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Evan Shively (Perseus271)

Hell Tanner isn't the sort of guy you'd mistake for a hero: he's a fast-driving car thief, a smuggler, and a stone-cold killer. He's also expendable - at least in the eyes of the Secretary of Traffic for the Nation of California. Tanner doesn't care much for those eyes. You'd also never mistake Hell Tanner for a humanitarian. Facing life in prison for his various crimes, he's given a choice; rot away his remaining years in a tiny jail cell, or drive cross-country and deliver a case of antiserum to the plague-ridden people of Boston, Massachusetts...if anyone is still alive there to receive it, that is. The chance of a full pardon does wonders for getting his attention. And don't mistake this mission of mercy for any kind of normal road trip - not when there are radioactive storms, hordes of carniverous beasts, and giant, mutated scorpions to be found along every deadly mile between Los Angeles and the East Coast. But then, this is no normal part of America, you see. This is DAMNATION ALLEY...

“C'mon kid. Think a minute, even if it hurts.”Skeeve used to be a magician apprentice until an assassin (who paid for the deed with his life right away) brought an untimely end to his master, but not before the latter summoned a demon.“The Demon curled its lips back, revealing a double row of needle-sharp teeth. I considered changing my chosen course of action; I considered fainting.”Now Skeeve was stuck with the said demon who seems to have a very nice friendly personality:“Are you going to shake my hand, or am I going to rip your heart out?”To complicate things further the demon turned out to be quite different from what anybody would expect: in his case "Demon" stands for "Dimensional Traveler" and the guy's native dimension was called Perv, making Aazh one of his inhabitants, or Pervert (another hint about his nice personality). The two teamed up to deal with the powerful magician who hired the assassin. Their weapons? Skeeve's rudimentary magic skills and Aazh's ability to talk anybody's head off. Fun times are about to start - and they sure will.This book is funny. It has everything a good humorous fantasy is supposed to have: great puns, amusing dialog, absurd laugh-out-loud situations, colorful and equally amusing characters. Sadly this series nowadays is mostly forgotten and the first name that comes up when people think of humorous fantasy is Discworld. However it took Sir Terry Pratchett at least 3 books to become funny; this one makes you smile practically on the second page. The quality does drop off sharply after the first 5 or 6 books, but the initial ones are great. My only complaint is that it took practically two thirds of the book before the dynamic duo arrived on Deva's Bazaar: a truly colorful place with some excellent recurring characters (see above). I can recommend this series to anybody who needs a good laugh; it also works great as a cure for a book hangover (my personal experience).

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  This review is dedicated to Iceland team of UEFA Euro 2016. Guys, you showed everybody you do not have to be a high-paid pro to play a good game.\
 “When old friends get together, everything else fades to insignificance."- War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death.Every chapter of all the books of the series starts with a funny epigraph; I could not resist using one of them above. Anyhow, Skeeve was bored out of his skull doing his job of a court magician (this means doing nothing). It did not help any that it was raining non-stop in the capital of the kingdom which employed Skeeve. Luckily Tanda showed up (for unfamiliar with the series think about a super sexy alien with a green skin from the original Star Trek – this is exactly Tanda). She invited Skeeve to help her with her shopping in other dimensions. And so Skeeve went despite Aazh gloomy and pessimistic prediction of an upcoming disaster resulting from the trip. Aazh was right of cause. A bold theft went very wrong and Skeeve barely escaped back home to ask Aazh to help him get Tanda out of a tight spot. Their rescue attempt resulted in a lot of absurd situations – each one is more hilarious than the previous – and culminated in a very memorable game vaguely resembling football/soccer, thus my dedication in the beginning. Yes, the picture above gives a fairly good idea about that game. It would be sufficient to say the novel made me laugh out loud in a public place, several times. Strictly speaking it does not exactly reach 5-star level, but anything making me laugh during the reread deserves an extra star. In other good news we get to meet even more interesting and colorful characters, Massha first and foremost. General Badaxe got himself a girlfriend and we learn a very interesting and unexpected tidbit about Tanda’s origins and see her brother up close and personal (hint: he does not need to be seen up close as he is very hard to miss even from a great distance). It is hard to believe for this subgenre, but there are interesting character developments (for the main characters anyway). Both Skeeve and Aazh grow; even Skeeve’s pet baby dragon does (it takes about 300 years for the little guy to become mature). For this reason the series needs to be read in order. I really cannot say anything more than the following. Are you looking for a funny fantasy? Are you looking for a funny read and do not mind reading fantasy? In both cases you are looking for this. I am also sorry to say, but I like this one (at least first several books) more than Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld – Myth series is funnier in my opinion. 

