Piers Anthony

[kah]

On a Pale Horse (1983)
Bearing an Hourglass (1984)
With a Tangled Skein (1985)
Wielding a Red Sword (1986)
Being a Green Mother (1987)

I remember reading these books when I was 11-12 years old, and really enjoying them. Has anyone else read them more recently? Should I invest in the set, so I can add them to my collection, or are they not as good as I remember? How about his recent novels? I am not a library book girl. I buy a book, and if I like the author, I buy everything he/she has written. Every couple of years, I narrow down my collection, and donate books that I don't feel like reading again. For some reason, I have never owned any PA. Should I clear a shelf for him?

[neglet]

Hi Kah,

I re-read these probably within the last four years, then I donated my set to the library resale shop. I used to be a big PA fan when I was younger, but I've found that as I've gotten older his works have lost a lot of their appeal. He does do the youthful protagonist/coming of age thing very well, and the premise of the "Incarnations of Immortality" series is a lot of fun (especially the first three books), but I find his works a bit lacking in depth now. (As well as repetitive--I haven't even tried reading the later Xanth novels, they became the same plot strung together with different puns.) I think he's great for YA readers, but I wouldn't invest in the books.

See, I am a library girl, because I don't have as much time for novels as I used to, and I don't want to invest money in books I'll only read once. So if I'm trying someone out, to the library I'll go. There are a couple of authors I'll automatically buy hardback of everything they write (Lois McMaster Bujold, for instance), but lately I'm donating more books than I buy, just to keep my basement from becoming a fire hazard. (Some of my books are 20 years old, but I'm still re-reading them--or handing them down to Neglet Jr.)

[kah]

Thanks! That was what I wanted to know. Donaldson was one author I really liked as a teen, but since Goodkind, I don't care for him anymore. I'm not saying I don't think he's a great author anymore, I just don't enjoy his darker view as much. Now Douglas Adams I enjoyed as a kid, teen, and even more so as I've gotten older. I read Restaurant at the End of the Universe when I was 6, but obviously didn't get it. I reread Hitchhiker's Guide at about 14, and liked it a lot more. Then, I reread the entire "trilogy" a couple years ago, and place them at the top of my favorites list. It's kind of like my writing. I turned out most of my stories around 14, and at the time they were great, both to me and my friends I let read them. I just read them a month ago, and can't believe I was ever that naive. Lord- what the years do to us, lol!

[Sgt. Awesome]

I just noticed this... I'm A HUGE Piers Fan. Huge enough to have read every single Xanth novel as well as most of the Incarnations series. I own Pale Horse and re-read it every few months when I need a book. It sits in my locker next to H2G2 as emergancy reading material.

[tstone]

LOVE Incarnation of Immortality, big time. Never read any of the Xanth books, tho. I probably will at some point, however.