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Xanth #10
Vale of the Vole
An ogre with a talent for protest must stop the destruction of an untouched paradise in the New York Times–bestselling author's fantasy adventure.
Esk is part ogre, part nymph, and all attitude. He has a magical talent for protest—when he says "No!" people don't just listen, they literally stop in their tracks. But even his abilities haven't been enough to thwart a seductive demoness. When Esk sets out on a pilgrimage to get help from the Good Magician Humphrey, he discovers that he will be going much further . . . on an unexpected mission of mercy.
A greedy demon horde has descended on a running river paradise and its harmless inhabitants. Now it is up to Esk and his companions—a beautiful winged centaur named Chex and a brave burrower Called Volney—to search Xanth's treacherous reaches, gather together a mind-boggling company of creatures, and defend the precious Vale of the Vole.
Esk is part ogre, part nymph, and all attitude. He has a magical talent for protest—when he says "No!" people don't just listen, they literally stop in their tracks. But even his abilities haven't been enough to thwart a seductive demoness. When Esk sets out on a pilgrimage to get help from the Good Magician Humphrey, he discovers that he will be going much further . . . on an unexpected mission of mercy.
A greedy demon horde has descended on a running river paradise and its harmless inhabitants. Now it is up to Esk and his companions—a beautiful winged centaur named Chex and a brave burrower Called Volney—to search Xanth's treacherous reaches, gather together a mind-boggling company of creatures, and defend the precious Vale of the Vole.
327 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1987
64 people are currently reading
2358 people want to read
About the author
Piers Anthony
441 books4,215 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
April 10, 2009
OK. This was my first book that I've read of the Xanth series. I had heard of Xanth, found a used copy at a real bargain, so I went for it. What the...? I was expecting something more along the lines of the Apprentice Adept series (which I thoroughly enjoyed), but I was instead assaulted by simple puns, inane dialogue, and amazingly-over-accepting-of-each-other strangers. The "speech impediment" of the voles was also somewhat annoying. I could probably go on some more about the negatives I found in this book, but I still had to give it two stars for the mere fact that it kept my attention, and even made me chuckle a few times. I won't be continuing my exploration into the Realm of Xanth anytime soon, though.
May 12, 2015
I hope that this represents the low-water mark for the Xanth series, and that the remaining books cannot possibly be worse.
This book was still readable, but numbingly repetitive and lacking in urgency or "danger". That is, there is no palpable immediacy to the quest, and thus no imminent peril, and the book suffers as a result of nearly negligable suspense.
The story involves so many treks across Xanth that it seems it's no longer dangerous to travel here and there in Xanth - there's little reflection on the part of the characters as to the risk involved, and in fact the treks are mostly pointless, and thus unwise if safety might be a concern. Characters arrive at an intended location, only to discover that what they need there is either not yet available, or what they want is impossible, and therefore the journey was all for nothing. So they return to their starting point and then decide to try another destination in the hopes that it will have more useful results. Only to undergo another wasted trip from which they then backtrack.
Esk's quest never really seems that important or necessary. I never was convinced in the urgency of his quest, nor of its importance, and always considered that traveling to the Magician was a questionable strategy.
The vole's quest is more convincing, but I question if the other characters would really be so eager to help. They have their own problems to solve, after all, which were supposedly urgent enough for them to travel on a supposedly safe path that is inexplicably infested with dragons. Do I really believe that they'd be willing to help simply because their own quest is stalled? There's a link between helping the vole and furthering their own individual needs, but it's rather tenuous and ill-developed.
The resolution of the plot is not clever or overly innovative, unlike some other earlier Xanth novels that I had previously been unimpressed with up until the end. That didn't happen this time - no redeeming quality was able to save the day at the last minute.
This book was still readable, but numbingly repetitive and lacking in urgency or "danger". That is, there is no palpable immediacy to the quest, and thus no imminent peril, and the book suffers as a result of nearly negligable suspense.
The story involves so many treks across Xanth that it seems it's no longer dangerous to travel here and there in Xanth - there's little reflection on the part of the characters as to the risk involved, and in fact the treks are mostly pointless, and thus unwise if safety might be a concern. Characters arrive at an intended location, only to discover that what they need there is either not yet available, or what they want is impossible, and therefore the journey was all for nothing. So they return to their starting point and then decide to try another destination in the hopes that it will have more useful results. Only to undergo another wasted trip from which they then backtrack.
Esk's quest never really seems that important or necessary. I never was convinced in the urgency of his quest, nor of its importance, and always considered that traveling to the Magician was a questionable strategy.
The vole's quest is more convincing, but I question if the other characters would really be so eager to help. They have their own problems to solve, after all, which were supposedly urgent enough for them to travel on a supposedly safe path that is inexplicably infested with dragons. Do I really believe that they'd be willing to help simply because their own quest is stalled? There's a link between helping the vole and furthering their own individual needs, but it's rather tenuous and ill-developed.
The resolution of the plot is not clever or overly innovative, unlike some other earlier Xanth novels that I had previously been unimpressed with up until the end. That didn't happen this time - no redeeming quality was able to save the day at the last minute.
September 19, 2017
I came across this book because one of my readers to my unpublished novel said, "Your book is very funny. It reminds me of some books I read as a kid by an author named Piers Anthony. I think you should read them because it would might give you a different perspective as you continue to write your Fantasy/Humor but read one of the early ones because he gets kind of weird in his later books." With this loosely based knowledge I happened to stumble on this copy at the local bookmans and didn't realize it was the 10th book of his Xanth series. That being said this rating is for how I felt about this book only and not any of his other works or this series.
