I started rereading Piers Anthony in 2014, wanting to revisit the books I enjoyed as a teen. I reread Bio of an Ogre (BiOgre), stopping to read works mentioned, and documenting details of chronological writing order. This led to my trying to find out what was written next. I also started taking notes from about-the-author blurbs, then author's notes, discerning details about the writing of his books and the particular edition that I read.
I began this web page to share my notes but keep my writing out of the adware sphere of anti-social media. Printed short works are also noted as they are mentioned in his books and newsletters, so may not be complete, but the books are. A second page will carry on from where BiOgre ends.
It is observed from this period, especially in reading his interactions with fanzines, that Anthony had a remarkably comprehensive view and awareness of all that the science fiction market had offered. It's not clear what the original title was, if any, but Anthony compiled an index during his writing year of all science fiction magazine publications, nearly all of which he owned, at least up to that point. The book was finished, sold, then never published. Even worse, the publisher instead compiled his own work and published it instead. It is one of two book length works of this period that was utterly abandoned. Shorter works are mentioned in Anthonology, and The Unstilled World in Sos the Rope.
See the BiOgre bibliography, or the one found in Killobyte, and that found at PiersWeb, which is bound to be the most current, to get a listing of Anthony's books collected by series.
This article is intended to be read from top to bottom, enabling a kind of chronoligical reading order. This table of contents provides links for reference.
The following early published stories preceed Anthony's first published book, Chthon. He started writing in 1954, took a professional writing year from October 1962 to October 1963, then permanently retired to writing in June 1966.
Possible to Ruewas sold November 1962. I read
Possible to Ruein Anthonology which has a description of its sale. See a similar description in BiOgre, plus a description of the story.
Possible to Rueis a dialog between father and son, and a play on words with fantasy implications.
Quinquepedalianin Anthonology. The hunt for a massive, if not seemingly impossible, beast on an alien planet leaves three hunters to be the hunted.
Devawas written in 1958. The author described it in the Beabohema 3 fanzine, as
…about a creature that formed itself into a human girl so she could give children to the man she loved. She could too—except that the man turned out to be impotent, and it was all for nothing.The manuscripts and fanzine have been donated to the Syracuse University Piers Anthony special collections. MIT Archive Space also has a copy.
Sheolin Analog Science Fact - Science Fiction, September 1964, a curiously 8.5x11 inch magazine. A collaboration with H. James Hotaling, the story unfolds without explaining itself, a kind of mystery to understand the events until the reveal at the end. Piedmont seems to be some sort of mailman on planet Sheol, but he has a dog for protection and tracking down
customers, both good and ill, which demonstrates early that something is unusual with the setting.
Encounterin Anthonology. Abe lives in a kind of post-apocalyptic city, as the story seems to imply, safe in his apartment, but he decides to wander out and finds a tall wall, then discovers as he paces it a large cat doing the same. Why is there a wall around the city, and will he survive the encounter with this wild cat?
Phogin Anthonology. On the planet Phoebus, Mat is chased by the intelligent, self-aware, deadly Phog.
dismal piece, and revised it. Ultimately, she didn't like the ending, made changes and added a subplot. She's the one who sold it to Analog, and apparently both were happy with the result.
The Ghost Galaxiesin Anthonology. Was this one of the stories written in 1958? Originally titled
Ghost(as was the novel expanded from it), a ghost that interacts with, and haunts, the crew as the Meg II goes beyond the speed of light, oriented by the beacon that keeps them from being lost in space and time. Their mission is to discover what happened to the Meg I that was lost.
Within The Cloudin Anthonology. Originally titled
Cloud, a tourist's wife encounters a cloud that speaks to her, and her husband isn't buying it.
I read the Xlibris hardcover, published in 2000. This is the fifth
edition, and has a new author's note explaining some of the difficult
parts of the novel, as well as its difficult publishing history. The
first edition had a brief Author's Note
, published July 1967 by
Ballantine. The second left off the author's note. The third edition
not only left off the author's note, but mangled some of the text. The
fourth edition attempts to restore the text of the third edition. It
also appears that the Xlibris copy I read is an early print of the fifth
edition with a ton of errors, later corrected by Xlibris (according to
the author in private correspondence with me). I got the Amazon ebook
from Open Road Media to identify the corrections (and perhaps later
changes) for reference. I guess that would make it the sixth edition,
with the author's note of the Xlibris fifth edition. As well as the
first and fifth edition author's notes, under the chapter Novels
,
BiOgre has an excellent
description of the organization of the book.
Both the Xlibris author's note, and
BiOgre, claim the
novel was started in 1958, the former stating a significant
chunk
was written in two weeks of that year. The working
title was For Love of Malice in 1958, and later The
Minionette. Chthon was finished in June 1965, sold 27 June
1966 (see the Macroscope, Mundania
Press edition author's note), and nominated for a Hugo and Nebula.
See the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
(isfdb).
Chthon is a prison story about a man condemned, and imprisoned,
for falling in love with a woman that finds pleasure in torture. There's
more to the story, of course. The novel is notorious for its intricate
flashbacks and flashforwards, generally: Aton's falling in love with
the minionette, Aton's imprisonment, and Aton after prison and a
galactic threat. It is inspired by the song Remember Me
by
Frankie Laine, though Anthony remembered it as The Girl in the
Wood
(which it seems to have been commonly called). The Xlibris
author's note indicates this was heard once in 1956, but the older
BiOgre says 1957. In
the author's note to Geis of the
Gargoyle he comments about this discovery, as well as
How Precious Was That While.
Chthon has a sequel: Phthor.
Prostho Plusas the first chapter in the book Prostho Plus. Dillingham is a typical middle aged dentist until an alien appears in his next patient chair, desperate for dental help.
In the Jaws of Dangerin Anthonology. Originally titled The Value of Man, this is the sequel to the story
Prostho Plus. Having been conscripted into teaching alien dentists, Dillingham finds himself requested to assist an unusual patient: the muck-de-muck of Gleep.
Beak by Beakin Anthonology. A red parakeet comes to visit, wanting to come in the house, and is introduced to the other parakeets. Meanwhile, the newspaper has an article about a space craft flying in orbit, then the radio.
The Alien Rulerswas originally titled
A Piece of Cake, later expanded as a novel of the same name, but published under the title Triple Detente. Both titles story titles fit the novellete, but
The Alien Rulersis perhaps better for selling a magazine front page: I prefer Anthony's title here. The novel title focuses on the expansion. The story drops you into the middle of the action, while the novel sets up the background first, presents the same basic story found here, then elaborates on the implications. Dick Henrys is a revolutionary, intent on killing Bitool, his Kazo overlord for his local region on Earth, but he is unable to do so, leading to an unraveling of the delicate balance of power.
Universityin Anthonology, This is the fifth Dillingham story (the third and fourth were not published until Prostho Plus), originally titled
University. The Anthonology author's introduction complained about the retitling, but I can actually see the motivation: the single title doesn't have as much selling value.
Getting into Universitymight have been more accurate. See the description in BiOgre.
The first novel, and second story, that Anthony ever wrote (neither of which was published) is The Unistilled World, written as a creative writing degree bachelor's thesis for Goddard college, finished in 1956. The title was Battle, but Professor W. Hamlin suggested The Unstilled World. It was submitted to Astounding Science Fiction (the magazine title changed to Analog Science Fiction and Fact in 1960) and Campbell rejected it. The typescript is in box 27 of the Piers Anthony Papers at Syracuse University.
Of all Anthony's books, Sos the Rope may be my favorite,
based on the chapter Battle
of Unstilled World, (see the
Possible to Rue
note in
Anthonology), and the first of
his works that I read. Sos the Rope was written during
the writing of Omnivore, and
after The Ring. When the expansion
of Omnivore was going slow,
being more intellectual, Sos the Rope was used to
keep the writing momentum going. According to Appendix F in
BiOgre, this approach
became part of how he avoided writer's block. Also see the chapter
Penny
.
Sos the Rope was first published as a three part serial In The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July-September 1968, then in October 1968 by Pyramid Books as a paperback novel. I read the Avon, January 1978 Battle Circle paperback. Sos the Rope won the Pyramid Fantasy and Science Fiction Award in 1967 (noted on the back cover of the Ballantine book club edition hardcover of Omnivore).
Sos the Rope is a classic dystopian, post-nuclear apocalyptic story of the future, focused around the idea of the battle circle as the arbiter of justice and dispute resolution in a world where there is no government. This story follows Sos as he gets wrapped up in the vision of a mentor to unify the remnant tribes of humanity.
This is an idea of Anthony's, proposed to Margroff who wrote the first draft, Anthony doing revisions. Sold in late 1967 and published in October 1968 by Ace as a mass market paperback. I read the March 2002 Xlibris softcover, with (new?) author's note. The Ring was written in tandem with Hasan.
