Xanth ( ) is a series of novels by author

Piers Anthony Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (born 6 August 1934) is an American author in the science fiction and Fantasy (genre), fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is best known for his :Xanth books, long-running novel series set in ...

, also known as ''The Magic of Xanth''. Anthony originally intended for Xanth to be a

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

, but a devoted fan base persuaded the author to continue writing the series, which is now open-ended. He has stated that he has kept the series going as long as he has because the Xanth novels are "just about all that publishers want" from him. The novels are set in the

fantasy world A fantasy world is a world created for/from fictional media, such as literature, film or games. Typical fantasy worlds involve magic or magical abilities, nonexistent technology and, sometimes, either a historical or futuristic theme. Some wor ...

of Xanth, in which magic exists and every human has a magical "talent." The books have been noted for their extensive use of wordplay and

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

s. Since the peak of its popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, the series has been criticized by many scholars and reviewers for what they characterize as misogynist and pedophilic undertones; one reviewer has called it the "most divisive non-media publishing enterprise in all of fantasy." Anthony has downplayed these critiques. The series was optioned in 2017 for a film and TV series.

Books

As of October 2021, there are 45 published novels.

World of Xanth

Inhabitants and talents

Each human character in Xanth is born with a unique magical ability, called a talent. With the exception of the curse fiends, the winged centaurs, and the child Surprise Golem (Daughter of Rapunzel and Grundy Golem), these abilities never repeat exactly in individuals throughout the entire history of Xanth (although nearly identical talents show up on occasion). Though many talents are limited in scope (called the "spot-on-a-wall" variety), the series focuses mainly on individuals with "Magician" caliber abilities (one of the criteria for serving as King of Xanth). In addition to the human characters, Xanth is populated by

elves An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

centaur A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

faun The faun (, grc, φαῦνος, ''phaunos'', ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were spirits (genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their c ...

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...

goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on t ...

golem A golem ( ; he, , gōlem) is an animated, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is entirely created from inanimate matter (usually clay or mud). The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century ...

s, harpies,

merfolk Merfolk or merpeople are legendary water-dwelling human-like beings. They are attested in folklore and mythology throughout the ages in various parts of the world. Female merfolk may be referred to as mermaids, although in a strict sense mermaid ...

naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions * Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata'' * Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

ogre An ogre ( feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the wor ...

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

s, curse fiends, and other fictional beasts. Though initially introduced as obstacles to the human characters, some individuals from those groups become main characters in later books of the series. As the series progresses, some of the half-human species are discovered to have the potential to possess magical talents. The centaurs of the primary centaur community, Centaur Isle, exile any centaurs who demonstrate a magical talent (although some centaur communities are more lenient about possession of talent); however, they tolerate talents in "lesser" races such as humans. Goblins and harpies are shown to have the potential to possess half-talents, the complementary half existing in a member of the other species, (i.e., a goblin must team with a harpy for them to utilize their talent); the hostility between goblins and harpies proved a major obstacle to any serious effort by them to work together to develop these potential talents. Other non-human species are also known to possess talents, for example: Sesame Serpent and Claire Voyant. Visitors from other dimensions with talents retain their talents after arriving in Xanth.

Geography

Geographically, modern Xanth resembles the state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the United States in shape, but has landmarks that mimic well-known geographical features from around the world. One major example of this is the Gap Chasm, an enormous canyon a mile wide which completely bisects the country, paralleling the DMZ of the Korean Peninsula. The position of the Chasm could also correspond with the

Cross Florida Barge Canal The Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway is a protected green belt corridor, more than one and a half miles (1.6 km) wide in places, that was the former route of the proposed Cross Florida Barge Canal. It is named for the leader o ...

, which, similar to the chasm, is generally forgotten except for those who stumble upon it. The Gap is guarded by a resident dragon, known as Stanley Steamer, and is crossed by means of treacherous bridges. Many of Xanth's other geographical features are puns on those of Florida (for example, Lake Ogre-Chobee and the Kiss-Mee River). The

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

also exist, though they are, in Xanth, actual

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

s. Other punning feature names include the Isle of View ("I love you"), Mount Ever-Rest (Mount Everest) and the Centaur Aisle (center aisle) created by a magician from the Centaur Isle. The

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

is close enough that flying creatures may land there; the back side is sweet and

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

ish, the visible side has turned sour and become curdled

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

, due to observing what has happened on Earth and Xanth. Plants may bear

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

of all descriptions (pie trees and shoe trees are common) or they may be carnivorous (such as the tangle trees), making travel in Xanth risky. Xanth has a connection with the normal world, which is referred to as "Mundania"; its people are called "Mundanes". Although any citizen of Xanth can enter Mundania at any time through an isthmus in the northwest, Mundanes enter the isthmus in Xanth from random geographic locations and time periods throughout history. In other words, Xanth does not have a fixed location or time in the mundane world; and the timeline between Xanth and Mundania seems to jump backwards and forwards. For example, within the lifetime of a normal citizen of Xanth, an American Mundane from and an Egyptian Mundane from 3000 BC could both walk across the isthmus. However, Mundanes seem to have trouble finding Xanth on a consistent basis, making any travel to Xanth a somewhat rare occurrence. Despite these seeming difficulties, Xanth was colonized in several waves by groups of invaders and nomads from Mundania over the course of several centuries. The series ties these colonization events to actual historical events on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, most notably the

Punic wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars between 264 and 146BC fought between Roman Republic, Rome and Ancient Carthage, Carthage. Three conflicts between these states took place on both land and sea across the western Mediterranean region and i ...

Adult Conspiracy

First mentioned in ''

Crewel Lye ''Crewel Lye: A Caustic Yarn'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Piers Anthony, the eighth book of the Xanth series. This book is a story within a story as one of Castle Roogna's ghosts, Jordan the Barbarian, tells Princess Ivy his story ...

'', the Adult Conspiracy is one of the prominent features of the Xanth world. In an interview with Moira Allen, Piers Anthony referred to the "Adult conspiracy to keep interesting things from children" as a literary device "parodying current societal conventions". Nearly all subsequent books contain references to the Conspiracy and its effects, particularly those novels in which the main characters are children. At its core, the Adult Conspiracy seeks to protect

child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

ren from knowledge that could bring them to great harm. The precise age for entering into the world of adults is age 18, corresponding to the

age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...

in most places. The primary principle that inducts children into the Conspiracy is the understanding of the secret of " summoning the stork". In Xanthian terms, "summoning the stork" literally means to put out a call to summon a stork which will deliver to the couple a child. In

Isle of View ''Isle of View'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Piers Anthony, published in 1989. It is the thirteenth book of the Xanth series. Plot Che, Chex Centaur’s winged foal, has been kidnapped by a group of goblins. It is up to Jenny, a girl ...

, it is revealed that summoning the stork will release an "

ellipsis The ellipsis (, also known informally as dot dot dot) is a series of dots that indicates an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning. The plural is ellipses. The term origin ...

" (...) into the air to fly off to the stork. This is a play on the joke that all the "adult" things happen after a paragraph ends in an ellipsis. Most inductees actually discover the specifics of the act "by accident" after marriage, or under the influence of a love spring (a magical spring which causes two drinkers, not necessarily human, or even of the same species, to fall madly, and lustfully, in love with one another at first sight). Other faculties of the Adult Conspiracy include: *

Censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

of foul language – All foul words contain the ability to cause various effects (the wilting of plants (negative), removal of curse burrs (positive), etc.). These are automatically

bleeped A bleep censor is the replacement of a profanity or classified information with a beep (sound), beep sound (usually a ) in television and radio. It is mainly used in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong ...

when said in the presence of someone who has yet to be inducted. *Visual access to underwear – Because

underwear Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...

is so closely tied to

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

(even more so than nudity in Xanth), men become automatically "freaked out" when they view panties. This is made a common joke, most prominently in the novel ''

The Color of Her Panties ''The Color of Her Panties'' is a fantasy novel by British-American writer Piers Anthony, the fifteenth book of the ''Xanth'' series. Plot introduction Mela Merwoman, one of the protagonists of ''The Color of Her Panties'', was introduced in ''H ...

'', and is often used by women to gain advantage over men. Panties only carry their effects when worn, but because of their nature, they are forbidden to be shown to children. *Inability to have childish fun – Children believe that once they join the Adult Conspiracy, they will no longer have pillow fights, eat sweets and drink "tsoda popka" (

soda pop A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a sugar ...

), or want to have

fun Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "Light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...

. While this belief is exaggerated, the entry to the Conspiracy does cause the couple to lose their bed monster, inadvertently creating the appearance of losing all childhood spirit under the responsibility of Adulthood. It is important to note that there have been occasions when children gained access to the Adult Conspiracy prematurely. Jenny Elf, Che Centaur, and Gwenny Goblin had to be given access to the Adult Conspiracy when Gwenny received a pair of

contact lens Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmetic ...

es that corrected her poor

eyesight Visual perception is the ability to interpret the surrounding environment through photopic vision (daytime vision), color vision, scotopic vision (night vision), and mesopic vision (twilight vision), using light in the visible spectrum reflecte ...

while giving her the ability to see others'

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

s (some of which could contain Conspiracy material). In one rare instance, a little girl was born with the magic talent of immunity to the magical censorship of Adult Conspiracy, causing her family much distress. This was remedied with magician Sherlock's talent of reversal and a vial of

lethe In Greek mythology, Lethe (; Ancient Greek: ''Lḗthē''; , ), also referred to as Lemosyne, was one of the five rivers of the underworld of Hades. Also known as the ''Ameles potamos'' (river of unmindfulness), the Lethe flowed around the cav ...

water which erased her

memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

Related works

*''Encyclopedia of Xanth'' (1987, by

Jody Lynn Nye Jody Lynn Nye (born 1957 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American science fiction writer. She is the author or co-author of approximately forty published novels and more than 100 short stories. She has specialized in science fiction or fantasy acti ...

) a Crossroads Adventure role-playing game book *''Ghost of a Chance'' (1988, by Jody Lynn Nye) a Crossroads Adventure role-playing game book *''Piers Anthony's Visual Guide to Xanth'' (1989, with Jody Lynn Nye) * "Xanth" Board Game (1991, created by Mayfair Games, a board game for 1-6 players set in the Xanth Universe) *''

Companions of Xanth ''Companions of Xanth'' is an adventure game published in 1993 by Legend Entertainment. Gameplay The game is based on Piers Anthony's ''Xanth'' novels and loosely follows the plot of his 1993 novel '' Demons Don't Dream'', in which a young man u ...

'' (a 1993

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

described in and following the plot of ''Demons Don't Dream'') *''

Letters to Jenny ''Letters to Jenny'' is a collection of letters written by Piers Anthony to Jenny Gildwarg, a 12-year-old girl who was run over by a drunk driver on December 9, 1988. The book also contains news of Jenny's progress after the accident. Origin of ...

'' (1993, nonfiction)

References

Sources

Piers Anthony's Bibliography List
*''Ghost of a Chance'' () (1988) by Jody Lyn Nye (A Crossroads Adventure in the World of Piers Anthony's Xanth) *''Bio of an Ogre'' () (1988) by Piers Anthony (Xanth: Part Five: Number 4 p. 213)

External links

*
''I was a captive of Xanth''
a review of the from

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

(December 7, 2000)
The timeline of Xanth
{{Authority control Fictional countries Zombies and revenants in popular culture Book series introduced in 1977 Fantasy novel series Works by Piers Anthony Peninsulas