an oath. One of the oaths in marriage is that we will remain sexually faithful to each other, and to go back on that not only makes you an oathbreaker, it also brings distrust into the marriage. That, I believe, is what adultery is (especially since it is the only commandment in the Ten Commandments that deals with oathbreaking).
I've really only got myself to blame. Like Piers Anthony himself, I really struggle to let a series go. Unicorn Point is the sixth book of seven, in what was supposed to be a trilogy. I'm not necessarily expecting to love these anymore, but I am determined to finish the series. As the previous novels have dealt with Stile and Blue, then their sons Mach and Bane. This one switches to the grandchildren: Flach and Nepe. Their parents (who we remember have promised to work for the bad citizens and adepts because their parents wouldn't bless their unions with a jelly-like alien and a unicorn) believe them to be borderline retarded as they aren't developing as expected.However, at the ripe old age of four, they are actually convinced by their grandparents (Stile and Blue) to go into hiding so that their powers (oh yes, they have secret powers, they can communicate with each other across the two realms whenever they want – nobody else has noticed though) can develop without being used by the bad citizens and adepts. At the age of four! At that tender age they are able to form complex political opinions, keep secrets from their own parents about their abilities, are smart enough to have always done so without getting noticed up until then, and to top it all are able to create and action their own, totally self-sufficient, escape plans and stay undetected for a number of years.As is the style these days (1989?) the chapters rotate through a number of PoV characters. Each taking turns to narrate the story. This would be fine if Anthony could just shake this habit of having each character reminisce extensively about the events of the previous chapters and books. It's massively annoying and he needs to stop it. This book could easily have been about half the size if Anthony just cut out all the repetition. And the weirdly creepy bestiality and rape obsessions.Finally, the book just stops. It doesn't really end. Although one side has technically won, (view spoiler)[the baddies (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about Unicorn Point (1990)?
The first three books in this series were really, very good. Unfortunately, as it continued, less focus and attention was placed on consistency and plotting and more on the bodily and sexual practices of the various characters. Also, the Game, which seemed innovative and meaningful to the story in the beginning, became a lot less intriguing as outcomes from it were used to decide all manner of important situations. Would such powerful people be inclined to utilize such a method for deciding disagreements? It felt more and more unlikely as the stakes got higher. Particularly in this book, I felt the whole thing was just an excuse to play inter-species capture-the-flag and have some main female characters get raped. The latter, especially, I really didn’t approve of. I am sorely tempted not to even read the last book in the series, but I’m such a completist, I can’t really help it. Hopefully it’s more of a return to what attracted me to the series in the first place.
—Emily
I haven't read this series in ages, and I forgot a lot of it. It might just be that I was in a cranky mood when I read it this time, but man. For such an engaging story, I really hate the way female characters come across. From an emphasis on their "vanity" that supersedes almost all of their other attributes, to a pretty intense rape scene in a game sequence, it's really not a fun series for the chicks. I also hate that the women are all lovely and pretty while many of the males are physically unattractive, but they end up together anyway. This wouldn't bug me so much if there were even one plain girl who ended up with a hot guy, but the constant emphasis on how women don't care so much about their mate's appearance while that's all men care about grates on my last nerve.SIGH. I hate when a good story or well executed tv show or movie or whatever pushes such blatent sexism. I don't expect a perfect artistic world of feminist values, but geez it gets old when all I see are annoying stereotypes. Maybe these books are just suffering by getting caught in my current run of media with lousy female portrayls, but I'm pretty sure I won't be re-reading the last book in this series for a while.
—Bridget