Geoffrey Font Jr. is convicted of a crime, and sentenced to a decade with the ring, a good behavior enforcer implanted in his brain. However, when Jeff must defend himself and others, his ultra-conscience ring implant keeps him from doing the right thing because the right thing is a bad thing.
The Ring is a fun, suspenseful science fiction mystery. It's the first of the books I read (and that was written) with Robert E. Margroff (Rem), and remains my favorite of Anthony's collaborations with Rem.
Omnivore was originally a short story, first marketed (unsuccessfully) in 1961, but later expanded as a novel. The novel was sold in 1967 and published December 1968. Though started before Sos the Rope, it was finished after.
I read the July 1969 Ballantine hardcover, a book club edition. It is the oldest Anthony edition in my collection. There is no author's note, though there is an author's bio-blurb on the back cover with a photo of a very young Piers. The front cover is eerie, but heavily influenced my image of the characters and landscape. It looks like an overexposed photo, but well done for the time. This was the edition that caused the fight with Ballantine, described in his autobiographies, the remarketing of Paleo (Orn), and the word-of-mouth blacklist Anthony subsequently encountered. He was not to return to Ballantine until approached by Judy-Lyn del Rey.
Omnivore is surreal with its intelligent, fast moving fungi-based creatures, and engrossing with its character development and interaction. Though dated in the mid-21st century, it is excellent science fiction for the time it was written. The idea of intelligent fungi is perhaps not very realistic, but it captures the imagination reading the book. The real strength and focus of Omnivore is the scientist Aquilon (the omnivore), and her relationship with Veg (the vegetarian, the brawn of the group), Cal (the carnivore, the brains of the group), and the mantas, the intelligent fungi they encounter. The sequel is Orn.
Rite of Passage.
Personal Experience.
The Life of the Stripein Anthonology. When Master Sargeant Morton begins losing his ranks to other enlisted, he ultimately loses all but one (PFC) of his stripes, which he curses. When it is lost, he commits suicide. From there, those who obtain his PFC stripe begin finding things go wrong for them.
The Contestdiscusses the stories
E van S(published in Alien Plot) and
Deva, as submitted to the NFFF 1963 contest.
…the point is that while most good hardcover SF filters down to paper eventually, very little good paperback SF filters up to cloth. Since libraries and reviewers tend to be partial to hardcover, a sizeable audience is alienated.
SFwas
sfin the print: I wonder if that was Anthony or the editor, as the lowercase acronym is used elsewhere in the magazine (suggesting the editor). The fanzine includes a letter criticizing the Nebula award.
Xanthe's Heart(500 words?).
oops!at the end. Anthony never lived in New York, so who lived in the Bronx that got fan mail for Piers (unless it was a publisher of his)? Also a letter that has Anthony's typical stream-of-conscious writing on hackery, authors, stories, and magazines.
the Nacre story, and that
there were several versions. As to editors, the one story that Ferman at F&SF bounced of mine was returned in expected time, and had a hand jotted note encourging me to continue.
None But Iin Prostho Plus as chapter six, the sixth Dillingham story. An archaeological excavation in another solar system has discovered a thousands year-old robot with a tooth ache, requiring Dillingham's expertise.
Macroscope was started October 1967, finished August 1968, and published October 1969. I read the Mundania Press, November 2003 hardcover edition with cover art by Ariana Overton. Macroscope was written after the expansion of Omnivore as a novel. BiOgre lists Macroscope as the 8th written novel, while the author's note to With a Tangled Skein lists it as the 9th written and fifth published. At one point, Anthony noted that his published book count order might be off-by-one. I suspect that BiOgre has the correct original writing order, being published later. Was the off-by-one problem due to counting (or not) Unstilled World and writing order (first draft?) not publication order?
This is the kind of writing I like: speculative science fiction (Anthony calls it science fantasy) with good hard science behind it, an awareness of human foibles, ideas, prejudices, and intellectual investment. It's also fascinating seeing Anthony's vision of Neptune before some of the data we have now was available, with imagery that reminds me of Jupiter's description in the Bio of a Space Tyrant series.
Another printing era begins with Mundania Press, which in a way takes over from Tafford, but also from Xlibris. After the fight with Ballantine, Anthony became picky with publishers until he resorted to small presses and self publishing. The author's note is dated 22 October 2003.
Babblenarrative, but non-fiction. Anthony relates details of Army service including some that wasn't to make it into his autobiography, couching the story as a science fiction space service.
first three "Nacre" sequences in the novelthat comprised the original novellette.
Not That Good, I read
The Whole Truthin Anthonology. A lonely astronaut on a long term mission encounters a woman during a space walk. She seems real enough, but he still questions her reality and his imagination: her presence is too convenient to assuage his loneliness.
Hasan was sold in 1969 to Fantastic Stories, a 70,000 word novel printed in two parts in December 1969 and February 1970. The story of this sale can be found in Science Fiction Review 33. In the BiOgre Appendix G bibliography, Anthony placed Hasan by the 1977 date as the last of his stand-alone novels. The bibliography was by first American publication, but Fantastic Stories was a British publication.
I read the elegant Borgo Press trade paperback edition, printed in October 1977, with an Afterword by Richard Matthews, and cover design by Judy Cloyd. I understand there was a limited release hardcover from Borgo Press as well. The illustrations are by George Barr.
Hasan was written after the science fiction revision of Pretender. The Ring was apparently written along with Hasan. See both autobiographies and the author's note in the Mundania Press edition of Macroscope.
Hasan masquerades as historical fiction, bringing to life the Arabian Nights tale of Hasan and the bird maiden. I did not expect to enjoy this tale as much as I did.
road to pornography was paved with good intentions. It is noted that 20,000 words of a novel was written for Essex before it folded. This is a detail I didn't find elsewhere, mainly Anthony's autobiographies where that's discussed, though a more detailed description in the Mundania Press author's note of Pornucopia gives enough that the attentive reader could deduce it. That author's note refers to Essex House.
Minnie's Crew, I read
The Bridgein Anthonology. Fowler has been given a kind of prostitute, but she's only nine inches tall. Was she a dream, but then why wouldn't he dream of a normal sized woman?
Sold 1969 through an agent of Margroff's, and published June 1970. I read the Xlibris softcover, with 2002 copyright. Originally titled The Rumpleskin Brat, The E. S. P. Worm was written after Macroscope, originally by Margroff from a challenge from Anthony, and revised by Anthony to make it more saleable.
A difficult, alien child, Qumax runs away from his home planet. Harold Prodkins has been selected to represent Earth and find the worm-like creature and return him to his parents and planet before Qumax's father decides to destroy Earth. This is a difficult task considering Qumax is able to perceive Harold's thoughts, always keeping one step ahead. This is both a funny adventure story as well as some serious and thoughtful characterization and plot.
Equals Fourin Prostho Plus as chapter eight, the eighth Dillingham story. The seventh story,
Monarchwas published later in the year. Hobgoblin needs to investigate sensitive complaints, but complaining about paper work and the need for an administrative assistant, Dillingham is assigned the alien, slug like Miss Porkfat. Meanwhile, The Jann, the ancient, sentient robot he had treated is also assigned to accompany him
Omnivore, and remembering his passing it to the new editor of F&SF. He offers some detailed criticism of the story, which should equally apply to the novel.
Orn was finished under its working title Paleo on 27 June 1969, and first published as a two part serial in July and September 1970 in Amazing Science Fiction. I read the September 1971 Nelson Doubleday hardcover, a book club edition, with cover illustration by Frank Franzetta. According to BiOgre, Orn was finished after writing the E. S. P. Worm. It is was intended to be printed by Ballantine, but the fight over the financial reporting of Omnivore led to it being bounced. The short story Kylo was written during, and as part of, the research for Orn, though not published until 1988.
Orn is the sequel to Omnivore. It has the same threesome of human characters, and the fungi aerial creatures called mantas they befriended. They are sent (or forced) on a survey mission, to what they discover is Earth 70 million years in the past, or perhaps an alternate reality Earth, to prepare it for colonization. They encounter an intelligent, large bird that creates a complicated dynamic towards their mission and their ethic of preserving this Earth against exploitation.
BiOgre mentions the use of John Taine's Before the Dawn, lent from Charles Brown, as research for the science behind the book. A postscript by Calvin Potter explores the same science. Since the Mundania reprints, an afterward by Anthony looks at the viability of the idea from today's science. Dinosaurs become extinct 66 million years ago according to the fossil record. Anthony's idea isn't completely unfeasible. It's clear that a catastrophic world event is responsible for dinosaur extinction, but is more likely it was a meteor impact, perhaps coupled with volcanic activity, or the impact aftermath. With the alternate Earth reality they go to, a different interpretation of events can easily be assumed and makes the idea remain interesting, though perhaps not the interpretation Anthony intended even years later.
The sequel and conclusion of the Of Man and Manta series is 0X.
Wood You?in Anthonology. At a young age, Buddy develops a talent with wood cutting, then an extraterrestrial discovers Buddy. What on Earth (or off it) would an alien species find of value in wood cutting?
Monarchin Prostho Plus as chapter seven, the seventh Dillingham story. The Muck-de-muck of Gleep requests Judy Galland, Dillingham's dental assistant, to care for the miners of the trolls of Ra's teeth. Unfortunately, the trolls are posessive of contractees, until the Monarch of Lepidop intervenes with a request and is gifted the contract for Judy's services.
Small Mouthin Anthonology, originally written in 1969, with the title changed in the published anthology. It is about an expedition to the Lake Victoria region of Africa, the starting point of modern human evolution. We were a small mouthed mammal which developed speech, but perhaps we were something unexpectedly different then.
Heartsin Alien Plot. Amberly was a town vagrant, truly good in a town of typically troubled people, but something about that Christmas Eve would expose Amberly's effect on others.
Off the Deep Endcommentaries in SFReview. He would move the column to Offworlds after this one. I'm pretty sure the novel title mentioned in the column is Orn, it's original title being Paleo. Most of the commentary was talking about L. Ron Hubbard's Fear, which matches up with my impressions of it, as well as comparing with Robert Moore Williams, all in the context of hackery as a term. The FSF has yet another definition of hacking.
I read the Victor Gollancz Limited hardcover, published April 1971. As a book, Prostho Plus was finished in October 1970. A couple of the stories are published in the Athonology short story collection. The stories were collected after 3.97 Erect (Pornucopia) was written. Also see BiOgre for dates and explanation.
Prostho Plus is a collection of eight short stories about becoming the first Earth intergallactic dentist. These stories were primarily published by Galaxy Publications in If magazine, but the first was published in Analog Science Fact - Science Fiction. Prostho Plus reminds me of the humor from Asimov's Azazel. These are some of my favorite early stories from Anthony.
The first two stories are Prostho Plus
and In the Jaws of
Danger
. The fifth story is University
. See descriptions
above.
Two stories are first published here, chapters three and four. The
third story is the sequel to In the Jaws of Danger
. Dillingham
feels trapped, and isolated, when a dinosaur looking diplomat arrives
to identify how he could possibly feel uncomfortable. Once confirmed,
the diplomat buys his contract, and Dillingham accompanies him to
the diplomat's next destination. The fourth chapter finds Dillingham
contracted by the diplomat to a kind of blob species, seemingly suffering
pyschological issues but which they insist is dental.
The sixth story is None But I
.
See the description above.
The seventh story is Monarch
.
See the description above.
The eigth and final story is Equals Four
.
See the description above.
There's also three stories written for an intended sequel, Prostho Minus, but being unable to sell them, Anthony cancelled the project and they never saw print.
The Barnin Anthonology, but retitled by Ellison. Some have billed this as vegetarian, or even vegan, fiction, where human women not cows are found in the barn.
Up Schist Creekin Anthonology. It is the story I once thought was called
Birthday Suit, remembering it as being published in F&SF, (see the details in my entry on Relationships 4).
Up Schist Creekis about a man who breaks down in the town of Violet, but that's not its real name, and what he discovers there is at first a revelation.
Hard Sellin Anthonology. Fisk Centers is cheated out of his money with a sell of land on Mars.
Black Babyin the book Hard Sell, the sequel to the story
Hard Sell. Destitute from being swindled, Centers searches for employment, is hired by an adoption agency that once he starts working strikes him as potentially racketeering. Then he finds himself potentially in trouble for kidnapping.
Up Schist Creek,
In the Barn,
Minnie's Crew,
The Whole Truth, and
On the Uses of Tortureare given here. Now you know. Also included, since
In the Barnis discussed, is Anthony's review of Again, Dangerous Visions.
Hurdlein Anthonology. This is the third comedic story about Fisk Centers. His conscience weighing on him for selling babies on the black market, he gets into car sales and alternative forms of energy.
BiOgre notes this was first published in December 1973 as a Bantam paperback, however there was a UK Faber and Faber publication in 1972. I read the Avon, January 1978 Battle Circle paperback, with unattributted cover art. The sequel and conclusion is Neq the Sword.
Var the Stick is about Var after Sos left, his background, and his experience in the dystopian world of the battle circle. He is a lonely brute character that the author makes you love. Var has no knowledge of the discoveries of Sos, only following what Sol and Sos had directed as he takes over for them.
Race Against Time was published in hardcover by Hawthorn in 1973. I read the Tor paperback, printed September 1985. The first chapter of Hasan is found in the back of the Tor edition. Race Against Time was written during the writing of Neq the Sword.
John Smith: what a character name. This is not a reference to the Doctor (Doctor Who?). John is a teen boy in the 1960s, at least so he thought. Things don't add up about his cloistered, disciplined life.
This is a fun science fiction story, billed for teens, but as with other Anthony children's stories, the writing is adult even if the content is more PG than is his norm. Looking back, it reminds me of a science fiction form of M. Night Shayamalan's The Village.
Written in 1972, Kiai! was a series of stories written with Roberto Fuentes after Dead Morn. Kiai! was collected as a book as an attempt to make it more marketable, since the stories didn't sell. Anthony indicates the idea of the stories was his, but Fuentes' background as a Judo black belt led credibility to the martial arts in the stories. After the TV series Kung Fu aired with David Carradine, Berkley (and one other) asked for it back, publishing it February 1974. The sequel is Mistress of Death. I read the December 2001 Xlibris two book compendium, Jason Striker Martial Arts Series, Volume 1.
A prequel story, Ki
was published about
the same time as Kiai!, though I suspect it was written after. A
kind of sequel, or final story to the book, Ki
and Beast of Betelgeuse
are found in the final book from Xlibris,
Jason Striker Martial Arts Series, Volume 3. They seem best to
both be read after Kiai!.
Kiai! is about Jason Striker sensei, a Judoka who joins an underground tournament, and meets an Aikido sensei that he befriends. This reminded me of the movie Blood Sport. There's always some master, or sinister character, who challenges Striker. There's a kind of mystique around the art as portrayed, which reminds me of the fantasy elements of Chinese Kung Fu movies.
Kiin Jason Striker Martial Arts Series, Volume 3, Ki presents a kind of origin story for Hiroshi sensei and his mysterious Zen ways.
First published in June 1974 by Avon, I read the 1975 Millington Ltd hardcover, with afterward by Donald L. Cyr. According to Steppe, Rings of Ice was sold from a summary in 1972. It appears to have been written after the first novel expansion of Ghost.
The idea of a flood with a scientific, non-Biblical explanation, set in the modern day US (for the time it was written), was a gripping, fun read with interesting characters. The story takes place in an RV motor home, which picks up Zena when the rain starts. The interest is in the characters that Zena and Gus meet and save, at least initially, as the flood becomes more apparent.
I was reminded of Rings of Ice while reading the Xanth novel Yon Ill Wind. It also contains a character with diabetes, and a motorhome traveling across Xanth. The diabetes becomes a bigger concern in a world where insulin is not readily available, and lends to some of the realism of the story.
Mistress of Death was first published in July 1974. It is the second Jason Striker book, and is included with Kiai! in the Jason Striker Martial Arts Series, Volume 1 Xlibris print. The sequel is Bamboo Bloodbath.
The mistress is the new antagonist who uses drugs to capitivate her victims. She runs a drug ring and Striker wants to bring it down. Meanwhile, his dojo and students become imperiled. Mistress of Death is more gory in its fights as things escalate for Striker.
Doctor, which indicates the collaboration ultimately failed when the doctor abandoned the project), which was a follow up to an article published
in a newspaper, and then on to Koontz.
I read the Sphere Books Ltd first paperback edition from 1975, originally published September 1974 by DAW books. The writing was finished in 1972 under the title A Piece of Cake (an expansion of a short story of the same name). This was written after Hard Sell, and before Kiai!, was collected. See the Tor edition of Steppe for some details on writing order found in the author's note.
This is a space invaders plot with a twist, as suggested by the title. Earth works out an uneasy peace with the Kazos in a kind of mutual domination of each other, a manipulative intrigue they have worked out against mutual annihilation. Yet the cost of interspecies cooperation is the reduction of the human population. A rebellion throws off the delicate, disliked balance. Then a plot twist identifies another party is involved.
The short story appears to be a couple chapters in the book, not obviously modified. The first three chapters are preface, setting the ground work for the invasion of Earth and the background for the original story. The novel continues, essentially the last half of the book, focusing on the implications given from the story and ellaborating on what follows. The retitling fits the expanded portion of the novel well, but the original title remains the fundamental concept of both short story and novel.
Berkley published Bamboo Bloodbath in December 1974. I read Bamboo Bloodbath, the conclusion to the Jason Striker first trilogy, in the Xlibris Jason Striker Martial Arts Series, Volume 2, December 2001 edition, which includes the sequel, Ninja's Revenge.