*** Spoilers ***
First of all I really enjoyed the main content of the book and would have rated the book much high at a three or possibly four stars. When Piers begins to link our flesh world with a gourd world and then again in a zombie gourd world I got a little confused at times because of the in depth creation that Piers had created which I really enjoyed because I saw how the logic played out and thought it was cleverly executed. Furthermore, I felt as though his characters were creative, diverse and the problems he presented them all were thoughtfully brought to existence. What really killed an additional two stars for me was the way the end of the book wrapped up especially the last chapter to an extreme of being distasteful in my opinion.
From the very beginning of this book I felt like I was reading a novel that could be featured on a Saturday morning cartoon run much like the ones I saw as a child. The language is very censored which began to make me feel as though this was directed towards a much younger audience than your garden variety YA. Magic and wizards yay, pew pew, giggle. No fault in that if that's what its tailored to be then so be it and enjoy it for what it is.
However, I started to realize that the tickle giggles were turning into seductive sexual molesting between the protagonist Esk and the antagonist Metria. I began to think okay, maybe this isn't just a YA book maybe this is an older targeted adult/ YA novel instead. This is where I began to disconnect from the book itself and read on as my stars slowly began to fade away.
In the last chapter Esk and Metria find solutions to their problems however, the character of the story feels like it isn't quite sure what type of a book it should be. When Esk tells Metria "NO!" she responds "Oh phooey!" and vanishes. That's great for a kids book but when she's constricting herself and groping on his crotch it just doesn't blend well. She's a 100 year old seductress getting naked and forcing herself sexually on Esk and making statements like "darn" ??
Either be a harem type book geared towards the adult side and give Metria the ability to develop into a 100 year old seductress as she is with appropriate language. If that's what it is then I can accept it and on the opposite scope if it is a young readers novel then remove the amount of sexuality from it and let it be that but I have a hard time in accepting it as both. How can Esk blush when he captures a side glance of boobies and be engaged in adult situations without expressing adult language. This feels like watching Spawn inside the My Little Ponies world, it feels wrong. In my opinion this could have been a much more enjoyable book if the sexual encounters were further withdrawn or if the language and attitude fit with the sexual mood but blurring this line just didn't work for me and for that I rated it a 2.
*** Spoilers ***
First of all I really enjoyed the main content of the book and would have rated the book much high at a three or possibly four stars. When Piers begins to link our flesh world with a gourd world and then again in a zombie gourd world I got a little confused at times because of the in depth creation that Piers had created which I really enjoyed because I saw how the logic played out and thought it was cleverly executed. Furthermore, I felt as though his characters were creative, diverse and the problems he presented them all were thoughtfully brought to existence. What really killed an additional two stars for me was the way the end of the book wrapped up especially the last chapter to an extreme of being distasteful in my opinion.
From the very beginning of this book I felt like I was reading a novel that could be featured on a Saturday morning cartoon run much like the ones I saw as a child. The language is very censored which began to make me feel as though this was directed towards a much younger audience than your garden variety YA. Magic and wizards yay, pew pew, giggle. No fault in that if that's what its tailored to be then so be it and enjoy it for what it is.
However, I started to realize that the tickle giggles were turning into seductive sexual molesting between the protagonist Esk and the antagonist Metria. I began to think okay, maybe this isn't just a YA book maybe this is an older targeted adult/ YA novel instead. This is where I began to disconnect from the book itself and read on as my stars slowly began to fade away.
In the last chapter Esk and Metria find solutions to their problems however, the character of the story feels like it isn't quite sure what type of a book it should be. When Esk tells Metria "NO!" she responds "Oh phooey!" and vanishes. That's great for a kids book but when she's constricting herself and groping on his crotch it just doesn't blend well. She's a 100 year old seductress getting naked and forcing herself sexually on Esk and making statements like "darn" ??
Either be a harem type book geared towards the adult side and give Metria the ability to develop into a 100 year old seductress as she is with appropriate language. If that's what it is then I can accept it and on the opposite scope if it is a young readers novel then remove the amount of sexuality from it and let it be that but I have a hard time in accepting it as both. How can Esk blush when he captures a side glance of boobies and be engaged in adult situations without expressing adult language. This feels like watching Spawn inside the My Little Ponies world, it feels wrong. In my opinion this could have been a much more enjoyable book if the sexual encounters were further withdrawn or if the language and attitude fit with the sexual mood but blurring this line just didn't work for me and for that I rated it a 2.
June 2, 2020
The definition of fluff is not "a Piers Anthony Xanth novel" but it probably could be if I seduced one of the jerks at Merriam-Webster who makes the list of real words so that every Scrabble game doesn't devolve into a knife fight.
Reading a Xanth book is like reading a Dungeons and Dragons module straight through only less entertaining and with more allusions to the protagonist getting a boner. They're just a series of fantasy encounters strung together for the appropriate length of pages to deem it a novel. They're so consistently the same that every book has one chapter where the protagonist visits the Good Magician's castle to answer the question "What is this book about?" Don't worry! The protagonists never gets a proper answer! They just get railroaded into an adventure which supplies the answer by the end of the book, making it seem like a plot happened. But it didn't. All that happened were a dozen Wandering Monster encounters and fifteen embarrassing boners.
By the end of this book, a vole is about to bone a wiggle, a quarter-ogre is about to bone a brass statue, and a winged centaur has flown off to bone another winged centaur. So it's the first book I've read with three happy endings. Maybe. I don't know. I guess Catch-22 had at least two happy endings if you consider desertion of the United States armed forces a "happy ending" (which I totally do).
There may have been another plot somewhere about saving the titular vale of the vole. But since it's expressed at the end of this book that the vale would have been saved had the heroes done absolutely nothing, I can't rightly believe that was the plot. I think the main plot was just to get some lonely dumb-dumbs laid. Or laid by the right people since the main character, Esk the Quarter Ogre, could have had some demon poon in the first chapter. I guess ogres really are dumb!
