This is the second set of notes on the published works of P. A. D. Jacob, consistent with Anthony's second autobiography, How Precious Was That While, which covers age 50-60 (August 1984 to August 1994 and 100 books), though through 60 might be only somewhat accurate. This page preserves publication order, so some works, especially collaborations, that were discussed in How Precious Was That While are by necessesity mentioned on the next page.
In the late 1990s, a Wizard of Oz sequel is mentioned as started, with a 20,000 word sample with summary, based on an anticipated script for a movie. It was never completed as the movie was never produced. The piece is likely abandoned, only discussed in a HiPiers newsletter, so is noted here for want of a better place to mention it. See the May 1997 HiPiers newsletter.
See the part 1 page of notes for his early works, and part 3 for what followed, as the author progressed into his sixties and beyond.
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 final draft was finished 27 December 1984, written after Golem in the Gears. Executive is book four in the Bio of a Space Tyrant series, the sequel to Politician. It was first published by Avon December 1985. The fifth book in the series, and what was for years the final installment: Statesman. I read the Xlibris hardcover. The author's note is dated July 1999, a month after the previous three novels in the series as printed by Xlibris.
Spoilers to follow.
In some ways, Executive is the pinnacle of the ideas behind the space tyrant. In the previous three novels was explored piracy, militancy, and political ambition. Between revenge against the pirates that brutalized his family in Refugee, and his taking control of not only Jupiter, but the rest of the solar system, Executive brings forward some of the political and environmental ideas that motivated Anthony to write the series in the first place. If you had absolute power to fix societal problems, what would you change and how? What would that look like from the analogy of the U.S. constitutional convention? Can absolute emperial power be resisted, corruption avoided, and ultimately be restored to its original constitutional frame? Probably not.
Recent events with the US presidency of 2016-2020, and the second term
started in 2024, have led me to think that the presidency of Donald J. Trump
(DJT) is the opposite example of that given in Executive. Instead
of due process establishing a tyrancy, it is taken by fiat. Instead of a
restoration of that benevolent tyrancy (can such wielded power ever be
benevolent?) to the original order, a power grab is desired by the ruling
party. In this spirit, Trump and his enablers I call them The Tyrancy
.
December Datesin Alien Plot. We all want love, as we get older, when we're younger, and with differing needs, but what if there were an equalizer, something to enable couples that would otherwise only imagine what fulfillment might be? Christmas time is a romantic time of year.
The submission manuscript was finished after the But What of Earth? restoration. Golem in the Gears is the first book written on the computer mentioned at the end of BiOgre, with the PTP text processor. It was started in July 1984 and finished before 15 September 1984. (The But What of Earth? restoration was actually started in June with the select86 word processor the month before.)
First published February 1986, I read the Dell Rey April 1986 book club
edition hardcover, with jacket painting by Ron Walotsky. The Lexicon
of Xanth
is offered as an appendix, compiled by M. J. Langley
and Ass-osciates Michael and Keith
. (A supplement to the lexicon
is offered in Man from
Mundania, and a different, newer, illustrated lexicon in the
Visual Guide to Xanth.) The map in the book
club edition hardcover doesn't seem right, being the earlier map, not the
one from Ogre, Ogre. Golem
in the Gears is the conclusion to the Xanth trilogy of trilogies,
Xanth #9, the last of the Dell Rey Xanth novels, written shorter so as
to avoid Lester's editorial knife. The sequel is
Vale of the Vole.
Grundy was introduced in the first Xanth trilogy, his romance
with Rapunzel (yes that's pun
), and the sea hag that steals
identities. She has Rapunzel locked up in a tower as a prisoner and she
may be the only one that can truly love him. Grundy is an irascible
character, but that's why we love him in the stories, (OK, so at least
the readers love him). Riding his monster from under the bed, Grundy has
a rather obvious quest, except he's helping Ivy find her dragon with her
grandfather Bink. Naturally, the Good Magician Humphrey charges him for
advice, which kills two birds with one stone, so to speak.
Uncollected Stars was finished in 1984. I read the Avon Books, February 1986 paperback. This is a collaboration with three other genre authors: Barry Malzberg, Martin H. Greenberg, and Charles G. Waugh. The afterward is dated 24 January 1985.
Uncollected Stars is a collection of previously unanthologized
classic science fiction tales. Each editor gives a small introduction to
each story. If you love science fiction stories, this will expose you to
stories likely otherwise unread (from their first printing), but worthy
of further publication. The worthy, otherwise passed over or ignored,
is a typical theme for Anthony. Therefore, the question is begged:
why wasn't one of Anthony's early
stories included? Sheol
(with H. J. Hotaling), or maybe
A Piece of Cake
(Greenburg picked it up in a later anthology), come to mind.
In How Precious Was That While, Anthony claimed that either Greenberg or Waugh included one of their favorites, which was moved to the front. However, looking at the copyrights, the stories are listed in chronological order of publication. Anthony also stated his introduction was written with the original first story in mind to follow, but rereading the introduction, I can't identify which story was intended.
A later author's note indicated that he hadn't been able to be involved
in the initial story selection process, but was given a pre-selected group
to consider and narrow down. Stories he had wanted in the collection,
part of why he had agreed to the collaboration, were not in the initial
selections. Thus, he questioned whether this should be counted as one
of the books he numbered among his own. However, I think it should be
numbered among his works, and he seems to have later decided so. Most
of the stories I enjoyed (a couple didn't appeal), though all are good
science fiction. Anthony collected a follow up, which includes most of
the stories he'd originally wanted, such as Myrrha
, in
One and Wonder.
I read the May 1986 hardcover published by Tom Doherty Associates, cover art by Linda Garland.
Based on the comment in the introduction to the Ace edition of Tarot, Shade of the Tree appears to be one of the eight unsold novels, written not long after the move to Citrus county Florida. It is mentioned in the Alien Critic fanzine, number 35 (though titled Science Fiction Review, the second with that title and number), the May 1980 edition, as being half finished. There was a brief mention in the Through The Ice author's note about Shade of the Tree. However, when adding up dates and identifying the publisher: Shade of the Tree is one of the ten novels sold to Tor, and was being typed up on the new Dec computer with PTP. Ghost also appears to be one of the later ones after Steppe.
This is Anthony's foray into horror, as discussed in his first autobiography (without mention of title). Shade of the Tree succeeds in its characterization, plot, and environmental focus that are typical of Anthony's work. A man and his family, sans wife, move to a Florida home that is haunted, or is it? Shade of the Tree is up there in my Anthony favorites. It's a shame it's one of the more neglected titles in terms of recognition.
Dream Makersis the fifth
Piers' Cantinaarticle. Anthony discusses the distortion fields of truth, and demonstrates it by lampooning Charles Platt by paralleling an interview article Platt had written on him. A small letter is also included with a brief response to an editor's note in Platt's response, kind of. A letter calls Anthony an
egotistical misogynist idiot, which Anthony responds to in Niekas 35 by writing,
My daughters said the first word is correct and the last two words wrong. Another letter in 35 indicates he will attend his first fantasy convention in 1987.
I read the TOR September 1986 hardcover, with cover art by Ron Walotsky.
The story The Ghost Galaxies
was printed in the September
1966 edition of If. The original title was Ghost
,
written in 1961 at 10,000 words. It was later rewritten and marketed
in 1965, apparently going through revisions until sold. The story
was later expanded into a novel in 1972, with its original title,
after Steppe. It was then
expanded further in February 1976 by editorial request, written after
0X. The novelette comes from
the perspective of the steady state theory, which was antiquated by the
big bang theory. The novel builds on the novelette to be consistent with
big bang cosmology, and was written in such a way as to not compensate
for the spoilers in the novellete's (printed) title (or if the novellete
was read first).
Anthony notes in BiOgre that he switched to a Dec Rainbow computer, originally with select86, then the PTP word processor, (which of course changed with time). Before this, once he moved from Vermont to Florida (but before his move to the tree farm), he wrote his novels by hand on a clip board during the winter, then would type on an Olympia typewriter in a building out in a horse pasture without heating or cooling. Presumably, in entering it into a computer for the Tor edition, according to the author's note, he probably made minor revisions as any submission draft might have, yet that same note seems to assume that Ghost is unprinted, (an odd thing to add to an author's note, and odd it didn't get corrected). See the author's note in the 1985 edition of Steppe.
Captain Shetland takes the time ship Meg II to the edge of space and time, looking for a new energy source for an energy exhausted Earth. Earth had recently recovered from its poluted history not wanting to repeat the mistake. Along the way they encounter a ghost, find themselves distracted in dealing with it as it disrupts the ship, and they face the possibility of being lost in time and space.
Wielding a Red Sword was started on 2 January 1985, after finishing Executive. See the Xlibris edition author's note in Executive. Wielding a Red Sword is the fourth Incarnations of Immortality novel, the first of a new, second trilogy, first published October 1986. I read the Del Rey April 1987 book club edition hardcover with cover painting by Michael Whelan.
There's a kind of Siddhartha-as-Buddha story in Wielding a Red Sword, but instead of enlightenment, a prince wants to ameliorate violence in the world by becoming the incarnation of war, but it becomes a fight against the incarnation of evil. He meets a woman who makes him feel comfortable with his stutter. The series has settled down here, and the past figures are coming back to revisit for the readers of the trilogy.
The author's note lists Politician as what was written after Golem in the Gears, the first science fiction composed on the Dec Rainbow with PTP. This contradicts the later note in the 1999 Xlibris edition of Politician. Plus, the dates don't add up. It was Executive that Anthony intended. I read the book club edition, so it's not clear if a later printing corrected this. I wrote the author asking about it, but he says he doesn't remember. My guess is he doesn't have the book to reference in his new home in California. Past moves have caused disruption in his notes. His book collection was substantive so probably didn't make it to his small retirement flat in California.
Statesman was started 2 September 1985, after finishing Out of Phaze, and completed 24 November 1985. It was first published by Avon December 1986. I read the October 2000 Xlibris hardcover. Statesman is the fifth volume (and conclusion) of the Bio of a Space Tyrant series, but there is a sequel.
Spoilers to follow.
Statesman follows the rest of Hope's life, exiled and deposed in the best way that could be done. Finally, we get to look at what is to come from solar exploration, beginning to look out to the stars. Here is Hope's madness and concluding fancies pushed into reality.
This is the conclusion at the time it was written in the 1980s, setting a ground work to see what the experience might have looked like from the eyes of Hope's sister, but especially what the next steps after Hope would be. However, with Anthony leaving Dell Rey and moving his books over to Avon, then the publisher of the Bio of a Space Tyrant series, this spelled the end to a sequel to Statesman.
However, in 1999, after the digitizing of Statesman for publication with Xlibris, and the writing of its author's note in July of that year, Spirit's story was to be told. The final book is The Iron Maiden, but it doesn't go too far in identifying where the exploration outside the solar system would lead, or Hope's family, anymore than Statesman did. The series was already complete, and The Iron Maiden's purpose is wrapping up loose ends in the series, and retelling the story from Spirit's point of view. Some of the differences are subtle. I found refering back to the series useful in identifying differences.
Plague of Allosin Alien Plot. Before Isle of View, and the crossover into Xanth, Plague of Allos is about a tribe devastated by the reptilian allos, and the need for leadership.
The submission draft was completed end of August 1985. I read the June 1987 Ace/Putnam hardcover, cover art by Darrell Sweet. The new maps are signed by Storrings. Out of Phaze begins a new (the second and last) Apprentice Adept trilogy that can stand alone from the first trilogy. It's from a new publisher, Anthony having moved away from Del Rey. Its sequel is Robot Adept.
Out of Phaze follows Stile's child, Mach, who doesn't know about Phaze, at least at first. Naturally, he has his own magic and counterpart in Proton, providing an alernate perspective from the first trilogy: it is the magic side discovering the science side.
Dragon's Gold was written by Robert E. Margroff (Rem). Anthony revised the novel in 1986 to make it marketable, and it was accepted by the Tor editor, but only if expanded as a series. Tor published Dragon's Gold in July 1987. The sequel became Serpent's Silver. I read the 1993 Wings Books Three Complete Novels. Mundania Press later called this the Roundear Prophecy Series.
Dragon's Gold begins with a brother and sister sneaking away from home to steal gold scales from a dragon. Little do they know that this will fulfill a prophesy that will change their sense of who they are and where they came from. Kelvin is the chosen one and is destined to overthrow the evil witch who governs Rud.
I read the Avon January 1988 book club edition hardcover, with jacket art by Ron Walotsky, first published October 1987. The Avon/Marrow Xanth novels, at least the hardcovers, are without a map. This is Xanth #10, continuing beyond the Xanth trilogy of trilogies under a new publisher.
Anthony writes the perspective of a vole, diggles, wiggles, and the swarm at the end. You can hear the echos from Dragon on a Pedestal, as a swarm has occured before. It brings all the normal characters we are used to from Xanth, reintroducing them for new readers, but the Good Magician, who carries the Xanth story plots along as a benevolent guiding oracle, is gone, vanished without a trace, like a metaphor for the breach of relationship with Lester del Rey. The sequel is Heaven Cent.
Lifeas chapter five of Hard Sell. Fisk and Yola are hired by the Death Insurance Agency for corporate espionage, looking in to a death insurance operation. Death insurance is the right to stay dead once having died.
Being a Green Mother was started in December of 1985, after finishing Statesman, and finished in either February or March 1986 after Judy-Lynn del Rey died. The author's note isn't quite clear with the months, but is with the RAM upgrade to the second Dec Rainbow that Anthony used for writing at the time (the first apparently moved into the new house), and the use of the Edward editor that replaced PTP, from which this book was written.
I read the Del Rey December 1987 first edition hard cover, with cover painting by Michael Whelan. The cover, and inside of the dust jacket, states it is the series conclusion. Perhaps for Del Rey that was true, but For Love of Evil was sold to Avon/Morrow, the intended second trilogy conclusion and sequel. Being a Green Mother is Incarnations of Immortality book #5.
The author's note makes reference to an Elfquest story, written immediately after, which can be found in Anthony's story collection Alien Plot, as well as to a September 1985 phone call with Judy-Lynn. The issue at hand was Lester's editorial knife, cutting the author's note from Wielding a Red Sword, and the cuts that had happened with Crewel Lye before it. Anthony was now asking for a new editor. It's not clear if that was the issue of that particular conversation. In being denied that, Anthony was asking to return the advance for Wielding a Red Sword and back out of the contract. He wanted to move the series over to Avon with it and three more Incarnations novels (which would include Being a Green Mother). Apparently, a compromise was reached that led to Del Rey publishing both Golem in the Gears and Being a Green Mother. The final two novels would be marketed to Avon, as well as a three Xanth novel contract signed to move Xanth there. A new Apprentice Adept trilogy would go to Ace. Unfortunately, the Xanth contract killed the Bio of a Space Tyrant series, even though it was doing adequately well. Did the Avon contract lead to finally getting his autobiography, Bio of an Ogre published?
Being a Green Mother builds on the foundation laid by Wielding a Red Sword, which sets up for the dramatic conclusion in For Love of Evil, (And Eternity not having been originally planned). Being a Green Mother is about music, follows up on Mym, and explores the interesting relationship that develops with the incarnation of evil. The Llano runs throughout Being a Green Mother, a musical book of nature, longing, finding our place, love, and peace in unexpected places. The stakes are bigger in this story than the previous.
I agree with Anthony's comments on Jesus at the end of his author's note.
3.97 Erect was written beginning in 1969 and finished in 1970. This went unpublished and has a history of acceptance followed by rejection from publisher after publisher. It was first written for Essex House, which went out of business, perhaps as a too-hot publication concept: taboo breaking, pornographic fantasy and science fiction. Even Bantam rejected it after initial acceptance of it. Charles Platt, a previous editor of Anthony's and author of sequels to Phthor, then started his own publishing business to print it: Black Sheep. This is where it was first published in 1987 as Pornucopia, under the pseudonym Anton Pierz, as mentioned indirectly in BiOgre. Yet even Platt couldn't get a press to print the book, and rare proof copies go for large amounts from used book sellers.
In 1989, Tafford press was established to print the Platt arranged text, and they succeeded in November 1989. I have three of Tafford's books, and they are as well done as those by Mundania Press. When Tafford folded, Electric Bookworm took Pornucopia and folded before it was published. Mundania press was the second, Anthony focused press, that took Pornucopia, but it too has folded, and it is at Open Road Media as an electronic book. 3.97 Erect was written after Orn. A sequel was written for the Mundania Press edition: The Magic Fart.
I read the 18 August 2015 Mundania Press LLC hardcover The Pornucopia Compendium, with cover art by Joel Mallory and Niki Browning.
The story line is fairly direct: a man has a small penis and meets a demon who promises to solve his sex problems. Then things go wrong when the talent of his venerial disease curing cum is discovered and a doctor removes his genitals for scientific research. He has a prosthesis and goes on a quest to conquer demons to recover his bodily integrity. Meanwhile, he has to have lots of sex in every way possible.
This book is brain damage. You will lose your mental virginity. Somehow, it not only maintains plot integrity, but has characterization and actual humanistic themes. I don't know how Anthony pulled it off. Having read in his newsletters that the sequel has been more than enough to satisfy the urge to write such things, since he has sufficient money to no longer care about finding new markets, I am relieved. I'm one of Anthony's completists, but Pornucopia is one I do not intend to reread. Yet it was hillarious and easy enough, in short bursts, to read to completion (all things considering).
I read the April 1988 Ace/Putnam hardcover, cover art by Darrell Sweet. This is Apprentice Adept book #5. The maps are the same as from Out of Phaze. The sequel, and conclusion to the second trilogy, is Unicorn Point.
Robot Adept provides more adventures from Mach. In a way, this is a forbidden love story, maybe a spin on Romeo and Juliet, but with two worlds, errr their world, to save on top of it. Something similar is happening in the Proton frame, and the youngsters are finding a special bond between them while the adepts begin to fight over both Phaze and Proton in alliance with the citizens. All seem like pawns in the intrigue. A fitting sequel to, and a continuation from, Out of Phaze.
I read the Ace May 1988 first edition hardcover, with jacket painting
by Darrell Sweet. Bio of an Ogre (BiOgre, as Anthony
refers to it) was finished in the summer of 1985, but sold late,
though clearly there are up-to-the-minute edits (such as showing the
transition away from the PTP text processor to FinalWord II in Appendix
F under COMPUTER
and BLOCK
) extending into 1987. Formerly,
BiOgre covers up to the publication of his 50th book
at age fifty, descriptions of his writing, including unsold works. For
instance, Shade of the Tree is indirectly
referenced in BiOgre, which I suspect is one of the eight unsold
novels.
BiOgre is a must have for Anthony fans. I've read it more than
once, and have enjoyed the honest relation of his life and writing. It
is purposely not as detailed as Asimov's biographies, but gives a feel
for Anthony's first half of his life and work. It parallels a lot of
what is said in author's notes, but also has some unique content in
those parallels, both simpler and more elaborate. A later chapter in
BiOgre mentions the author's notes since
Viscous Circle saying
that they …could be updates on this volume
, which at least
suggests that BiOgre has summaries of the notes. The chapter
following is about his computerization, and there are more at-the-end
clarifications of things in chapters, and appendices, probably from
gallies. Appendix B discusses the Hilltop farm, elaborated on in
Chapter 7. There's a recent book that covers this in much more depth:
Hilltop Farm.
Demisee is an early short story in Appendix D, which gives a
full catalog of the writing and editorial interaction from this first
sale, (also mentioned in
Anthonology).
See the description in Part Four, Chapter 5, which is dedicated to the
Demisee
. Ultimately, it was not due to a change of editorship and
the magazine temporarily suspending publication. A detective interviews
a man who ran a read light, but is under suspicion for not having killed
the pedestrian he hit. I didn't find the plot to be as strained as the
editor suggested.
The book Death or Dialysis was a collaboration on kidney disease, dialysis, and kidney transplants was also worked on during this early period. The collaborator quit so Anthony was unable to finish it, even though the book was placed with a publisher, and thus abandoned. See Part Four, chapter 6.
If you've never read Piers Anthony, I think this is a good place to
start. Any story mentioned that seems of interest can then be tracked for
reading, (start with Demisee
after reading Part Four, Chapter 5).
See my previous web page of notes
while reading. Once done, move on to his second autobiography
How Precious Was That While,
and rinse repeat, following notes found on this page.
prevail upon despotic regimesto free prisoners, which he declined. He mentions
a pathological hatred of bullies, and therein lies a reflection of my own. From age 6 through all of grade school, I was severely bullied, and changed school districts to avoid it. I married an Army enlistee (now a combat veteran), and one of her commanders she introduced me to as pacifist. No, I'm not a pacifist, yet I don't believe that violence solves the problem of violence. However, I took karate and boxing classes since the early 1980s, because I learned that bullies only understand one language: violence. I took, and continue to take, those courses, because I want to be in control of that violence as much as I can. I enjoyed Anthony's reflections, as he related the alternative to violence: the word, i.e. the spoken and written word. Given at the first convention he attended, the 1987 World Fantasy Convention, and the third public meeting related to science fiction.
I read the Avon December 1988 hardcover, a book club edition, with jacket art by Ron Walotsky. Heaven Cent is Xanth #11, first published in October 1988. Its sequel is Man from Mundania.
We met Marrow Bones in Vale of the Vole, a lovable, haunting skeleton of the gourd realm who has been asked to take Bink's grandson, Dolph on a Xanth adventure. Dolph has so many questions, from why mushy adults are mushy to a grandmother's waning talent, to where in Xanth has the Good Magician gone to? Some things in Xanth don't follow Mundanian mores. This is a story from a little boy's perspective, very similar to how Dragon on a Pedestal is a story from a little girl's perspective. I'm always satisfied by Anthony's capacity to make vivid to the imagination non-adult (and non-human) perspectives.
Heaven Cent is mentioned in Chaos Mode (along with Virtual Mode though a separate incident) as being a book taken by a teacher in Florida from a neuro-divergent boy, Tommy. The teacher, and later the principal, was never able to justify this beyond stating that it was inappropriate, or not allowed in the cafeteria, all the things claimed by the teacher being shown not to be accurate. Anthony tried to intervene without success, and in the end sent an autographed copy to Tommy.
The manuscript was begun in October 1986 and finished January 1987, (the author's note was dated 27 December 1986). I read the William Morrow and Company, Inc. November 1988 first edition hardcover, with jacket design and painting by Rowena. For Love of Evil is Incarnations of Immortality book #6, and is the first published through Avon. It was intended to be the conclusion to the second trilogy, but with the move to Avon a sequel was considered, creating a stand alone pairing while at the same time building on what came before. The sequel is And Eternity.
For Love of Evil is the first book written from Microsoft DOS, having abandoned CP/M on the Dec Rainbow, and the last to use the Edward editor, custom fitted to run on Microsoft DOS and the Dec Rainbow. He was still using Smartkey to adapt the Dvorak keyboard to a Swedish layout (since the Finnish layout was buggy with that combination).
The incarnation of evil actually played out much better than I had expected. Go figure that the primary plot is a good man falling in love with a good woman, something bad happens, then the slippery slope to taking over as the incarnation of evil occurs. This criss crosses a bit over old territory, but from Satan's eyes. In other words, this retells the story that is told in Being a Green Mother from a different publisher. If anything, Piers Anthony knows how to finish a story. We know the end of this story, or do we?
Soft Like a Womanin Alien Plot. Quiti is a qualified pilot. Yet even on a mission to an enemy planet, she still isn't taken seriously by the men. When things go south, Quiti earns the respect she's sought.
Kyloin Alien Plot.
Kylowas written in late 1966, completed 1 January 1967. It was written as part of the research for Orn. What would a dinosaur look like as pet of the week?
I read the 1993 Wings book hardcover edition, called Three Complete Novels, an omnibus of the Adventures of Kelvin of Rud trilogy, with cover art by Mel Grant. Serpent's Silver was first published by Tor, December 1988. The sequel is Chimaera's Copper.
Alternate realities are introduced and Kelvin learns how to jump between them in his bid to save his captured father, deal with the evil witch who is a kind of doppelgaenger of his mother, and to save Rud and fulfill the prophecy. This book forwards the series concepts further.
I read the Ace/Putnam April 1989 first edition hardcover, with jacket painting by Darrell Sweet.
A game for power over Proton and Phaze leads Mach and the other children into an adult battle for their future. Their uncanny ability to interact with not only their counterpart selves in the other frame, but their siblings too, gives them an edge in the fight between serfs and citizens, magical beings and adepts.
The book follows each character in sets of three chapters, each chapter dedicated to following a particular character, and trading between Phaze and Proton. This is the conclusion of the second trilogy following Mach. One book, the seventh, remains to wrap up the series: PhazeDoubt.
a writer's magazine. A later chapter confirms that it was The Writer. I read this in its original, when I subscribed to The Writer. Anthony has always been about substance before style, and this article reflects that. Alien Plot restores some of the editorial modifications from The Writer.
I read the William Morrow and Company, Inc. first edition hardcover, published September 1989, with jacket illustration by John Berkey. It was finished in early 1989, (see Letters to Jenny).
The hardcover initial release was based on the original script. There
are some minor differences, e.g. Quail instead of Quaid (following
Dick's original name), and a sexy scene with Quail walking through the
3D light projection of a beautiful woman. The paperback follow up was
changed to more closely match the movie as produced. I think Anthony's
first edition novel was more fun, though Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon
Stone were great to watch. I think that Anthony's rendition of the script,
as originally printed, does justice to Dick's story We Can Remember
It For You Wholesale
, updating this 1960s pulp (F&SF) science
fiction classic for the current culture (though even that has aged
since). Of course, the movie story is far more elaborate than Dick's:
there's no Martian terraforming, political consipiracy, underground, or
mutants. Quail's job is not a clerk, but more suited to Schwarzenegger's
muscle.
A 2012 reboot with Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, and Jessica Biel was released with mixed reviews. Perhaps its hard to follow Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone, but I didn't find it that bad though it immitates the movie not Dick's story.
According to the author's note in And Eternity, Man from Mundania was finished in February or March 1988, depending on how the extra month of writing mentioned is interpreted. I read the May 1990 New English Library, British hardcover edition. Man from Mundania was first published by Avon in October 1989. The British edition cover art is beautiful, showing a man in a cave looking out on a snowy mountain scene with a young woman running down a path from a large, somewhat crystaline looking tower in the background. For some reason, the cover art is unattributed, and doesn't appear to have a signature. Man from Mundania is Xanth #12. The sequel is, the rather unique, Isle of View.
It is time for Ivy to leave Xanth for Mundania. She meets a college student and falls in love, but the student is Grey Murphy who likes to read Xanth novels but doesn't believe Xanth is real. Now why does Murphy and Vadne have a son in Mundania?
A supplement to the lexicon from Golem in the Gears is provided as an appendix. With the demise of Anthony's HiPiers website, the Xanth databases and chronicling have to be found on the Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20230406002440/http://www.hipiers.com/xanth.html. This is useful for what came after Man from Mundania as found in its lexicon and the Visual Guide to Xanth.
I read the April 1990 Avon book club edition hardcover, with cover illustration by Darrell K. Sweet. The book illustrations are by Todd Cameron Hamilton and James Clouse. Anthony writes a forward and afterword. The book text is in collaboration with Jody Lynn Nye, who previously had written authorized role playing game adventures in Xanth for Crossroads Adventures: The Encyclopedia of Xanth and Ghost of a Chance. The Visual Guide to Xanth was first published November 1989.
This is a necessary addition to the Xanth series at this point. For one, after Golem in the Gears, Avon/Morrow Xanth books do not include a map. The text is not a duplicate of the Golem in the Gears lexicon, or the additions to Man from Mundania, but is its own source of information, though there's a lot of overlap. I get the impression that the lexicon supplements are intended as much for Golem in the Gears as they are a companion to the Visual Guide to Xanth. Fans seemed to have carried on updating the lexicon, which Anthony's HiPiers website once posted, but the new website has not included.
The illustrations are beautiful, but I was confused by the illustrated
maps for awhile. The maps on pages 101 and 103 are inconsistent with the
(correct) descriptions of the Forbidden Regions on pages 98 and 100 (and
the maps shown in the books Ogre,
Ogre through Crewel
Lye): Earth is out of place, shown as coming after the Void. Water
should be immediately south of the Void, and Earth should be immediately
north of Air. The Tor maps that begin with Demons
Don't Dream are a bit simpler, but correct in what they show.
In the chapter Water
of Demons Don't
Dream, there is text that is an explicit correction of the
Visual Guide to Xanth confirming the illustration mistake.
I read the November 1989 first edition hardcover from Underwood-Miller, illustrations and cover art by R. Daniel Horne. Started in March of 1988, finished in May, and finalized in late July 1988 with the galleys (see How Precious Was that While and Letters to Jenny), a month after the submission draft of And Eternity, and while writing Tatham Mound.
This is a basic, fun fantasy: an enjoyable way to escape for a few hours. A group of youngsters are chosen, a fulfillment of a prophecy. Seth is one of them, pulled from his harsh reality in Michigan. They go on a trek to defeat an evil emperor, bent on world domination, in favor of a good emperor and for the betterment of a multi-plane existence.
I read the Morrow January 1990 first edition hard cover with jacket illustration by Rowena. The author's note is dated 17 June 1988. And Eternity is Incarnations of Immortality #7.
To say much about And Eternity presents a lot of spoilers for how For the Love of Evil covers previous ground and And Eternity continues the story. Wielding a Red Sword, Being a Green Mother, and For the Love of Evil are the second trilogy of Incarnations of Immortality. However, For the Love of Evil and And Eternity stand alone as an independent, curious pairing. And Eternity is a fitting conclusion to the series.
Except it isn't. Many years later, Anthony decided to write about one of the lesser incarnations after all in Under a Velvet Cloak, a roaring, saucy, sex filled postlude.
I read the 1993 Wings book hardcover edition, called Three Complete Novels, an omnibus of the Adventures of Kelvin of Rud trilogy, with cover art by Mel Grant. Chimaera's Copper was first published by Tor, May 1990.
More reality jumps. More intrigue and war. More Kelvin saving the day. It didn't feel like much development of the series was done here, though it lays the ground work for the sequel, Orc's Opal. The Chimaera is a three headed beast that talks to itself that Kelvin encounters along the way. We meet more of the Chimaera as the series continues.
I read the Ace/Putnam June 1990 hardcover, with jacket painting by Lisa Amoroso.
Is it a surprise that the grandchildren are going to save the world in this concluding adventure to the Apprentice Adept series? Now, the threat is external, an invasion fleet that wants the resources of Proton, and its magical capabilities that are found in Phaze. The grand children befriend one of the invader informants, political choices must be made that affect the future of Proton, and the future existence of the magic that comes from Phaze. I hear echos a decade or two later in Anthony's erotic fantasy series ChroMagic.
I read the August 1990 William Morrow first edition hardcover with jacket design by Linda Kosarin and photo by Lisa Stein.
Did Anthony say he wrote this as a trade off with Stephen King for their daughters, the one that resulted in The Eyes of the Dragon? Does anyone have the reference where Anthony claimed this, or am I imagining it? There are hints of it in the introduction to the Ace edition of Tarot.
Letters to Jenny indicates that 6 novels were written in 1988. This was also complained about in the author's note for And Eternity, where Firefly is mentioned explicitly for the first time. Letters to Jenny also mentioned that 4 novels were written in 1989, and 5 were written (or to be written?) in 1990.
This is a fantasy thriller novel, heavy on character. Firefly has an environmental theme, and one of sexuality and sexual abuse. It treats some subjects of sexuality sensitively (including the controversial interaction of a pedophile with a 5 year old child), and it is graphic. A monster begins romping the Florida country side, eating people from the inside out, but there is no sign of struggle. It's almost like people are allowing themselves to be eaten. Anthony excels at thrillers, equaling his hard science fiction, but he doesn't write it much.
As a note, Anthony does address some of the criticism of Firefly in his newsletters such as in the one from June 2002, or December 2005. I have a friend who no longer reads Anthony because of pedophilia concerns. Yet having studied Anthony's works, I don't believe he's a pedophile, nor do I think he promotes such. Where I've seen criticism of Piers having young girls interacting sexually in his works, I suspect gut reactions not careful consideration. Anthony is opinionated, but thoughtful, and I think others should be thoughtful too when reading his writing. I really enjoyed Firefly, but will admit I was uncomfortable at that point of the novel, but I believe too that was the point and it fits the story. In his second autobiography, he quotes from one female reader who argues, "It's about time someone brought this out in the open." I suspect that is sufficient vindication.
I read the Tafford September 1990 first edition hardcover with jacket art by David Welling. The book was originally collected in 1972, but remained unsold until Tafford picked it up.
The first three chapters were
sold to If magazine, the same as with the Prostho Plus stories, as
Hard Sell
, Black Baby
, and Hurdle
respectively. The
last three stories Galaxy bounced, but the fifth was later published in
Twilight Zone magazine as Life
.
Hard Sell
and Hurdle
were also published in
Anthonology.
The fourth story was titled Death
. Centers gets a job with
Perpetual Laser Memorial Gardens selling grave sites. In the age of severe
over population, memorial planning has different implications. There are
fees, extra services, and ultimately, it may become too expensive to die,
and too expensive to live. An extra service fee can handle this too.
The sixth and final story was titled Libel
. An advertising
firm hires Yola for a sales position, the spokesperson for General
Transport (GT). The product advertised is a matter transmitter,
newly having resolved the capability to transport living beings.
This is the complete collection of science fiction stories about Fisk Centers, first conned by a salesman but then becoming one, when he'd rather retire. Like the Prostho Plus stories with a theme around dental work, this is a funny romp through experience with sales propaganda, but in an interstellar framework of aliens and humans getting the best of each other.
Finished around 1970 to 1972, I read the Tafford October 1990 first edition hardcover with jacket illustration by Jeff Myers. This was written after Race Against Time, (see the Tor Steppe author's note).
Dead Morn is the first collaboration between Anthony and
Fuentes, before Kiai!. It
originally described Fuentes' experience in Cuba working for Castro's
rebellion and government until he was able to escape to Florida, but as
a fictional account. Fuentes relates in the Outworlds 11 fanzine that
of the Cuban episodes
that 90% of them (except of course the obvious
SF ones), are true; the novel is in large part autobiographical
, that he
experienced most of it personally, and related the rest from what he
experienced of real people. Anthony turned it into a science fiction novel,
but the science fiction seems to be mainly at the beginning. Though
its premise seemed solid, the events of Cuba's revolution overwhelm the
science fiction elements of the story. Still, it's engrossing reading,
but the novel is long.
I read the William Morrow October 1990 first edition hard cover, with jacket illustration by Darrell Sweet. The initial author's note was finished 19 May 1989, the day following finishing the initial manuscript draft. This is Xanth #13. Its sequel is Question Quest.
Isle of View is a story of young love and a decision between two suitors, but from a male with two women. The two women decide they've had enough waiting on Dolph (the male) to choose between them, so go on their own quest. No, the Good Magician Humphrey is still missing, but they did get help in a similar way. The story dynamic is perhaps complicated by the introduction of Jenny and her personal story that Anthony got involved with, yet maybe it was perfect inspiration. The chapters trade off between Dolph, the two women, Che, and Jenny.
A follow up in the author's note at the end of 1989 gives an update regarding Jenny. This is noted in Letters to Jenny, which has much to say about this novel, a kind of background story. Isle of View is the earliest publication that mentions HiPiers.
I read the TOR, October 1990, first edition hardcover with jacket art by Darrell K. Sweet. Orc's Opal was finished December 1989, after Tatham Mound. It's the fourth novel in the Kelvin of Rud series written with his collaborator Robert E. Margroff. The sequel and concluding novel is Mouvar's Magic.
Piers Anthony portrays child characters well and seems to have fun with them. This story is a rather weird, but perhaps a typical, switch-a-roo, wicked witch story. The witch's witch Zady, who is Zoanna's (the antagonist of the trilogy) aunt, who taught and raised her, comes for revenge against Kelvin and his family, putting their children into bad situations and framing them and others for her bad deeds. It also introduces the opal, and its orc guardians, which the children are tricked into finding and stealing.
I read the Underwood-Miller 1990 first edition hardcover, with illustrations and jacket art by Patrick Woodroffs. This is an elegant, beautiful edition, with multiple illustrations, thick glossy paper, and stitched binding. The writing (not sure about the illustrations) was finished in early 1987, though the original story was written in 1966 (long before Jurassic Park), and then expanded into a novel, at least most of a first draft, beginning in 1967. It took longer to publish, with the illustrations and such, so it's not quite clear when the author's note and last minute changes was finished.
Balook is a children's story about a large, prehistoric zoo animal that becomes attached to a child. The premise is genetic engineering, but unlike the popular Jurassic Park, it's not a thriller, bringing back deadly prehistoric predators. When the large animal escapes, causing havoc in the country side, alarm spreads and the boy goes after him. A simple, fun story about the bonds we form with non-human animals, and some of the environmental implications that come from our power over them. Instead of the fear of playing God, it does speak of the implications, perhaps from a different but similar point of view. Balook has got to be one of Anthony's most elegant youth novels.
The first draft of Virtual Mode was finished in February, and the final draft was finished 8 March 1990. Virtual Mode was written on the Borland, Sprint word processor, the update of FinalWord II, and now using an IBM AT compatible Acer instead of the Dec Rainbow. I read the February 1991 Ace/Putnam hardcover with jacket illustration by Daniel R. Horne. The jacket illustration is beautiful, and forever fixed my impression of the protagonist of the story. The sequel is Fractal Mode.
This begins one of Anthony's classic fantasy series and is perhaps my favorite of them. Colene (pronounced like Colleen: Call-een) is a depressed, suicidal teen, backed into a corner by peers, abused, and ignored by parents with their own problems. Then she finds a man, beaten on the side of the road, and can't help but help him. Little does she know, the man is royalty from a magic kingdom, and he is searching for her.
In the author's note is the mention of his Ligeias: girls and women who write him with severe suicidality. Specifically, the description of Ligeia Two seems to clearly be Julia Brady.
Cloisterin Alien Plot. The question of changing reality by adjusting pieces of it, such as the past, have been a constant part of fantasy story telling. I remember visiting the ruins of one of the monasteries in Dalton-in-Furness England that Cromwell had sacked and dissolved, and I was reminded of it as I read this story.
Tathom Mound was written during and immediately after Isle of View, and finished October 1989. I read the William Morrow September 1991 first edition hardcover, with jacket illustration by Jerry Lofaro. According to How Precious Was that While, this was the next major novel of his career, replacing Tarot.
Tatham Mound is one of my favorite works of Anthony's, which I had initially avoided. It is not a fantasy (maybe a little), but history, based on research the author funded of a tribe that lived in Florida and was effectively destroyed by the Spaniards (de Soto). This is a large book, but kept my interest page for page.
Tatham Mound follows Hotfoot through his life, beginning as a new warrior traveling up and down the American coast, following the guidance of his ancestors, and becoming his tribe's story teller.
I read the William Morrow October 1991 first edition hardcover
with jacket illustration by Darrell Sweet. At the back is an appendix
History of Xanth (simplified)
by E. Timber Bram, and of course
the standard author's note which indicates the novel was finished
in May 1990. Question Quest is Xanth #14. It's sequel is
The Color of Her Panties.
The Good Magician Humphrey is an iconic part of Xanth, but after the estrangement in Mundania of the author and his editor, Lester del Rey whom Humphrey was kind of based on, Humphrey suddenly disappeared from the series, and his fate was left unknown. Question Quest is about a woman who goes on a quest to ask her question of Humphrey, but then must find out what happened to him before she can ask her question.
Originally written in late 1971, this is a rewrite of the original. Anthony described it as collaborating with himself, updating a novel written by a writer with enough talent to have potential, but making mistakes in delivery that he needed to work out. This is the last of his unsold novels to this point that he got in to print, if you don't count the first (Unstilled World). Anthony didn't market it until after the rewrite, not having been satisfied with it. The For Love of Evil author's note mentioned an old novel being reworked within three years (1986-1988), and I believe it was a reference to Mercycle. The author's note hints that it was written before Tatham Mound.
I read the November 1991 Tafford first edition hardcover, with jacket art by Ron and Val Lindahn. The galleys appear to have been reviewed around May 1990.
The writing style reminds me of the novel Ghost, though the plots are dissimilar. Most of this story takes place under the ocean off Key West, Mexico, and Cuba on a mystery mission that is not explained to the main character, Melanie, but which she takes out of individual desperation.
Love 40in Alien Plot. An investigation at a wealthy resort turns the investigator into one of the victims, as he falls in love on the tennis court with a a wealthy woman who is also playing. Is this some sort of fantasy island, or something more problematic?
The final draft was finished 22 November 1990, after the expansion
and revision of Mercycle, and the
novelette Alien Plot
. (See the author's note in the book
Alien Plot.) I read the Ace/Putnam
January 1992 hardcover, with jacket illustration by Daniel R. Horne.
This is book #2 in the Mode series. The sequel is
Chaos Mode.
Traversing the modes, the new friends land in a mode realm where the mandelbrot set is a literal fractal reality, with different cultures and sizes of people existing within each iterative level of the set. The level they land in is in a magical transition period. They meet Nona the most powerful magician of the land, and future ruler, in a despotic environment ruled by men for which she wishes to escape.
The author's note in Phaze Doubt indicates that the beach scene with different instruments and sizes of people, at the time apparently nothing more than an ideas file entry, was inspired by the cover of Heartdance by the band Song of the Wood.
I read the TOR, August 1992, first edition hardcover with jacket art by Darrell K. Sweet. This is book #5, and the final volume, of the Kelvin of Rud series.
Books three and four (Chimera's Copper and Orc's Opal) are a kind of pair, focused more on character development of the series. Also, Orc's Opal moves away from Kelvin as a primary character. Mouvar's Magic concludes the series, gives the final revelations about Kelvin's father's origins, and returns to the series concept, wrapping up loose ends.
I read the September 1992 Morrow hard cover with jacket illustration by Darrell K. Sweet. This is the first formal hardcover of the Xanth series, all previous being US book club, or equivalent UK, editions. As Ace/Morrow ramped up their Xanth investment, Morrow scuttled Tatham Mound, and in doing so found that this was also their last Xanth. Xanth went to Tor, as did everything else from then on. The Color of Her Panties is Xanth #15. The sequel is Demons Don't Dream.
Anthony had been asked to have The Color of Her Panties written the same year, so that Question Quest could be going to paperback while The Color of Her Panties went to hardcover proper. Anthony decided to do so the next year instead of writing two Xanths in a year, something he didn't have a problem with after moving Xanth from Tor to Open Road Media.
