Rating: 
Summary: What can I say? All of my friends and I love it!
Review: I was out of things to read and one of my friends suggested I start the Xanth series. This book is one of my favorites now. I couldn't put it down and there was always a suprise waiting for me just a few pages ahead. They are a few..well..sick parts, but it's really all in fun. I recomend this book to anyone and everyone who has a good sense of humor. I loved this book and I can't wait to read the rest of them!
Rating: 
Summary: First admission into an infantine world
Review: I finally found this very first book all about Piers Anthony's amusing little fantasy playroom of Xanth for any young kid who could read. Unfortunately, I didn't get very far - especially after my unfortunate experience with the other Xanth book, "Ogre Ogre", which carried so many blatantly sexual references to the female characters as well as lecherous behavior from the males. This book here very obviously has the same thing. Too bad I'm female and WELL over the age limit. In fact, I was actually THE SAME AGE as the hero, who was about 25 at the time. So the double standards prevented me from taking a carefree romp into Uncle Piers' Fun-'N'-Pun Land. Oh, well - too many unwashed little boys and street punks casually hanging around it. They would probably grow donkey's ears in time.
Rating:
Summary: One of a kind
Review: This book is a one of a kind fantasy novel, there are few who can match its simplicity and its brilliance at the same time. In this book Peirs Anthony has created a realm of magic that exists unseen in our own world. The story revolves around a charcter (bink) who is searching for his magic talent so he wont be exiled to mundania. The characters are wonderfully enjoyable and usually have nothing to do with the plot, and pretty much only exists to accompany Bink (the main character) on his quest. This book is an exciting and worthy edition to anyones library. I warn you though that if you do read this you'll most likely be tempted to read the millions of sequels in this series. Of which only the first few are really good.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best fantasy novels ever
Review: I have been reading A Spell For Chameleon for the past couple days and I felt compelled to write what a marvelous book this is. Not only is this the my favorite Xanth novel, but one of my favorite novels ever. This book is brilliant, and the next 6 or so were good too. I don't even know where the puns get to be too much. I look back and think, "How did I get through those books). The brilliance of this book, the first book, got me to read the first 18 or so of the Xanth novels. I bought, Geis of the Gargoyle, or Harpy Thyme in hardcover (I can't remember which), read the first three chapters or so and quit because the puns got WAY too annoying. Some people may like them, but I feel they get in the way of good story telling. Maybe Mr. Anthony should write a seperate pun book and then get back to the Xanth series. A Spell for Chameleon is AWESOME, and is worth anyone's time. But unless you can put up with puns, stay away from the last 7 or so novels. I even felt like a pervert the more I got into the series because the topics became less adult, but more juvenile in nature. Yes, I mean it. I felt LESS an adult by reading all the panty talk. It got to be ridiculous, and I felt it was a waste of my time. Thank you for your time.
Rating: 
Summary: good for the right demographic....
Review: You tend to see polarized reactions to Xanth. People either love it, or hate it. I think thats because the Xanth series has a limited appeal (mainly to boys between the ages of 11 and 14). You see, I have been in both positions. In my pre and early teens I read just about every Xanth book there was, by my late teens I wouldn't get near any of Anthony's work. At the grand old age of 22 I can look back and see why I enjoyed it when I enjoyed it. Anthony does the entire sword and sorcery thing and adroitly mixes in lots of sexual tension and innuendo. The later is what makes it so appealing to teenage boys. Young guys swimming with hormones just eat it up. However, once you get out of the initial stages of adolesence, Xanth, with its puns and predictable plot line, becomes very boring. You'll gobble this book up, as well as its subsequent sequels, if you're in the aforementioned demographic, but probably won't like it if you aren't (although I have talked to a few women in their 20's and early 30's who like it). When it comes down to it Xanth is like one of those teeny-bopper rock groups, you really dig it for a short time, and then throw it away with disgust.
Rating:
Summary: Best of a Series
Review: This is not only the first of many pun filled books, but the best of the series. The others are fun filled and contain some very good writting. But this book has a well developed plot that is worth reading. Be careful though, for the series seems never ending. Xanth is a marvellous place to visit, espically if you are familiar with Florida. Everybody has a magical talent of lesser or greater degree, but our hero seems to lack one, and heads for exile and adventure. It is worth your time to pick up this book and follow our heros' adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This was an awesome book. I read and continued on to read more of the xanth Novels. They are excellent books and have an excellent storyline while still leaving room for imagination. I also reccomend the Xanth videogame (out of print)
Rating:
Summary: B-rate fiction
Review: Too many monsters that have little meaning to the plot, and stereotypes galore really clutter up this little book, making it 300+ pages when it should have been 200. The prose is fair to lame, the characters flat, and the issues, well, not riveting. The land of Xanth is definitely the most compelling aspect of this book, but the story telling leaves it with little to do.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! A fantasy novel adults can enjoy!
Review: I tried reading this book when I was about 10 years old. It didn't capture my attention then, and I put it aside. I tried it again now, on a whim, and boy did I like it! I believe it's more angled towards adults than towards children, and I appreciated it more now.The story is very entertaining with some impressive plot twists. Every character had its own set of adult fears to face, which is what I think made this book interesting. Although this book seemed based more on human emotion than anything else (Trent's insecurities and Bink's disappointment with the life he knew) it had some neat fantasy/scifi references I appreciated (did this book take place in Earth's future? Where did the Mundanes come from?)In short, I hadn't read a fantasy novel for well over a decade, but Piers Anthony has stirred my interest in them again.
Rating:
Summary: Should be a classic
Review: What makes Xanth so wonderful is that even though it's magic, and even though anything can happen, it is written in such a way that we can see the experiences of the characters happening to us. We can put ourselves into the story. When we can put ourselves into the story, we want to find out what happens to us, quite naturally. I found myself empathizing with Bink, repsecting Trent and Humfrey, pitying Iris for her narrow-mindedness, etc. The world is fantasy, but the characters are QUITE real. Things happen in the story, but Piers makes sure that everything that happens in the story serves to tell us more about the characters. Piers seems to have written this book as if he were convinced it took place on Earth. He was able to explain the nuances of the fantasy world through the thoughts and reflections of realistic characters, thus making the world more realisitc and less pointlessly silly, as it seems in later novels. But this is a classic; I couldn't put it down. It was both entertaining and rich in insight. Castle Roogna and Ogre, Ogre were that way too. Great adventures, great theme. Must read.
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