Xanth
Webpages concerning "Xanth"
|
The contents has been generating using technology developed by scientec.
Wikipedia-Article "Xanth"
Xanth is a fantasy world created by author Piers Anthony for his highly popular series of novels.
The series is noted for its punny and somewhat humorous style. The author's habit of using (and crediting) reader notions is another factor in the popularity of the series, as it includes readers in the creation process. Anthony has gone so far as to create a popular character based on a young reader.
Contents |
History
The name Xanth is in itself a pun, which matches the playful tone of the books. Xanth is both derived from the prefix xantho- for yellow, as well as the sound made by combining the last part of the author's first name and the first part of the author's last name ("Pier-XANTH-Ony"). Anthony has said that the coincidence of the word Xanth rhyming with a portion of his name was unintentional, and in fact he realized only years after the series was first created.
Anthony commonly states that he originally intended for Xanth to be a trilogy, and after the wild success of the first three books decided to expand the series to nine books. An extremely devoted fan base persuaded the author to continue writing the series, which is now open-ended. He has since declared, in the Author's Notes of Cube Route, that this 27th book ended the first "trilogy" and that he was beginning a new one with the 28th, punning on the fact that 27 is the third power of three, i.e. three cubed.
The world of Xanth
Each human character in Xanth is born with a unique magical ability. These abilities never repeat in individuals throughout the entire history of Xanth. Though many abilities are limited in scope, the series focuses on individuals with "Magician" caliber abilities (one of the criteria for serving as King of Xanth).
Xanth has a connection with the normal world, which is referred to as "Mundania". Xanth was colonized in several waves by groups of invaders and nomads. The series ties these colonization events to actual historical events on Earth, most notably the punic wars.
In addition to the human characters, Xanth is populated by centaurs, naga, merfolk, golems, dragons, demons, harpys, nymphs, zombies, gargoyles, ogres and all other manner of fictional beasts. Though they were initially introduced as obstacles to the human characters, they have become main characters in the later books of the series. Plants may bear fruit of all descriptions (pie trees and shoe trees are common) or they may be carnivorous. Travel in Xanth is risky.
Geographically, Xanth resembles the state of Florida. One major exception to this is the Gap Chasm, an enormous canyon a mile wide which completely bisects the country, though the position of the Chasm could technically correspond with the cross Florida barge canal, which similar to the chasm is generally forgotten except for those who stumble on it. The Gap is guarded by a resident dragon and is crossed by means of treacherous bridges. Many of Xanth's other geographical features are puns on those of Florida (for example, Lake Ogre-chobie and the Kiss-Mee River). The Florida Keys also exist, though they are, in Xanth, actual keys. Other punnish features include the Isle of View (say it out loud) and the Centaur Aisle created by a magician from the Centaur Isle. The moon is close enough that flying creatures may land there; one side is sweet and honeyish, the other has curdled and become cheese,because it saw what was happening on earth and Xanth, where the night mares who deliver nightmares live.
The Adult Conspiracy is a conspiracy in Xanth. The Adult Conspiracy is an attempt by all adults to prevent juveniles from gaining knowledge about words and concepts, especially about sexuality, which are considered inappropriate for juveniles to know. As many things in Xanth this is cross to the sensible idea of sex education.
See the List of Xanth characters for more about the inhabitants of Xanth.
Criticisms
Xanth is often criticized for its abundant use of puns. Some readers also feel that the original novel was a good fantasy book on its own, but that the series has further degraded as it became more punny. Some have also criticized the series for a repetitive and formulaic nature after the initial nine books. Many critics believe the series has misogynistic overtones (despite this, the majority of readers are female). Still, the devoted fanbase of the series continue to buy the books en masse.
Book List
- A Spell for Chameleon (1977)
- The Source of Magic (1979)
- Castle Roogna (1979)
- Centaur Aisle (1981)
- Ogre, Ogre (1982)
- Night Mare (1983)
- Dragon on a Pedestal (1984)
- Crewel Lye: A Caustic Yarn (1985)
- Golem in the Gears (1986)
- Vale of the Vole (1987)
- Heaven Cent (1988)
- Man from Mundania (1989)
- Isle of View (1990)
- Question Quest (1991)
- The Color of Her Panties (1992)
- Demons Don't Dream (1993)
- Harpy Thyme (1994)
- Geis of the Gargoyle (1995)
- Roc and a Hard Place (1996)
- Yon Ill Wind (1997)
- Faun & Games (1997)
- Zombie Lover (1998)
- Xone of Contention (1999)
- The Dastard (2000)
- Swell Foop (2001)
- Up in a Heaval (2002)
- Cube Route (2003)
- Currant Events (2004)
- Pet Peeve (2005)
- Stork Naked (writing in progress)
- Air Apparent (proposed)
Also related
- Encyclopedia of Xanth (1987, by Jody Lynn Nye) a Crossroads Adventure role-playing game book
- Piers Anthony's Visual Guide to Xanth (1989, with Jody Lynn Nye)
- Letters To Jenny (1993, nonfiction)
- Companions of Xanth (a computer game described in and following the plot of Demons Don't Dream)
Reference
External links
- Xanth series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- The Xanth Section of Hipiers.com
- Extensive 2005 Interview with Piers Anthony on the creation of Xanth
- I was a captive of Xanth a review of the long-lived series from Salon (December 7, 2000)
- Xanthians Online the largest Xanth fan-based community and website