A female goblin, Gwenny wants to be the Goblin king, but what color are the merwoman's panties, and how does one get the egg between the Roc and the hard place? What do these have to do with each other and the Goblin king? This Xanth novel skirts close to the boundaries of the adult conspiracy, joins a roc in a cloud city/home with characters from Isle of View, and has an author's note that occurs as part of the novel with Jenny Elf at Humphrey's castle. Par for the course. This novel was funny.
The author's note ends with the somber news that Anthony's mother had died, on which he gives a brief reflection.
In Letters to Jenny is mentioned
the first conversations in early July 1988 about restarting this
collaboration. The first chapter was written by Anthony in 1987, based
on the story Tappuah
, first written after Quinquepedalian
in 1963 during his first writing year, which never sold, though some
rewrites were attempted later. The second chapter was written by his
collaborator P. J. Farmer. The book was intended to have each chapter
written by a different author, but when that fell apart, the publisher
requested Anthony and Farmer complete the work. They continued to rotate
chapters in 1988, but didn't seem to have really got going until 1989 and
1990. It's unclear if it was finished in 1990. The writing took some
time due to sending correspondence through the mail, and some issues
from Farmer with manuscript access. I read the Ace October 1992 first
edition hardcover, with jacket painting by Romas.
An alien seduces Jack, being in the guise of a crippled girl who
needs him for protection until she can morph into a powerful creature
capable of moderating the tyranny of a galactic empire. This is a romp
around the galaxy in a science fiction story typical of both authors.
Each chapter in some ways is a separate story, and in some ways eggs on
the collaborator to find a way to continue with get-out-of-this-one cliff
hangers. For instance, chapter 9 ends with …yet there seemed to be no
alternative.
Chapter 10 starts with, Then he saw something.
I read the TOR October 1992 first edition hardcover, with dust cover by Carol Russo.
This is a second collection of short stories after Anthonology. Apparently, Anthonology was originally a collection of unsold stories in 1969. Instead, what sold as Anthonology was a collection of published stories, with two unsold additions. Alien Plot adds more unsold stories. Each story has a small author's introduction. This is about on par with the first volume. Following are the stories first published in this volume:
Ship of Mustardin BiOgre as
a clever, naughty story about life in theshackwhere women have the sexual drives of men and men are reticent.
Devawas the other story, disqualified because it had been accepted for publication by a fanzine finally published that same year. A house wife, Mary is bored watching her ad-ridden TV, finally curses in frustration at another disruptive ad, and the fiend van S decides to accomodate her. Clearly, Anthony did puns to mock culture before Xanth. Details can be seen in the February 1964 newsletter of the NFFF. Curiously, Anthony reports there of 8 finalists, but 7 are what is noted there out of 42. The following April newsletter announced the winners, and Piers was not one of them, but two of his future early collaborators were.
E van S, it was accepted for the Off the Wall anthology, but the anthology was never printed.
Nonentis a play on words, describing itself as a character ploting a story, engaged or plagued by the
placidity of Parnassus. After dozens of rejections, this story is a self described failure.
The Demiseein BiOgre appendix.
Revise and Inventwas in fact the sarcastic fifth response to a continual request for revision followed by rejection. Written in 1967
20 Yearswas lost for that long, so likely written around 1970 or so, but is unclear if it was written in that decade, or the one that followed. A fantasy planet, a luscious game (I didn't realize this Anthony staple went back this far), a futuristic hero and businessman, remembering an older young self. In winning the game on the fantasy future planet, Hero is given the opportunity to relive up to twenty years of his life.
I read the Ace 5 January 1993 hardcover, with jacket illustration by Den Beauvais. Killobyte was finished in September 1991, written in the summer of 1991, including some reader feedback at DragonCon that year.
This action thriller is a kind of fantasy within a virtual reality game, with two misfits who become lovers, and a power hungry player who ups the deadly stakes. Anthony seems to like this virtual reality approach, but unlike other series and short stories, this stand-alone novel is on the cusp of the internet era. What a gem.
In the author's note is the question of the song Girl in the
Wood
. See the entry on
Chthon for the answer on
this, contributed by a reader in response to one of the newsletters. It
is also documented in the author's note to
Geis of the Gargoyle, and in
How Precious Was That While.
Throughout the earlier author's notes, Anthony has dealt with certain lethargic tendancies, originally diagnosed as mental instability, then type II diabetes. This author's note recognizes that it's not that either. The final diagnosis, first noted in the June 2000 newsletter after he switched GPs, was a thyroid problem, which also explained Anthony's mild melancholy. In the author's note in Knot Gneiss, he confirms that he finally has coverage for an underactive thyroid. Initial indications was his treatment wasn't entirely effective, but the February 2009 newsletter indicates that it was, including curbing the melancholy.
I read the Tor February 1993 hardcover with jacket art by Darrell Sweet. This is the first of a long string of Tor Xanth hardcovers, the third major publisher of the series in the United States. It includes a beautiful in-cover color map of Xanth, probably the best yet, with a smaller black and white version on a page. This color print is dropped in later Tor editions, then disappears entirely. Demons Don't Dream is Xanth #16. It's sequel is Harpy Thyme.
After the success of Killobyte, and the idea of a 3D alternate reality through a computer interface (which Anthony plays on for years after), it's time to have a Xanth game. He did mention in earlier author's notes the desire to make a computer game for Xanth, and apparently this was actually realized. Perhaps this is a way for Anthony to advertise his game while showing how those in Xanth really play. Demons Don't Dream brings another Mundanian into Xanth with the promise of Xanthian magic in return for a quest. (Everything in Xanth seems to be a quest.) The cover shows Jenny from ElfQuest with her cat, and the Good Magician Humphrey, who is back now, but he really doesn't play a strong part in the book.
I read the Baen July 1993 hard cover edition, with jacket illustration by Darrell K. Sweet.
Anthony had some criticism of this collaboration. It was initiated by the Baen editor. Anthony provided an idea for a novel he had been mulling over. However, when he received a completed manuscript from his collaborator, he thought the novel he received, written by Lackey, was subpar, and decided to rewrite it. From there it seemed a trilogy was planned, but was scrapped when Anthony's payment for his work was almost neglible. I understand there was a lawsuit over it. See the 1997 newsletters for details and the resulting success of the lawsuit.
The novel itself, in its finished form, was epic. I found myself immediately engrossed by the main character. The historical Roman-like setting was vivid, described in a way that kept interest in the surroundings and the characters. When the main character is left homeless, and becomes involved in a classic type of fantasy quest, the outside world from the matriarchal city-state is drastically different, and the contrast is again engrossing. This was a fun novel. It's a shame it got buried in the politics of the publishing Parnassus, (as Anthony calls it).
The author's note talks about Julie who sent Anthony a cross. It was unclear whether she survived, or committed suicide, from the author's note. Anthony cliff hangers? The answer is discussed in a collaboration they did together later, Dream a Little Dream, and in his memoir, How Precious Was That While.
A Picture of Jesusin Cautionary Tales. A new hospital orderly discovers the unique perspective and insights of one of his supposedly violent patients.
I read the TOR August 1993 hardcover, with jacket art by Jael.
On 9 December 1988, a drunk driver hit a teenage girl, put her in a coma, and left her paralyzed. Knowing she was an Anthony fan, her mother wrote asking for help: write Jenny and see if that will wake her up. It did. This book is the first year of letters that he has written to her since.
The autobiographical material of the letters is interesting for a year span of the author's life. His humor and encouragement of Jenny, through imagined interaction (she never really responded much, though her mother would report some things), is both funny and endearing, and provides its own narrative dialog, as well as background to Isle of View, and to a degree Question Quest and The Color of Her Panties. Author's notes in these and other novels written after Isle of View give updates to Jenny's status. She did get to a point she could stand again, though last I heard that was standing from her wheel chair.
This is the book that MaryLee, an Anthony fan, read and wrote a fan letter to Piers about it. More than 24 years later she moved in with Piers who had been grieving as a widower and ultimately they married. She has a WordPress blog as murimccage.
I read the Tor September 1993 first edition hardcover, with cover art by Eric Petersen. The author's note indicates editing began on the finished first draft 6 August 1992. The sequel is Shame of Man.
Geodyssey is a series of books that is a collection of short stories and novellas, beginning in evolutionary pre-history and finishing in the relatively near future. It ties the stories together through characters, general personality types, that seem to have souls (residual memories) that transcend their physical manifestations, adapting to the local culture and situation, but being sufficiently recognizable to make interesting stories, with even plot strands shared between the individual stories and later books.
Isle of Woman is the first of five books in the series. It has some information that later books refine or even find not to be entirely accurate, though the author's note lists the sources used for some of the scientific and historical foundations of the ideas presented. The stories and ideas themselves are worth reading, regardless, and tend to lend to a kind of suspense of what-really-happened? as the series progresses. This first volume introduces some early ideas around human breasts evolving into being a mating attractant, instead of mammary glands that swell only when fertile, suggesting that going into heat is something human evolution abandoned, as well as exploring the mating of Neandertal and modern human.
Some of the language is a bit dated by modern standards, having seen a shift in the period this was published, as I imagine many of his prior novels will start to seem similar. Perhaps the author is starting to show his age (and perhaps temperment). All in all, I really enjoyed this series, on the same level or better than Tatham Mound. Exploring different cultures of history and time periods was fascinating, and Anthony does well making them come to life (as even his earliest books do, e.g. Pretender) as well as being entertaining. Each ends with more of a science fiction futuristic projection, and this one's final story, an apocalyptic ending to the book, shows us what may happen if we don't get control of the pollution of the biosphere, but paints a potential way forward too.
According to the November 2010 newsletter, it is believed that Neanderthal became extinct earlier than this book portrays (by about 5,000 years), and that it was a volcano that took them out, not the superior capabilities of what would become homo sapiens.
As a final note, Anthony intended the series to be marketed as history, but it may be better to call it speculative history, if not historical fantasy. First, is the plot device, where characters of one story are carried forward into the next in their personality, and background (though sometimes revised). The relationships especially are preserved, but the main piece is that the relationships are remembered, or at least an instinct for the relationships are carried forward. That sounds like the fantasy genre to me. Finally, is the future history endings, which is a kind of science fiction. Instead of being a rewrite of an existing historical work with a science fiction framework, this series was designed this way. I loved it. Compare with Volk, which is an historical novel based on historical finding and settings, where Geodessy is a short story collection of historical imagings with a fantasy glue, and scientific speculitive beginnings and endings. I'm not sure the author would agree, and might disagree.
Harpy Thyme was written from August to October 1992, and is Xanth #17, first published by New English Library October 1993. I read the Tor January 1994 first edition hard cover with jacket art by Darrell Sweet. The sequel is Geis of the Gargoyle.
The story Adult Conspiracy
was written before Harpy
Thyme, and is referenced in chapter two. Because of this indirect,
contextual, reference, I imagine Adult Conspiracy
is best read
immediately before Harpy Thyme, though not reading it might be
suitable, as it torpedos Xanth as was its original intent as a story
idea. Adult Conspiracy
can be found in the story collection
Cautionary Tales.
Harpy Thyme is another coming of age story. It is about a mix between a harpy and a goblin (how did that happen!?), and of course a love story, because really that's what Xanth is half the time. Harpy Thyme looks at our uniqueness, finding our inner beauty, as well as acceptance of our differences from others. We also get to meet some old characters and places that the book references in context of fading away. Time moves on, old makes way for new, but that doesn't mean that in Xanth we can't revisit old, comfortable friends, places, and things.
In the author's note for Demons Don't Dream was mentioned the story of the paralyzed Janet Hines. The author's note for Harpy Thyme follows up on her status. She's now in Xanth, having died in Mundania.
I read the Ace/Putnam January 1994 hardcover (1993 copyright) with jacket illustration by a new artist this time, Romas Kukalis. The new character Burgess is shown on the cover.
Chaos Mode is the third novel in a series beginning with Virtual Mode, and is the sequel to Fractal Mode. The series start in a way stands alone, though clearly not reaching the expected fulfillment. This installment seems to revisit the issues of the first and second book, wrapping up loose ends, creating a new one with Burgess, and bringing to a head the conflict with Ddwng and the attempt to finally get to Darius' home mode. (My best pronunciation of Ddwng, following Anthony's explanation, is Dee-Doong, not quite D-dung, which was my temptation, though a more Welsh D-doong might fit too.)
The ending is a cliff hanger, and must have felt insufferable to readers to have to wait 8 years for the conclusion from a different publisher. The sequel is DoOon Mode.
I read the Tor October 1994 first edition hardcover, with cover art by Brad Schmehl. Shame of Man was written the winter of the first part of 1993, and finished in early spring. It is the second Geodyssey. The sequel is Hope of Earth.
Some of Anthony's explorations here include:
The final stories address gun-toting attitudes in the United States, pacifism, and environmentally safe living. Anthony's father created a Quaker farm community, where Anthony spent some of his early years in the US, after immigrating from the UK. BiOgre has some references and an article on creating the community. His fictionalized biography of his father, Alfred has some references. More recently, a full account, as collaboration with his sister, is given in Hilltop Farm.
I read the first edition, December 1994, Tor hardcover, with jacket design by Bonnie B. Butler.
If you liked Tatham Mound, you'll enjoy
these stories. Tortoise Shell
is from Anthony, which could almost
be a side story to Tatham Mound, or perhaps
a story in his Geodyssey series. There's authors I remember from The
Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (F&SF), Analog
Science Fiction and Fact, and Asimov's Science Fiction,
e.g. Mike Resnick, Kristine Katherine Rusch. There's a lot of good
fiction here, some angry stories, and a few wild ones, but all in
theme and entertaining, some educational, some gritty, but ultimately
a satisfying collection.
The manuscript was finished in August 1993. It is Xanth #18, first published December 1994 in England by BCA and New English Library. I read the Tor February 1995 first edition hard cover with jacket art by Darrell K. Sweet. The sequel is Roc and a Hard Place.
This felt like more classic Xanth, whatever that means, with a gargoyle protecting his land from environmental pollution encroaching from Mundania. Standard formula: Humphrey, quest, puns, innuendo, adult conspiracy. A new cast of characters have developed during the Avon/Morrow publication Xanth books that provide amusement and interest. Perhaps the first Tor trilogy reminisces about past Xanth, for Del Rey and Avon/Morrow readers, but it's time to move on and explore Xanth from the perspective of new characters.
See part 3 of my notes on Piers Anthony publications that come next.