The Xanth trilogy is a fictional book about magical powers and love. The stories intertwine with one another they have the ability to pull you in and make you believe that you are actually in the book as one of the characters. He has the ability to describe the scenery with out using a lot of words. Many time's I have caught my self reading four to five chapters with out realizing it. I read the Xanth trilogy in two weeks and I found that it just wasn't enough for me I ran out and bought Centaur aisle and the first book from Apprentice adept. I've read both and found that they are both fairly good books. The Xanth Trilogy is great for young adults and teenagers alike. The Xanth Trilogy is a fairly well written book and should be read by all at least if you enjoy magic.

This book is great! It is the first book I've read by Piers Anthony, and I plan to read many more. The first book,"Centure Aisle", introduces you to Dor the "young" magician, Smash the young Ogre, Princess Irene, who can grow plants imedietly on her command, Grundy the golem, he can talk to anything living. Their adventures take them all over Xanth and beyond. I was so into this book that I could not put it down for weekend,I have a tendency to read slow. Thanks to this book I look forward to reading instead of dreading it. The Charcters are colorful and well portrayed, I've recomended it to many and they love it and are hurrying to the book store to get more of the Xanth novels. Enjoy reading this as it will take you far into the reaches of Xanth and you will not want to come back to the real world.

Xanth is a magical world of fun and puns. It is a parallel world to Earth/ Mundania. Everything that happens has some double meaning, so always be on the lookout for words like "paradox" and "pair of docks." Everything living in Xanth is magical and everyone has a seperate talent. I began reading the Xanth series last summer, almost a year ago, and I've read about thirty since then. I recently read the first novel, so don't worry about reading the series in order, they all have there own storyline and you can catch on fairly quickly. hope that you enjoy the series as much as I have.

I tell you all, read the Apprentice Adept series. It is wonderful. P. Anthony created two worlds that are the same yet totally opposite in which a man, a serf, named Stile has to save his life with the help of a finely crafted, beautiful female robot named Sheen. Stile crosses from the science frame (Proton) to a world of magic (Phaze) in order to escape the threat on his life. However, in Phaze, the threat still follows him. Stile gains special magic powers in Phaze that help him and he also meets some new friends, a unicorn, a werewolf, a beautiful woman called the Lady Blue, and a vampire that helps him defeat the threat. But the problem is solved yet; Stile has to save Phaze and Proton from destruction. A wonderful Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel Anthony-style.

Beginning in the mundane setting of scientifically and socially advanced planet Proton, a serf named Stile makes his way to the top of the lowest social class: Serfdom. Stile's life soon becomes endangered. His only hope is a self-willed machine woman named Sheen who was sent to protect and love the little man. It doesn't stop there: Stile finds a gate way to another dimension where magic rules instead of science. Across this "curtain" Stile's life is still endangered, but he is a powerful magic-user called an Adept, the Blue Adept. As the Blue Adept, Stile Battles an unknown enemy that hunts him. Stile's friends: lovely Lady Blue, Neysa the Unicorn, and Kurrelgyre the Werewolf help him in the magic world called Phaze (similar to Piers' other magic realm Xanth) to protect him and find the anonymous conspirator. In Proton frame, Sheen and her self-willed robot friends aid Stile in protecting him and discovering the unknown menace. Later, Stile has to save Phaze and Proton from destruction. He has to battle Adept and Proton Citizens alike to save the worlds. A wonderful story full of adventure!

Another great series by Piers Anthony!! The way that he mixes modern thinking in with exciting fantasy is amazing. His vast imigination is so articulately translated to the page giving the feeling that he actually visited this place instead of created it.. and the plot thickens and keeps you hanging throughout each book. Bravo Mr. Anthony

This is really Piers Anthony's best book (although the Omnivore trilogy is great too.) A much different tone than his Xanth series. (Lacks the tongue in cheek playfulness that was fun for the first several Xanth books but began to cloy somewhere along the way.) A must read for Fantasy fans.

This book is extreamly entertaining, a real page turner. I would recomend this book for any fantasy or science fiction reader. If you've never read a post apocolypic type book, this is the book you want to read. It has everything: Love, courage, honor, etc.

I found this an amazing treatise on the value of a society based on honor. Two men, one circle. All decisions were final. Any dispute settled, any argument quelled. And then the novellas grow from there. Very often, one reads a book, but never actually feels anything for the characters involved. Sos changes all of that. Quite simply, the most amazing piece of literature I've read by Piers Anthony or any other author.

. . .this is a much stronger effort in the "Incarnations of Immortality" series than "Bearing an Hourglass".

