Rating: 
Summary: Fatal Flaw: Anthony Can't Kill the Evil Monster
Review: I enjoyed most of the book, but in the end wanted to fling it in the trash when the emotional climax never came. This book also suffers from the danger of all horror: That you identify more with the monster and actually enjoy seeing the victims tortured. In this instance, it means sexually torturing a child as well, often from the viewpoint of the monster. Child molesters might find this book highly enjoyable but many will find it unbearable. One wonders if the author is actually promoting sex with children or just exploiting it.A lousy ending can almost ruin an otherwise good book, and in this foray into horror, Piers Anthony acts like a hack writer. Whether horror or not, he forgot that you don't spend an entire novel building up a set of sex crimes, only to say in the end, "that's okay, sort of." Without giving away the specific end, I will say it does not give you the emotional release of a noble hero (or even an anti-hero) destroying evil in the end. Anthony's wimpy ending might have something to do with his anti-capital-punishment liberal politics: He can't bring himself to really kill evil!
Rating: 
Summary: Writing on the wall, anyone?
Review: I have read this book twice. I loved it both times. I am a Xanth fan and have been for a long time. Then my husband handed me a copy of Firefly. I was thinking at first that it would be just like Xanth, which it is NOT. I discovered this when I opened it up and started reading. I do not scare easily, but this book scared me. I went to bed for weeks afterwards scared to death. Every sexual thought I had made me freak out in terror. It was good, but I hope he doesn't write another. Piers Anthony is one of my favorite writers, and probably will. Right up there with Mercedes Lackey, Jennifer Roberson, and V.C. Andrews. Those people who gave this book a bad review missed the entire point of the novel. If you read the Arthur's notes (as anyone who reads Xanth should be in the habit of doing) you would have gotten the point. He is bringing into light a topic that often gets swept under the rug even today. I am glad that we live in a country where we can write about whatever we choose to write about.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the children or the intolerent
Review: I have read this book twice. I loved it both times. I am a Xanth fan and have been for a long time. Then my husband handed me a copy of Firefly. I was thinking at first that it would be just like Xanth, which it is NOT. I discovered this when I opened it up and started reading. I do not scare easily, but this book scared me. I went to bed for weeks afterwards scared to death. Every sexual thought I had made me freak out in terror. It was good, but I hope he doesn't write another. Piers Anthony is one of my favorite writers, and probably will. Right up there with Mercedes Lackey, Jennifer Roberson, and V.C. Andrews. Those people who gave this book a bad review missed the entire point of the novel. If you read the Arthur's notes (as anyone who reads Xanth should be in the habit of doing) you would have gotten the point. He is bringing into light a topic that often gets swept under the rug even today. I am glad that we live in a country where we can write about whatever we choose to write about.
Rating:
Summary: Not a horror story, but a great read
Review: I read this book about eight years ago when it first came out in paperback. I've read a few of Anthony's Xanth novels and enjoyed his imagination. This was no exception. Like another reviewer pointed out, this novel dealt with sexual abuse and the impact on small children. The scene where the little girl sits on the protagonist's lap still haunts me to this day. If you can find this book, pick it up and read it.
Rating:
Summary: I Loved it! Really really scary!
Review: I really loved this one. As a long-time fan of Koontz and King, as well as having grown up on the original monsters {Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman and Mummy}, I gotta say that, while I thoroughly enjoyed this one, I sincerely hope he never writes another one. This one was just too good, too scary. And I don't scare easily.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't overlook the point
Review: I think a lot of people will misinterperate this novel, and in the paperback edition the author has even gone to length in his ending note to dispell this. This novel is not truly a horror story, nor a sexual thriller. It is about reality. The reality of our world is that sexual abuse is all too common, in many shapes and forms. This books does not seek to condone any of this conduct, in fact the author goes to great lengths to not pass judgement on the issue. Rather, he tries to bring the issue to light, to mention the truth that society pretends does not exist. It looks at various forms of sexual and emotion abuse in a very candid manner, and examines how people and society cope with this. As he says in the authors note, these problems cannot be solved until it is openly admitted that there is a problem. Luckily, this message is wrapped up in a well written, entertaining story. While I found it a bit far fetched at times, it was still a very good read. I'm not sure if this can still be found anywhere, but I definately recommend it, provided you are not afraid of candid discussion of a real, ugly problem in society.
Rating:
Summary: An Intrigueing book
Review: I was reading through these reviews and I saw one line that interested me. "He can't bring himself to really kill evil!" Does everything boil down to good and evil? I think not. Besides, because an animal (which is all the fireply is) kills humans for food, is it evil? No, it is not. That is all I have to say on that issue. I thought the book was exceptionally well written, and erotic, not vulgar, vulgar implies needless immorality, and this was not immoral. There was excellent control of grammar and language among other positive attributes. I am sorry that I cna't get a hold of a copy of the book anymore. I think that the publishers gave into some of the above viewpoints of immorality and didn't desire to cause a stir.
Rating:
Summary: Parents Beware ... this one's for mature audiences!
Review: I've been a fan of Piers Anthony for years. I've enjoyed the Xanth, Incarnations of Immortality, Adept, and Modes series immensely. After reading Shade of the Tree and seeing another side of his work, I though that I'd enjoy Firefly. I did. However, unlike the other books that I've read of his, I did not save this one for my daughter! This one I burned. It's a great read for mature readers - haunting, edge-of-your seat thriller. But it's not one you'd want a child or early adolescent to run across. Don't let the seemingly harmless title fool you. The descriptions of child sex abuse are explicit.
Rating:
Summary: firefly
Review: If i could give this book a lower rating, I would. Never have i ever seen such blatant abuse of the exclamation point in all my years of reading. The dialogue is sophomoric and even the sex scenes are unfulfilling. (Did anyone ever finish the actual act without "spending their seed" before they could even make penetration?)
He tries to justify Nymphs sexual tendencies by stating, "We have problems enough with world hunger and injustice, without making more by punishing people for deviant but perhaps harmless behavior" Sure he's speaking of homosexual, bisexual relationships (which i do not consider to be deviant in any since of the word) but to classify child sexual abuse in the same context is an abhorrence.
All in all, i did not enjoy this book and since i believe in finishing what i start, upon completion of this travesty, i promptly tossed it in the garbage.
Rating: 
Summary: I Read This When I Was 12
Review: If I could've picked one book that would seriously expose a little girl to the world of lust and sexual abuse, this would be it. I read this book years ago (I'm 18 now) and it strongly affected my attitude towards sex while growing up. Even now I'm not sure if the affect was bad or good, so my review is mixed. On one hand, I emerged from the experience much more open-minded than I had been, on the other hand, I was robbed of a rational and clear-headed view of the possible sexual relations between people. One thing I do know.. my parents were Not Happy with my reading choice that had heretofore been unrestricted at the local library. Of the book itself, the sheer imaginative and erotic power of this novel is formidable. While I remember nothing of the writing style, I remember the ideas of the plot. The book, however, is definitely not for the easily shocked. I would recommend this book if you were looking for something sexually charged, but not if you were looking for a great novel. In any case, don't let your kids read it. Please.
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