# | Year | 1st Read | Title | Author(s) | My Rating | |
---|
1 | 1977 | 1980 | (1) A Spell For Chameleon Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| FOR LACK OF A SPELL... XANTH!
That was the enchanted land where magic ruled - where every citizen had a special spell only he could cast. It was a land of centaurs and dragons and basilisks. For Bink of North Village, however, Xanth was no fairy tale. He alone had no magic. And unless ge got some - and got some fast! - he would be exiled. Forever!
But the Good Magician Humphrey was convinced that Bink did indeed have magic. In fact, both Beauregard the genie and the magic wall chart insisted that Bink had magic. Magic as powerful as any possessed by the King or by the Good Magician Humphrey - or even by the Evil Magician Trent.
Be that as it may, no one could fathom the nature of Bink's very special magic.
Bink was in despair. This was even worse than having no magic at all... and he would still be exiled!
FIRST TIME IN PRINT
A TALE FILLED WITH WONDROUS MAGICAL INVENTIVENESS AND HIGH ADVENTURE... | |
2 | 1979 | 1980 | (2) The Source of Magic Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| THE MAGIC OF XANTH
As the ruler of a country steeped in enchantment, King Trent was naturally curious about the source of its magic. It made sense to order Bink, the only one of his subjects immune to supernatural harm, to undertake a quest to discover the wellspring of Xanth's uniqueness.
From the beginning, Bink and his companions, Chester the centaur and Crombie, the soldier transformed into a griffin, were harried by an unseen enemy determined to thwart them. Even the power of the Good Magician Humphrey, together with Bink's protective talent, scarcely saved their lives.
Then when Humphrey and Crombie turned against him, all seemed lost. But Bink's ingenuity and luck prevailed, and he reached his goal. The King's orders had been carried out...
But the King had not expected Bink's next act - to destroy utterly tha magic of Xanth! | |
3 | 1979 | 1980 | (3) Castle Roogna Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| ONCE UPON A PAST
Millie had been a ghost for 800 years. But now, restored by the magic of Xanth, she was again a maddeningly desirable woman. She could have had any man she wanted... except the one she did want, Jonathan the zombie. To grant Millie her desire, and to prove his right to rule Xanth in the future, young Magician Dor embarked on a quest for the elixir which would restore Jonathan to full life.
But the potion could be found only in the past... so, through a magic tapestry, to the past he went, taking over the body of a barbarian warrior. The first person he encountered there was Jumper, a giant spider - a nightmare monster, but a staunch friend and much-needed ally in peril-haunted, ancient Xanth.
Then Dor met Millie - 800 years younger, but just as lovely. And her realized that, in this new body, he was no longer twelve years old...
THE MAGIC OF XANTH
AN ENCHANTING NEW FANTASY TRILOGY
VOLUME ONE: A SPELL FOR CHAMELEON VOLUME TWO: THE SOURCE OF MAGIC VOLUME THREE: CASTLE ROOGNA
- AVAILABLE FROM DEL REY BOOKS - | |
4 | 1981 | 1983 | (4) Centaur Aisle Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| INTO DARKEST MUNDANIA
Dor was having troubles growing up to be the next Magician-King of the magic Land of Xanth. He wanted no part in running the Kingdom. But now Good King Trent was leaving on a trade mission to non-magical Mundania, home of such weird beasts as horses and bears, so Dor had to take over as King for a week.
A week passes. No Trent. Then three weeks. King Trent sill hadn't returned. Surely, something terrible had happened; he was apparently held captive in some foul dungeon, unable to escape. Dor was left with the burden of ruling - and with Irene, who was entirely too willing to be his Queen!
His only hope was to enter Mundania and free King Trent. But how could it be done without the powers of magic? Nevertheless, he started forth bravely - together with Irene, a golem, a centaur, and a young ogre - heading for the far South of Xanth.
The entrance to Mundania, of course, lay to the north.
