I started rereading Piers Anthony in 2014, wanting to revisit the books I enjoyed as a teen. I started reading in rough chronological writing order. This led to my trying to find out what was written next.
These notes are heavy on discerning details about the writing of the books, and understanding the edition that I read. Also, this web page keeps my writing out of the adware sphere of anti-social media. As I continue reading HiPiers newsletters, later books of Anthony's and related author's notes, I may make edits from time to time. This first set of notes focuses on how to read Anthony's work as if you were reading Bio of an Ogre (BiOgre), stopping to read each story in the order they were completed and first published. As an example, Pretender was the fourth novel written, but it was expanded a decade later as a science fiction novel. Thus it is listed as being finished later as the original historical novel was never published, only the science fiction rewrite. BiOgre didn't sell until 1987, and thus mentions (and sometimes hints at) works after the 50 mark. In particular, With a Tangled Skein is included in this first set of notes, as it was written and published within the scope of BiOgre (i.e. up to August 1984), while others that were written but not published, regardless of mention, are not.
A second page will carry on from where BiOgre ends.
At first, I decided not to track shorter works. The stories are scattered across different publications over the years. Those tracked in the unsold/unpublished Anthonology (not to be confused with the published version) are mentioned as it is clear what they are and when written. It is not entirely possible to keep track of everything, and some of the stories I've not been able to find to read. However, identifying a reading order for the stories in their publication, or where unpublished the writing, order fits the goal of this page, so I have started adding them. See the BiOgre bibliography, or the one found in Killobyte, and that found at Hi Piers, 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. However, because this article is also intended to enable an author-oriented reading order, it is not unexpected that this web page will be used as a reference. This table of contents links the books (not the stories).
The following early published stories preceed Anthony's first published book,
Chthon, mostly written in 1957. Sixteen stories were written before
Anthony's writing year (October 1962 to October 1963), and fourteen stories during the writing
year. It's not clear if Unstilled World was considered one of those stories, or was
excluded as a novel. It was noted that 7 stories were submitted in 1958. Those here as published
are complete through 1964, but only one of the four sales in 1965 is listed. (I don't know what
the other three are yet; maybe they were sold in 1965 and published later.) I'm not aware of
those published in 1966 either, other than The Ghost Galaxies
. If a story found its first
print in one of Anthony's collections, then they may be noted here in context of their writing
order. After June 1966, when he retired to writing, Anthony mostly wrote novels, so chances are
most of the later story publications are from success in continuing to circulate unsold stories, or later expanding unsold stories into novel form.
A Piece of Cake?, written in 1961, and published in the March 1968 issue of Analog.
Southern Approach. See BiOgre
Chthon was finished in June 1965, sold 27 June 1966, and nominated for a Hugo and
Nebula after it was printed in August(?) 1967. I read the Xlibris hardcover, published in 2000.
This is the fifth edition, 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
. 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 restored the text of the first 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 (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.
For pronunciation, see the encyclopedia entry at the beginning of
the book, which gives a slient Ch
. This is also noted in the
July 2011 HiPiers newsletter. Chthon is a prison story about a
man condemned for falling in love with a woman that finds pleasure in
torture. There's more to the story, of course, as her existence threatens
the galaxy. It is inspired by the song Remember Me
(Frankie
Laine), though Anthony remembered it as The Girl in the Wood
(which it seems to have been commonly called). In the author's note
to Geis of the Gargoyle
he comments about this discovery. Chthon has a sequel: Phthor.
After University
, I don't know what stories 6-8 were called, other than that they were
published in If at some point between 1968 and 1970. They can be found in the book
Prostho Plus by the same chapter number, the same as with the
unsold 3 and 4.
Sold October 1967. Finished January 1968(?) and published in 1968 by Ace as a mass market paperback. I read the Xlibris 2002 softcover, which has a 2002 copyright, so may have had some small revisions to the text. The Ring was written in tandem with Hasan. The novel Sos the Rope was written next.
Geoffrey Font Jr. is convincted 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 it 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, and remains my favorite of Anthony's collaborations with him.
Sos the Rope won the Pyramid Fantasy and Science Fiction Award in 1967 (noted on the
back cover of the Ballantine hardcover edition of Omnivore, and in
the chapter Penny
in BiOgre). It was first
published in October 1968, by Pyramid as a paperback. I read the Avon, January 1978 Battle
Circle paperback.
Of all Anthony's books, it is one of my favorites, based
on the chapter Battle
of Anthony's Bachelor's thesis,
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.
When Omnivore was going slow,
being more intellectual, Sos the Rope was used to
keep the writing momentum going. According to Appendix F in
BiOgre, and the June
2009 newsletter, this approach became part of how he avoided writer's
block.
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, who defeats him, to unify the remnant tribes of humanity.
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. I found them well adapted to the story, and enjoyed the imagery.
Hasan was sold in 1969 to Fantastic Stories, a 70,000 word novel printed in two parts in December 1969 and February 1970. 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.
Hasan was written after the original historical version of Pretender. The Ring was apparently written along with Hasan. The author's note in the Mundania Press edition of Macroscope implies that The Ring was before Hasan, but it's not clear if that means started writing or finished. My guess here is started. Correspondence will slow down a collaboration, (and with The Ring, Anthony is revising and making publishable an existing work). Autobiographies and later author's notes regarding the book suggest Hasan confirms this ordering.
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.
Sold in 1967 and published December 1968, I read the 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 imaging of the characters and landscape. It looks like an overexposed photo, but well done for the time. Though started before Sos the Rope, it was finished after. This was the edition that caused the fight with Ballantine, described in his autobiographies, and the remarketing of Paleo 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.
Macroscope was originally finished August 1968, and published October 1969. I read the Mundania Press, November 2003 edition with cover art by Ariana Overton. Macroscope was written after Omnivore. BiOgre lists this 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.
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 similar to that of Jupiter's with the Bio of a Space Tyrant series.
Sadly, Anthony doesn't write much science fiction these days, fantasy being easier and more saleable for him, which is understandable. Asimov too would complain when asked for more books of science fiction when he found other fiction and especially non-fiction easier and quicker to write.
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, and the print list is for November 2003.
Sold 1969, published 1970. I read the Xlibris 2002 softcover, which has a 2002 copyright, so may have had some small revisions to the text. Originally titled The Rumpleskin Brat, The E. S. P. Worm was written after Macroscope.
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 his father decides to destroy Earth. This is a difficult task considering Qumax is able to perceive Harold's thoughts, always keeping him one step ahead. This is both a funny adventure story as well as some serious and thoughtful characterization and plot.
Finished under its working title Paleo on 27 June 1969. I read the 1970 Nelson Doubleday hardcover, a book club edition, with cover illustration by Frank Franzetta. That's the painting that is mentioned in the June and July 2010 newsletters. 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, originally finished 1 January 1967, was written during, and as part of, the research for Orn. It was published in Pandora in 1988, and can be found in Anthony's second short story collection Alien Plot.
This 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.
A postscript by Calvin Potter explores the science in the book. Modern reprints have an afterward by Anthony looking 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.
The sequel and conclusion of the Of Man and Manta series is 0X.
I read the Victor Gollancz Limited hardcover, published in 1971. This book 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 finished. (Also see BiOgre for dates and explanation.)
This is a collection of eight short stories about becoming the first Earth intergallactic dentist. These stories were primarily published by Galaxy in If magazine, but the first was published in Analog. The second and third story were not published until this volume.
There's also a Prostho Minus series that has three stories, not available in an anthology, alas. Prostho Plus reminds me of the humor from Asimov's Azazel, and is Anthony at his best. I love these stories.
Copyright 1972, and marked in BiOgre as first published in 1973 as a Bantam paperback. 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, Var's 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.
I read the Tor paperback, printed September 1985, though published in hardcover by Hawthorn in 1973. The first chapter of Hasan is found in the back.
John Smith: what a character name. This is not a reference to the Doctor. (Doctor Who?) He's a teen boy in the 1960s. At least so he thought, but things don't add up, and his cloistered, disciplined life doesn't seem right.
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.
I read the Xlibris two book compendium, Jason Striker Martial Arts Series, Volume 1. Written in 1972, Kiai! was a series of stories written with Roberto Fuentes after Dead Morn. Kiai! was collected as a book, after the writing of But What of Earth?, 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 an advanced black belt led credibility to the martial arts in the stories. The book didn't take off with book publishers either until the TV series Kung Fu aired with David Carradine, at which point Berkley (and one other) asked for it back, after rejecting it. It was published in 1974. The sequel is Mistress of Death.
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.
First published in 1974. 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.
This is one of Anthony's more obscure works, it seems, but 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.
Having read this many years after its publication, I was mildy reminded of the Xanth novel Yon Ill Wind. It also contains a character with diabetes which becomes a bigger concern in a world where insulin is not readily available, and lends to some of the realism of the story.
I read the Sphere Books Ltd first paperback edition from 1975, originally published in 1974,
but finished in 1972 as A Piece of Cake (an elaboration on a short story, The Alien Rulers
, from Analog, in 1968). This was written after
Hard Sell, and before
Kiai! (also a series of short stories), 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 conquers the Kazos, but works out an uneasy peace in a kind of mutual domination of each other. In their manipulative intrigue they have worked out a resolution against annihilation and for a wicked, interspecies cooperation, reducing the human population. Then the plot twist identifies another party that is involved, seemingly throwing off the delicate, disliked balance.
Not quite sure when this was written. Like Kiai!, it wasn't published until 1974. Mistress of Death is the second Jason Striker book, and is included with Kiai! in its Jason Striker Martial Arts Series, Volume 1 Xlibris print. The sequel is Bamboo Bloodbath.
This is where the plot starts to get interesting and a bit more bloody. The mistress is the new antagonist who uses drugs to capitivate her victims. It's basically a drug ring and Striker wants to bring it down. Meanwhile, his dojo and students become imperiled.
I read Bamboo Bloodbath, the conclusion to the Jason Striker first trilogy, in the Xlibris Jason Striker Martial Arts Series, Volume 2 edition. The original copyright is 1974. The sequel is 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.
Ninja's Revenge begins a second (and final) Jason Striker trilogy. I read it as the second book in the Xlibris Jason Striker Martial Arts Series, Volume 2 edition. The original copyright is 1975. The sequel is Amazon Slaughter.
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.
Amazon Slaughter is the fifth book of the Jason Striker series, published in 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 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, Curse of the Ninja. The draft is significant, including five full chapters and most 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 the short stories Ki and Beast of Betelgeuse, the essay Kiai! -- How it Began, which follows the books (and should be read after?), the two chapter book summary Windbreaker, intending a new series, and the two chapter summary Biography of a Terrorist, relaying Fuentes' experience in Cuba with, then against, the communist government there. Once the series had been canceled, the Windbreaker summary was a moot point.
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. The conclusion to the Battle Circle series, though two more novels had been considered. Anthony indicated that the market for the series had disappeared. Neq the Sword was only initially, and independently, published in Britain. Copyright in the book Battle Circle is 1975 which matches the short lived Corgi Science Fiction edition with gruesome cover. This US edition prints the entire trilogy. According to the June 2010 newsletter, Paizo Press Planet Stories also published all the books of the trilogy, though as separate volumes.
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.
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. I don't know whether Chthon or Phthor ever had a hardback print before that from Xlibris, but like the Bio of a Space Tyrant series, Xlibris provided the opportunity to have both Chthon and Phthor paired in hardcover print. 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 British 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.
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 it up in 1975 and published it at the end of the year. 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.
Steppe was finished in 1972, though it's not clear if this was the original historical novel, or the science fiction rewrite to be able to sell it, which finally happened in 1975, and subsequently published in 1976 in the UK. I read the September 1985 Tor hardcover, with the sexy dust jacket painting by Boris Vallejo.
This science fiction approach to rewriting unsold historical novels, which started with his first collaboration novel Pretender, doesn't always pay off. Anthony has done it to get the books into print, since he's recognized as a science fiction and fantasy genre writer, not a historical writer. What I've noticed is that the science fiction framework often is nothing more than that: an encasement that doesn't always flush out the science fiction ideas presented, though Anthony always wraps up the science fiction part to completion. Steppe had times where the science fiction element got in the way, and other times it felt unfulfilled (especially with such an engrossing beginning), but the story comes to terms with itself and the threads aren't abandoned.
Steppe as a novel was fun and enjoyable, providing a kind of gladiator arena, naturally an on-the-side love story (it is an Anthony novel), and realistic historical Uigur imagery.
I read the 1976 Nelson Doubleday, Inc. book club edition hardcover. 0X (pronounced Zero-Ex) is about artificial intelligence based on Gardner's The Game of Life. There is a brief author's note about it, the first of the books I own from Anthony that has one (Chthon had a brief author's note in its first edition, which would have made it the first), with a reference to Macroscope's game of Sprouts. The 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.
Finished June 1975, I read the TOR July 1989 paperback edition with cover art by Don Maitz. 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 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, if I read the description in How Precious Was That While correctly. For Anthony, this rates as his least favorite novel, probably from the circumstance of its writing and publication, but I really enjoyed the narrative.
There are two naratives here. The first is the short novel that would become the prequel of
the Cluster series. From notes in But What of Earth?,
Tarot, and the Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. edition of
Cluster, it's not entirely clear if ideas for Cluster came before
But What of Earth?. The Introduction
to Tarot is the
only place that it might imply the ideas for Cluster came first,
and But What of Earth? became a prequel to it. Certainly, I can see after the fact why it
would be thought of that way, but it appears that the ideas didn't develop that way. But What
of Earth? can be ignored by Cluster series fans without taking away from it, but I find the
ideas in But What of Earth? develop nicely going into
Cluster. So 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.
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 have authors sign 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. 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.
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. Other than a bit of an abrupt, raw start to the novel, I found it enjoyable and worth a reread.
I first read the Gollancz British hard cover edition of Cluster. This series has some relation to the book But What of Earth?. The novel Tarot is a follow up to But What of Earth?, and ties it into the Cluster framework. But What of Earth? was written first, and sets up the idea of matter transmission, what Star Trek called beaming. (Star Trek subspace beaming was, with one TNG exception, not used and not really possible. There's also transwarp beaming suggested in the Star Trek reboot, i.e. Kelvin timeline, movie series.) Matter transmission was Anthony's way of maintaining integrity with known constraints of speed-of-light travel, which I like. The idea of But What of Earth? was that as people matter transmitted to other worlds, the deminishment of population led to a kind of mathematical deminishment of civilization. It wasn't until Tarot was started that the connection between But What of Earth? and Cluster was made. 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 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 density outward, thus having a similar effect.
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 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, likely after revising Ghost. 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. Lester wanted something new. Anthony agreed, but 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 he is 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 a great 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, a part of the three book collection The Magic of Xanth.
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 original final product, and am not keen on the 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 original A Spell for Chameleon.
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. 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 galatic 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, and the conclusion of the trilogy (though not the series).
I read the Open Road Integrated Media 2014 paperback edition. This is a new, revised edition, edited in February 2009. I believe the original was completed sometime in 1976, perhaps in the summer, which would have it written right after Chaining the Lady. However, though a suspicion, based on author notes, it might have been written after the aborted novel Curse of the Ninja, a collaboration with Roberto Fuentes. It is copyright 1978.
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 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, aiding the story in visualization. Pretender was originally published in a hardcover limited edition, with a mainstream trade paperback. Tor picked it up in paperback in 1985.
This book was Anthony's first book length collaboration, I believe in 1966, asking Frances Hall to assist him with it. The original historical novel would thus be Anthony's third novel finished. Pretender was rewritten in the late 1970s as science fiction to make it easier to sell.
The science fiction rewrite adds an engrossing story line, and a new beginning, about an alien that 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.
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 originally published in three
volumes: God of Tarot by Jove in 1979, and then by Berkley, Vision of Tarot in and
Faith of Tarot in 1980, and God of Tarot in 1981. 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, but this was later replaced by
Tatham Mound, as noted in
How Precious Was That While and in the Ace
Introduction
.
The development of Paul in this story has no where near the same feel as 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. Tarot should be read while reading the first two books of the Cluster series (and after But What of Earth?, which should, but doesn't have to, be read first before all of them). Perhaps part of the problem is I wanted more of the Brother Paul of But What of Earth?. I got that Paul, but in a circumstance perhaps that was not as much to my fancy.
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. However, But What of Earth?, Tarot, Cluster can each stand on their own as independent novels.
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 Nelson Doubleday hardcover book club edition The Magic of Xanth, with jacket painting by Tony Fiyalko. The Source of Magic was published in (early?) 1979. The sequel is Castle Roogna, a part of the three book collection The Magic of Xanth.
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 reoccuring 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.
Castle Roogna was published in (late?) 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. Perhaps par for the course (though there are exceptions in history). 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 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 instead of Danelaw English. Though its use is well blended in the story as an affectation, outside religious circles tied to the King James Bible (and its competitors and those that preceded it) its use as modern speech mostly disappeared by the 1970s, (though I remember its 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.
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 is copyright 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. Some things I didn't like about reading the Double Exposure edition of this book was the lack of the sexy cover of the Del Rey edition that had first got me interested in this series and the map that really is for the final book perhaps giving away too much.
I read the Open Road Integrated Media 2014 paperback edition. This is a new, revised edition, scanned and proofed in March 2009. My guess is Thousandstar was written in 1979, but it's not clear. Mute, in its original form, was claimed in the Xlibris author's note to also have been finished in 1979. I suspect Thousandstar was written before Mute.
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 a bit less serious, and more fun (not a negative reflection on the preceding novels) 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.
Mute was originally written in 1979, and published in an abridged form in 1981. It was restored in early 2001, with basic revisions. 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 Open Road Integrated Media 2014 paperback edition. This is a new, revised edition, edited in March (and possibly April?) 2009. It was sold from summary in 1979, and begun 8 May 1980. The author's note indicates it was finished 20 September 1980. 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.
