Just seeing the puns makes me uncomfortable. Xanth :(

I really remember when I thought reading the Xanth books meant I was smart. There was so much to get! I really wish I could forget those days.

Hahahahhahahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahha.

Hahahhahahahhahaha.

Xanth! I still have fond memories of the first 5 books or so. I've been careful not to examine those memories too closely.

Just.

Whatever you do.

Don't read any of his other books.

Eeeeeech.

Rule of thumb, the first book in any Piers series is acceptable-to-pretty good (Spell for Chameleon, On a Pale Horse, Split Infinity). After that the suck is exponential.

Rinkworks pretty much nailed it:

The Xanth Series
By Piers Anthony
Ultra-Condensed by Samuel Stoddard and David J. Parker


Teenaged Main Character: Friends, let's go on a quest and have a pun time.

Gratuitous Love Interest: Ok.

Sidekick With A Body Composed of Parts From Twenty-Nine Distinct Species: Ok.

Boring Old Adult: Good luck! Don't forget your honor!

(Teenaged Main Character and friends go OUT and have a QUEST. Then they COME BACK.)

Teenaged Main Character: I've had enough adventure. Gratuitous Love Interest, let's get married and have kids so they can have adventures of their own.

Piers Anthony: I rule! I rule! Thanks to Julie Spofford of Burbank, Illinois, for the "quest" idea; Frederick Treepson of Malahoopee, North Carolina, for the "friends" idea; Susie Kellerman of Gunky, Louisiana, for the "good luck" line; and Norwood G. Dimble of New Spertle, Nevada, for the fun/pun pun.

Umm... Bink's talent was protection from harm by magic, not protection from magic, DUH! There was an interesting question as to the presence of a comma in there, as the finger he had chopped off as a child was later grown back; so that perhaps his 'talent' was "protection from harm, by magic." This spawned an interesting discussion one day on the school bus as to whether or not it would be a cool power to be able to move commas around [in the fabric of the universe? in the meta-text?] in such a fashion, and what you could do with such power.

That was perfect, Wolfdog.

Alas, now I must return to my unmagical job and my unmagical life in a decidedly unmagical world.

Ah gigawhat?! Ah Mundanity!

Wow, I wish I had ridden your bus, Eideteker. If I had tried to talk about a comma-moving magic talent on my bus, I would have been pummeled.

Hey, I liked the Xanth books when I was a kid. It was the closest thing to porn we could get in our Catholic grade school library.

agro: I went to a science and technology high school. All-nerd, all the time! (AD&D was, at least initially, the IN thing to do. I refused to play D&D then because I was not about to be mistaken for one of the "cool kids." Not this nerd!)

I liked the Xanth books when I was a kid.
Many people did. I did. Have you revisited them recently?
(Don't. Enjoy the memories.)

And I'm going to confess that I actually wrote a fan letter to Piers Anthony when I was in grade school. He actually wrote me back. I was surprised, because it was a personaly letter, not some photocopied sheet with a signature. He typed his reply on a manual (? analog? a normal) typewriter and answered some of my questions. So I still have a soft spot in my heart for him. He does take his younger fans seriously. At least he used to, I don't know if he still does that now.

Okay, I'm ready. Let the mocking begin! : )

..."personal" letter.