books 2009: The Source of Magic (Xanth # 2), by Piers Anthony

[supercheesegirl]

I liked this one less than the first one. It was still a good adventure with interesting plot twists and funny lines, but I absolutely hated the way Bink's wife Chameleon got dropped out of the story. She was portrayed as smart and interesting (well, at least some of the time) in the first book, and now because she's married and pregnant she suddenly becomes an obstacle to be avoided. Bink wasn't even there for the birth of their child, he just wanted to get away, and he ends up kissing some nymph (under a love potion, so it's not *really* like cheating, right?) while his wife is miserable and pregnant with a child she didn't even want. I am officially annoyed.

And the description on the back of book 3 sounds awful. It sounds like Bink's son grows to be 12 years old and starts using magic to get some tail.* OK, I think I'm done with the Piers Anthony experiment.


*Which I mean euphemistically, not literally, because hey, the way I phrased this originally could mean he was trying to grow an actual tail. That I wouldn't have minded.

Comments

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

I think I'm done with the Piers Anthony experiment.

You have chosen . . . wisely.

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have pretty much no use for misogynistic fantasy like this.

(Which statement seems to imply that I do have use for other kinds of misogynistic fantasy, which is actually true. Older stuff like Tolkien or Leiber certainly has misogynistic elements, but 1) it's more clueless and unintentional than active like Anthony's seems to be, 2) the misogyny is rarely a plot point in itself--the heroes just mostly happen to be doing other things that don't involve women, 3) those writers had the excuse of their time period, which Anthony does not, and 4) their books are high quality classic fiction that transcends the time period and is well worth reading. Yeah, Anthony not in that category. I can spend my time better.)