Bamboo Bloodbath introduces a strange antagonist, the Hyena, and Striker gets involved to take down this weird, nefarious character after Judoka in his dojo are injured. This relies to a degree on Fuentes' experience in Cuba.
Berkley first published Ninja's Revenge May 1975. I read it as the second book in the Xlibris Jason Striker Martial Arts Series, Volume 2 December 2001 edition. The sequel is Amazon Slaughter.
Ninja's Revenge begins a second (and final) Jason Striker trilogy. Ninja's revenge revisits the old Aikido master of the first novel, and a mysterious Ninja legend of a ghost from the past, and the polution of a local village.
Kiai! — How it Beganin Jason Striker Martial Arts Series, Volume 3. It is an essay on the writing of the series and the collaboration between Fuentes and Anthony.
An article in the Science Fiction Review #37 fanzine notes that Neq the Sword was started after the beginning of 3.97 Erect, which was stopped when Essex House folded. Neq the Sword was only initially published in Britain in June 1975 by Corgi Science Fiction, with a gruesome cover. I read the Avon, January 1978 Battle Circle paperback, with an unattributted cover art which forever set my image of the three primary characters of the trilogy. Neq the Sword is the conclusion to the Battle Circle series, though two more novels had been considered. Anthony indicated that the market for the series had disappeared. According to the June 2010 newsletter, Paizo Press Planet Stories also published all the books of the trilogy.
Neq is the youngster who brings the world back to civilization, following the visions and works of Sol, Sos, and Var. His background is different, removed from their world, but becoming allied with it. Neq is faced with the same dilemma as Sos at the end.
Amazon Slaughter is the fifth book of the Jason Striker series, published April 1976, copyright 1975. It is about a Ninja curse and a mysterious black castle, and continues the story arc from Ninja's Revenge. I read it in the Xlibris Jason Striker Martial Arts Series, Volume 3 December 2001 edition. It has a sequel, the final book in the second trilogy, that is a bit more than half finished, and only the Xlibris edition contains it and the book summary of the conclusion: Curse of the Ninja.
This third volume includes story extras written after those found in Kiai!, and the unfinished draft of the final book and conclusion to the Ninja trilogy story arc. The draft is significant, including five full chapters and part of a sixth. It can only be found in the Xlibris Jason Striker Martial Arts Series, Volume 3 edition, and gives a summary wrap up to the series, even if only in the authors' summaries for what they had planned to write.
Other works include:
Ki
Ki, with Hiroshi
Phthor is the sequel to Chthon, written to promote a new edition of Chthon after it went out of print. Since the purpose of writing Phthor was reprinting Chthon, offers for only Phthor were rejected. Berkley finally picked up both in 1975 and published Phthor at the end of the year.
I read the 2000 Xlibris hardcover, which I believe is the last Xlibris hardcover Anthony paid for, later opting for the less expensive paperback. If the hints from his newsletters are indication, the Xlibris editions didn't sell well, thus the hardcover cost wasn't worth it, even to be available. The June 2000 newsletter notes that this one was scanned from the British edition. Later, though in this case an Open Road Media edition, Thousandstar would be the same. I never noticed when I read them. I too prefer the Oxford Style Manual logical punctuation. I wouldn't go so far as Anthony as to argue the Americans have it wrong, so much as that the American style is obsolete, an artifact and influence of the printing press, as is the Chicago Manual of Style.
Still living in the prison, Aton's son is tempted and seduced by the Minionette with the existence of the universe hanging in the balance because of it. This looks back at more history of the species of the Minionette, and explores life in the catacombs that was Aton's prison. It was an easier read than Chthon, mainly in that the narrative was a single consecutive flow instead of an interweaved set of flashbacks and flashforwards.
An editor of Anthony's, Charles Platt, wrote two authorized sequels to Phthor: Plasm and Soma.
I read the February 1976 Nelson Doubleday, Inc. book club edition hardcover. 0X (Zero-Ex) is about artificial intelligence based on Gardner's The Game of Life. There is a brief author's note about it, with a reference to Macroscope's game of Sprouts. The Game of Life is also used to make the symbol for the Open source movement.
0X is the conclusion to the Of Man and Manta trilogy, and the sequel to Orn, where two men and a woman have adventures in parallel universes, befriended by the aerial Manta fungi-based creatures. After the debacle of Paleo, and the encounter with the Orn, the trio is captured by the Earth invaders of their parallel universe. When being brought back to their Earth, a portal is opened not to their universe, but yet another parallel Earth reality. Not only must they escape and get back to their own reality, and preserve the mantas, but they encounter another form of life that is unexpected.
Steppe was finished in 1972. The novel was sold in 1975, and was first published by Millington in April 1976 in the UK in hardcover. I read the September 1985 Tor hardcover, with the sexy dust jacket painting by Boris Vallejo. Steppe is described in both BiOgre and in the author's note to the Tor edition.
Anthony's descriptions of Steppe suggest that it was written from the outset as a historical novel encased in science fiction, anticipating in advance the difficulty of selling historical fiction.
Steppe had an engrossing science fiction beginning, and then pushes into the historical part of the novel. It was fun and enjoyable, providing a kind of gladiator arena, an on-the-side love story (it is an Anthony novel), and realistic historical Uigur imagery.
But What of Earth? was finished June 1975. I read the TOR July 1989 paperback edition with cover art by Don Maitz. Originally published October 1976, except as an unauthorized collaboration with Robert Coulson.
According to the 1999 Executive author's note, the restoration began in June 1984 and was finished in July with its 25,000 words of notes. The galleys appear to have been reviewed in September of 1984, and the conclusion notes suggest that edits could be into 1985, before Golem in the Gears was begun in July. The author's note from Wielding a Red Sword, and the Xlibris edition of Executive, indicate that it was the first work done on the new Dec Rainbow, with their Select86 text processor. But What of Earth? is the only work done with Select86, where he switched after to PTP.
So 1989 seems really late for publication. Anthony notes in BiOgre about putting white hair on Tom Doherty's head regarding the notes on editorial mismanagement. It had been contracted, but not published. Anthony refused to give them more books until they fulfilled the contract, and was possibly included in the lawsuit that was part of getting his collaborations into print, as described in How Precious Was That While. For Anthony, this rates as his least favorite novel, probably from the circumstance of its writing and publication.
There are two naratives here. The first is the short novel that would become the prequel of the Cluster series. Also see the introduction to Tarot, and the Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. edition of Cluster. But What of Earth? can be ignored by Cluster series fans without taking away from the series, but I find the ideas in But What of Earth? develop nicely going into Cluster and Tarot. My best sense of the chronology of writing is that But What of Earth? was first, then Tarot was started second, but instead Cluster got the contract. Cluster is at first loosely tied to But What of Earth, but is not strictly a sequel. By Chaining the Lady, Tarot had clearly become part of the Cluster framework, and thus so was But What of Earth?. When reading as a series, I prefer to start here, and then move on to Tarot, followed by Cluster which could be read in tandem.
The second is the story of the butchering of the novel. In this, and other places, Anthony brings the case that editors should not change the work of an author without agreement. Editors have been known to change and improve an author's work (Hemingway is an example), as well as have authors sign over their copyright in various degrees over to the publisher. Strictly, from a copyright point of view, Anthony is absolutely correct: the copyright is to start with. From Anthony's writings it is clear that publishers tend to do what they want regardless of contract and sometimes copyright. Anthony's problem really is he expects publishers, that is corporations, to honor their agreements. It's made him a bit of a pariah. I can't help but agree with him. A contract is only as good as the word of those who sign it. Having said that, if the full copyrights are sold to a publisher, that publisher can legally do whatever they want, including claim credit for the writing of the work. That is not the case here, and even if over a decade later, Anthony was able to recover the work and republish it. For Coulson's side of the story, see two or three of the later Yandro fanzine editions: basically, Laser considered a rewrite necessary, saw that he was paid but turned down the rewrite, so decided it was their right to make it whole for the publisher.
I have fond memories of reading But What of Earth?. The character of Brother Paul in this book shines, and I enjoyed the exploration of the idea that population increase and decrease, especially in aggressive change, affect the level of civilization. I also love that unlike much science fiction, space travel constraints are recognized, and a different, and interesting way forward is explored in matter transmission, (though that presents its own faster-than-light constraints). Other than a bit of an abrupt, raw start to the novel, I found it enjoyable and worth a reread.
I read the Nelson Doubleday hardcover book club edition The Magic of Xanth, with jacket painting by Tony Fiyalko. Originally, I read the 1977 Del Rey paperback of A Spell for Chameleon in the 1980s. A Spell for Chameleon won the August Derleth Fantasy Award in 1977 for best novel. It was written June-November 1976, and first published September 1977. After some of the conflicts with Ballantine, discussed in BiOgre and How Precious Was that While, Anthony was burned out working with Ballantine until the del Reys reengaged the relationship. Anthony's science fiction was with other publishers by that point, thus Anthony didn't feel able to give Del Rey any science fiction, so Lester suggested Anthony try fantasy. He offered Hasan, at that point not yet published as a novel, but Lester wanted something new. Anthony did not take fantasy seriously, so created a funny fantasy framework, mirroring mundane Florida, where puns are the foundation of magic. Anthony was to make fun of fantasy in sometimes obvious and sometimes subtle ways, easter eggs for readers to find and enjoy. In later books, the puns would become more pronounced as readers sent in suggestions.
Bink is the underdog of his community. He has no observable magic talent in a world where everyone does. His girl friend is hesitant with this disability. How is he to resolve this? His resulting expulsion from his community, and ultimately Xanth, leads Bink to the Good Magician Humphrey, the magician of information.
A Spell for Chameleon is the introduction to Xanth, and one of the pillars of the long, ongoing series. Is it the best? Not necessarily, but it is the ultimate book of the series for me: perhaps that's because I read it first. More likely is that this is an underdog story and there's a certain poignancy in Anthony's approach to telling it. The sequel is The Source of Magic.
I'm aware of a revised A Spell for Chameleon that comes from a reader suggesting a less advanced, or simplified, language. See the author's note in Geis of the Gargoygle. The language level is higher with the original that Anthony sent to Del Rey. The editor, Lester del Rey, had a preference for a more adult series, and asked for a revision with high brow vocabulary. Anthony has kept the series readabile by youth while still following an old fashioned approach to adult allusions and inenudo. The revision back to a simplified language is not from Anthony's original manuscript. I for one prefer Anthony's final product, as requested by Lester del Rey, and am not keen on the re-dumbed-down language of the simplified version, though approved and updated by Anthony in December 1992 and January 1993 (approximately), but I don't think the overall story is impacted, and the following Xanth novels are not as high language as the first edition of A Spell for Chameleon.
I first read the Gollancz British October 1977 hard cover edition of Vicinity Cluster, and later the Open Road Media trade paperback edition. This series has some relation to the book But What of Earth?. The novel Tarot is a sequel to But What of Earth?, while Cluster builds on ideas from But What of Earth? with its matter transmission, which reminds me of Star Trek beaming.
Cluster moves the idea of matter transmission forward, and looks at the clustering of civilization out from the center, based on the distance from that center. The idea is that civilization degrades the farther away it gets from its center. Speed of light travel would limit this to a degree, but matter transmission makes it far easier, but the energy cost for transmission is significant, until something new is discovered. This seems to build on the idea in But What of Earth? where civilization density affects its progress, shown more drastically where matter transmission suddenly diminishes civilization density. With Cluster, matter transmission extends civilization outward among the stars, thus having a similar effect.
The series was revised while it was digitized in 2008-2009 for its publication at E-reads (now part of Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.) in 2010, and later printed by Open Road Integrated Media in 2014. Cluster was written after Kiai!.
Cluster starts with a barbarian on the periphery of the clusters who is recognized as having a mind transfer talent that changes the perspective of how civilizations communicate with each other, only to realize that a bigger problem exists with civilizations in the Andromeda galaxy who also have discovered this capability. The sequel is Chaining the Lady.
I read the Open Road Integrated Media 2014 paperback edition. This is a new revised edition, edited in January-February 2009, originally written in 1976, I believe just after the final expansion of Ghost. Chaining the Lady was first published March 1978 by Avon. A hardcover followed by Millington February 1979.
Finally, an explanation in the author's note about why Anthony prefers science fiction (or science fantasy) to Sci-Fi: he explains it as a hopeless sub-genre that has bug eyed monsters (BEMs) getting blasted by heros to save scantily clad, helpless women. I wonder where he gets that distinction of terminology from.
Spoilers to follow.
The discoveries of the Kirlian aura now are realized at a galactic level. This follows Flint's daughter. The idea of the aura allows a different kind of interspace travel, but the implications are less about civlization's progress.
But What of Earth?, and its sequel Tarot, have influence here, with echoes of Brother Paul and later interpretations of the Animation Tarot. The two books, Tarot and Chaining the Lady, can be started together, but switching to Chaining the Lady part way through Tarot (it is a bit long), is fitting, and Tarot could carry through to reading Kirlian Quest, the sequel to Chaining the Lady.
I read the Open Road Integrated Media 2014 paperback edition. This is a new, revised edition, edited in February 2009. The original was first published July 1978 by Avon.
Kirlian Quest is the conclusion to the trilogy (not the series), introducing a threat to the two galaxies, the Milky Way and the Andromeda, and wraps up the mystery of the Ancients introduced in Cluster. The Kirlian aura is brought to its pinnacle of use as the galactic clusters battle it out, only to identify yet another, new threat. The sequel is Thousandstar.
I read the February 1981 Nelson Doubleday hardcover book club edition The Magic of Xanth, with jacket painting by Tony Fiyalko. The Source of Magic was first published February 1979. The sequel is Castle Roogna.
What is the source of Xanth's magic? Why does Florida have a magic proximity that is separate and independent from Florida? Bink wants to know. I liked the goblins in this story, but the answer I found kind of tedious, and the reoccurring theme in later Xanths ranges from funny to here-we-go-again, (though Xanth novels always end with satisfaction). Millie and her background and tragedy was a highlight of the book.
Pretender was Anthony's first book length collaboration,
I believe in 1966, asking Frances Hall to assist him with it. In his
autobiographies, Anthony claims he had a historical notion that later
became science fiction and was rewritten. Hall tells her side of the story
in the Outworlds 11 fanzine. A curious part about her relation is
the original story was science fiction, then Anthony pressed for it to
be historical. They went back and forth with rewrites, and in the end,
Anthony rewrote it as science fiction again with a new ending. Their story
The Message
was written after.
I read the Borgo Press trade paperback edition, printed in April 1979 by Griffin Printing & Lithograph Co., a Borgo imprint, with cover and illustrations by Larry Ortiz (cover package design by Judy Cloyd). The publication is elegant, and the in-text illustrations well adapted. Pretender was originally published in a hardcover limited edition, with a mainstream trade paperback. Tor picked it up in paperback in 1985.
An alien crash lands on early history Earth and must take a human host for survival. The host is an ancient Babylonian, and the book's portrayal of life in Babylon is what makes this story so interesting. The main idea here is a religion in Babylon that purposely promotes against membership and conversion.
Castle Roogna was published in July 1979. I read the Nelson Doubleday hardcover book club edition The Magic of Xanth, with jacket painting by Tony Fiyalko, which contains Castle Roogna as the final novel.
King Dor is a funny character, or more to the point, his magic talent is hilarious and Anthony plays it for all it's worth. He is Bink's son, slated to be king, but doesn't behave like it. Castle Roogna explores the history of the castle, introduces zombies and the Zombie Master, and the battle behind that history, and explores Millie's future after the tragedy explored in the previous book. It also introduces Grundy, an endearing side kick of the earlier series. This is an early favorite of this series for me. The next Xanth novel is Centaur Aisle.
I read the Ace November 1987 trade paperback with excellent cover
art by Kinuko Craft. Tarot was started 24 April 1975, after the
completion of the first draft of
But What of Earth?. The submission draft
was finished at the end of September 1977, right after the writing of
A Spell for Chameleon, (see dates noted in
the Ace Introduction
). Tarot was first published in three
volumes: God of Tarot by Jove April 1979, and then by Berkley,
with book two Vision of Tarot in January 1980, and book three
Faith of Tarot in February 1980. The Ace edition is noted as a
revision to the original text, finished in March 1987, and published in
November 1987. The changes are mostly in titles, and introductory texts
to the chapters (instead of copyright burdened quotations) and book. I
sent a correction, which Anthony accepted, to the reference of which
pope might have been female, but am not sure when if ever it will make
it to print. In BiOgre,
Anthony considered Tarot as the major novel of his career, supplanting
Macroscope, but this was later replaced by
Tatham Mound, as noted in
How Precious Was That While
and in the Ace Introduction
.
Tarot has a long history of writing, punctuated between the writing of the Cluster trilogy of novels, so though Tarot is a sequel to But What of Earth?, perhaps it is also a prequel to the Cluster trilogy that was written in tandem.
The development of Paul in this story has a different feel from But What of Earth? where he is introduced. The book is long, seems to drag on in parts while Paul has his visions, and parts of it are offensive and crude if you don't keep your eye on the purpose of the story. It's a good story. Perhaps part of the problem is I wanted more of the Brother Paul of But What of Earth?, but at the least I got him in a circumstance perhaps that was not as much to my fancy.
Tarot is a hard hitting reflection on religious behavior and motivations, among other things. Brother Paul is sent to one of the colonies of matter transmission to investigate religious imagery that seem to be ghosts, realistic phantasms that are causing havoc in the colony. Are these real religious manifestations, or something else?
I read the Del Rey (Ballantine) April 1980, first edition hardcover, with an iconic cover illustration by Rowena Morrill, and map by Chris Barbieri.
After Anthony's switch to fantasy with Xanth, Lester del Rey asked for a second series. This was a mix of science fiction and fantasy, using a story similar to what Terry Brooks did later with Magic Kingdom, but with a world overlay similar to Xanth, and with a science fiction theme on another planet. This is quintessiantial Anthony with a layered love story of a woman, a horse, a planet in peril, and the game (a plot device Anthony would come to use in other books and series, e.g. Killobyte, Eroma).
The game is not computer virtual reality, but part of the building infrastructure of the planet, which also includes computers. It caught me by surprise at the time I first read it, with the serf class humanity always being naked. Why must they be naked? Perhaps there is a similarity in Greek and Roman games and gladiator arenas that would make sense at least in context of the game. However, they are naked in day-to-day life outside the game. Wearing clothes in a culture that wears none would seem shocking, or at least alluring, and the lack of clothing has its own problems though perhaps in an advanced, Trantor-like world it may be unnecessary within the domes. Yet Anthony is an entertainer, and nudity is entertaining to all but the religiously restrained, and as a plot device sells. Perhaps that's all about the idea that is needed to be understood. However, at least some attempt to explain the origin of this interesting cultural norm would have been helpful, instead of being left out there, which was a bit confusing to the start of the story.
The other thing curiously unexplained is the use of the Quaker plain speech for Phaze. Though its use is well blended in the story as an affectation, outside religious circles tied to the King James Bible (KJB, its competitors, and those that preceded it) both the Quaker plain speech, and that of Shakespeare and the KJB (i.e. modern English as opposed to contemporary contemporary Tudorian English) mostly disappeared by the 1970s, though I remember the hodge-podge eclectic use from some when I lived in Lancashire in the 1990s.
The nudity and Quaker plain speech are stylistic elements in the story for entertainment. Ultimately, it seemed fun for me. How a TV adaption intends to play this out I look forward to.
I read the Open Road Integrated Media 2014 paperback edition. This is a new, revised edition, scanned from a British edition author's copy, and proofed in March 2009. Thousandstar was first published by Avon as a paperback June 1980.
Thousandstar takes place in the Cluster universe. How a sequel is defined might be a bit different for me than for Anthony. To me a sequel is chronological, something that is intended to be read (or watched) after something else. So Thousandstar is a sequel to the Cluster trilogy, intended to be read after, but the plot doesn't have the grand scope of the trilogy. The sequel, errr, next and final novel is Viscous Circle.
A new, functioning site of the Ancients is discovered, and a race between the spheres will determine control of the site. This story is less serious than the trilogy. It explores the discoveries found in Cluster and looks at the origin of the Ancients more closely. This book wraps up some loose ends in the trilogy.
Finally, Anthony asks, at the end of the author's note, if his writing skill were to diminish as he aged whether he would know. Could he write science fiction as well as in the past? I would pose the question, does it matter? As long as he enjoys the process, and he can entertain readers, then the task is accomplished.
On The Uses of Torturein Anthonology. A malicious commander delights in corporal punishment, until he is sent to negotiate a treaty on an alien planet, only to meet his match.
I read the Dell Rey March 1982 book club edition hardcover, with jacket painting by Tony Fiyalko. Centaur Aisle was first published January 1981. This is Xanth #4. The sequel is Ogre, Ogre.
Dor and Irene reach the height of flirtatiousness in this hilarious fantasy that plays up Dor's magic talent in funny ways. King Trent and Queen Iris have put Dor in charge of the kingdom while they leave on a diplomatic mission to Mundania. However, when they do not return to Xanth, it becomes clear that something is amiss. With the help of his centaur tutors, and friends he's made along the way, Dor must find the king and queen or he may be stuck with the job. This is the first time since A Spell for Chameleon that an adventure takes the questing companions to the dreaded and dreary Mundania. This story really made me laugh, but it is Xanth after all.
Mute was originally written in 1979, and published in an abridged form by Avon April 1981. It was restored and revised in early 2001. I read the Xlibris trade paperback. I couldn't find it on Xlibris and had to contact the author to get a copy from them, which he noted in one of his newsletters. Yeah, that was me. Thank you, Piers!
This is one of Anthony's epic novels, a mixed science fiction and fantasy, like many of his after Split Infinity. A mute mutant discovers his memory is wiped and gets caught up in an interstellar conflict. I never read the abridged version published by Avon, but I'm not sure how it could have been better.
In a newsletter, Anthony had queried about whether there was interest in a sequel Moot, which I responded in the affirmative, but he apparently lost his notes on it, and ultimately decided against the sequel. Bummer.
I read the Nelson Doubleday, Inc. book club edition hardcover,
Double Exposure, with cover art by Victoria Poyser, and
map by Chris Barbieri. This is a collection of the first Apprentice
Adept trilogy: Split Infinity,
Blue Adept, and Juxtaposition.
The About the Author
page in the back has the same text that is
in my edition of Split Infinity.
Blue Adept was first printed by Del Rey, May 1981. Its sequel is
Juxtaposition
Stile faces deportation in the science fiction realm of Proton. His only hope is to take risks in the hope of becoming a citizen, also risking his life and status as the Blue Adept in the fantasy realm of Phaze. One of the things I didn't like about reading the Double Exposure edition of this book was the map that was really for the final book, perhaps giving away too much. Though Poyser's cover is excellent, the sexy cover of the Del Rey edition first got me interested in this series. I know: stop whinging.
I read the Nelson Doubleday, Inc. book club edition hardcover, Double Exposure, printed October 1982, with cover art by Victoria Poyser, and map by Chris Barbieri. Finished in 1980 (see the Viscous Circle extended author's note from 2009), and first printed by Del Rey March 1982, Juxtaposition is the conclusion to the Stile focused Apprentice Adept trilogy.
Juxtaposition tells the tale of how Stile must risk the powers and status of both citizens and adepts as he faces off against the Oracle and reveals the relationship between Proton and Phaze, the Oracle and the Computer. This wraps up the trilogy nicely. The sequel is Out of Phaze, which begins a separate, second trilogy.
I read the Open Road Integrated Media 2014 paperback edition. This is a new, revised edition, edited in early 2009. Viscous Circle was sold from summary in 1979, and begun 8 May 1980. The author's note indicates it was initially finished 20 September 1980. Avon first published the novel in May 1982. There does not appear to have ever been a hardcover edition. As far as I can tell, it is the first novel of Anthony's that has an extended, i.e. biographical, author's note.
Viscous Circle is a deeply moving, and original, novel. It takes place in the Cluster universe. Anthony's strength at imaginging completely alien existence comes to the forefront in this novel, telling the tale of an entirely unique biosphere and the environmental impact that the Spheres, including Earth's sphere, has on it in their need to explore the sites of the Ancients.
To The Deathin Alien Plot. An experienced martial artist finds the ultimate challenge.
Transmogrificationin Alien Plot. Brownie elves invade a house.
Deadlinein Alien Plot. A Martian ironically argues for his favorite pulp fantasy genre.
I read the Dell Rey July 1983 book club edition hardcover with jacket painting by Tony Fiyalko. Ogre, Ogre is Xanth #5, first published October 1982. The sequel is Night Mare.
Tandy is a half-nymph, tormented by a demon at night to the point of terror. So she plans to escape to ask for help from the Good Magician Humphrey. This is a Xanth novel in search of a quest, provided by Humphrey as an answer to Tandy's question: travel with an ogre who never asked a question. The quest is the answer.
There's something about Anthony's Xanth, and certain leaps forward with certain novels that advance the series. This is one of them, and is one of my all time favorites. It also is an example of good marketing and a print run to match (i.e. enough copies that sustain the marketing). The book is so named because a fan mistakenly accused Anthony of being an ogre at conventions he never attended. As the rumor persisted, Anthony decided to own it and play it up, as should be expected from Xanth.
I read the Dell Rey July 1983 book club edition hardcover with jacket painting by Tony Fiyalko. The novel was completed 28 October 1981, (see the Xlibris edition author's note of Refugee). Night Mare is Xanth #6, the conclusion to the second trilogy, first printed by Del Rey January 1983. The sequel is Dragon on a Pedestal.
The night mare is Anthony's daughter Penny's horse, (which is also Stile's horse in the first Apprentice Adept trilogy). Like its sequel, the author shows his versatility by making the main character the horse, escaped (or perhaps freed) from the gourd dream world. Her first problem is she's acquired a soul, affecting her capability as a night mare carrying bad dreams to sleeping Xanthians. The other problem is that an invasion of Mundanians is about to occur, a repeating event that brings fresh non-magic blood to Xanth. She must warn the king of what is to come.
Imp to Nymphin Alien Plot. Originally summarized as a novel in the 1970s, ultimately this was written as a short story in 1982. An Imp, on a flying carpet, on a mission to find a compliant nymph companion.
Piers' Cantinaarticle. Discussion of Dickson, the Milford Conference, and his unpublished story
Tappuah(later expanded as a collaborative novel with Farmer).
I read the 17 November 2013 Science Fiction Book Club (SFBC) Omnibus Edition, with jacket art by John Jude Palencar. This is by arrangement of Random House and Del Rey, and the two first books of the trilogy: On a Pale Horse and Bearing an Hour Glass. On a Pale Horse was first published by Del Rey October 1983.
Finished 17 May 1982 (according to the author's note, and the Xlibris
Refugee author's note). On a Pale
Horse was written after writing
Nightmare. The On a Pale Horse
author's note recognizes his reaching age 50 about the same time as
reaching the authoring of fifty books (as noted in his About the
Author
blurb, see Night Mare).
This age 50 and 50 book corresponding recognition is also the theme of
BiOgre, with which this
author's note seems to correspond. The biographical author's notes seemed
to follow thereafter with most of his novels. Author's notes really never
existed, as far as I can tell, before Viscous
Circle, in 1981, though there are some simple ones, like the
first edition of Chthon, the explanation
of the game of life in 0X, and the first Xanth
acknowledgement of reader puns, (stop sending them, he asked. Gee, that
worked well) in Dragon on a Pedestal.
This novel is a favorite. Maybe that's because, like the Battle Circle trilogy, On a Pale Horse was an early novel of Anthony's that I had read, and like the author has observed with Xanth, the first book read seems to become the favorite. (Oddly, I didn't like Xanth as much until I reread A Spell for Chameleon as an adult.) It's dealing with the macabre, the far off fear of the pain of death, and the odd unsurity of what happens after, if anything, that is dealt with so well in this story. Many allusions to the Christianity of our culture are found here, some serious, some facetious, but also dealing with other legends and mythologies that our species uses to grapple with our finite existence. (Other than the Latter Day Saint movement, there don't seem to be many religions or philosophies that grapple with what came before our existence.) Clearly, we don't want to stop existence ourselves, and watching others stop, in gruesome and peaceful (if there is such a thing) ways, is appalling. This isn't funny fantasy, but it is not entirely serious either. Perhaps that's the way death should be considered.
I read the Xlibris hardcover. Refugee was originally finished 26 June 1982, almost two months after On a Pale Horse, and first published by Avon October 1983. The Xlibris author's note is dated June 1999. The sequel is Mercenary.
This is science fiction, a space opera, which Anthony tends to excel
at. The story and characters are gripping, but the situation is rough
and graphic, modeled after some of the traumatic stories of Hatian
immigrants to the United States. Though analogies abound, it provides
an interesting glimpse into what a solar system full of human colonists
might look like. This is a switch from his Cluster series, which explores
what an interstellar society would look like. Now we have a vision of a
solar society, a commentary on contemporary society. I find interstellar
colonization to be more realistic than intergalactic colonization.
This shows what is typical of Anthony's style and hopefulness for
greater sexual openness (at least in entertainment print). The author's
note mentions Gunn's Breaking Point
, which can be found in the
author's later anthology, One
and Wonder.
I read the Dell Rey March 1984 book club edition hardcover with jacket painting by Bob Stuhmer. This is the first Xanth novel with an author's note, at least from their original publication, though it only gives credit for puns and asks fans to not send more. It was finished in October 1982, and written after Refugee (see the 1999 Xlibris author's note). The galleys were proofread in May 1983 (see the author's note in Bearing an Hourglass). Dragon on a Pedestal is Xanth #7, first published October 1983. The sequel is Crewel Lye.
Princess Ivy is King Dor's and Queen Irene's young daughter. Like it's predecessor novel, the author shows his versatility by making the main character unusual: a three year old little girl. The gap dragon has escaped the gap and a related wave of amnesia is affecting everyone sporadically. To make things worse, Ivy gets lost in Xanth, and Dor must find her before she is hurt or killed, but little do they know that Ivy is about to make Xanth history, solve the problems of the dragon and the gap amnesia run amock, and save it from an old menace no one is aware of.
Femme Fictionis the third
Piers' Cantinaarticle for Niekas. After getting excoriated in a previous Niekas for his first Piers' Cantina article, which claimed women do not write in a way attractive to the science fiction market, he explores further his experience of female science fiction.
I read the 1999 Xlibris hardcover. The author's note is dated June 1999. Mercenary's first draft was finished 21 January 1983, written in pencil after the completion of Dragon on a Pedestal, (see the 1999 Xlibris author's note). The final draft was finished on 22 July 1983, after Bearing an Hour Glass (see its author's note). Mercenary was first published June 1984 by Avon, and is volume 2 in the Bio of a Space Tyrant series, the sequel to Refugee. The sequel is Politician.
Spoilers to follow.
This book has some beautiful and imaginative scenes on and around Jupiter, and some epic space battles and politics. Hope and his family begin to integrate with Jupiter culture, having successfully immigrated. He joins the navy, as does his sister, and rising through the ranks they begin to plot revenge against the pirates, empowered to do so by the Jupiter fleet.
The manuscript was finished 24 May 1983, a week before its deadline. (See the Xlibris editions of Mercenary and Bearing an Hourglass author's notes.) Bearing an Hour Glass was first published by Del Rey August 1984. The sequel is With a Tangled Skein. I read the 17 November 2013 Science Fiction Book Club (SFBC) Omnibus Edition, with jacket art by John Jude Palencar. This is by arrangement of Random House and Del Rey, which also includes On a Pale Horse.
Bearing an Hourglass shows Anthony's versatility as an author in telling a story in unique ways without distracting the reader from being immersed in the story, the reservation of their scepticism of the fiction of the tale. This story tells about a being that lives backward, living from end to beginning, and the beginning is passing on the hourglass to their successor while existing with its use until the beginning point, which is really the end as this incarnation. A fascinating story and a fascinating spin on the previous tale around the theme of death, but through the lense of time. A fitting sequel to On a Pale Horse.
Facesin Alien Plot. A plant analogy that reminds me of my literature class on formalism as a perspective on literary critique.
I read the Del Rey August 1985 book club edition hardcover, with jacket illustration by Ron Walotsky. The manuscript was finished 23 October 1983, (see the Politician, Xlibris edition, author's note). This is the first Xanth to have a more extensive author's note, similar to what had started with Viscous Circle and the Incarnations of Immortality series, though that is biographical, whereas the Xanth notes of this period are mainly around the puns, though a bit more is explained here. Crewel Lye is Xanth #8, first published by Orbit in the UK and Del Rey in the US, January 1985. It's sequel is Golem in the Gears.
This is the book where things start to fall apart between Anthony and Lester del Rey. Already disgruntled by the author's notes from the first two Incarnations of Immortality novels, according to the author's note, the first chapter was deleted because of too many puns. The note is clearly updated after the deletion, likely from the galleys. The missing first chapter is found in the collaboration Visual Guide to Xanth as an appendix, as well as remnant pieces from the enforced changes to the author's note. I'm happy to have first read this novel with the missing pieces first. I noticed that the second chapter had been slightly edited to not be too jarring starting there, but it's not noticed until reading the missing first chapter. Perhaps, if Crewel Lye reverts from Del Rey back to Piers, he can restore the missing pieces. I suggested this to him in an email (I can't remember the context), but he was non-commital. All Xanth other than that at Del Rey has been reprinted by Open Road Media.
This is another Ivy story, and is about what you'd expect. It seems like a sequel to Castle Roogna too. This is where Jordan the ghost relates his story to Ivy, while she watches parts of it on the tapestry, when he was alive 400 years in Xanth's past.
The original Anthonology was a collection of unpublished stories with description of the story's failing, what editors said about it, and what ultimately Anthony thought of it. It was sent for publishing, but never sold.
The story Demisee
, his first sale, was ultimately first printed
in an appendix of Anthony's first autobiography,
Bio of an Ogre, which
gives an example of this kind of commentary, perhaps straight out of
the unsold version Anthonology. Following are what I suspect are
the stories from the original Anthonology that never found their
way into later story collections, or did not get expanded and rewritten
as a novel:
Writingchapter in BiOgre, and the beginning of Anthonology. The next story Anthony wrote was his bacholer's thesis, the unsold novel The Unstilled World. The typescript is in box 29 of the Piers Anthony Papers at Syracuse University.
Writingchapter in BiOgre.
Writingchapter in BiOgre.
The Bridge, not to be confused with the story later published by Worlds of Tomorrow magazine, and in Anthonology. See BiOgre.
Southern Approach. See BiOgre. The typescript is in box 29 of the Piers Anthony Papers at Syracuse University.
Stories that likely fit in the timeframe are four stories that are surely to be left forever unpublished, and likely were part of Anthonology when marketed as an evaluation of Anthony's unpublished stories are as follows:
for Lester del Rey at an SF magazine. This suggests it predates Ballantine. It was rejected because of the horrific fate of the heroine, essentially being horror not fantasy.
500 word vignette. It suggests it was written during the time that Macroscope was written.
I read the March 1985 Tor hardcover, with cover art by Joe Bergeron. Along with BiOgre, Anthonology documents the beginning of the author's career. These are Anthony's stories as published between 1963-1972, compiled for this collection in 1984.
Other stories of note in this volume are the orignal novelette
version of Ghost
, The Life of a Stripe
which is labeled
as from Amazing but was actually Fantastic Stories, The Value of a
Man
(chapter two of Prostho Plus),
University
(chapter five of
Prostho Plus), Hard Sell
, (the
first chapter in the book of the same name), and Hurdle
(chapter
three in the book Hard
Sell). In the Barn
was written before
3.97 Erect, so must
have been written no later than 1970, but wasn't published until 1972
in Again, Dangerous Visions. These stories give a clear sense of
the tone the author will use throughout his career.
Previously published stories are documented in publication order in this article (above). Here's the two previously unpublished stories found in Anthonology:
The Toasteris one of Anthony's early stories, offered as one that was rejected but never sold, but which Anthony suspects is at least no worse than
Possible to Rue.
The Toasterwas written after the sale of
Possible to Rue, so it was the 20th story? Ophilia comes to visit her Aunt Adelaine, especially as her new robot housekeeper is arriving, yet can't seem to make a simple piece of toast.
Gone to the Dogshas a copyright label for 1985 by Piers Anthony, as it was only published in Anthonology. The author's note on the story implies that it was written between 1969 and 1971, before writing novels and mostly abandoning shorter works. An Anyman human realizes he's having a heart attack on a Sunday evening, when his dog Waldo insists on taking a walk. Unsure how to get help anyways, he gives up and gets the leash. The dog seems to be walking him.
Having had experience in writing and editing of various kinds, a
comment in the note for Quinquepedalian
stood out: …there are
no blanks in my narrative, or pointless untitled chapters.
So there's a couple things here to unpack. If matters of writing style
are of no interest, feel free to skip to the rest of this
Anthonology commentary.
The first thing is untitled chapters
. Anthony has always titled
his chapters. I suspect this is the story teller in him, i.e. his novels
are really story series, so each story gets a title. However, that may
be over simplifying, or running too far with an assumption. Examples
against titles are Stephen King's writing (or Robert B. Parker). Compare
the five stories of The Gunslinger novel. Each story has a title,
based on what was originally published in F&SF, but the sections
are numbered. On occasion, there is a double space between paragraphs,
(though it's unclear if that came from editing, or from King). Numbering
chapters or sections allows a reader to find or refer to that place. So
does naming chapters.
In centuries past, numbering chapters and even paragraphs within numbered pages was common, often with descriptive headings. This was especially common with the Bible. We number pages, we number chapters, and we number sections or break them with spaces or a divider (such as asterisks). We can also title them instead. Titles can give away a story's contents, or a chapter's, or a book's, or keep (or attract) a reader's interest. It's a matter of style, but perhaps titles require more art. Anthony is pretty good at them, both making for good reference, but also for not giving away the contents and thus ruining the mystery or suspense of the story, though perhaps not always as attractive (which may be why editors change his titles). In a way, Prostho Plus contradicts this with numbered chapters and no titles, making me wonder if that was an editorial decision.
The other thing is breaks in the narrative. To begin, there is sentence style. Hemmingway gave us short sentences, though not always logical in his grammar, (correctness, perhaps a matter of opinion). The earliest writing didn't have punctuation. Punctuation can be overwrought, or it can be logical (such as Oxford style), or it can be functional (such as Chicago style, though this functional purpose is now antiquated). We then break sentences into paragraphs. This becomes much more a matter of flow. King can be functional in his paragraph style, but break up paragraphs mid-sentence. English writers of centuries past might have long paragraphs as well as sentences. Contemporary style is to be short, separating ideas, and getting to the point. This leads to paragraphs versus sections versus chapters.
Anthony argues that the inserted spaces are meaningless, (though he doesn't seem to ever insert spaces that aren't paragraphs or chapters). I would interpret this to mean that Anthony sees the paragraphs and chapters to be sufficient for breaks, and that further editorial separation breaks up his narrative contrary to his intentions. Again, I'm interpreting, and may have a false assumption. What I will say of contemporary readers is that there are other factors: attention span, situational reading (e.g. bathroom breaks), riding a bus, waiting in line at the grocers or fast food restaurant, paper books vs ebook on a phone or tablet. Most people don't read as much as in the past, being more familar with micro-blogging and social media, but even with the introduction of TV and movies to replace the stage, the attention span of dialog and thought has lessened.
Readers don't digest long sentences or paragraphs anymore. They want to glance at a paragraph, digest it quickly, and move on. They want quick breaking points in narrative or explanation. The wall-of-text, even a few sentences in a paragraph, seems insurmountable to the newest generation.
I'm used to long narrative. I love literature from all periods of modern English that I have sufficient vocabulary to digest (the 15th century starts to become confusing). However, I have found myself in Anthony narrative, even recent, stopping mid-paragraph, let alone mid-chapter. There are clear breaking points in narrative, for instance, such as continuing a story from sleeping to waking the next morning, or continuing from one scenery in an adventure to the next. These section-ize the narrative the same way a paragraph does. What makes the difference between a chapter break, a sectional break, and a paragraph break? It's all a matter of style, organization, and flow. I have noticed in my reading of Anthony that sometimes I like to pause in places different than his meaningful breaks (paragraph or chapter) have by design. Looking at these places, I can often discern his meaningfulness in action, but I suspect that his is a sign of a much earlier generation's sensibility.
I get why editors break up his text. Whether they have a right to is a different conversation, and here I am of mixed opinions as to how far an editor's job rightfully goes. Copyright is often purchased, which gives the editor control, but there is the question of the integrity of the author's work in representing his name (even if copyright transfers this when sold). Often, Anthony has strong arguments for the problems of editorial overreach, but that's a different discussion, better found in the commentary of a book with an author's note where Anthony brings it up. The most egregious example is But What of Earth?!.
Piers' Cantinaarticle for Niekas. Anthony writes about attending the Science Fiction Research Association annual meeting in Kansas, and reflects on various science fiction authors. I'm not sure I agree with Williamson's comments on ethics, or at least how Anthony discusses it. I understand ethics are a system of morals, a field of philosophy.
Politician was written in pencil from 3 November 1983 to 20 January 1984, the last he did before ultimately moving on to a Dec Rainbow workstation running CP/M, and thus also abandoning his Olympia manual typewriter. The following drafts were started 14 April 1984, finished at the end of May. The final submission draft was after With a Tangled Skein, as indicated in the With a Tangled Skein, Politcian, and Wielding a Red Sword author's notes. Anthony counts Politician as his fiftieth published book, published May 1985.
I read the Xlibris hard cover edition, with author's note dated June 1999 (like the preceeding), which is also the print date from Xlibris. Politician is the Bio of a Space Tyrant trilogy conclusion, the sequel to Mercenary. The sequel is Executive.
Politician documents Hope's rise to political power, his love affair with Megan, the rival become confidant in Thorley, the political rival in Tocsin, and his facing impeachment.
Spoilers to follow.
Having immigrated to Jupiter, Hope becomes popular and begins as local governor, catching the political eye of a rival who is running for president and wants Hope out of the way. As Hope rises in power, he also becomes the target of assassinations, political intrigue with Saturn, and a certain rival in the press who becomes a friend.
With a Tangled Skein was written together with Politician, the first draft completed in late 1983. The second draft of With a Tangled Skein was started in March 1984. The third and final draft in early spring of 1984. It appears to have been finished a few weeks before Politician, 11 April 1984. BiOgre mentions proofreading galleys in June 1985.
I read the Del Rey May 1985 book club edition hardcover, with cover painting by Michael Whelan. With a Tangled Skein is Anthony's fiftieth written novel, but the fifty-first actually published, the conclusion to the Incarnations of Immortality trilogy, first published October 1985. It's sequel is Wielding a Red Sword.
With a Tangled Skein begins as a love story of a young couple, Niobe and Cedric, as well as of Niobe's love of nature, then becomes one of unrequited love, turning into the motivation for Niobe taking over as one of the fates that weaves the fabric of history for human individuals. As the obvious antagonist of the story, Niobe's intrigue with the incarnation of Satan becomes its own political hassle (what else do you expect with the Incarnation of Evil pursuing her?), as she discovers the line of her own fate and what happened to her lost love.
See Part 2 of my notes on Piers Anthony novels for his next decade of writing.