As for Piers Anthony's quality of writing? Here's an example to stand in for my criticism: One of the running jokes throughout the book was how everybody referred to the centaurs boobs as her pectoral muscles until she finally uses her pectoral muscles and she grabs her boobs and goes, "Why aren't these muscles sore?!" And an old lady is all, "Oh you! Didn't you notice the ogre's boner every time he looked at you?! You're a woman now!"
It's weird rereading Xanth novels as an adult. I suppose as a teenager, I liked them expressly because they were like reading a D&D module. I liked the variety of strange encounters. But now if I'm going to read a book without a plot that likes to hint at sexy stuff, I'd rather just read old copies of Penthouse Forum.
I'm probably not going to mention Garfield in my reviews any more. That bit is over. At least until I review a Garfield book.
Reading a Xanth book is like reading a Dungeons and Dragons module straight through only less entertaining and with more allusions to the protagonist getting a boner. They're just a series of fantasy encounters strung together for the appropriate length of pages to deem it a novel. They're so consistently the same that every book has one chapter where the protagonist visits the Good Magician's castle to answer the question "What is this book about?" Don't worry! The protagonists never gets a proper answer! They just get railroaded into an adventure which supplies the answer by the end of the book, making it seem like a plot happened. But it didn't. All that happened were a dozen Wandering Monster encounters and fifteen embarrassing boners.
By the end of this book, a vole is about to bone a wiggle, a quarter-ogre is about to bone a brass statue, and a winged centaur has flown off to bone another winged centaur. So it's the first book I've read with three happy endings. Maybe. I don't know. I guess Catch-22 had at least two happy endings if you consider desertion of the United States armed forces a "happy ending" (which I totally do).
There may have been another plot somewhere about saving the titular vale of the vole. But since it's expressed at the end of this book that the vale would have been saved had the heroes done absolutely nothing, I can't rightly believe that was the plot. I think the main plot was just to get some lonely dumb-dumbs laid. Or laid by the right people since the main character, Esk the Quarter Ogre, could have had some demon poon in the first chapter. I guess ogres really are dumb!
As for Piers Anthony's quality of writing? Here's an example to stand in for my criticism: One of the running jokes throughout the book was how everybody referred to the centaurs boobs as her pectoral muscles until she finally uses her pectoral muscles and she grabs her boobs and goes, "Why aren't these muscles sore?!" And an old lady is all, "Oh you! Didn't you notice the ogre's boner every time he looked at you?! You're a woman now!"
It's weird rereading Xanth novels as an adult. I suppose as a teenager, I liked them expressly because they were like reading a D&D module. I liked the variety of strange encounters. But now if I'm going to read a book without a plot that likes to hint at sexy stuff, I'd rather just read old copies of Penthouse Forum.
I'm probably not going to mention Garfield in my reviews any more. That bit is over. At least until I review a Garfield book.
July 10, 2015
This is probably the last Xanth novel that I read
30 December 2011
I guess that I am getting to the point where my memory of the Xanth novels are beginning to fade. This was written in 1987 and I suspect that I read it a couple of years later, possibly in the early 90s (though the exact date I am unable to remember). I remember this because it was when my friend first introduced me to the series, and I pretty much read everything thing that he had written up to that point, and a couple more.
I have noted that he is still writing the novels. Currently (as of the writing of this commentary) he is up to number 35, and there are a couple more in the wings. I guess that once one has made a name for oneself then people will keep buying the books. I am surprised that he has managed to keep this series going for so long. I would equate it to Harry Potter, though they were not as popular. Harry Potter hit the world by storm, where as these books have been sitting in the background and I suspect the popularity has probably diminished somewhat. I gave up after book number 13, not that I had become bored with them, but rather because there were other books that I was reading, and I had pretty much read everything that had been published and I simply stopped waiting for any more.
30 December 2011
I guess that I am getting to the point where my memory of the Xanth novels are beginning to fade. This was written in 1987 and I suspect that I read it a couple of years later, possibly in the early 90s (though the exact date I am unable to remember). I remember this because it was when my friend first introduced me to the series, and I pretty much read everything thing that he had written up to that point, and a couple more.
I have noted that he is still writing the novels. Currently (as of the writing of this commentary) he is up to number 35, and there are a couple more in the wings. I guess that once one has made a name for oneself then people will keep buying the books. I am surprised that he has managed to keep this series going for so long. I would equate it to Harry Potter, though they were not as popular. Harry Potter hit the world by storm, where as these books have been sitting in the background and I suspect the popularity has probably diminished somewhat. I gave up after book number 13, not that I had become bored with them, but rather because there were other books that I was reading, and I had pretty much read everything that had been published and I simply stopped waiting for any more.
May 31, 2008
This title was my first encounter with Anthony's Xanth world, though I knew my sister had another one already in her bookshelf ("The Color of Her Panties"), but at that time I was just not interested, because I thought it was just a strange book. I thought, why anyone wants to know about someone's panties colour? only the color? freakin' stuff. So I let the book a pass.
It was not until I read "Vale of The Vole" that I realize how interesting "The Color of Her Panties" was. Thanks to Arin that had recommend the book to me when she heard that I'm a fantasy fan, and thanks to Femmy for lending me her book (a different edition than this one which I bought later).
And as a first encounter, the book had given me a bonk in the head that dazzled me for years afterwards. On second thoght, It might be due to a "first love effect" that made me give this book four star. On third thought, maybe not. Whichever, I still really liked the book. :D
It was not until I read "Vale of The Vole" that I realize how interesting "The Color of Her Panties" was. Thanks to Arin that had recommend the book to me when she heard that I'm a fantasy fan, and thanks to Femmy for lending me her book (a different edition than this one which I bought later).
And as a first encounter, the book had given me a bonk in the head that dazzled me for years afterwards. On second thoght, It might be due to a "first love effect" that made me give this book four star. On third thought, maybe not. Whichever, I still really liked the book. :D
July 25, 2014
Esk, son of Smash, wants to get rid of a demoness, but Magician Humfrey can't be consulted because he is missing. So Esk decides to go find him. Along the way he meets multiple new folks who function as his traveling band, which takes him through hypnogourds and into the problems of a river. He may have gained allies and possibly a new love, but what if Esk can't find Humfrey?
Chasing down the motivation behind annoying demons seemed like a bit of an empty quest, but as has been the case for a while in this series, the characters generally just need a plot coupon to go on a quest and flirt with ladies. The speech issue given to the voles doesn't make a lot of sense either.
Chasing down the motivation behind annoying demons seemed like a bit of an empty quest, but as has been the case for a while in this series, the characters generally just need a plot coupon to go on a quest and flirt with ladies. The speech issue given to the voles doesn't make a lot of sense either.
June 26, 2012
SUMMARY:
When Esk, a young ogre-nymph-human, began his pilgrimage to the Good Magician Humfrey to rid himself of a seductive demoness, little did he know it would become a mission of mercy. A running river paradise and its harmless inhabitants were perishing in the wrathful wake of a greedy demon horde. Now it is up to Esk and his companions--a beautiful winged centaur named Chex and a brave burrower Called Volney--to search Xanth's treacherous reaches, gathering together a mind-boggling company of creatures to defend the precious Vale of the Vole.
When Esk, a young ogre-nymph-human, began his pilgrimage to the Good Magician Humfrey to rid himself of a seductive demoness, little did he know it would become a mission of mercy. A running river paradise and its harmless inhabitants were perishing in the wrathful wake of a greedy demon horde. Now it is up to Esk and his companions--a beautiful winged centaur named Chex and a brave burrower Called Volney--to search Xanth's treacherous reaches, gathering together a mind-boggling company of creatures to defend the precious Vale of the Vole.
March 31, 2014
This is the first book by Piers Anthony that I have ever read and I absolutely adored it.
Fast paced and laugh out loud funny combined with mythical creatures on a quest equal a good time had by me.
Can't wait to search out more books in this series and dive back into the world of Xanth.
Fast paced and laugh out loud funny combined with mythical creatures on a quest equal a good time had by me.
Can't wait to search out more books in this series and dive back into the world of Xanth.
January 17, 2016
Book 5: Piers Anthony's Xanth Books Are Like My Childhood Or Something I Don't Know It's A Metaphor
_______________
We went to a friend's wedding once and because I was one of the people chosen to read a passage from the Bible at the wedding (I did so with such verve that another friend was impressed: You really put a lot of emotion into it! he marveled) I had to go to the 'rehearsal dinner' the night before. (Rehearsal dinners are silly. They don't cover anything that you couldn't take care of in five minutes before the actual ceremony. Oh, the groom stands on this side? Got it. Good thing I had to buy an extra meal for 25 for this.)
At that dinner, Sweetie and I, as grown-ups, got the chicken meal: chicken and a potato and some tired beans or something. The kid at the table with us got chicken strips, with crunchy skin, french fries, and I think Jell-O.
After a moment, when they served, I said "Well now I want the kid's meal," and Sweetie agreed with me. The other adults at the table looked embarrassed for me.
Piers Anthony's Xanth books are like that for me: Something that theoretically I should be over and not enjoy anymore, but I still do. Book Number 5 was Vale Of The Vole, and I chose to read it because while reading Owen Meany I was thinking about some of the books I've read in my lifetime that have stuck with me for years-- decades, now -- and never been forgotten. Most of them are the kind of pulpy paperback scifi/fantasy books that my Mom hated (my mom was someone who would never have served chicken strips and fries to adults at a party, let alone ice cream in coffee cups with forks, as we once did when we ran out of bowls and spoons at a family gathering). Alan Dean Foster and Piers Anthony, especially, loom large in my memories of favorite books as I collect hardcover versions of the books I love most of all.
Just like Star Wars has remained stuck in my mind as the greatest movie ever (I'm talking about Episode IV, A New Hope), the Xanth Books have stayed on the top shelf of my mind for nearly 3 decades now, since I bought A Spell For Chameleon at the bookstore in the strip mall in Delafield where we used to go play at the arcade and (in winter) go on the cross-country ski trail behind it.
It's weird that I still remember exactly where I bought that book, in fact. And that I remember so much of it. I've read books, great books, that I can hardly recall a single moment of. (American Gods, by Neil Gaiman, for example, and this one book that was about a giant hotel a guy built that was sort of weird and I remember it vaguely as being good but can't remember the title or author, Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections). But some silly-ish books that are mostly puns and which contain far less action than they do intellectual puzzles of a sort, and expository dialogue, those are cemented into my brain.
That's probably not an accident, for two reasons. First, back then there was far less to occupy a person. When I was a teenager, there was no internet and even when we got cable TV it wasn't all that interesting. There was one newspaper a day, and magazines, but the local library was it as far as books went -- that or Waldenbooks, or the independent bookstore at the strip mall. So I re-read books a lot more than I did now; when you read 1-2 hours a day (more in the summer) and you have a limited number of books, that's what's going to happen. So the first 6 Xanth books I probably read 5 or 6 times each, at least, in between other books.
(That's why I love living the future so much: When I finished book 5 last night, I went to sleep secure in the knowledge that I could, in the morning, literally buy any book I felt like instantly, if I so chose. Then I didn't have to because I was able to borrow a book I've been waiting for, simply by clicking a few links on my library site.)
The second reason is that genre books are actually more likely to be liked and be memorable. I read an article after Terry Pratchett died that talked about how it's easier to become a bestselling author writing genre books rather than literary books, for a variety of reasons, but the one that I think applies best is that they hold up to re-reading so readily. When I think about how many times I've watched The Avengers or The Dark Knight, about how many times I've re-read a scifi or fantasy novel, compared to literary books or period dramas or other 'serious' adult endeavors, it's no comparison. Maybe it's different for other people, although I kind of doubt it: genre books and movies are, like all great junk food, hard to put down and addictive, even when you've read them before.
So I decided, as part of my 100 books, to finish the Xanth series. I'd read and practically memorized the first 6, ending with Night Mare, and clearly recalled reading 7, 8 and 9, too -- but the 10th one, Vale of the Vole, I didn't recall reading at all. This was a book released originally in 1987, when I was turning 18 and going off to college, and in the years after I turned 18 I'd go to school, drop out of school, spend a few years working at a gas station and a factory, break my neck in a car accident, have surgery, and move to Milwaukee and get my own apartment, so it's not all that surprising that I wasn't re-reading a lot of books in that period; I had a lot of other stuff going on. Unlike the first 6 (all published by 1983, and so all available when I picked up the first one that day in Delafield) I didn't get a chance to go over Vole again and again.
So when I got it from the library, and started reading it, it took me a few minutes to realize that I had, in fact, read it before -- but then it was in that sweet spot where I couldn't remember anything about the book so as I read it I kept thinking oh, yeah, that's right, and hey I remember that part.
You can go home again, it turns out, and everything isn't smaller or duller or anything. Piers Anthony still holds many of the same charms for me: I recognize that the books are sort of silly and that the dialogue and writing is a bit clunky and that the puns are getting increasingly more oblique as the series goes on, but I don't mind. Like Bugs Bunny cartoons and Star Wars and Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch and other things from when I was a kid, I enjoy them in a completely unironic fashion.
The plot itself is always sort of secondary to a Xanth book, but the plot of Vole is: Esk, the son of a nymph/ogre couple, is feeling dissatisfied, so he sets out to find the Good Magician Humfrey and ask how he can protect his family from a demon. He runs into Chex, a winged centaur, and Volney, a vole, each of whom has their own mission: Chex wants to know why she can't fly, and Volney wants to save his home, the Vale of the Vole, from a demon invasion. The three of them end up teaming up on a quest to find help for Volney, and along the way meet an assortment of magical characters and have to try to solve various puzzles.
The Xanth books have less action than many fantasy books, and the magic is of the simple, deus ex machina kind, but as simplistic as the books can feel, Xanth really is a well-thought-out and intricate world, on a par with Middle-Earth or Hogwarts. True, Piers Anthony doesn't invent a language, but all the details of his world are thought out and stay consistent, and he even gives some thought to the ramifications of various aspects -- such as in the first books when the humans realize that the magic in Xanth is building up to unusual levels and causing humans to slowly die out.
They're not probably going to win a Nobel prize for literature, but people could do worse than getting hooked on the Xanth series. I heartily recommend reading everything Piers Anthony ever wrote -- you could get to 100 books easily given everything he's written; my mom used to also say that she suspected "Piers Anthony" was a pseudonym for a group of writers the way Babysitters Club books or the like are -- but definitely start with the Xanth books. And while you should start with number 1, don't worry about sequence. The order of the books is kind of important but each one can be enjoyed without too much backstory, and Anthony explains whatever you need to know.
PS: When I went to reserve the next one, I found out they're shelved in the adult section which I guess makes sense given some of the events in them. They're PG-13, I'd say.
_______________
We went to a friend's wedding once and because I was one of the people chosen to read a passage from the Bible at the wedding (I did so with such verve that another friend was impressed: You really put a lot of emotion into it! he marveled) I had to go to the 'rehearsal dinner' the night before. (Rehearsal dinners are silly. They don't cover anything that you couldn't take care of in five minutes before the actual ceremony. Oh, the groom stands on this side? Got it. Good thing I had to buy an extra meal for 25 for this.)
At that dinner, Sweetie and I, as grown-ups, got the chicken meal: chicken and a potato and some tired beans or something. The kid at the table with us got chicken strips, with crunchy skin, french fries, and I think Jell-O.
After a moment, when they served, I said "Well now I want the kid's meal," and Sweetie agreed with me. The other adults at the table looked embarrassed for me.
Piers Anthony's Xanth books are like that for me: Something that theoretically I should be over and not enjoy anymore, but I still do. Book Number 5 was Vale Of The Vole, and I chose to read it because while reading Owen Meany I was thinking about some of the books I've read in my lifetime that have stuck with me for years-- decades, now -- and never been forgotten. Most of them are the kind of pulpy paperback scifi/fantasy books that my Mom hated (my mom was someone who would never have served chicken strips and fries to adults at a party, let alone ice cream in coffee cups with forks, as we once did when we ran out of bowls and spoons at a family gathering). Alan Dean Foster and Piers Anthony, especially, loom large in my memories of favorite books as I collect hardcover versions of the books I love most of all.
Just like Star Wars has remained stuck in my mind as the greatest movie ever (I'm talking about Episode IV, A New Hope), the Xanth Books have stayed on the top shelf of my mind for nearly 3 decades now, since I bought A Spell For Chameleon at the bookstore in the strip mall in Delafield where we used to go play at the arcade and (in winter) go on the cross-country ski trail behind it.
It's weird that I still remember exactly where I bought that book, in fact. And that I remember so much of it. I've read books, great books, that I can hardly recall a single moment of. (American Gods, by Neil Gaiman, for example, and this one book that was about a giant hotel a guy built that was sort of weird and I remember it vaguely as being good but can't remember the title or author, Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections). But some silly-ish books that are mostly puns and which contain far less action than they do intellectual puzzles of a sort, and expository dialogue, those are cemented into my brain.
That's probably not an accident, for two reasons. First, back then there was far less to occupy a person. When I was a teenager, there was no internet and even when we got cable TV it wasn't all that interesting. There was one newspaper a day, and magazines, but the local library was it as far as books went -- that or Waldenbooks, or the independent bookstore at the strip mall. So I re-read books a lot more than I did now; when you read 1-2 hours a day (more in the summer) and you have a limited number of books, that's what's going to happen. So the first 6 Xanth books I probably read 5 or 6 times each, at least, in between other books.
(That's why I love living the future so much: When I finished book 5 last night, I went to sleep secure in the knowledge that I could, in the morning, literally buy any book I felt like instantly, if I so chose. Then I didn't have to because I was able to borrow a book I've been waiting for, simply by clicking a few links on my library site.)
The second reason is that genre books are actually more likely to be liked and be memorable. I read an article after Terry Pratchett died that talked about how it's easier to become a bestselling author writing genre books rather than literary books, for a variety of reasons, but the one that I think applies best is that they hold up to re-reading so readily. When I think about how many times I've watched The Avengers or The Dark Knight, about how many times I've re-read a scifi or fantasy novel, compared to literary books or period dramas or other 'serious' adult endeavors, it's no comparison. Maybe it's different for other people, although I kind of doubt it: genre books and movies are, like all great junk food, hard to put down and addictive, even when you've read them before.
So I decided, as part of my 100 books, to finish the Xanth series. I'd read and practically memorized the first 6, ending with Night Mare, and clearly recalled reading 7, 8 and 9, too -- but the 10th one, Vale of the Vole, I didn't recall reading at all. This was a book released originally in 1987, when I was turning 18 and going off to college, and in the years after I turned 18 I'd go to school, drop out of school, spend a few years working at a gas station and a factory, break my neck in a car accident, have surgery, and move to Milwaukee and get my own apartment, so it's not all that surprising that I wasn't re-reading a lot of books in that period; I had a lot of other stuff going on. Unlike the first 6 (all published by 1983, and so all available when I picked up the first one that day in Delafield) I didn't get a chance to go over Vole again and again.
So when I got it from the library, and started reading it, it took me a few minutes to realize that I had, in fact, read it before -- but then it was in that sweet spot where I couldn't remember anything about the book so as I read it I kept thinking oh, yeah, that's right, and hey I remember that part.
You can go home again, it turns out, and everything isn't smaller or duller or anything. Piers Anthony still holds many of the same charms for me: I recognize that the books are sort of silly and that the dialogue and writing is a bit clunky and that the puns are getting increasingly more oblique as the series goes on, but I don't mind. Like Bugs Bunny cartoons and Star Wars and Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch and other things from when I was a kid, I enjoy them in a completely unironic fashion.
The plot itself is always sort of secondary to a Xanth book, but the plot of Vole is: Esk, the son of a nymph/ogre couple, is feeling dissatisfied, so he sets out to find the Good Magician Humfrey and ask how he can protect his family from a demon. He runs into Chex, a winged centaur, and Volney, a vole, each of whom has their own mission: Chex wants to know why she can't fly, and Volney wants to save his home, the Vale of the Vole, from a demon invasion. The three of them end up teaming up on a quest to find help for Volney, and along the way meet an assortment of magical characters and have to try to solve various puzzles.
The Xanth books have less action than many fantasy books, and the magic is of the simple, deus ex machina kind, but as simplistic as the books can feel, Xanth really is a well-thought-out and intricate world, on a par with Middle-Earth or Hogwarts. True, Piers Anthony doesn't invent a language, but all the details of his world are thought out and stay consistent, and he even gives some thought to the ramifications of various aspects -- such as in the first books when the humans realize that the magic in Xanth is building up to unusual levels and causing humans to slowly die out.
They're not probably going to win a Nobel prize for literature, but people could do worse than getting hooked on the Xanth series. I heartily recommend reading everything Piers Anthony ever wrote -- you could get to 100 books easily given everything he's written; my mom used to also say that she suspected "Piers Anthony" was a pseudonym for a group of writers the way Babysitters Club books or the like are -- but definitely start with the Xanth books. And while you should start with number 1, don't worry about sequence. The order of the books is kind of important but each one can be enjoyed without too much backstory, and Anthony explains whatever you need to know.
PS: When I went to reserve the next one, I found out they're shelved in the adult section which I guess makes sense given some of the events in them. They're PG-13, I'd say.
August 26, 2019
4 Stars
Vale of the Vole is the tenth book in the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. It is an action-packed adventure with Esk as we follow him on his quest. Magician Humphrey has set him to task, but along the way he gets sidetracked by a peaceful village in desperate need of defending from a nasty demon horde. Along with his companions, Centaur Chex and Volney the burrower, they're in for an encounter that will test them to their limits.
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!
Vale of the Vole is the tenth book in the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. It is an action-packed adventure with Esk as we follow him on his quest. Magician Humphrey has set him to task, but along the way he gets sidetracked by a peaceful village in desperate need of defending from a nasty demon horde. Along with his companions, Centaur Chex and Volney the burrower, they're in for an encounter that will test them to their limits.
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!
November 7, 2024
I decided to throw myself into a piece of nostalgia that, in retrospect, is EXTREMELY horny. Like, at some point my once-favourite author became "cringe" as a subject, since so many of his books are about things that would interest a typical straight teenage boy, particularly underage teens. Like, a very large number of the main characters are or are involved with fourteen-to-sixteen-year-olds or the nonhuman equivalent (e.g., centaurs with human "aspects").
Also, things I don't want to necessarily get into in this review specifically, since this volume is a little toward the "starting to careen off the deep end but not quite" stage.
I'm giving four stars anyway, mostly for the aforementioned nostalgia, since this book made me interested specifically in voles... which, unlike the Xanth counterpart, are approximately gerbil-sized and super cute. Not that the Xanth versions aren't cute, but their "voles" not only are more capybara-sized and include offshoot species (wiggles, diggles, squiggles) that *lay eggs* that are destructive to anything in their path (wiggles, at least—it doesn't go into diggles and squiggles that much).
This story is also more the speed I expect of a fantasy book, especially a Xanth title, with actual twists and turns and elements of danger, vs. basically a roadtrip. This is also before Anthony started writing Author's Notes that were sometimes longer than a regular chapter and recited odd, meandering tales about some unrelated thing but also threw in a long list of credits from fans that I admittedly had wanted to try before but could never think of anything to write. (At this point, it's less of a draw, since I would sooner get more gratification making my own work than struggling to get credit in someone else's.)
On the whole, one of the better Xanth books, though considering how many of them there are compared to how many I've read, that probably isn't saying much.
Also, things I don't want to necessarily get into in this review specifically, since this volume is a little toward the "starting to careen off the deep end but not quite" stage.
I'm giving four stars anyway, mostly for the aforementioned nostalgia, since this book made me interested specifically in voles... which, unlike the Xanth counterpart, are approximately gerbil-sized and super cute. Not that the Xanth versions aren't cute, but their "voles" not only are more capybara-sized and include offshoot species (wiggles, diggles, squiggles) that *lay eggs* that are destructive to anything in their path (wiggles, at least—it doesn't go into diggles and squiggles that much).
This story is also more the speed I expect of a fantasy book, especially a Xanth title, with actual twists and turns and elements of danger, vs. basically a roadtrip. This is also before Anthony started writing Author's Notes that were sometimes longer than a regular chapter and recited odd, meandering tales about some unrelated thing but also threw in a long list of credits from fans that I admittedly had wanted to try before but could never think of anything to write. (At this point, it's less of a draw, since I would sooner get more gratification making my own work than struggling to get credit in someone else's.)
On the whole, one of the better Xanth books, though considering how many of them there are compared to how many I've read, that probably isn't saying much.
June 21, 2023
Vale of the Vole is like a new start in the series. It mentions several of what you could call the main characters from the other books in the series, but it isn't about any of them. The main characters in this book are the children of some of the others who are not in the royalty of Xanth.
Esk, the son of Tandy, is having a problem with the demoness Metria. He had hollowed out a Beer Barrow and turned it into a hideout for himself. He hadn't visited it in a while, so when he showed up, he found that the demoness had claimed it and wouldn't leave. After some confrontations, Esk decides to go and ask the good magician Humphreys how to get rid of her.
During his travel to Humphreys castle, he meets Chex, the daughter of Xap, also on her way to the good magician. She has wings but can't fly, and a centaurs body has lots of weight to lift. She wants to ask him how she can learn to fly. The two of them decide to travel together. Then they run into Voley, he is a Vole and like them, he's on the way to Humphreys also. The Vale of the voles has been overrun by demons, and they have straightened out the Kiss-me river, and that's making things so bad that they are now calling it the Kill-me river. Voley wants to find a way to get rid of the demons so that they can return the river back to it's former state.
When the three of them finally get to the good magicians castle and get inside, they find nobody is there. The people and creatures that are normally working off their one year of service are also gone, but the castle wasn't shut down. Even the king and queen of Xanth don't know where Humphreys has gone. So what is everyone going to do now?
I enjoyed the book as it is different from the first nine. You have to get to know a new group of characters instead of dealing with a few new characters in with all the other ones you already know. The beginning is long for that reason, but to me, it was dragged out too much. I did enjoy the rest of the book with all the side stories. I'm not going to say more on those because they are the best parts of the book, and I don't want to spoil it for those who want to read it for themselves. The puns in this book aren't as bad as in others, and several of them are great and in areas where you least expect them. Enjoy for those who haven't been punnished enough yet.
Esk, the son of Tandy, is having a problem with the demoness Metria. He had hollowed out a Beer Barrow and turned it into a hideout for himself. He hadn't visited it in a while, so when he showed up, he found that the demoness had claimed it and wouldn't leave. After some confrontations, Esk decides to go and ask the good magician Humphreys how to get rid of her.
During his travel to Humphreys castle, he meets Chex, the daughter of Xap, also on her way to the good magician. She has wings but can't fly, and a centaurs body has lots of weight to lift. She wants to ask him how she can learn to fly. The two of them decide to travel together. Then they run into Voley, he is a Vole and like them, he's on the way to Humphreys also. The Vale of the voles has been overrun by demons, and they have straightened out the Kiss-me river, and that's making things so bad that they are now calling it the Kill-me river. Voley wants to find a way to get rid of the demons so that they can return the river back to it's former state.
When the three of them finally get to the good magicians castle and get inside, they find nobody is there. The people and creatures that are normally working off their one year of service are also gone, but the castle wasn't shut down. Even the king and queen of Xanth don't know where Humphreys has gone. So what is everyone going to do now?
I enjoyed the book as it is different from the first nine. You have to get to know a new group of characters instead of dealing with a few new characters in with all the other ones you already know. The beginning is long for that reason, but to me, it was dragged out too much. I did enjoy the rest of the book with all the side stories. I'm not going to say more on those because they are the best parts of the book, and I don't want to spoil it for those who want to read it for themselves. The puns in this book aren't as bad as in others, and several of them are great and in areas where you least expect them. Enjoy for those who haven't been punnished enough yet.
November 3, 2018
Almost all Xanth novels have a character you can single out as the 'main' character. In Vale of the Vole, Esc is that character. Chased out of his favorite hiding spot by the demoness Metria - a new and soon to be recurring character who seemingly goes through a thesaurus every time she tries to use a simple word - he makes his way to the castle of the good magician Humphrey hoping to find a way to dislodge his unwelcome guest. Along the way, he encounters Chex, a winged centaur filly wanting to learn how to use her wings to fly, and Volney, a vole from the Vale of the Voles who's people are also experiencing demon troubles. Significant portions of this novel concentrate on the separate activities of these two characters, making them equal to Esc in character classification. Putting it in movie terms works best I think - this movie stars Esc and co-stars Chex and Volney. Esc simply has top billing.
