The Xanth Novels, Books 38-40: Board Stiff, Five Portraits, and Isis Orb

Xanth #38-40

by Piers Anthony

Three installments of the New York Times–bestselling series set in a land of enchantment filled with magic, surprises, adventure, and—best of all—puns!
 
The world of Xanth is a wacky one full of offbeat heroes and surprising journeys. In these three volumes of this hilarious series, characters bumble their way through many misadventures to find their happy ending on the other side, aided and hindered by puns along the way.
 
Board Stiff: Thanks to a mental typo and an ornery wishing well the once beautiful Irrelevant Kandy is now a board of wood—with mind control powers. And Ease wishes everything wasn’t so easy. Fortunately, Humfrey the Good Magician is there to provide them with a quest: saving the puns of Xanth. But who released a virus that could destroy Xanth’s essence, and will Kandy and Ease figure out how to stop it in time?
 
Five Portraits: Astrid Basilisk is a sweet girl whose very glance is deadly. As she embarks on a selfless mission to save five difficult children from future Xanth, she must fight the pun virus that threatens to destroy the magical world.
 
Isis Orb: Hapless has the ability to conjure any musical instrument he wants, but he can’t carry a tune in a bucket. All he wants is to learn to play an instrument and get a girlfriend. When the Good Magician hears about his desperate desire, he sends Hapless on a quest to find the elusive Isis Orb, a magical talisman that could fulfill his wish. But the mysterious Egyptian goddess guarding it isn’t going to let him simply take it.
 

Genres: Fantasy, Humor, Fiction

936 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 13, 2017

About the author

Though 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.

Reviews

[Lora Milton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read the previous Xanth Novels but had heard they were really good so thought I would dive in and see how it goes.

The first thing that struck me was that the writing seems directed at a very young audience, both in tone and word choices. Referring to a woman's genitals as her "whatever" was taking it a little far in my opinion.

The set up of the first story reminded me of many classic fairy tales. A woman makes a wish at a magic well and everything immediately goes spectacularly wrong. Check.

This of course leads to a question and off we go. Visit the mysterious local wizard, check.

This volume contains three separates stories; Board Stiff, Five Portraits and Isis Orb. Each story is self-contained, but I felt they were written to a younger audience and I felt as if I were reading children's fairytales. I think I would have enjoyed the stories more as a teenager. I would recommend them to someone who enjoys reading more YA, as the sense of humor is good but it just wasn't the sort of thing that could take me to deep pov.

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun books to read

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free Kindle copy of The Xanth  Novels: Books 38-40 by Piers Anthony courtesy of Net Galley and Open Road Integrated MediaOpen Road Integrated Media, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I am a fan of fantasy and science ficition. I have read a number of Piers Anthony's other Xanth novels.

This series of Board Stiff, Five Portraits and Isis Orb continue the authors ventures into Xanth and the pun filled world that it is. Each can be read as a stand alone novel, but it is helpful if you have read the entire series. This group starts out with the puns in Xanth being eliminated due to a virus. It follows the quest of a group in finding an antidote for the virus so that each member of the quest can realize their dream.

I recommend these books to anyone who is a fan of fantasy and the works of Piers Anthony in particular.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm currently reading Five Portraits. I believe the first book I ever read about Xanth was Dragon on a Pedestal. I immediately purchased the other books and then would read them as they were published. I had quite the collection until I decided I needed the shelf space and sold them. To be honest, I think I was a little burned out and hadn't read any since Up in a Heaval or thereabouts. I bought this trio for my Kindle some time ago. It seems that there was an inordinate amount of puns in Board Stiff. I also noticed that there was a lot more nudity and sexual situations than what I recall occurring in previous novels. Five Portraits also touches on these to a lesser extent. A few swear words seem to emit from the characters occasionally. There is more than one attempted rape. None of this bothers me as an adult but I always felt Xanth was for all ages and now I might hesitate recommending these later books to a pre-teen.
Okay, then. I finished Isis Orb and read Mr. Anthony's comments at the end. He states that he has always written Xanth novels for adults. That neutralizes my aforementioned concern about topics inappropriate for children.

[Judy Nay · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Pierce, Anthony was one of the first fictional authors I started to read. These are fun books.I will always love them

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

After this many years and this many novels, Xanth is still a fun and warm place to spend time. Thanks.

[Aviva · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading Piers Anthony in my teens, I think, and starting with the Xanth series and reading everything he wrote that I could find. Xanth is not my favorite of his work, but I definitely feel fondly toward it and even new Xanth books feel warm and fuzzy like old slippers.

You have to accept that Xanth novels are done by a fairly rigid formula and are overfull with puns. If you're good with that, you'll enjoy this book comprising three Xanth novels.

As usual, I think I enjoy the author's notes at the end of each novel the best. I like hearing about what's going on in the author's life and how it was reflected in the book(s). And while it's not riveting reading in list form, I love that he credits fans who wrote in story ideas and/or puns.

I probably need to go back and read the early books in the series because I could swear there wasn't as much sexual innuendo back then that there is in these three. But it's been decades since I read them so maybe my memory is fading?

I received a copy of this book of 3 novels via netgalley in return for an honest review.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like the latter Xanth novels, which have more of the adult conspiracy included, you will enjoy these punny stories as well. Some of the characters in these books overlap beginning with Kandy who is enchanted to become a board by day accompanying Ease and several others on a quest to save the puns of Xanth in the story Board Stiff. Then, in Five Portraits, Astrid basilisk and the Demon Fornax lead the questors as they try to get children from the future adopted. In Isis Orb, Hapless attracts women, as the Good Magician has foretold that he will have two or three good girlfriends and one bad one. They are all trying to find the Isis Orb in order to grant their wishes. The books are full of puns and fun to read.

[Alexis Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Xanth Novels. Always have; always will; some better than others, but great for light reading and entertainment!