What do you think?
Rate this book
The Secret of Spring
Herb Moss is a nice young man. He's a Vegan. It's a good life, really; he's engaged to his childhood sweetheart Lily, has a job with his father's firm, and can look forward to a solid if unexciting future. And if he's bored and wistful every time he thinks about it--well, that's normal, isn't it? Surely, thinks Herb, a little romantic correspondence on the side can do no harm. Especially if Lily doesn't find out.
Meanwhile, on a planet far away, a nice young woman named Spring only wishes she were bored. Spring's been living with her widowed father Gabriel, a practicing sorcerer, keeping house and helping out with the business. It's been a good life. But the evil wizard Zygote has learned of the existence of those secrets. And he'll do anything to get them, including the obvious.
When Gabriel is killed, Spring takes refuge with the austere Order of Companions. There, grieving and lonely, she places a personal ad, looking for a pen pal who can discuss botany. Little does she know that she's actually placed a personal ad in Play Plant magazine, and that her new pen pal Herb thinks she's interested in romance.
When Zygote closes in on her, Spring flees to the only friend she can think her buddy Herb. Trouble ensues--with Zygote following close behind it!
Meanwhile, on a planet far away, a nice young woman named Spring only wishes she were bored. Spring's been living with her widowed father Gabriel, a practicing sorcerer, keeping house and helping out with the business. It's been a good life. But the evil wizard Zygote has learned of the existence of those secrets. And he'll do anything to get them, including the obvious.
When Gabriel is killed, Spring takes refuge with the austere Order of Companions. There, grieving and lonely, she places a personal ad, looking for a pen pal who can discuss botany. Little does she know that she's actually placed a personal ad in Play Plant magazine, and that her new pen pal Herb thinks she's interested in romance.
When Zygote closes in on her, Spring flees to the only friend she can think her buddy Herb. Trouble ensues--with Zygote following close behind it!
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
8 people are currently reading
330 people want to read
About the author
Piers Anthony
441 books4,214 followersThough 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.
Piers is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and lives on a tree farm in Florida with his wife. They have two grown daughters.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
April 25, 2019
I almost stuck this with a four-star rating, but went for the full five because it's a very fun read. It's creative, employing not only imaginative characters and settings, but using language and botany to fill the narrative with puns and quips.
The book is fast-paced with action, angst, and suspense. You'll be able to form some guesses as to the outcome, but you won't really know till you read the end.
If you like quirky, offbeat premises and intriguing characters you're sure to enjoy The Secret of Spring.
The book is fast-paced with action, angst, and suspense. You'll be able to form some guesses as to the outcome, but you won't really know till you read the end.
If you like quirky, offbeat premises and intriguing characters you're sure to enjoy The Secret of Spring.
June 5, 2018
This is the silliest book that has ever completely charmed me. 😊
January 27, 2019
I can't say I'd have picked this up without Anthony's name on it, and only found it average in spite of that. The punning, of course, is a clear nod, as is the very strange sexuality. And yet it's a little muted for some of his other works, a little off-key for the man himself, a sort of oddly-reflected image of his other works. The back story was more interesting than the book, alas.
June 5, 2024
This is a fantasy story set in the future with humans and a new species which is part plant and part human. It is a wild chase involving magicians or wizards, space, castles, good, and bad! The pacing could have been better and it was difficult to get to know the characters except for Herb. I thought a bit more depth would have been appreciated.
October 23, 2022
This is not a serious novel but it was a bit of fun. Don't think too hard about it.
January 2, 2014
I haven't read Pier's Anthony before; always wanted to try Xanth, but just never got around to it. So when I came across this at a book sale I snatched it up. There's a lot of puns - and from what I understand of Anthony's writing, that was expected. And fun, even if groan-worthy at times. The story seemed a little disjointed at times, but came together enough at the end.
What struck me the most was that I felt like I was reading 80's SF pulp (which is not a bad thing). So I was surpirsed when I checked out the pub date when I was done reading to find it was a recent as 2000. Most noteable, the male/female roles were most definitely old-school here. While it doesn't bother me a bit, I have some friends who I'm sure would have put the book down in disgust pretty early on--especially knowing it is old-school thinking in a present(-ish) market.