I tried, I really tried. The way that my sister was talking about this book, it sounded like so much fun, and there was so much potential. But... I just can't like this book. First off, I think that it could have been so much shorter. It takes so much time, trying to sound more important than it really is, that it just sucks pages into bizarre explanations. Secondly, I can only take so much of reading about nymph's pert little butts, their supple arms, and how female they are. And pretty much the whole look on women in this book is pretty insulting. Female characters are shallow, caring only about their looks and how others perceive them and are often put down as being the classic ball-and-chain and at times it seems that women are just meant to be evil beings that are only on Xanth to torture the men and exploit their barbaric weaknesses. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but by the end, it was just too much. And why did females seem to only have talents that would help them look nicer or change their appearance? Really? Why couldn't they have something actually useful? Okay. I'll stop here. Third, the puns. I liked them at first, the puns about the creatures and plants in Xanth, the shoe tree that provides fresh shoes and such. But eventually, it just got a bit silly. Like the jellyfish. A fish made of jelly... That was a bit... thin, in my opinion. Overall, I just couldn't get into this book. Perhaps it is because it was written for a different generation, but it just didn't settle with me. The entire book eventually reached an insanity that just wasn't fun anymore, and that just made me want to leave the book right there.

B&amp;N Synopsis:Millie, a ghost for 800 years wants only one man--Jonathan, and he's a zombie. To prove himself, Magician Dor volunteers to get the potion that can restore Jonathan to full life. But he has to go back through time to do it, to a peril-haunted, ancient Xanth, where danger lurks at every turn.... OK, let me just say, I am terrified of spiders. And what lurks on the cover of this one? A GIANT spider! It's amazing that I read this one - but I did when I was a teen - and I am so glad I did! This was the first Xanth book I ever read, because I didn't realize at the time that this was a continuing series, or that this was the third book in the series. I found myself fascinated with Xanth, with the characters, and I fell in love with Dor! Then, as the book went on, and Dor was presented with his quest, and Jumper was magically brought into the past with him - everytime I start this book, I cannot put it down until I finish! If that is not a good endorsement to read this series, I don't know what is. Highly recommend it, and the fact that it is the third one did not detract from my enjoyment the first time, so it is not necessary to read the books in order.If you love magical fantasy - YOU NEED TO BE READING PIERS ANTHONY!

Piers Anthony's whimsical series about the magical world of Xanth first captured our attention more than 20 years ago. The humorous style and witty wordplay that has enthralled readers over the last two decades makes these titles a perfect addition to your eBook library. For a limited time only, take advantage of this exciting opportunity: buy The Source of Magic and get A Spell for Chameleon for free!A Spell for ChameleonXanth was the enchanted land where magic ruled--where every citizen had a special spell only he could cast. That is, except for Bink of North Village. He was sure he possessed no magic, and knew that if he didn't find some soon, he would be exiled. According to the Good Magician Humpfrey, the charts said that Bink was as powerful as the King or even the Evil Magician Trent. Unfortunately, no one could determine its form. Meanwhile, Bink was in despair. If he didn't find his magic soon, he would be forced to leave....The Source of MagicOrdered by King Trent to determine the source of Xanth's magic, Bink and his companions were harried by an unseen enemy determined to thwart them. When even their protector turned against them, Blink still managed to reach his goal and carry out the King's orders...but the king did not expect Blink's next act--to destroy utterly the magic of Xanth!Castle RoognaMillie, a ghost for 800 years, wants only one man--Jonathan, and he's a zombie. To prove himself, Magician Dor volunteers to get the potion that can restore Jonathan to full life. But he has to go back through time to do it, to a peril-haunted, ancient Xanth, where danger lurks at every turn....Centaur AisleDor agreed to act as King of Xanth while Trent was gone for a week. But the weeks passed and Trent did not return. Dor knew he had to rescue his king but with no magic powers, how could it be done...?