FIRST PUBLICATION ANYWHERE
Don't Miss the Earlier Xanth Adventures A SPELL FOR CHAMELEON THE SOURCE OF MAGIC CASTLE ROOGNA - All available from Del Rey Books - | |
5 | 1982 | 1983 | (5) Ogre, Ogre Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| WHEN OGRE HOOD WAS IN FLOWER
Smash knew all about ogres. After all, despite his having a human mother, Smash was an ogre himself. Ogres were not only huge and horribly ugly, as Smash was; they were also so stupid they could hardly speak, and they spent most of the time fighting, destroying, and eating young girls.
So what was he doing here with seven assorted females looking for him to guide them and save them? Even in Xanth, where magic made anything possible, why should Tandy the Nymph trust him and seem fond of him? And how could all then high-flown conversation be coming out of his mouth?
But that, it seemed, was what he got for going to Good Magician Humphrey for an Answer - before he even knew what the Question was!
FIRST PUBLICATION ANYWHERE
Don't Miss the Earlier Xanth Adventures A SPELL FOR CHAMELEON THE SOURCE OF MAGIC CASTLE ROOGNA CENTAUR AISLE - All Available from Del Rey Books - | |
6 | 1982 | 1984 | (6) Night Mare Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| "BEWARE THE HORSEMAN!"
The Nextwave of barbarian warriors was invading Xanth from the north, ravaging and destroying as they advanced. But Mare Imbrium had her own problems. Ever since she had gained the half soul, the night mare had begun to mishandle her job of delivering bad dreams. Now the Night Stallion dismissed her, exiling her to the day world with a message for King Trent: "Beware the Horseman!"
She had no idea what that meant. But that was the way with prophetic warnings - nobody could understand them until it was too late.
Then she met the Horseman. And she discovered that one who would ride a night mare was a master of bit and spur, and not a man to surrender her:
For the night mare, it began to be all a horrible nightmare!
FIRST TIME IN PRINT
Don't Miss the Earlier Xanth Adventures A SPELL FOR CHAMELEON THE SOURCE OF MAGIC CASTLE ROOGNA CENTAUR AISLE OGRE, OGRE - All Available from Del Rey Books - | |
7 | 1983 | 1986 | (7) Dragon on a Pedestal Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| ,b>LOST IN THE JUNGLES OF XANTH
There was trouble in Xanth again - all kinds of trouble in fact.
The Gap Dragon had escaped from the Gap and was ravaging across the land. The forget-spell that had covered the Gap was breaking up into small forget-whorls that wandered about, giving amnesia to all they touched. Good Magician Humphrey might have had the Answer, but he had overdosed on water from the Fountain of Youth and was only a helpless baby.
And Ivy, three-year-old daughter of King Dor and Queen Irene, was lost in the jungles south of the Gap. While Irene sought her without much hope. Ivy was wondering further into danger, her memories erased by a passing forget-whorl. Her path was leading her directly to where the Gap Dragon was seeking dinner. | |
8 | 1984 | 1985 | (8) Crewel Lye Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| A KNIGHT OF GHOSTS AND SHADOWS
Jordan was a ghost in Castle Roogna now, spending his time with little five-year-old Ivy and watching his own past unfold on the magic tapestry. But once he had been a valorous knight, riding his ghost horse Pook on a fabulous and dangerous mission.
He had been betrayed with a cruel lie by two wily magicians and the woman he loved. He had been killed in the end, and his bones had been scattered. Now he could not even remember where they had been buried.
That was important, because Jordan's talent had been to recover from almost any injury, provided enough of his body could be assembled to grow together again. But all that had been four hundred years before. Nobody who was alive today knew or cared where his bones might be.
It was hardly the proper ending for a gallant adventure!
FIRST TIME IN PRINT | |
9 | 1986 | 1987 | (9) Golem In the Gears Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| A GOLEM TO THE RESCUE
Grundy Golem was the size of an inconsequence, and nobody had any respect for him - including Grundy! To prove himself, he volunteered to ride the Monster Under the Bed to the Ivory Tower to find little Ivy's long lost dragon, Stanley Steamer.
After many adventures, he reached the Tower to learn that the Evil Sea Hag kept lovely Rapunzel imprisoned there, her body destined to be used to maintain the witch's immortality. Grundy managed to free the damsel, and they fled together.