Beyond that, this was more SF than I expect from Anthony, so I still would like to try out his more classic works (yes, I realize this ia a collaboration). This one is a silly, an enjoyable read, but maybe not a big candidate for a re-read.
What struck me the most was that I felt like I was reading 80's SF pulp (which is not a bad thing). So I was surpirsed when I checked out the pub date when I was done reading to find it was a recent as 2000. Most noteable, the male/female roles were most definitely old-school here. While it doesn't bother me a bit, I have some friends who I'm sure would have put the book down in disgust pretty early on--especially knowing it is old-school thinking in a present(-ish) market.
Beyond that, this was more SF than I expect from Anthony, so I still would like to try out his more classic works (yes, I realize this ia a collaboration). This one is a silly, an enjoyable read, but maybe not a big candidate for a re-read.
June 13, 2008
I must admit that it was the cover that drew me to purchase this book. A green man turning around and seeing a beautiful woman in a towel coming out of a futuristic shower reminded me of the great sci-fi pulp covers from days gone past that I love. Brilliant.
The Secret of Spring is a light read that really isn't a quick read. The story is at times frustratingly simple, and other times way too chaotic. Also, while there is a lot that happens in the book, I felt that after finishing it that nothing really did happen. So I sit here torn on how to really feel about this one. Definitely not a must read, even for a Piers Anthony fan, but if you're looking for a "romantic fantasy of wizardry and botany", this is your book.
On a side note: while this is a collaboration that was in fact first written by Jo Anne Taeusch, the writing felt almost solely to be by Piers Anthony. I wonder how much he changed from Jo Anne's original manuscript. It's pun and cheese-rific, much like all of his books. I can see why so many people either love him or hate him.
The Secret of Spring is a light read that really isn't a quick read. The story is at times frustratingly simple, and other times way too chaotic. Also, while there is a lot that happens in the book, I felt that after finishing it that nothing really did happen. So I sit here torn on how to really feel about this one. Definitely not a must read, even for a Piers Anthony fan, but if you're looking for a "romantic fantasy of wizardry and botany", this is your book.
On a side note: while this is a collaboration that was in fact first written by Jo Anne Taeusch, the writing felt almost solely to be by Piers Anthony. I wonder how much he changed from Jo Anne's original manuscript. It's pun and cheese-rific, much like all of his books. I can see why so many people either love him or hate him.
September 20, 2016
Spring Gabriel was a happy and talented healer, and a daughter of a well-respected magician. But when Spring’s father met with an untimely demise, her desire to avenge his death dragged her across the galaxy to a quiet little planetoid inhabited by plant-men and –women. Meanwhile, Spring’s pen pal, Herb Moss, naïve of the ways of the galaxy, is about to learn more about interplanetary travel, love, and adventure than his roots may be able to handle!
A collaboration with a new author, Secret of Spring is a cute take on the fish-out-of-water, vengeance, Romeo and Juliet, and even a kind of coming-of-age mish-mash. The characters are believable and the reader can sympathize with their conflicts. The plot is certainly believable, from a Sci-Fi standpoint…although perhaps the time travel is unnecessary. All in all, enjoyable and a worthy first effort for Anthony’s co-author Jo Anne Taeusch.
A collaboration with a new author, Secret of Spring is a cute take on the fish-out-of-water, vengeance, Romeo and Juliet, and even a kind of coming-of-age mish-mash. The characters are believable and the reader can sympathize with their conflicts. The plot is certainly believable, from a Sci-Fi standpoint…although perhaps the time travel is unnecessary. All in all, enjoyable and a worthy first effort for Anthony’s co-author Jo Anne Taeusch.
August 20, 2010
Piers Anthony wrote this with Jo Anne Treusch and it was essentially her first novel. Felt similar to Anthony's magic of Xanth series.
Good concept and flowed well, but the introduction of time travel was one too many fantasy / sci fi concepts for me to easily follow. Because I was able to ignore it, it wasn't necessary for the theme of the story.
It also took a while to get to the hook of the story, the two main characters meeting.
