Rating: 
Summary: Very impressive Xanth book
Review: "Crewel Lye" is the eighth book in Piers Anthony's "Xanth" series, and in some ways, it is the most impressive of the first nine. Most of the Xanth books take place in a reasonably well-define timeline that we might call the "present." This actually spans quite a long time, since the main character in Xanth-1, Bink, is 25 years in that book, but around 60 in Xanth-9. But "Crewel Lye" takes place **400** years earlier, so it doesn't have the benefit of a lot of the usual Xanthian touches that prop up other books. (By Xanthian touches, I mean things like finding out how to get into Good Magician Humfrey's castle so as to get an Answer.)Anyway, in the "present" time, Jordan is a ghost, which means that he died with unresolved issues. When little Princess Ivy asks what happened, he tells her the story of his demise. Thus, most of the book is actually narrated in the first-person, which is different from the other Xanth books, and a nice change of pace. First-person narration forces a writer to be disciplined about observations, thoughts, etc., because only those of one person can be related to the reader. This is important for this book, because the "cruel lie" that does Jordan in actually has a different interpretation, one that Jordan doesn't realize, but the reader can figure out. It makes for a very clever ending, even if it becomes somewhat obvious. Jordan's story -- he is a barbarian who wants an adventure -- is full of action and violence, some intrigue, some romance (or just plain offscreen sex), and even though I was concerned that I wouldn't get to read about the usual Xanth characters, I was engrossed in it.
Rating:
Summary: Very impressive Xanth book
Review: "Crewel Lye" is the eighth book in Piers Anthony's "Xanth" series, and in some ways, it is the most impressive of the first nine. Most of the Xanth books take place in a reasonably well-define timeline that we might call the "present." This actually spans quite a long time, since the main character in Xanth-1, Bink, is 25 years in that book, but around 60 in Xanth-9. But "Crewel Lye" takes place **400** years earlier, so it doesn't have the benefit of a lot of the usual Xanthian touches that prop up other books. (By Xanthian touches, I mean things like finding out how to get into Good Magician Humfrey's castle so as to get an Answer.) Anyway, in the "present" time, Jordan is a ghost, which means that he died with unresolved issues. When little Princess Ivy asks what happened, he tells her the story of his demise. Thus, most of the book is actually narrated in the first-person, which is different from the other Xanth books, and a nice change of pace. First-person narration forces a writer to be disciplined about observations, thoughts, etc., because only those of one person can be related to the reader. This is important for this book, because the "cruel lie" that does Jordan in actually has a different interpretation, one that Jordan doesn't realize, but the reader can figure out. It makes for a very clever ending, even if it becomes somewhat obvious. Jordan's story -- he is a barbarian who wants an adventure -- is full of action and violence, some intrigue, some romance (or just plain offscreen sex), and even though I was concerned that I wouldn't get to read about the usual Xanth characters, I was engrossed in it.
Rating: 
Summary: A grand adventure
Review: After devouring Mr. Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series, this was the first Xanth book I tried and I enjoyed it immensely. Now a diehard Xanth fan, this remains among my favorites of the series. Jonathan, the hapless barbarian lured into an adventure more than he expected, is a great hero, and his outlook is fun and different than other heros. Lots of puns, even in the title, which is good for some, maybe not for others.
Rating:
Summary: A grand adventure
Review: After devouring Mr. Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series, this was the first Xanth book I tried and I enjoyed it immensely. Now a diehard Xanth fan, this remains among my favorites of the series. Jonathan, the hapless barbarian lured into an adventure more than he expected, is a great hero, and his outlook is fun and different than other heros. Lots of puns, even in the title, which is good for some, maybe not for others.
Rating:
Summary: I think that its a good book
Review: Anthony's works are all easy to read and the world of xanth draws you in automatically; I guess its the bookworm's equivalent of junk food--not nourishing for your literary education but satisfying nothenless. This book was one of the "better" books of Xanth--although i have yet to find one that didn't leave me rolling on the floor and lauging. Its fun reading about a barbarian...they aren't the typical main chracter after all and its interesting how Piers Anthony manages to make something fearsome seem silly and human.
Rating:
Summary: A crazy adventure
Review: Crewel Lye is about the journey of Jordan the Barbarian. Like all Xanth books, this one is comical and full of puns. Since Jordan's talent is full regeneration, it adds an interesting viewpoint through the eyes of a person who doesn't care if he gets killed(he'll just come back). I think that anyone who reads the Xanth series should definitely read this one.
Rating:
Summary: A crazy adventure
Review: Crewel Lye is about the journey of Jordan the Barbarian. Like all Xanth books, this one is comical and full of puns. Since Jordan's talent is full regeneration, it adds an interesting viewpoint through the eyes of a person who doesn't care if he gets killed(he'll just come back). I think that anyone who reads the Xanth series should definitely read this one.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, but not as good as the others in the Xanth series
Review: Crewel Lye is story of the adventures of a Barbarian, Jordan, who has a magic talent, he is a quick and very, very good healer. Since barbarians normally don't have magic, this could be disturbing. He falls in love with a beautiful women, who appears to love him too. But love, and magic, aren't always what they appear to be. Although, sometimes, they are. With some competing Magicians involved Jordan's life becomes a little bit complicated. While, I loved the early Xanth books and I still strongly recommend them, Crewel Lye is not up to the standards of the earlier books. It is still an enjoyable read, it is just not as good as the earlier stories. In particular, I got tired of Jordan referring to the rules of Barbarians. It wasn't very funny and it dragged on the story. The first Xanth stories had more creativity. Crewel Lye seems like a copy of Castle Roogna. The characters are different, but the story is almost the same, including the ending. There are enough changes along the way to make it interesting, but not as good as the first few books of this series. I wouldn't recommend it, but I don't warn you off either. It's okay, which is better then alot of books.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun, but a little disappointing.
Review: Crewel Lye is story of the adventures of a Barbarian, Jordan, who has a magic talent, he is a quick and very, very good healer. Since barbarians normally don't have magic, this could be disturbing. He falls in love with a beautiful women, who appears to love him too. But love, and magic, aren't always what they appear to be. Although, sometimes, they are. With some competing Magicians involved Jordan's life becomes a little bit complicated. While, I loved the early Xanth books and I still strongly recommend them, Crewel Lye is not up to the standards of the earlier books. It is still an enjoyable read, it is just not as good as the earlier stories. In particular, I got tired of Jordan referring to the rules of Barbarians. It wasn't very funny and it dragged on the story. The first Xanth stories had more creativity. Crewel Lye seems like a copy of Castle Roogna. The characters are different, but the story is almost the same, including the ending. There are enough changes along the way to make it interesting, but not as good as the first few books of this series. I wouldn't recommend it, but I don't warn you off either. It's okay, which is better then alot of books.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, but not as good as the others in the Xanth series
Review: Crewel Lye was very well written, but it lacked the ability to keep me very interested like earlier in the series. I think the one thing that I didn't like about the story was that Jordan was telling a story the whole time and it was mostly fighting. If it weren't for the ending that was really well written, I would have probably given it less stars. It was a good book, but I don't think that it fit in with the rest of the Xanth books very well.
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