Xone of Contention (Xanth, No. 23) by Piers Anthony

Xanth #23

by Piers Anthony

Anthony's newest "Xanth" novel continues the rousing fantasy saga with the tale of three unconventional couples who undertake perilous parallel quests on Earth and in Xanth.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Ebooks, Science Fiction Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

About the author

Though he spent the first four years of his life in England, Piers never returned to live in his country of birth after moving to Spain and immigrated to America at age six. After graduating with a B.A. from Goddard College, he married one of his fellow students and and spent fifteen years in an assortment of professions before he began writing fiction full-time.

Piers is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and lives on a tree farm in Florida with his wife. They have two grown daughters.

Reviews

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read of few of the Xanth novels a few, ahem, decades ago; far enough back that I have forgotten which ones, which means that I will probably at some point in my life, have to start the series over again. The novels are always rich in ideas and creative problem-solving, and Xone delivers. Anthony also is good about creating a positive moral code for his character, to explain puns and jokes, and here at the 23rd Xanth book, give us some context for people and places he has previously documented.

I feel sometimes, though, that the author writes in a simplistic, downright linear fashion of setup-challenge-success, setup-challenge-success, to the end of the book. You know what you are getting, but it can begin to feel bland after a bit. Evident here, but tempered by a deeper complexity of ideas than I remember from earlier novels.

If you're reading out of order like I did, I suggest 1) don't be offended by spoilers of other books, as there were plenty; 2) see item 1 again in reference to all eight of the main characters: Edsel, Pia, Dug, Kim, Breanna of the Black Wave, Justin Tree, Nimby and Chlorine. All have been seen before, and Mr. Anthony gives out a fair number of details about past adventures.

Alphabet Game, letter 'X' title.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are an avid reader of fantasy fiction, then I highly recommend the first book of the Xanth series, A Spell for Chameleon. It is entirely worthy of its award of the 1977 British Fantasy Society Award (British August Derleth Fantasy Award) for the best novel of the year. The following 3-4 books in the series are also very engaging fantasy novels and I thoroughly enjoyed them as well. But then as the series continued the books began to sink into less than steller range, then merely OK and finally to what we now have as represented by this 23rd book in the series.

Xanth has long been about light fantasy and puns. The series seems to have deteriorated into one long excuse to include as many puns as possible, most having been suggested by readers, and it really gets annoying. The plot exists...somewhere, but the massively thick layer of puns does a great job of camouflaging it.

[Joshua Belka · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the hell did I just read? If I weren’t reading this for an alphabet challenge, I would’ve stopped after 20 pages. Are the puns bad, yeah, but tolerable. What’s truly bad about this book other than the plot is The treatment of women and race in this book. Every woman is objectified, and their whole point of the book is primarily to be a sex object for the men of the book. On top of that, the only female character development occurs when the main female lead Realizes she has been feeling guilty and decides that she can now have children and cook and clean. There are also several off color racer marks made in this book. The worst of all though is the normalization of underage sexual activity. I’m not saying to 16-year-olds Fooling around, I’m talking adults, objectifying and sexualizing teenage girls. The whole book appears to be one big dog whistle for it being OK for adults to hook up with 16-year-olds. It’s weird and disgusting. It’s like the author tries to wash away the wrongness of this with one line about how the legal age of consent is 16. Just awful.

[Brianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Xanth yet again delves into a different world. Mundania. And not just anyone in Xanth, Nimby. A character that has much more to him then meets the eye.

I didn't have much interest in the story to begin with. But, it got better.

[Mary Arkless]

I love Piers Anthony's stories.

[Kyra Dunst · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Xanth series is one of my favorites. I love the quests that traverse the land of Xanth, taking us to new places, and introducing us to new bizarre things.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Xone of Contention is the twenty-third book in the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. Back with Breanna from the previous book, as a catastrophe places everyone in imminent peril.
The Xanth Series is quite a really long series that has spanned many decades. I remember reading the first few books back in the very early 1980’s and was totally captivated by the epic fantasy that unfolded before my eyes. I collected all the books as each new one was released and have revisited them a few times over the years. Recently I had been reorganising my bookshelves, because eight book cases have become insufficient to house all my books (#bookwhoredilemma)- and it came to the point where I was going to have to get rid of some of my older books/series in order to make way for new favourites. I looked at all the larger/longer series first and this is one of the larger series that I have, it came under scrutiny. I decided to reread all the books I was considering getting rid of first- before making a final decision. I can honestly say that although I these books didn’t blow me away as they once did- I still really enjoyed all the adventure, magic, swords & sorcery like epic fantasy that Mr. Anthony is renowned for. He has imbued his stories with plenty of humour, a playfulness, lots of fun, action, some history, conspiracies, secrets, surprising developments, and much, much more. We meet so many varied and original characters along the way- the books are full of wonderful fictional beasts and paranormal creatures/beasts. From centaurs, to demons, dragons, fauns, gargoyles, goblins, golems, harpies, merfolk, elves, nymphs, ogres, zombies, and curse fiends- and a few more I am sure I have missed.
The world of Xanth is wonderfully rich and vividly descriptive. It is really well written and is so easy to imagine, it came to life before my eyes. Each ‘person’ in Xanth is born with their own unique magical ability, which is called a ‘talent’. We follow along on many epic adventures and explore the world as the story unfolds.
I have many fond memories of reading this book/series- and in the end I can’t cull any of my collection. So I decided to just purchase a couple of extra bookcases instead. #myprecious
A series worth exploring- especially for any epic fantasy lover who loves some fun and humour served with their adventure.

Thank you, Mr. Anthony!

[James]

New York Times bestselling author of Zombie LoverA wild and wonderful new magical adventure that leads from Xanth to Earth - and back again!A cataclysmic cloud hangs over the enchanted land of land of Xanth. Three courageous couples must venture into the O-Xone, a cybernetic interface between Xanth and our own world, to rescue the enchanted realm from destruction.A xany new fantasy xaga from the Master of Merriment, Xone of Contention is chock-filled with danger, excitement and xillions of laughs!After a year filled with harrowing adventures, all Breanna of the Black Wave and her newfound love Justin Tree want is a little time to get to know each other better, and explore the wonders of the enchanted land of Xanth. But their incipient idyll is soon shattered by a stunning discovery. A climatic catastrophe is causing a massive meltdown that threatens to inundate the ancient forests of Xanth. The only way to avert this dire disaster is to undertake a voyage into the distant mists of the past, to find the moment when this ghastly greenhouse effect began. And the only people who can safely make that journey are those unaffected by Xanth's magic - normal, ordinary humans from our own world.So Breanna and Justin turn for help to the Demon X(A/N)th (a.k.a. Nimby) and his lovely consort Chlorine. Together, they devise a daring plan. Making use of the O-Xone, a magical computer network that links the worlds of Xanth and Earth, Nimby and Chlorine make contact with Pia and Edsel, a young couple from Earth who are working on a Xanth game, and arrange to exchange bodies with them.But an unexpected surprise awaits them on their arrival. The Demon Earth has challenged the Demon Xanth to a deadly duel for the highest possible stakes - dominion over both worlds. While Pia and Edsel range through the farthest reaches of time and space to save Xanth from destruction, Nimby must learn to live by the strange rules of our world, and defeat his ancient enemy without the benefit of his own awesome powers. Brimming with magic, merriment, laughter and love, Xone of Contention is a rousing new fantasy saga in the grand Xanth tradition.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book #: 52
Title: Xone of Contention (Xanth #23)
Author: Piers Anthony
A-Z Title: X for Xone
A-Z Author: A for Anthony
Rating: *** three stars out of five

Piers Anthony wrote a stand alone fantasy novel "A Spell for Chameleon". It won a bunch of awards. He wrote a few sequels...
over 40... I'm not kidding. The 32nd novel in the series is "Two to the Fifth" which is 32. With the other series he writes, he
probably has over 100 novels in print. I recommend another series of his, "Incarnations of Immortality".
He wrote "Xone of Contention", "Yon Ill Wind" and "Zombie Lover" for the Xanth series just so he could have have written a novel
starting with every letter of the alphabet.

