From Publishers Weekly
Panty puns and intermittently droll word-play drive veteran Anthony's 28th Xanth book (Cube Route, etc.), the first of a second magic trilogy within this popular fantasy series. Since the author always pays such close attention to what his readers want, newcomers shouldn't expect too much by way of a plot. Clio, Xanth's slim Muse of History, hates her body's lack of curves. Despite the practicality of jeans for outdoor activities, Clio wears skirts ("they were required of her gender and age"), which leads to such quips as: "There's nothing like new panties to make a man pant." When Clio discovers an undecipherable history she's apparently written, she goes for help to Good Magician Humfrey, who sends her on a wild quest for a magical red berry. Along the way, Clio must meet a number of amusing challenges, like restocking dragon-poor Xanth with 6,000 beasts from Dragon World by using a special expandable net. Together with her love interest, Sherlock of the Black Wave, Clio endures an abundance of puns supplied by fans, hundreds of whom Anthony acknowledges in an extended author's note. This is great fun for punsters—a Tor-ment for others. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
Clio, the muse of history, has a problem connected with the twenty-eighth chronicle of Xanth. When she sits down to write it, she discovers that it has already been written-- and unintelligibly. So the scholarly lady must repair to the real Xanth, where she is sent by the Good Magician Humfrey on a quest to save two pocket-sized dragons, Drew and Drusie, who are essential to the environment of Xanth. Naturally, the quest is successful--Anthony does not trade in tragedy in his best-known series--and what is more, along the way Clio finds true love with the magician Sherlock and meets a good many of the ongoing characters in the Xanth series. If latest entry in said series features a more mature heroine (still obsessed with her figure, however) and less of the adult conspiracy and stork-summoning that has marked some of its recent predecessors, the puns for which the Xanthian corpus is famous are as numerous and outrageous as ever. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
When Clio, the Muse of History, sat down to pen the twenty-eighth volume in the Chronicles of Xanth, she was stunned to discover it was already there! And, what was worse, it was totally unreadable, for the words on its pages were fuzzed beyond comprehension.

Vexed and bewildered, and more than a little concerned, Clio resolved to leave the quiet comfort of her study on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, and ask her old friend, the Good Magician Humfrey, to search a solution to her problem in his Book of Answers.

But, much to her consternation, Humfrey required her to perform a magical Service before she could acquire her Answer: to rescue Xanth's dragons from the verge of extinction before the delicate balance of its wildlife was permanently thrown out of whack.

Her momentous mission lead her to a dangerous Dragon World hidden amongst the Moons of Ida, across a perilous landscape filled with wonder and danger, in search of the fabled Currant, a very rare red berry that might hold the secret she sought.

Along the way she acquired a fellowship of companions, including the brave and beautiful Becka Dragongirl, a pair of pocket dragons named Drew and Drusie, a charming young child called Ciriana whose destiny was somehow entwined with hers, and Sherlock, a sweet but homely man from Mundania who might just be a master magician himself.

Together they gradually began to unravel the momentous mystery of Xanth's missing history. And Clio began to realize that Sherlock's enchantments had begun to work their way into her heart.



About the Author
Piers Anthony is one of the world's most popular fantasy authors, His previous Xanth novels from Tor, including Cube Route, The Dastard, and Swell Foop have been read and loved by millions of readers around the world, and he daily receives hundreds of letters from his devoted fans. Piers Anthony lives in Inverness, Florida.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"When Clio, the Muse of History, sat down to pen the twenty-eighth volume in the Chronicles of Xanth, she was stunned to discover it was already there. And, what was worse, it was totally unreadable, for the words on its pages were fuzzed beyond comprehension." "Vexed and bewildered, and more than a little concerned, Clio resolved to leave the quiet comfort of her study on the slopes of Mount Parnassus and ask her old friend, the Good Magician Humfrey, to search for a solution to her problem in his Book of Answers." "But, much to her consternation, Humfrey required her to perform a magical Service before she could acquire her Answer: to rescue Xanth's dragons from the verge of extinction before the delicate balance of its wildlife was permanently thrown out of whack." "Her momentous mission led her to a dangerous Dragon World hidden amongst the Moons of Ida, across a perilous landscape filled with wonder and danger, in search of the fabled Currant, a very rare red berry that might hold the secret she sought." "Along the way she acquired a fellowship of companions, including the brave and beautiful Becka Dragongirl, a pair of pocket dragons named Drew and Drusie, a charming young child called Ciriana whose destiny was somehow entwined with hers, and Sherlock, a sweet but homely man from Mundania who might just be a master magician himself." Together they gradually began to unravel the momentous mystery of Xanth's missing history. And Clio began to realize that Sherlock's enchantments had begun to work their way into her heart.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Panty puns and intermittently droll word-play drive veteran Anthony's 28th Xanth book (Cube Route, etc.), the first of a second magic trilogy within this popular fantasy series. Since the author always pays such close attention to what his readers want, newcomers shouldn't expect too much by way of a plot. Clio, Xanth's slim Muse of History, hates her body's lack of curves. Despite the practicality of jeans for outdoor activities, Clio wears skirts ("they were required of her gender and age"), which leads to such quips as: "There's nothing like new panties to make a man pant." When Clio discovers an undecipherable history she's apparently written, she goes for help to Good Magician Humfrey, who sends her on a wild quest for a magical red berry. Along the way, Clio must meet a number of amusing challenges, like restocking dragon-poor Xanth with 6,000 beasts from Dragon World by using a special expandable net. Together with her love interest, Sherlock of the Black Wave, Clio endures an abundance of puns supplied by fans, hundreds of whom Anthony acknowledges in an extended author's note. This is great fun for punsters-a Tor-ment for others. (Oct. 1) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal