Anthony - Book Reviews

***** - Excellent
**** - Good
*** - Okay
** - Bad
* - Terrible

Demons Don't Dream
(Xanth series)
Piers Anthony
Tor
Fiction, Fantasy
**

DESCRIPTION: When Dug's friend offers him a pirated new video game, Companions of Xanth, he isn't too interested, but finds himself playing anyway. In the game, various characters from the Xanth books lead the player through the world on an epic quest. The 3D graphics and stereo sound are remarkable: Dug can almost convince himself he's looking into a real alternate world. Despite himself, he finds Xanth's magic drawing him deeper and deeper into its clutches.
Kim, a lifelong fan of Piers Anthony, can't wait to get her hands on the new game, and is thrilled to be the first (at least, first legitimate) player. She can't even stick to the rules of the game, as she's so excited to finally peer into the pages of her favorite books and meet long-beloved characters. If only she could step across for real...
The game, in truth, actually connects people from "Mundania" (a.k.a. Earth) to the magical, pun-filled world of Xanth, specially designed to entrap the first two humans to boot it up. Set up by a pair of bickering demons, the victory of one or the other player will determine the fates of Xanth and Earth. Story twists, challenges, reluctant traitors, magic, mayhem, and puns galore await Dug and Kim in their journeys.

REVIEW: I only read this book, once upon a time, because it came in the box with a PC game which followed the plot (roughly.) Like most of what I've seen of Piers Anthony's works, it substitutes silliness for story and wisecracks for characters. It's entirely possible that I would've enjoyed it more had I been a rabid fan of Xanth, as almost everyone Dug and Kim meet comes from previous volumes (or so I gathered.) But I'm not a Xanth fan, so I didn't enjoy it much at all. A few fun moments here and there couldn't salvage predictable plot twists and irredeemably cardboard characters. To top it off, most the story is credited to his "loyal readers" in the final part of the book; not a single pun came from Anthony's own head, and since Xanth is mostly puns, that makes him one of the laziest authors I've ever read. Too bad none of his "loyal readers" could come up with a decent story for him to copy. This was my first-ever attempt to read a Xanth book, and it'll likely be my last.
Oh, and if you're wondering, I wasn't too keen on the game it came with, either. I solved it in a fraction of the time it took me to slog through the book.

You might also enjoy:
Chamber of Horrors: Spirits and Spells (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - A new role-playing game comes to life as it's played)
God Game (Andrew M. Greeley, Fiction - A computer game connects to another world)
The Tough Guide to Fantasyland (Diana Wynne Jones, Fiction - Humorous fantasy travel guide)
Caverns of Socrates (Dennis L. McKiernan, Fiction - The AI system hosting a virtual reality role-playing game takes on a dangerous mind of its own)
Heroics for Beginners (John Moore, Fiction - Humorous self-aware fantasy)
Dream Park (Larry Niven, Fiction - A futuristic theme park, featuring 3D holographic role-playing arenas, hides a killer)
The Otherland quartet (Tad Williams, Fiction - The futuristic Net hides a massive VR secret, which is starting to harm young websurfers)

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Dream a Little Dream
Piers Anthony and Julie Brady
Tor
Fiction, Fantasy
***
Dream a Little Dream

DESCRIPTION: The world of Kafka was created by human dreams. Flowing through the land in the form of the endless River of Thought, all life in Kafka sprang from these mystic dream waters. Though all humans dream, only a handful are Creators, those with the power to transform their dreams into Kafka's reality. As the dream world is invaded by dark forces that threaten the River of Thought itself, Prince Michael must risk the perilous journey to Reality in order to find his own Creator. Once he finds her, he must bring her back to save his land; but first, he must convince her that some dreams are worth fighting for.
Nola has spent most of her life in abusive relationships. Her dreams of a dark horse and a handsome prince are the only things she looks forward to anymore. Now, a man claiming to be that same prince has appeared in her life. Does she have the courage to defend her dreams, when she hardly has the will to live herself?
Tina, a hooker and drug addict, is also a Creator, unbeknownst to her. A chance meeting brings her along on the quest to fight the evil clouding Kafka. Can she bring herself to drop her walls of cynicism long enough to remember how to dream?

REVIEW: If you're wondering why I gave this book a shot, as my name indicates, I like the subject of dreams. To be fair, I must state that I am not a big Piers Anthony fan. His books read too much like big in-jokes to me, and he repeatedly sells out stories for the sake of a cheap pun. I find such gimmicks get old fast. Here, the puns aren't as thick, but the plot is hardly solid, either. The authors didn't do a great job on characterization here, tending to simply explain what a character felt or how they changed instead of showing these emotions and changes in more effective, less obvious ways. Even the dark, self-destructive lives of Nola and Tina seem muted and stereotyped the way they were handled here. If you want a light read without too much in the way of depth or emotional involvement, then I can suggest this book. I suppose I just wanted a little more than the authors were willing - or able - to give.

You might also enjoy:
Star Rigger's Way (Jeffrey A. Carver, Fiction - Interstellar pilots navigate subspace with lucid dreaming)
The Dreamhunter duet (Elizabeth Knox, YA? Fiction - Professional "dream hunters" enter an alternate world to bring back dreams, which can be shared for profit)
The Lives of Christopher Chant (Diana Wynne Jones, YA Fiction - A boy can travel to other worlds through his dreams)

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