This is a utterly generic fantasy novel and a very quick read. I chose it because i I haven't read it yet, and it started with "X" :D A mundane couple get transported from our world to Xanth and have to complete a mission before they can return home. My biggest problem is that he hates using brand names, so mundania is sort of in an "Anthonyverse" People use Macrofirm computers to surf the Mesh or play in GOO games. If he sticks with fantasy, he's fine. This is definitely a reading-in-line type of book.

[Stuart Schneider · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a 2 1/2 star book. Right along the mean/average for our esteemed author. What separates this book from the prior book is this one had some more adult flavored concepts in it that most young adults will have trouble with, such as several of the quantum mechanical theories that are interspersed in this novel and are important in both their practical effects on the characters and plot as well as trying to wrap your mind around how the magic of Xanth could affect their real world effects taken to the Nth degree. This was clearly better than the prior novel. However, once again the horrible puns (many of which are just thrown in there for no purpose other than to make you groan) drags down the quality of the reading, as well as the Adult Conspiracy nonsense, which simply doesn’t apply to sixteen year olds and up anymore.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to DNF this. I don't understand why every character seems to be ok with an adult being attracted to a 16 year old. They frame it as an Adult Conspiracy. Edsel makes it seem like his wife is way older than she really is, when she is, in fact, only 22 and that Pia has let herself go. Even if Pia was older, the way he talks about her body is awful. He's really obsessed with figure she had as a teenager which is creepy. If it hadn't been for all of that I could've enjoyed the story, even though I got halfway and couldn't find the plot. If there is one it's lost beyond all the puns.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid Xanth novel. The main characters were not my favorites, but they had good redemptive arcs and a decent adventure. They were a little flatter and more boring than a typical set of Xanth characters, but perhaps that it okay or even intentional, as they are Mundane characters.

The addition of the kids - DeMonica, Demon Ted, Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm - were cute to see.

[Kate H · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Xanth books by Piers Anthony were one of the first SciFi/Fantasy series I ever read. I love puns so I have always enjoyed them. Upon re-reading them I can see that they have some weaknesses but overall they stand the test of time. They are a fun and fast read that keeps me amused without any deep thinking required.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always love this series. Fantasy, magic, fun, and puns... what else does a girl need to smile! I didn’t love some of the characters, but that’s good in my book. I didn’t like a few of the personalities but that’s what makes it more real too.

[R. Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

"Xone of Contention" brings four previous main characters and two minor characters into the lime light. Makes one heck of a contest between the Namby and D.earth. Very enjoyable.

[Elisa Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a little slow to take off. Once it did though I wanted to keep up with the adventures of the 6 main characters. It was great to see some Xanth characters interacting in Mundania.

[Elaine Fultz, Teacher Librarian, MLS · Rating 4 out of 5]

VOYA review 2000

[Paschalis]

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[Bill Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Demon Contest with Nimby & Chlorine exploring part of America . . .

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book again is adding so much more of mundania and the problems that mundania has. Hopefully the author can calm it down soon or I might have to seek another group of books to read.

[Henry Kline · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say? It is another great Xanth novel.

[Don LaFountaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 23 of the Xanth series is a fast paced, pun filled adventure that was a lot of fun to read.

Readers familiar with Xanth will have a passing recollection of the main characters from Mundania, Pia and Edsel. Edsel had bet his friend Dug that he would not like a new computer game. If Dug won, he would get Edsel's bike, and if Edsel won, he would get his girlfriend Pia. Well Edsel won, and he and Pia are married. Dug met and married Kim, and these four are business partners. However, while Kim and Dug are happily married, Pia and Edsel are not.

While trying to solve a computer programming problem, Edsel stumbles upon the O-Xone, an entrance into the magical land of Xanth. This is surprising to Edsel as he and Pia always thought that Kim and Dug's belief in Xanth was pure fantasy. When he tells his partners what he has found, they are not surprised that it exists, just that it is up so quickly. As it turns out, Edsel has another surprise in store for him...Pia wants a divorce. In desperation, he convinces Pia to give Xanth a chance, and if she does not like it, he will grant the divorce without any fight. Seeing a way out, Pia accepts his challenge. To get into the land of Xanth, they must exchange bodies with two others, as well as have companions to each group through. The companions for Edsel and Pia are Breanna of the Black Wave and Justin Tree. They exchange with Nimby and Chlorine, who will have Kim and Dug as companions. Once the details are agreed, the switch occurs.

In Xanth, Pia and Edsel start off not believing in magic, but quickly come to realize that magic exists. On their adventure they meet Para, the duck-footed boat, Grey and Ivy Murphy, Good Magician Humphrey, Com-passion and Com-Pewter, and babysit some demon children. While traveling throughout Xanth the party stumbles upon the Coventree. The tree needs help as its root systems are getting flooded by the melting of the mountain snow. While not on the agenda for their tour, Pia uncharacteristically decides she wants to help another without any selfish reason. Edsel agrees, and so begins the adventure to save the Coventree.

Meanwhile in Mundania, Kim and Dug are showing the area to Nimby and Chlorine. They are shown computer systems, Mundania technology, movies, how to drive a car and a bike, and go camping. Come to find out, Nimby has a bet with Demon E(A/R)th that he can't come to Mundania and then escape. Before they know it, the bet is on, and Demon E(A/R)th starts to cause many problems for Nimby. If Nimby can't get out, he won't be killed but he will lose considerable status with the other Demons. It's a race against time to succeed in the bet, with the help he really needs coming from Xanth. The problem is that their connection to Xanth has been ruined by a large storm sent by Demon E(A/R)th, and now they are scrambling to find a way to get help before it's too late.

Normally I am not a huge fan of characters being pulled into Xanth from Mundania, but I found this addition to the Xanth series to be a lot of fun. There are not too many new characters in it, but the reader becomes more familiar with some of the more recently introduced characters such as Breanna and Justin. I also enjoyed Grey Murphy's time travel back to the happenings of Book 2, The Source Of Magic to be fun, and I think readers of the series will also get pleasure out of that part of the story too. This is a fast paced book and won't take too long to finish it. Like most of the other Xanth books, a reader can pick up this book and read it on its own, but I think it is better enjoyed after having read the previous books in the series.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, for me, Anthony stepped completely out of the fun and games and into my life. I won't spoil the book, but it has to do with Pia's illness. I actually resented her, and Xanth, and Anthony. Yes, he got to me that much.

I constantly see people running down the Xanth series on here for the puns (which, I remind you, is Anthony doing, so far as I know, an audience-participation event utterly unique in the length of its run, if nothing else) and the 'lack of plot.'

On that second criticism. I have yet to read a Xanth book that lacks a plot, nor one in which Anthony does not consider his main character's growth. I suspect the real grouse is two-fold: one, Anthony tackles questions whose answers are fairly obvious to his readers, and so they impatiently wish him to get on to the 'real' stuff, when, to that character, whatever is going on is the real stuff. Second, I suspect Anthony himself tends to turn ideas around and around in his head, kind of like a child repeatedly trying to shove a triangular peg into the square hole before finally giving in and choosing the correct hole, while his 'learned' audience is screaming "THAT hole, moron! THAT ONE!" His Xanth characters also do this, only sometimes, just sometimes, they get the triangle in the square.

Me, I sometimes tend to do things that way myself, so I can appreciate it. And in a fictional world that always seems to be dominated by Martins and Donaldsons and their bleakness, the world is none the worse, I think, for a series of books in which I can count on a happy ending.

Is Xanth light reading? You bet. Does it give an odd sort of fanservice? Oh yeah, babe. Is it worth reading? That, friend, depends entirely on what you want. But, if, like me, you occasionally want a hero or heroine who (within the social confines of Xanth, for sure! {pipe down, Breanna}) has an issue you may find yourself identifying with, and that you want to be resolved perhaps unexpectedly but always pleasantly, and have some fun in the process, you otterbe reading Xanth.

And, like many persons, I have to say, if I ever 'fade' out (I always nurse the hope I'll live forever—so far, so good!) of this world, I could do far, far worse than wake up the next day in Xanth.

[Paul Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I seem to need a fix of pun-ishment every once in a while, and for that I need look no further than an Xanth novel by Piers Anthony.

Can you believe this is number 23 in his long running series? And yes, I am a sucker for puns and light stories housing heavy themes.

This particular Xanth outing deals with prejudice and environmental issues - and if you have a problem with books that are kinda preachy about issues, I would suggest avoiding Pier’s stuff. It is pretty obvious and in your face (in an Xanthian fun way) , but the message is valid and what Piers has to tell us is pretty spot on. Still, it can annoy some though it doesn’t really bother me.

And yes, his Xanth novels are always brimming with ample panty flashes, full cleavage, nubile young female bodies and adult conspiracy theories. Some have a problem with this too. Again, if you do, don’t read it.

So, is this book worth reading? Hmm. I have been reading Xanth novels since "Ogre Ogre" was published - yeah that long. I like them, I really do but the series is not for all and maybe getting a little stale for some. Still, I find them light (except for the underlying themes, which are more on the surface) and entertaining.

In this one we learn more about the demon Xanth and spend some time looking at Mundania through visiting Xanthian’s eyes, and visa versa. All in all a good romp if a little less structured than some previous novels of in the series.

We get all the regular fun - a trip to Good Magician’s Humphrey’s castle and it’s impediments plus recurring characters when they are appropriate. To be honest, there are so many now I kind of lose track of them, but it’s only because I don’t read them one after the other. That way would lead to severe pun-ishment, and while I like them - I am not that crazy.

Yes, I will return to the Xanth novels as many times as Piers wants to write them.

To me they are just plain clean, naughty fun - a heck of a lot better than day to day Mundania.

[Keith Beasley-Topliffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow I missed this Xanth book when it came out in 1999. It's very Xanthy, for all that a lot of it is set in Mundania. There were lots of reminders that even though Mundania is a lot like Earth, it isn't quite the same. Lots and lots, like calling Triple-B instead of Triple-A when a car (a Neptune, not a Mercury or Saturn) gets flooded. And lumbering onto the mesh instead of logging into the net. I love puns/wordplay and enjoy Xanth, but it really got tedious at times. Add to that some typos (getting character's name wrong at one point) that I hope got corrected when the transition to paperback was made and that knocked the book down to three stars. Found it interesting, though, that a major plot point concerned climate change caused (in Xanth) by the Demon CoTwo (CO2).

[Jeremiah Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was quite dull. I really didn't care about what was going on most of the time.
I really don't understand Chlorine's amazement by cars when she travels to Mundania. They spent time in an RV in a previous book, so they shouldn't seem quite so foreign...
The puns in this book were very bad. They served no purpose other than to add more unneeded filler to it.
Shaunture's "talent" of having incorrect words appear is amazingly stupid.
Thankfully, the innuendo that has been prevalent in previous novels was at least toned down a bit in this one. I really don't understand what happened in the early 90's for Anthony to turn all his characters into complete horn dogs.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Xanth novels are a hilarious fantasy series about a land of magic and its inhabitants and occasionally some people from or in Mundania (the real world). One of the reasons I find the Xanth stories so funny is because Xanth is a land of puns. Even though I've only read a few of them and mostly random ones out of order, I've loved all of them, and this one was no exception. They are well written, the characters are well drawn, and the plots are a lot of fun.

[Kirsti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another of the Xanth books I've only read once, and out of order at that time. All Xanth books can be read as stand alone novels in my opinion, but it helps to read them in order sometimes as well to get a full grasp on characters and situations. I really liked how they went back to characters that had previously been mentioned only briefly, and made them the main characters.

Very enjoyable book, I'll definitely read this one again and again.

[Kristen (belles_bookshelves) · Rating 2 out of 5]

"A person’s future is naturally determined by his choices in the present."

Not my favorite Xanth novel, but not the worst one either. Kind of repetitive: problems with Demon Earth, a bet is made, unsuspecting people performing an unrelated task are actually players in the demon's game, yada yada.

I do love seeing Mundanes in Xanth, that's always refreshing. And we get the see some of Nimby and Chlorine, one of my favorite Xanth couples.

[Emmaa22 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. Just Awful. Full of horrible puns, not clever ones, or funny ones, just crap ones. Virtually nothing happens in the story, it is just a vehicle for the painful wordplay. Is it supposed to be ironic? There is a series of these?! And it seems to be very popular. I just couldn´t subject myself to another one of these.