I read the Dell Rey 1981 book club edition hardcover, with jacket painting by Tony Fiyalko. 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.
I read the Nelson Doubleday, Inc. book club edition hardcover, Double Exposure, 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 printed in 1982, Juxtaposition is the conclusion to the Stile focused Apprentice Adept trilogy, exploring the relationship of Phaze and Proton, which Stile must save, risking 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 trilogy.
I read the Dell Rey 1982 book club edition hardcover with jacket painting by Tony Fiyalko. Ogre, Ogre is Xanth #5. 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 1982 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). Nightmare is Xanth #6, the conclusion to the second trilogy. 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.
I read the 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.
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. Anthony's longer, biographical author's notes
started about 1981 (with Viscous Circle) for Anthony, as observed
in this novel. I suspect that the writing of the author notes in On a Pale Horse, and the
author's recognition of him 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), inspired the writing of
BiOgre (as Anthony's second autobiography called
it), and the author's notes followed thereafter with most of his novels. Author's notes really
never existed, as far as I can tell, before Viscous Circle, 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. The book was originally finished 26 June 1982, almost two months after On a Pale Horse depending on how you time the first drafts versus the final typed drafts. The author's note is dated June 1999. The sequel is Mercenary.
This is pure science fiction, 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 with more realistic space travel. Now we have a vision of a solar society, a commentary on existing 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).
This series seems to be, or at least towards, the beginning of his break from standard
publishing, and moving towards greater authorial freedom. The republication in 1999 shows the
post-Pulpless period as he moved into the realm of self-publishing. Xlibris follows Tafford and
Mundania Press in publishing investments from Anthony, and begins looking at the period after
Tor. 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 1983 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. 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.
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.) The sequel is With a Tangled Skein.
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.
I read the 1999 Xlibris hardcover. The author's note is dated June 1999 as was its predecessor's, Refugee. Mercenary's first draft was finished 21 January 1983, written in pencil after the final(?) draft completion of Dragon on a Pedestal, (see the 1999 Xlibris author's note). The final draft was finished on 22 July 1983. Mercenary is volume 2 in the Bio of a Space Tyrant series, the sequel to Refugee. The final draft was finished after Bearing an Hour Glass (see its author's note). The sequel is Politician.
Spoilers to follow.
This book has some beautiful and imaginative scenes on and around Jupiter, and some epic spaces 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.
I read the Del Rey 1984 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. 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 chapter (and chapter 2 beginning), likely with 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.
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. Anthony counts Politician as his fiftieth published book. This is book 3 in the Bio of a Space Tyrant series, the sequel to Mercenary. 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. Politician was written in pencil from 3 November 1983 to 20 January 1984, the last he did so 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.
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.
The author's note presents its own skein, a sequel to the note in With a Tangled Skein, and a kind of mini version of what later became Bio of an Ogre. In some ways, the author's notes starting with Viscous Circle are a variant of what is found in Bio of an Ogre. It's not clear which came first, i.e. the related chapter in Bio of an Ogre or the related author's note. My guess is Bio of an Ogre summarizes the author's notes, but who knows. The sequel to Politician is Executive.
I read the Del Rey 1985 hardcover, with cover painting by Michael Whelan. The manuscript was finished 11 April 1984. This is Anthony's fiftieth written novel, but the fifty-first actually published. This was written together with Politician, the first drafts completed in late 1983, early 1984, and then the second and third drafts in the late winter, early spring, of 1984. (The second draft of With a Tangled Skein was started in March 1984.) It appears to have been finished (final draft) a few weeks before Politician. BiOgre mentions proofreading galleys in June 1985. With a Tangled Skein is the conclusion to the Incarnations of Immortality trilogy. It's sequel is Wielding a Red Sword.
This begins as a love story of a young couple, Niobe and Cedric, as well as Niobe's love of nature, and 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.
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, which began with the short story Evening
in 1954, (not published in this volume). These are Anthony's stories as published between
1963-1972, compiled for this collection in 1984. The story The Toaster
is one of Anthony's
first stories, offered as one that was early rejected, thus never sold, but which Anthony
suspects is at least no worse than Possible to Rue
(his 19th story and the
first sold). The Toaster
was written after the sale of Possible to Rue
, so it was
the 20th story? Technically, Demisee
was the first sale, found in
BiOgre, but it never saw print and was never paid
for.)
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 much 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.
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 the rest of the 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 is Stephen King's writing. 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).
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. 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, such as with Mute or better with But What of Earth?!.
See Part 2 of my notes on Piers Anthony novels for later novels of his that I've read.
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