Roc and a Hard Place

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Summary: I'm a Big Fan of Piers...
Review: ...and this book is up there with the best of 'em

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Summary: Its old now
Review: By this time Piers Anthony is losing the magic that made him so refreshing a read in the first place. There's hardly anything new and even the puns are getting dull. I think its time he moved on to other works. If he doesn't, then his readers will.

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Summary: usual insipid boring anthony storyline
Review: He's flogged Xanth to death now - surely Anthony must have enough money by now... what started out as witty, refreshing and GOOD is now a pile of S#@T. He should take a long break and get some of the old magic back instead of churning these books out like there's no tomorrow!

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Summary: A review of "roc and a hard place" by Alana Norton
Review: Hi my name is Alana Norton as you by now already know and I am going to tell you about this book. I think it is great! It's not the best I've read from Piers but It certantly rates high! It's about a demoness with a lot riding on her shoulders,and all for a baby! you'll under stand better if you read it. It involves some interesting new charecters and some of my favorite old ones like d.mentia and d.metria.If you think your getting into some book about aliens turn around and leave but if your interested in fantisy this is definetly the book for you! I also suggest Demons don't dream which is great. sorry to fans of Xanth this is not as pun filled as usuall but its worth the loss for the content.if you are a fan of xanth please E-mail me at [e-mail]:-) bye for now-alan

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Summary: Good Read!
Review: I have to admit I have read evey Xanth book I could get my hands on, and while this one was fun to read, and had some good new puns, I've liked others better.

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Summary: The absolute worst Xanth novel I have ever read
Review: I honestly stopped reading Xanth novels for a while after reading this novel, fearing that any other ones after it would be as bad.(Needlessly, as it turns out, as the series gets better afterwords) It reads like a mish-mash of jumbled ideas he had all thrown together, with plot as an afterthought. If you want to read a Xanth novel, read "Spell for Chameleon", "Ogre, Ogre", "Castle Roogna", "Zombie Lover", or even "Faun and Games". But not this.

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Summary: Pretty Good...older ones better
Review: I wish Piers would have stopped writing in the Xanth series, even though I continue to read the newer ones. Then I would have been spared the pain of having each successive book being slightly less amusing. It becomes so old after this book that I don't know why I bother anymore...BUT the older books in the Xanth series are delightful. Invest your time and money in those.

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Summary: What happened?
Review: It seems like Piers' Xanth series is getting worse by the book. Although Harpy Thyme was well conceived, Geis of the Gargoyle put him back in the slump that Demons Don't Dream left him in. This one is worse. The puns are getting old, which is bad, because Xanth is made out of puns. Metria's character is represented well, but that's about the only interesting part of this book. The rest of it is all inane drivel. It seems like he typed this book with a really bad hangover. He is also forgetting a lot of what made his older books, from Spell for Chameleon to Isle of View, so enchanting; thier realism. There were real relationships and tragedies and all that, and in this book, everything is so plastic and perfect. There are a lot of loose plot ends. I haven't read Yon Ill wind yet tho, and I've heard it's a lot better than this one. I hope so

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Summary: Roc and a Hard Plae is nice light-hearted comedy for anyone.
Review: Kevin Miniter [e-mail] Review of Roc and a Hard Place Roc and a Hard Place, by Piers Anthony, welcomes you to the magical land of Xanth. In this Xanth adventure, the reader experiences the world through main character, Demoness Metria. D. Metria, an extraordinary demoness, obtained half a soul, which she achieved when she married a mortal. In order to conceive a child, she has summoned the stork numerous times. The stork will not respond to her signals, because of a sin she committed long ago. D. Metria goes on a quest to get the stork's attention. Along with her comes her other personalities, Woe Betide, a small innocent girl, and D. Mentia, the insane, soulless half of D. Metria. To find the answer to her problem, D. Metria must travel the length and breadth of Xanth. Piers Anthony has created a real world that everyone can love because of the diversity of the characters and the different genres. D. Metria, in herself, is really three characters: the very ordinary wife D. Metria, the sweet and innocent Woe Betide, and the diabolically insane D. Mentia. At times, we fit into the roles of these personas. All the characters represent us in small ways. It is easy for the reader to become any of these characters. Over all there is one big genre, fantasy, but if you look deeper the reader can see adventure, romance, action, and a little suspense. Xanth is a land of beauty and color. Piers Anthony shows his readers a very real world by using vivid details and real problems. With the greatest of ease, Piers Anthony transports us to Xanth. In Xanth, the reader feels every thing the main character feels, that is the power of great details. Problems such as discrimination are examined. Centaurs discriminate against any centaur with a magic talent, because that makes them different. Xanth has two trademarks, puns and making the impossible possible. The thing that makes the Xanth series so entertaining is the huge array of puns. Puns in Xanth actually grow on trees, such as the fruit flies which are fruit that fly around with their wings. Names, things, and places are subject to being puns. D. Mentia and loan sharks who are sharks that will give you anything but for the price of an arm and a leg are examples of some of the puns. Puns make Xanth a light hearted comedy where the reader just stops and laughs. Xanth is a land where everything can and does happen. One such example is that Princess Ida has a planet revolving around her head. This planet contains everything that has and will happen. This bombardment of oddities makes for a book that never gets boring. Piers Anthony has made Xanth a home for his readers. Every Xanth adventure brings you home to see good friends and loved ones. The readers' friends age, marry, and have, just like in the real world. Old problems get solved. Xanth gives its readers a home that they really want to return to again and again. This adventure lets the reader see the future of Grey Murphy, Princess Ivy, Prince D. Vore, and Princess Nada Naga. The greatest thing is that none of the main characters really die they just fade away until they are needed again. Anthony's style does have its problems though. The onslaught of puns really begins to get tiresome. In less than a page, there are about thirty puns. The puns should be more stretched out and perhaps catch the reader by surprise. The whole story is bursting with other smaller stories. After a while all these sub plots begin to get cluttered and you can never keep the different plots straight. In spite of the problems in this series, in the end the good out weighs the bad. Xanth is a little known magical land that any reader can and will love. Xanth takes a little time to drag a reader in, but the time is well spent. In a world as mundane as our, we are lucky to have a great outlet into a land that makes us laugh and get scared, but always leaves us happy at the end.

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Summary: An AWESOME book!!
Review: Like all of the Xanth novels, this book is absolutely wonderful. I couldn't put it down!