As the descendant of Jordan the Barbarian and Bluebell Elf, Rapunzel could become any size, even that of any Golem's dreamgirl. But Grundy knew she was surely fated for someone better than he. Besides, the Sea Hag still pursued them to destroy him and get her back.
And he still hadn't found Stanley Steamer.
FIRST TIME IN PRINT | |
10 | 1987 | 1988 | (10) Vale of the Vole Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| DEFENDERS OF THE VOLES
For young Esk, the ogre-nymph-human, what had begun as an escape from the clutches of a seductive demoness - and a pilgrimage to the Good Magician Humphrey - was now an errand of mercy. A running river paradise and its harmless inhabitants were perishing in the wrathful wake of a greedy demon horde. And it was up to Esk and his new-found companions - a beautiful winged centaur and a brave burrower named Volney - to search Xanth's treacherous reaches, gathering together a mind-boggling company of creatures to defend the precious VALE OF THE VOLE.
FIRST TIME IN PRINT
THE START OF A THRILLING NEW XANTH TRILOGY! | |
11 | 1988 | 1989 | (11) Heaven Cent Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| SECOND IN THE THRILLING NEW XANTH TRILOGY! ELEVENTH IN THE SERIES!
A BOY'S FABULOUS QUEST
To Xanth's precious shape-shifter Prince Dolph, searching for Humphrey, the missing sorcerer, is a perfect chance to see the world. Setting off with his faithful companion Marrow, and enchanted skeleton, he will penetrate the island of illusion... escape a goblin kingdom... outwit a husband hungry mermaid... nest-sit for fiery dragons... and find romance with a slinky snake princess - all on his way to doscovering a magic coin with the answers! | |
12 | 1989 | 1990 | (12) Man from Mundania Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| THE QUEST CONTINUES
There's nothing more exciting than a Quest, especially for a young princess of Xanth who's bored with sitting around Castle Roogna. But when Ivy uses the Heaven Cent, it takes her not to the top of Mount Rushmost, where the winged monsters gather, not to the sea where the merfolk swim - but to Mundania, a boring world (much like our own), where she meets a young college student so dull that he doesn't even believe in magic, or princesses, or Xanth!
Does he ever have a lot to learn!
THE THRILLING CLIMAX TO THE NEWEST XANTH TRILOGY!
DON'T MISS VALE OF THE VOLE HEAVEN CENT | |
13 | 1990 | 1992 | (13) Isle of View Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| LOVELORN LOVEWORN LOVE LOST
Perplexed Prince Dolph, Xanth's precocious shapeshifter, should be in love but isn't. Nonetheless, he must choose between two fiancees - Nada the uninterested and Electra the uninteresting - or all three of them will suffer the most dire of consequences. Luckily a convenient catastrophe has popped up to distract Dolph from his dilemma - the foal-napping of young Che Centaur by golblins. And the only one who knows were Che is is a nice but remarkably naive elflike girl named Jenny from the World of Two Moons. If anyone can save the missing centaur... she sure can't!
ISLE OF VIEW
THE THRILLING NEW XANTH ADVENTURE!
AND DON'T MISS VALE OF THE VOLE HEAVEN CENT MAN FROM MUNDANIA | |
14 | 1991 | 1993 | (14) Question Quest Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| YOUTH IS WASTED ON THE YOUNG
Being grown up is a drag... or so thinks Lacuna, one of the mischevious Castle Zombie twins. So she makes the Good Magician Grey an offer he can't refuse. Thirsty for a taste of the Elixir of Youth, she'll help him outwit the evil Com-Pewter if he'll send her to Hell (in a handbasket, no less) to find Humphrey, the missing sorcerer. And while there, she'll learn the True History of Xanth (simplified) and help rescue a blushing Rose from the demon X(A/N)th... with the help of a gorgon or two.
QUESTION QUEST
THE THRILLING NEW XANTH ADVENTURE! | |
15 | 1992 | 1993 | (15) The Color of Her Panties Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| WE SEE ENGLAND, WE SEE XANTH, WE SEE MELA'S UNDERPANTS
In fact, Gwenny Goblin, Che Centaur and Jenny Elf are just about the only creatures on Xanth who have been spared the sight of Mela Merwoman's undergarments - preoccupied as they are with helping Gwenny beat out her awful half-brother Gobble for chiefship of the goblin horde. But first they must master space and thyme... and find the fabulous egg that sits between the Roc and the hard place. While Mela - who would gladly relinquish her oft-viewed undies for a new husband - joins they Adult Conspiracy... and quickly discovers the power of a perfect pair of panties! | |
16 | 1993 | 2006 | (16) Demons Don't Dream Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| PIERS ANTHONY RETURNS TO THE MAGICAL REALM OF XANTH WITH THE MOST EXCITING ADVENTURE OF THEM ALL!
Beloved by millions of readers around the world, Piers Anthony's Xanth novels are among the most popular fatasy adventures ever published. DEMONS DON'T DREAM begins a thrilling new Xanth sequence, as a pair of young adventurers play for the highest stakes of all: the future of Xanth - and of Earth as well!
Drawn into Xanth by a harmless-looking computer game, two young people find themselves competing for a precious prize: Dug, who us beguiled by a beautiful serpent-princess, and Kim, who discovers her favorite fantasy realm has suddenly become frighteningly real.
In a desperate race against time, Dug and Kim battle their way across the wondrous, perilous land of Xanth, testing their courage against dozens of fearsome obstacles (and their wits against a host of outrageous puns!). But when trechery, danger, and deceit place Xanth itself in peril, Dug and Kim learn that some things are more important than winning or losing.
A breathtaking, madcap quest filled with fearsome monsters and far-fetched fun, DEMONS DON'T DREAM is vintage Xanth, an unforgettable escapade from fantasy's most imaginative storyteller.
A Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Book | |
17 | 1994 | 2006 | (17) Harpy Thyme Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| Leave Mundania. Enter the fabulous, wonder-filled Land of Xanth
Gloha is the only creature of her kind in all the world of Xanth, the beautiful offspring of a chance mating between a harpy and a goblin. As she grew to womanhood, she wondered where she would find the one true love with whom she could share her life.
So, naturally, she sets off to find the Good Magician Humphrey to ask him for an Answer to the riddle of her heart's desire. But Humphrey, for mysterious reasons of his own, propels her instead on a perilous quest in search of truth, friendship, and, just possibly, happiness.
"Fans of the author's trademark humor will relish [Harpy Thyme], the latest jount through the wacky world of Xanth; new readers too will enjoy the fun." - Publishers Weekly
"Harpy Thyme is another of Piers Anthony's frothy and delightfully frivolous fantasy novels about the land of Xanth, where puns and playfulness reign supreme." - The Toronto Star | |
18 | 1995 | | (18) Geis of the Gargoyle Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| GEIS OF THE GARGOYLE
Since Xanth began, the gargoyles of that magical place have been under a magical compulsion to protect the purity of the Swan Knee River which flows into Xanth from drury Mundania. But recently the pollution from the outside world has grown ever greater, and young Gary Gar, latest in a long line of gargolye guardians, is finding it ever more difficult to fulfill his responsibilities.
So Gary does what any sensible Xanth resident with a dire dilemma would do. He goes to see Good Magician Humphrey, who sends him on a peculiar quest - to transform himself into human shape, tutor a precocious child with more than her share of wild magical talents, and find a philter which can restore the river to its pristine state.
"Fans of the author's trademark humor will relish this latest jaunt through the wacky world of Xanth; new readers too will enjoy the fun." - Publishers Weekly
"Another of Piers Anthony's frothy and delightfully fivolous fantasy novels about the land of Xanth, where puns and playfulness reign supreme." - The Toronto Star | |
19 | 1995 | | (19) Roc and a Hard Place Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| Seeking a solution to a perplexing personal problem, the delectable Demoness Metria asks for help from the wise Magician Humphrey. But before he will help her, she must perform a perilous mission: Rove the length and breadth of Xanth in search of a suitable jury from the trial of Roxanne Roc - a notably noble and virtuous bird charged with a most improbable offense.
Exciting, exhilarating, and brimming with hilarious high jinks, Roc and a Hard Place is Xanth at its most enchanting.
Raves for Piers Anthony's Xanth adventures:
"Fans of the author's trademark humor will relish this latest jaunt through the wacky world of Xanth; new readers too will enjoy the fun." - Publishers Weekly
"Another of Piers Anthony's frothy and delightfully fivolous fantasy novels about the land of Xanth, where puns and playfulness reign supreme." - The Toronto Star
A Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Book | |
20 | 1996 | | (20) Yon Ill Wind Cover Blurb | Piers Anthony | | |
| YON ILL WIND
A fickle flux in the fabric of space has allowed a horrendous hurricane to blast into Xanth, stirring up mischief and madness wherever she goes. Trapped in a preposterous form by a cosmic wager, the Demon X(A/N)th must join forces with a vexatious vixen named Chlorine to save Xanth from this terrifying and tempestuous threat.
Their companions on this haphazard quest are a hapless human family - Jim and Karen Baldwin, and their two teenaged sons, David and Sean - gusted into Xanth from the mundane world beyond. Together they encounter a host of turbulent misadventures as they struggle to keep Xanth from being blown off the map forever.
A brisk and breezy adventure in the grand Xanth tradition. Yon Ill Wind is sure to bring gales of laughter and excitement to Piers Anthony's legion of loyal readers.
Raves for Piers Anthony's previous Xanth adventures:
"Fans of the author's trademark humor will relish this latest jaunt through the wacky world of Xanth; new readers too will enjoy the fun." - Publishers Weekly on Harpy Thyme
"Another of Piers Anthony's frothy and delightfully fivolous fantasy novels about the land of Xanth, where puns and playfulness reign supreme." - The Toronto Star
A Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Book | |
21 | 1997 | | (21) Faun and Games | Piers Anthony | | |
22 | 1998 | | (22) Zombie Lover | Piers Anthony | | |
23 | 1999 | | (23) Xone of Contention | Piers Anthony | | |
24 | 2000 | | (24) The Dastard | Piers Anthony | | |
25 | 2001 | | (25) Swell Foop | Piers Anthony | | |
26 | 2002 | | (26) Up in a Heaval | Piers Anthony | | |
27 | 2003 | | (27) Cube Route | Piers Anthony | | |
28 | 2004 | | (28) Currant Events | Piers Anthony | | |
29 | 2005 | | (29) Pet Peeve | Piers Anthony | | |
30 | 2006 | | (30) Stork Naked | Piers Anthony | | |
31 | 2007 | | (31) Air Apparent | Piers Anthony | | |
32 | 2008 | | (32) Two to the Fifth | Piers Anthony | | |
33 | 2009 | | (33) Jumper Cable | Piers Anthony | | |
34 | 2010 | | (34) Knot Gneiss | Piers Anthony | | |
35 | 2011 | | (35) Well-Tempered Clavicle | Piers Anthony | | |
36 | 2012 | | (36) Luck of the Draw | Piers Anthony | | |
37 | 2013 | | (37) Esrever Doom | Piers Anthony | | |
38 | 2013 | | (38) Board Stiff | Piers Anthony | | |
39 | 2014 | | (39) Five Portraits | Piers Anthony | | |
40 | 2016 | | (40) Isis Orb | Piers Anthony | | |
41 | 2017 | | (41) Ghost Writer in the Sky | Piers Anthony | | |
42 | 2019 | | (42) Fire Sail | Piers Anthony | | |
43 | 2020 | | (43) Jest Right | Piers Anthony | | |
44 | 2021 | | (44) Skeleton Key | Piers Anthony | | |
45 | 2021 | | (45) A Tryst of Fate | Piers Anthony | | |
46 | 2022 | | (46) Six Crystal Princesses | Piers Anthony | | |
47 | 2023 | | (47) Apoca Lips | Piers Anthony | | |