All in all a fun, fast read that could've been better, but was still entertaining.
Good concept and flowed well, but the introduction of time travel was one too many fantasy / sci fi concepts for me to easily follow. Because I was able to ignore it, it wasn't necessary for the theme of the story.
It also took a while to get to the hook of the story, the two main characters meeting.
All in all a fun, fast read that could've been better, but was still entertaining.
January 10, 2011
Hilarious - you either enjoy Piers Anthony's humor or you don't; I do. Heavy on the puns and on ridiculous situations, yet he manages to make his characters fully developed enough to make the reader (this one, anyway) care about them even while laughing. Also some good old-fashioned cliff-hanger plotting, and a tour de force of imagination - sentient vegetable people? Not just interspecies, but intergenera romance?
February 5, 2011
What a fun book!
It's just a good old fashioned adventure romp with lots of silly dialogue and puns that just make it fun to read.
They have taken plant people and built a hilarious pun filled story that is over the top and knows it.
If you are looking for serious science fiction, this is not your book. Sometimes though you just want to read some light hearted sci-fi that pokes fun at the genre and makes for an easy read. This is one of them.
It's just a good old fashioned adventure romp with lots of silly dialogue and puns that just make it fun to read.
They have taken plant people and built a hilarious pun filled story that is over the top and knows it.
If you are looking for serious science fiction, this is not your book. Sometimes though you just want to read some light hearted sci-fi that pokes fun at the genre and makes for an easy read. This is one of them.
January 8, 2012
ugh!!! This book was soooo hard to get through but I HATE to stop reading books once i've started them....especially since I've had an obsession with this book since I first saw it at the library when I was in high school, and I would always check it out but I never read it...until now...it was just plain boring...there were very tiny parts I found slightly entertaining...but overall it wasn't that entertaining...no new fans for Piers...sorry
June 5, 2012
I've read plenty of Piers Anthony books, and I gave this one a shot because it seemed like an interesting tale - plant people, of all things...
I was sorely disappointed. This whole book is so incredibly disjointed that it drives me snooker loopy. The plot starts out okay, and swiftly runs off the rails into nonsense.
It might just be me, but I finished it and wanted to bin it immediately. Instead, I gave it away to someone with the caveat 'you will not believe how terrible this is...'
I was sorely disappointed. This whole book is so incredibly disjointed that it drives me snooker loopy. The plot starts out okay, and swiftly runs off the rails into nonsense.
It might just be me, but I finished it and wanted to bin it immediately. Instead, I gave it away to someone with the caveat 'you will not believe how terrible this is...'
September 17, 2013
I'm totally intrigued by Piers Anthony now, but - this book just didn't hold a lot of water. There was much joyous wordplay, which I enjoyed, but the plot and characters were paper-thin and I found myself constantly saying, "Is this it? Is this when things pick up?" They just never did. I appreciate that books like this are published, and in other circumstances I may have even devoured it in an afternoon.
February 8, 2011
Its not very unique, but it is definitely engaging, if a little raunchy. A good book for a young man with not much else to read. It is also one of the few books I have read that, when I put them down, I just have a good laugh!
September 22, 2012
I thought the book was pretty entertaining. I expected it to be different, but it was delightfully light-hearted. You have to love a man who's half plant / half human, and all his little botany quips.
Note: This is an adult book. I'd rate it PG-13.
Note: This is an adult book. I'd rate it PG-13.
January 29, 2008
Piers Anthony, in this book, has totally become the epitome of "dirty old man." I couldn't even finish this book, it was that crude.
July 11, 2008
So funny!
January 7, 2013
Definitely nothing stellar here. But then, it's not Anthony doing the majority of the writing (I think).
January 25, 2014
A strange book, but I liked it none the less.
March 17, 2015
This book ended up delivering way more than I even expected. It was silly, fun, and adventurous all wrapped up in a well-written sci-fi story.
September 2, 2025
This makes Piers Anthony's earlier works look feminist in comparison.
November 15, 2008
My first and last foray into the world of Piers Anthony... It was just definitely not for me.
October 7, 2011
Very punny. Very, very, very punny. :D
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews