1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Multiple quests, but a derivative book., August 15, 2010
In vintage Xanth style, this book has a major quest with the Good Magician Humfrey in the middle of it and lots and lots of puns. So, why did I give it only three stars in my review? Primarily because there was really no new ground being broken in this book - it is almost completely derivative of many of the other Xanth books that have appeared before. Let's talk about the similarities first:
* Young people decide to leave on a quest - happens in every book - in this one, the small plot twist is that there are two groups of young people who quests tend to interact with each other.
* The quests start with a visit to the Good Magician Humfrey who knows all the answers, but to get your question answered, you need to overcome three challenges and then become a servant of Humfrey's for a year.
* Once you have your answer, it makes little sense and you need to explore some part of Xanth to attempt to get it done
* The execution of the quest reveals much about the young people who are always good and get better.
* The young people are always on the verge of becoming adults and wonder about The Adult Conspiracy and what it means, and mostly they cross that threshold as part of this adventure - in this book, there are five young girls and one young Centaur who grow up.
* The color of the girls' panties is a huge secret and can cause problems to all kinds of males. In this book, we learn how some males freak out when they accidentally see the forbidden parts
* Puns galore - from hitmen (met who have unnaturally large hands because they hit you with them) to a Freudian Slip (a slip a woman wears which has a tendency to move around at awkward moments to display more than the woman wanted), this book is chock full of them.
About the only really new item in this book is that the author decided to have two intertwining parties go off on their own quests. Therefore the book is structured somewhat symmetrically with a chapter for party one, then a chapter for party two, and repeat. Each of the chapters is written from the point of view of the party involved, so they tend to bounce around in time a bit, but ultimately they come together to resolve the major portion of this book's storyline.
In terms of major Xanth characters and developments, this book is really bereft of them. We know from previous books that Che Centaur is supposed to change Xanth in some major way in the future, but that does not really happen in this book; Jenny Elf reappears but is in a completely supporting role; and the new characters that show up are minor beings for the most part. About the only new thing of any importance is that Gwendolyn has to become the first female chief of a Goblin tribe and this is actually her quest in this book. Does she succeed? Can she find the item that is between a Roc and a Hard Place? That is up to you to find out if you read this book.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great read, April 6, 2010
This review is from: The Color of Her Panties (Xanth #15) (Mass Market Paperback)
Great book in a great series. This book was always one of my favorite Xanth titles. For some reason I always loved the pantry scene, I think b/c it had such great description in it.
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11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It is pure Fun!, April 26, 2000
This review is from: The Color of Her Panties (Xanth #15) (Mass Market Paperback)
This book is just a joy to read. What I enjoyed is that I could read this and know that all it was doing was alowing me to escape for a little while. You will not find this as the best book you will ever read. But I love it because it is fun.
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