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4.0 stars. Piers Anthony is a MIND-NUMBING ENIGMA to me. He is capable of writing extremely thought-provoking, imaginative stories that are both original and speak to fundamental aspects of the human condition. The mystery is that he does so infrequently, despite being one of the most prolific authors in the speculative fiction. Wait....on second thought, maybe that is the answer. Quantity of production slamming right into the proverbial nuts of quality. Well this first novel in the Incarnations of Immortality series is certainly one that resides in the relatively exclusive group of high quality Piers Anthony books. Along with Macroscope (which I need to re-read soon), it is my favorite of his novels and I found myself impressed by both the general concept of the story as well as his execution of it. The Incarnations series is founded on the premise that humans assume the roles of 5 of the 7 major supernatural offices called "Incarnations" (i.e., Death, War, Fate, Time and Nature). The other 2 Incarnations, Good and Evil, are permanently held by the Big G and the man downstairs who are engaged in a perpetual fight for the souls of all mankind. All of this takes place in a world similar (though advanced) to ours, except that both science and magic exist side by side (e.g., flying cars and flying carpets, organ transplants and healing elixirs). As you can guess based on the title, this first book in the series focuses on the Incarnation of Death...DUH!! Zane is a lonely, suicidal man who, while contemplating taking his own life, accidentally kills Death (I know, ironical). Zane is then tasked with assuming the role of Death. I know this may sound cheesy, but it is actually handled pretty well in the story and has some very humorous moments.  Death's role is to send the souls of the deceased to either heaven or hell (or purgatory) depending on the balance between the good and evil present in the soul at the time of death. (QUICK NOTE: yep...turns out a person's religion has NOTHING to do with it and heaven or hell is solely (no pun intended) a matter of doing more good than harm during your life.). Kinda comforting isn't it. Anyway, good deeds are extremely light. In fact, they are lighter than air and actually float. On the otehr hand, evil deeds have substantial weight and weigh a soul down. So a good person's soul will float up towards heaven whereas a bad person’s will....you get the idea. Finally, when a soul is in extremely fine balance between good and evil, Death is the final arbiter of the soul’s final destination. That's about all you need for set up. The rest of this very interesting novel involves Zane learning about how the universe is run and coming into conflict with Satan over the soul of a particular person. It seems their is an ancient prophecy that says that this individual will foil Satan’s plans for the world, so naturally ole horn head wants the person dead. In addition to being very entertaining, there are some very neat discussions about the nature of good and evil. This is Piers Anthony at his best. Taking a “big picture” concept and making an entertaining yet thoughtful examination of it in the context of a terrific story. I have read the next two books in this series and while not as good as this one, they are generally entertaining with “flashes of brilliance.” Highly Recommended!!

Valentine, a wanderer who knows nothing except his name, finds himself on the fringes of a great city, and joins a troupe of jugglers and acrobats; gradually, he remembers that he is the Coronal Valentine, executive ruler of the vast world of Majipoor, and all its peoples, human and otherwise... Valentine's journey is a long one, a tour through a series of magnificent environments. Fields of predatory plants give way to impossibly wide rivers, chalk-cliffed islands and unforgiving deserts. The prose is unrelentingly dreamlike—no accident given that on Majipoor, dreams rule the minds of great and humble alike. Originally serialized in The Magazine of Fantasy &amp; Science Fiction in four parts: November 1979, December 1979, January 1980 and February 1980.

* The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* The Restaurant at the End of the Universe* Life, the Universe and Everything* So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish* Mostly HarmlessSuppose a good friend calmly told you over a round of drinks that the world was about to end? And suppose your friend went on to confess that he wasn't from around here at all, but rather from a small planet near Betelgeuse? And what if the world really did come to an end, but instead of being blown away, you found yourself hitching a ride on a spaceship with your buddy as a travelling companion?It happens to Arthur Dent.An ordinary guy from a small town in England, Arthur is one lucky sonofagun: his alien friend, Ford Prefect, is in fact a roving researcher for the universally bestselling Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ... and expert at seeing the cosmos on 30 Altairian dollars a day. Ford lives by the Guide's seminal bit of advice: Don't Panic. Which comes in handy when their first ride--on the very same vessel that demolished Earth to make way for a hyperspacial freeway--ends disastrously (they are booted out of an airlock). with 30 seconds of air in their lungs and the odd of being picked up by another ship 2^276,709 to 1 against, the pair are scooped up by the only ship in the universe powered by the Infinite Improbability Drive.But this (and the idea that Bogart movies and McDonald's hamburgers now exist only in his mind) is just the beginning of the weird things Arthur will have to get used to. For, on his travels, he'll encounter Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-President of the Galaxy; Trillian, a sexy spacecadet he once tried to pick up at a cocktail party, now Zaphod's girlfriend; Marvin, a chronically depressed robot; and Slartibartfast, the award-winning engineer who built the Earth and travels in a spaceship disguised as a bistro.Arthur's crazed wanderings will take him from the restaurant at the end of the Universe (where the main dish of the day introduces itself and the floor show is doomsday), to the planet Krikkit (locked in Slo-Time to punish its inhabitants for trying to end the Universe), to Earth (huh? wait! wasn't it destroyed?!) to the very offices of The Hitchhiker's Guide itself as he and his friends quest for the answer to the Question of Life, the Universe and Everything ... and search for a really good cup of tea.Ready or not, Arthur Dent is in for one hell of a ride!

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald Tribune for best juvenile fiction. The book remains popular and is recognized as a classic in children's literature.The Hobbit is set within Tolkien's fictional universe and follows the quest of home-loving Bilbo Baggins, the titular hobbit, to win a share of the treasure guarded by Smaug the dragon. Bilbo's journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings into more sinister territory.The story is told in the form of an episodic quest, and most chapters introduce a specific creature or type of creature of Tolkien's geography. Bilbo gains a new level of maturity, competence, and wisdom by accepting the disreputable, romantic, fey, and adventurous sides of his nature and applying his wits and common sense. The story reaches its climax in the Battle of Five Armies, where many of the characters and creatures from earlier chapters re-emerge to engage in conflict.

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