When they arrive at Humphrey's castle, they find it abandoned - a situation that will persist through the next 4 to 5 or so novels. Without Humphrey's advice, the three decide to work on their problems together by concentrating on the one that seems most dire among them - that of Volney's people. Along the way, they encounter several highly entertaining characters: the curse fiend Latia, the skeleton Marrow, and the brassie Bria.
I particularly like the manner in which Bria decides to apologize to Esc. Though simple in nature - something that often irks me about the female characters in many other of Mr. Anthony's Xanth novels - I couldn't help but smile every time she employs it, which happens quite often. Normally, I'd say too often... but I'll not, as truth be told, I couldn't get enough of it in this case.
As always, the novel is filled with numerous funny and well thought out puns. As with the last two novels, this unique feature in this set of works is spread out nicely and not overused, which makes them all-the-more enjoyable to read.
The story is entertaining and well laid out. All the characters, main and otherwise, are important and enjoyable. This is truly one of the better Xanth novels, and for that, I award it 4.25 out of 5 stars. Thanks for the novel, Piers.
When they arrive at Humphrey's castle, they find it abandoned - a situation that will persist through the next 4 to 5 or so novels. Without Humphrey's advice, the three decide to work on their problems together by concentrating on the one that seems most dire among them - that of Volney's people. Along the way, they encounter several highly entertaining characters: the curse fiend Latia, the skeleton Marrow, and the brassie Bria.
I particularly like the manner in which Bria decides to apologize to Esc. Though simple in nature - something that often irks me about the female characters in many other of Mr. Anthony's Xanth novels - I couldn't help but smile every time she employs it, which happens quite often. Normally, I'd say too often... but I'll not, as truth be told, I couldn't get enough of it in this case.
As always, the novel is filled with numerous funny and well thought out puns. As with the last two novels, this unique feature in this set of works is spread out nicely and not overused, which makes them all-the-more enjoyable to read.
The story is entertaining and well laid out. All the characters, main and otherwise, are important and enjoyable. This is truly one of the better Xanth novels, and for that, I award it 4.25 out of 5 stars. Thanks for the novel, Piers.
December 26, 2023
Decent book in the Xanth series. The action was spread out well and the story was all right. This is the first one I have read (it's also the 10th in the series) and I'm hoping they don't all follow the same formulaic pattern in terms of the story telling.
Criticisms:
Strong points:
Criticisms:
Strong points:
October 30, 2019
Another story of a mismatched group of strange beings who go on a quest. Esk who is part ogre and is plagued by a demoness goes to Magician Humphrey to ask him a question but he and his family and staff are gone without trace. He meets a female centaur with wings who is unable to fly and a vole whose vale is plagued by demons. They decide to help the vole and in the world of the gourd pick up Marrow, a living skeleton and Bria, a woman made of brass. They also pick up Ivy and Latia, an elderly curse fiend. They try to make allegiances to fight the demons and are partly successful, only to find in battle that the demons are smarter than they are as well as having the ability to take any form.
Read
October 23, 2025When Esk, a young ogre-nymph-human, began his pilgrimage to the Good Magician Humfrey to rid himself of a seductive demoness, little did he know it would become a mission of mercy. A running river paradise and its harmless inhabitants were perishing in the wrathful wake of a greedy demon horde. Now it is up to Esk and his companions--a beautiful winged centaur named Chex and a brave burrower Called Volney--to search Xanth's treacherous reaches, gathering together a mind-boggling company of creatures to defend the precious Vale of the Vole.
December 20, 2020
Esk is being bothered by a demoness when he tries to relax in his hideout. So he makes the trip to the Good Magician to get an Answer. When he gets there with Volney Vole and Chex Centaur, they discover that the Good Magician and his family are gone. As Volney's problem is much bigger than his or Chex's they all decide to do what they can to help the Voles.
This a not bad story where friendship and working together to solve an issue can lead to unexpected outcomes.
This a not bad story where friendship and working together to solve an issue can lead to unexpected outcomes.
June 24, 2019
The Xanth books by Piers Anthony were some of the first SciFi/Fantasy books 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.
August 21, 2023
It actually exceeded my expectations. The only other Xanth novel I've read (A Spell for Chameleon) was so preposterously misogynistic that the bar was on the floor. This one was only quite misogynistic. There were some whimsical parts of the world building and dialogue that I kinda appreciated, but a lot of it was trite or annoying. It's just not the most engrossing read. Two stars-it was okay.
May 20, 2025
This newer characters unfortunately didn’t do as much for me as previous characters. It was still enjoyable but I didn’t care for them constantly separating and seeing others povs even though I do understand why it was done. But even then I didn’t care still enjoy some of the interactions so I look forward to see where it goes from here.
October 11, 2022
Another Xanth adventure with new characters. I found it a bit hard to keep them straight. I think some improvement could be done. I also discovered I was reading a book club version maybe that was why. My book is hard covered.
July 8, 2017
This is another in the loooong (I mean that in a good way) Xanth series. It is filled with puns and a fun read.
July 20, 2017
Easier to get through than some of the others so far. But it ours hard to deny my interest is lagging.
December 17, 2017
All of the stories have the same pattern to them but even So, I enjoy the writing. Gotta love those puns and play on words. It can't be easy coming up with so many.
May 30, 2019
Have formula. Will use it with variations. Some funny moments though.
February 5, 2020
I love all of Xanth series. I can reread over and over. This one my favorites
April 7, 2020
I do love the Xanth Series. I found this one a little dry but love the adventure and the whole magical world. Looking forward to reading the next one.
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
September 18, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. There was a nice, satisfying and happy ending.
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