While the first volume of this series involved Death, and the second Time, this volume turns to Fate -- in all three of her traditional aspects. Like the previous volume, the stage is set rather well in the opening chapters. Unlike the previous volume, the novel continues well! Of particular note: the relationship of the three women who share the single body of Fate; the recognized voluntary "temporariness" of their several assignments; the role that Fate has to play with relation to Free-Will (a concept Anthony seems to accept); and (on a rather humorous note) the visit of Fate and Nature to a temporary "hell" constructed for the sole purpose of convincing humanity that hell is, after all, a pretty nifty place. (The women were not fooled!)

The greatest weakness? The final battle between Fate and Satan. Totally unconvincing, even for fantasy.

Nevertheless, like "On a Pale Horse", this novel should be read by seminary students to give them fresh perspectives on the difficult questions which people ask in times of crisis.

An outstanding read.

This book, like all of Anthony's books, (especially the other books in the "Incarnations of Immortality" series), is one of the most incredible books I have ever read. Most books are good only for one, perhaps two, satisfying reads, but I picked this one up as new release many years ago, and am enthralled by it to this day. This book, nay this entire series, is an eye-opening and soul lifting expereience. Anthony's take on the Fates and all of the rest of "The Inacarnations of Immortality" is very uplifting. This story is so involved that you truly feel as though Anthony was prodigiously watching the entire ongoins proceed from some covert vantage point. It has an almost unconcertingly "real" feel to it for what I consider to be a very fantasical story line. It is an incredibly involving and emotional story of the role "The Fates" play in the unfolding of peoples lives and how, even though life can be painful, all of lifes trials are for a reason and for the best in the long run, (no matter the pain a character may endure).
I highly recomend this book to any person who truly loves science fiction, fantasy, or is seeking an enthralling introduction to the wonderful world of sci-fi/fantasy.
Like I noted in the ranking, I consider this to be a definite top ten, and that is including all of the rest of this series in that top ten listing.
Take my word for it folks, this is a great literarary investment, even if you have never before held an interest in this genre. I definitely suggest that you burn rubber to add this book to your personal library today.

This book was one of the best I have read in this series! With a Tangled Skien is a story on how each single life is a thread that is woven into a never ending tapestry, and how three women use their abilities to fend off outside evils who try to change the tapestry of life. Anyone who loves fantesy will love this story!!!

This book was just given to me, I never really gave it much thought to read it. I love Fantasy and not as much the Science Fiction genre. But the beginning story of the little boy named Hope and his family is quite a surprise. When a book can actually make me want to turn the page, but then not want to. The story is so gripping and tragic. I really enjoyed the book. I cant wait to get my hands on the rest.

I loved the Bio of a Space Tyrant series. Refugee was one of the most affecting/haunting books I've ever read. It is not for the weak stomached. There is much violence in this book, but it's not about the violence it's about the human will to survive. The first four books in this series, Refugee, Mercenary, Politican and Executive are excellent page turners. The fifth Statesman is good but not quite the same level, a little anticlimatic. But don't miss out by not reading at least the first four!

I think the book cover says it best...one day Hope Hubris would be the most powerful man in the solar system, but first he was a refugee.

Would love to hear from other Refugee fans or anyone who enjoyed the Space Tyrant series. I am conducting some research and would appreciate your input.

It was well worth the wait, a breath taking read. I hope he writes more historical fiction, his style is very good and the story will keep you up at night to see the end.

Most people who know of Piers Anthony are familiar with his light fantasy. I have read (and re-read) his "Incarnations of Immortality" series, which takes place in a version of our reality where magic holds equal status with science, and each major aspect of reality - death, time, fate, war, nature, good, evil - is run by an ex-mortal who has, by choice or chance, inherited the job of running that aspect.

"Tatham Mound" is not in this series, and it isn't easy to believe that it was even written by the same author. If you read the Author's Notes in "Tatham Mound" this apparent discrepancy gets explained. Piers Anthony had a deal with his publisher and editor that, for every so many high-volume-sales light fantasy books he wrote, he could write one completely of his own choosing. "Tatham Mound" is one of those "his own choosing" books, and is truly magnificent.

"Tatham Mound" is the story of a Native American man just before and during the Spanish discovery of the Americas. The young man is injured and cannot be a warrior; he instead becomes a traveler and earns his living by telling stories and relaying news from village to village, tribe to tribe, ranging from his home in Florida, north into New England, west into the Great Plains, south to Mexico, and eventually back home. Along the way, the reader learns how the great victory and conquest for the Spanish in the "New World" was a devastating tragedy for many Native Americans. Entire cultures were lost, while others were irrevocably altered and damaged. Some of this was deliberate and cruelly intentional, while much of it was due to ignorance, apathy, and tragic happenstance (e.g., the measles brought by the Spanish wiped out entire villages at a time).

While this book is often going to be catalogued as "historical fiction", which will drive away many readers who think that category too dry, "Tatham Mound" is a stunning and magical example of epic tragedy told by a master wordsmith. It is an outrage that this book is out of print, while the bookstands are cluttered with a significant amount of pulp that is best suited for kindling.

Tathem Mound is a wonderful book about a native Floridan, circa 1500. It includes many cutures in the area including Maya, Creek and Cherokee. It also tells some of the myths in the Native Oral Tradition beautifuly. It gives insight to what may have happened within a native family around the time when the conqestadors first landed. Due to sexual content, it may not be sutible to younger readers, but the myths make lovely bedtime stories.

This is the first Piers Anthony book I have read and it got me hooked!

Gloha is a half goblin and half harpy. She wonders if she'll find a half goblin half harpy man to love. So she goes to ask the Great Magician. Instead of giving her an answer the Magician sends her on a wild quest. She meets new friends and adventure is magically weaved throughout the pages! In the end she found friendship ... but could it be love? No, how could it possibly be love if he's her kind of creature???

A fun read, full of puns and adventure!!! Recommended to anyone who likes or loves a nice book to smile about in the end! Have fun! :-)

This book was recommended to me by a friend, and so I decided to check it out. I wasn't expecting it to be a spectacular read. boy, was I wrong! This is one of my favorite books of all time and I'm really eager to read all the other Xanth books. There a so many bad puns including a sar-chasm, Com Pewter, and a great deal of having secs (as in the abbreviation to seconds)! Harpy Thyme is a cute, funny, romantic book, and it's hilarious and fun to read! I'd recommend it to anyone!

If you love fantasy then get ready to be blown away. Action, romance, and mystery, are the only words you have to use to discribe this well written book. I did not like fantasy before I read this book, but now I realize that I was very wrong. So even if you dont think you like fantasy, just read this book and I bet you will change your mind.

I have to hand one thing to Piers Anthony: He managed to take a single plot element, the disappearance of Good Magician Humphrey, and make it last for five novels, barely advancing the search for the Good Magician in each book.

After her brother Dolph looked for the Good Magician Humphrey in the previous book and came back with two fiancees, Princess Ivy decides its her turn to go look for the Answer-providing Magician. After stealing back a magical mirror from a magical Com-Pewter, she invokes the Heaven Cent and ....

Enter Grey Murphy, stage left. Residing in magicless Mundania, he has managed to obtain a computer program that procures girlfriends for him. And its latest procurement? No prize if you guess Ivy. Following the by-now standard Xanth formula, they undertake a journey (back to Xanth) and fall in love along the way.

But it's a good journey. Piers Anthony made two very, very good decisions with this novel. First, he abandoned the juvenile tone that infested earlier and later entries in the Xanth series. Second, after umpty-ump Xanth novels made tangle trees, ladies-slipper bushes, and other magical marvels seem mundane, Anthony chose to approach much of novel through an outsider -- Grey Murphy.

Even as he confronts wonder after wonder, Grey Murphy refuses to believe in magic. A sailing mountain? Special effects. Invisible giant spouting a river of blood? Food coloring. A half-human, half-equine centaur? A robot. A hate spring? Ordinary water, backed by a strong superstition that it will make people hate each other.

Despite his disbelief in magic, Grey Murphy is nonetheless the typical Anthony protagonist, with a code of ethics that uniformly matches every other protagonist we've seen out there. Not that I mind ethical characters, mind you; it just gets tiresome when, after a dozen books, all the good guys display identical codes of ethics. Kind of ruins diversity of characters.

The plot continues, with Grey having to meet a certain challenge to successfully assert a claim to Ivy's hand in marriage, journey all over Mount Parnassus, and overcome a rather nasty oath that's been forced on him ... but things might just turn out well for this happy couple, right? Right??

If you would like to inflict the remainder of this series on yourself, this book is a very good jumping-on point. Grey Murphy's unfamiliarity with the land of magic makes him a good proxy for an unfamiliar reader, but the book's other flaws (uniform characters, linear plotting) keep it from a perfect rating.

Like any of Piers Anthony's Xanth books, this book is wonderful. If you haven't read a Xanth book before then you should start. This book was about Princess Ivy on a Quest. Her quest was to find the Good Magician Humfrey. She ends up in Mundania and meets Grey, an ordinary guy who needs her. He takes her back home and along the way they become engaged. Ivy's parents, the king and queen of Xanth, don't want their daughter to marry someone without a magic talent. This lends them to go off looking for a magic talent for Grey. There are so many scenes that are hilarious, like the scene where Grey and Ivy are captured by the goblins and they have to do some brave yet funny things(funny to me anyway). The twists in this story are great! (I think that the reading level of this book is around 5th or 6th grade level-I'm not good at judging this kind of thing) This is a great book and I think that anybody could read this book and love it!

The novel, Man From Mundania, by Piers Anthony is a great novel that follows the journey of a magical princess named Ivy and a ordinary man named Grey. The story takes place in Xanth, a land full of magic, where Ivy is searching for the missing Good Magician (Humphrey). The Magician Humphrey is a powerful man who's magical talent is to know the answer to any question and without his knowledge Xanth is going into chaos. Ivy's quest takes her to the dull land known as Mundania where she is joined by a man called Grey. Together, the couple resume the quest and uncover an evil machine's plot to take over Xanth. If they're to stop this they will need some serious help.

without a doubt the best book written by piers anthony as far as the depth of character and total telling of the story. i have read this book several times and will continue to read it again and again. while the masses may enjoy mr. anthony's other types of story (fantasy),myself being among them - this book is the one that will make the author stand out as one of the best writers of pure science fiction the world has known.

What planet are we from? Literally hundreds of books by PA here on Amazon and the greatest work, well certainly one of the greatest works, in SF is out of print! What is going on here? I am 45 years old and have been an avid reader since the age of 12. I've read most of the classic SF and even some schlock. This book ranks right up among the top 5 SF books and is a strong contender for the top slot. Think about this...I first read this book when I was in high school (1972) and I can still recall the absolute awe I felt as I read it. No other...make that few other...book(s) have the power to stick in your mind for that many years. If you only read ONE science fiction book (other than DUNE) in your life, pick up this one. You will not be disappointed. And a word to the publishers...BRING THIS BOOK BACK!

A few weeks ago during some sick time I read one of the more recent Xanth novels. It made me question why I used to read everything Anthony came out with. He is just bad, bland, and childish. Trying to understand why I used to love his work, I did a bit of internet research and found him constently listed as worst hack alive. Well, as bad as those Xanth books have gotten they would be just run of the mill to an author who didn't have Macroscope in him. It isn't that he is so bad, it is just that he is giving us THAT, when he is capable of THIS. I don't blame him for wanting to write things that will sell tons of copies to 13 year old girls, money is money, but how I wish, now that his bank-roll is secure, he would give some of us the benifit of the brilliance he has so long surpressed.
I wont go in to details about the plot, as I have seen many others here already have. I will say, however, that his characters in this book posses of level of development unseen in his current works. The dialog is much better, crediting the reader with the intelligence to infer meaning rather than having is spelled as if we were ALL 13 yaar old girls. He does not rely on excessive sexual innuendo to hold the readers attention ( neither childish as in Xanth where everyone wants to peek up skirts, sadistic as in Cathon, imaginitive as in the CLuster series, or disturbing as in Firefly ( where he tries to convince us that having sex with a pre-schooler is okay if she asks for it)). IN summation, this book has all the elements of great sciecne fiction without the literary (?) tricks he relies on today.
It is one of my favorites, but stay away from it if you like the stuff he writes today or you will never be satisfied again.

Piers Anthony has done it again with th Incarnations of Immortality series. I actually read this one second. The first one I read in this series was BEARING AN HOURGLASS.The second one in the series. But I have read ON A PALE HORSE, again and again. I really enjoyed it. It made my imagination run wild. I really liked the way the Piers Anthony represented Death or shall I say the physical figure of death. This book has romance, drama,and the ongoing battle of Good vs Evil. This book will forever linger in my mind and keep me reading it again and again. Worth the Money, in this writers opinion.

Picture a down on his luck guy who can't do anything right. He is so desperate he tries to kill himself and he screws that up and kills the "Grim Reaper" himself. To say he is freaked out is an understatement, but when he learns since he killed "Death" he must take over the job of collecting souls, he really is thrown. The other incarnations try to help him muddle through but Zane is different, with him on the job "Death" has compassion. All is not a bed of roses for the new "Death" it seems Satan has a vested interest in making some changes since the new guy is on the job. This is the first and best of the incarnations of immortality series. Look for book two "Bearing an Hourglass", it handles the job of "Time". Read book one and you are hooked for all seven

Piers Anthony is one of the most prolific authors of our time and he knows how to do it right every time. From the Xanth series (VERY punny), to the Apprentice Adept books to the Incarnations of Immortality series of which this is one, he continually comes up with fresh, original storylines and great characters. This book is (marginally) my favorite of all of his works, as I don't think I have ever seen the Grim Reaper portrayed more sympathetically or with more humor. What makes this book even more attractive is that it's a VERY easy read. The story just carries you along to the end and you just don't want to put it down. No big words, no extremely complex concepts to comprehend (wow! Alliteration!), just a good old-fashioned read. Most of the books that I read nowadays are very rich in prose and dialogue and plot and words that you have to look up in the dictionary. Piers doesn't inflict that on you, he just tells it like it is and with style. I like that. Makes a good break from my usual reading. I'm sure it will for you, too. Read it, it's good!