Customer Reviews

Two to the Fifth (Xanth Novels)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm torn regarding this novel.

Piers Anthony's first Xanth novel, "A Spell for Chameleon" was required reading in my college Sci-Fi and Fantasy class, and I loved it. But in this novel, we have a 12 year old princess who makes it with an adult man, repeatedly and unabashedly. (Yes, she uses an aging spell first, but she reverts after each liaison.)

On one hand, I liked the story. The by-play regarding girls flocking to the lead character because of his being a playwright, even though he didn't know it yet, was very amusing. I also thought the story in general was one of the better Xanth novels.

What's increasingly concerning me is the amount of sexuality in the Xanth books. This one flirts with pedophilia and adultery, and I'm not sure I like the author's justifications for either.

Maybe I'm misremembering Piers Anthony's earlier novels (it has been 15 years or more since I read the first one), but I'm definitely seeing a trend toward raunchy in the later books.

It's really too bad, since the rest of this book was so well done. The major plot line was fun, and I thought all of the characters in the little troop of actors were brilliant. I'm just very disappointed that I can't share this book with my daughter or any my friend's kids. It also means I'm going to think twice before picking up number 33.

The world of Xanth is only a sequel away. In this case, 2 to the 5th, is the 32nd book, and surprise! 2 to the 5th is 32, and it also happens to be the clue that the Good Magician Humphrey gives to Cyrus, the Cyborg, son of Rowland Robot and Hannah Barbarian.

If that isn't confusing yet, even before he gets to the Good Magician, he has to go through three challenges packed with puns, and 'players' before he is assigned the task of writing plays that will attract the attention of Ragna Roc and place three young princesses Melody, Harmony, and Rhythym together to defeat Ragna. Breathe...Add Tess Tosterone, Xina, Acro Nymph, and Dusti to the twisted dramatic troupe without a play, and the result is a punny, playful, adventure.

Anthony is a master of his craft. Few other authors are able to mix puns so freely, and easily into a novel, and yet retain a loyal readership. Many of the puns are from readers themselves too, and if that's not encouraging to a reader, then nothing is.

This is a great novel to wind down with. Humorous, inventive, and yet it is packed with enough to progress the characters in a 'logical' manner. You'll laugh, you'll want to send your own puns in, and even want to finish this book off just in time to wait for the next one.

Tim Lasiuta

If you're a Xanth fan, add this one to your library! Two to the Fifth is fun, fantastic and punny! Xanth stories are punny parodies of "Mundania" (real life) and make for awesome reading.

I found Two to the Fifth to have a slightly faster pace than most Xanth novels. It was a lot of fun. Some of the puns are getting more sophisicated. There's also lots of magical adventure in this story. It's everything a fantasy book should be.

UPDATE : After re-reading this, I'm beginning to feel that Piers Anthony is becoming a bit of a pervert. I've read his books for so long that I tend to skim over parts I'm uncomfortable with and there are several such parts in this book. The puns are great, but the Xanth series is becoming increasing "adult", be mindful of that when purchasing the newer books.

Xanth #32: Two to the Fifth, by Piers Anthony

I've been reading a lot of Xanth novels lately, and "Two to the Fifth" is the only one I've really enjoyed after reading a few other lackluster installments in the fantasy series.

I do have one big complaint about this book, and that is Anthony violates his own "Adult Conspiracy" and has a 12 year old girl (Princess Rhythm) have a relationship with an adult male. The relationship isn't a little thing either; it's thrown in the reader's face quite often and is a big plot point. It irritated me somewhat, and I was sick of being reminded of their relationship over and over. Anthony seems to be turning into something of a pervert, and while it's a bit refreshing to have him move beyond the oppressive "Adult Conspiracy," doing it in this way wasn't the best.

Well, enough harping on that. Because once you get over that point, you'll be reading one of the better Xanth novels in recent years. Cyrus Cyborg goes to see the Good Magician and learns his life's desire - to be a playwright. His Service for the Answer is to rescue Xanth from the clutches of an evil roc who is intent on taking over the magic land. Cyrus and his troupe are the only ones who can defeat Ragna Roc.

A nicely large part of the book details the troupe's formation and evolution into a talented acting company. I really liked Anthony's take on writer's block - instead of keeping one from writing, in Xanth, one *needs* a writer's block, complete with a muse inside to inspire the writer. The plays Cyrus creates are fun as well.

All in all, a good Xanth book with just one big stumbling block, but at least Anthony does clean things up at the end. A little too neatly for real life, but then again, Xanth is a land of fantasy. And for once, there isn't an overabundance of puns, which was a real plus for me.

3/5.

Being a long time fan of Xanth and other Anthony series I had to pick this up. It is a fun quick read with not to many heavy handed puns as there have been in past Xanth books. If you are new to the series I would recommend starting with the first book A Spell for Chameleon (Xanth, Book 1) so you can get a history of the Xanth Universe. After that you can read the books in any order.

I have not read all the Xanth novels, maybe 28 or 29, and I definitely prefer the earlier ones. In this latest novel, "Two to the Fifth", I cannot believe or see any connection to "A Spell For Chameleon". Almost all the characters are new and except for the three princesses they are all insignificant yet they have a daunting challenge in the rogue roc, Ragna Roc. The scenery in 'Fifth' is not well defined, you must have read earlier Xanth stories to know what Anthony is talking about when he goes into the puns, the pie trees, the pillow trees, all the comforts of home that are just there for the picking. And the characters, who and what are their function? I wonder if I would have enjoyed the story more, or even less, if I were not so familiar with the castles, the government, the magic? So much was missing, so much expected to be known from some other source, not from within the story. And yes, the rebellion against the Adult Conspiracy was almost successful in this story, it played only a little part. Two additional conspiracies were mentioned, the Children's Conspiracy and the Women's Comspiracy. They seemed to be added for the equivalent of political correctness, let everyone have a conspircy so no one is left out.
And poor Ragna Roc! One bird poweful enough to nullify the power of the three princesses, three sorceresses cubed. The demon Xanth must himself stepped in to bestow this power, but you need to read some of the other Xanth novels to see the imbalace plus to find out where the magic in xanth comes from. There is just too much outside required reading to enjoy this story, Piers Anthony's age is beginning to tell. Still all us old fans can not afford to ignore any Xanth story.

Oh how the mighty have fallen... It seems Piers should have let Xanth be before he ran out of the will or desire to do it justice. I fondly remember reading 'A Spell For Chameleon' years ago, and that book led me into many others in the Xanth series. The stories were always light fare, but nuanced enough to make them more satisfying than pure bubblegum fantasy. I recently picked up 'Two to the Fifth' in the airport, to maybe get back to the wild world of Xanth briefly, and could barely finish the thing. This book is rife with strained puns, overly expository dialog, gratuitous sexuality, and very poorly developed character backstories. It reads as if written by a horny 10th-grader with ADD instead of a beloved fantasy veteran. If you're a Xanth fan, or just someone thinking about visiting for the first time, do yourself a favor and steer clear of this one.

I used to love the Xanth novels.....But I couldn't get halfway through this one. The entire book (up to the point I gave up reading it) was nothing but one cyborg's issues with and fantasies about women and their constant objectification - frankly, garbage....Used to be an entertaining series.....Sorry, Mr. Anthony - Can we please improve on future Xanth novels?

I have been reading the Xanth series since college. I started with the first book in the series. Most of the books have had some sexual innuendo. It has been ok since it was the type that would go right over the heads of children. This book spent way too much time on actual sexual activity. The introduction of actual pedophilia was way over the line. I had no interest in finishing the book after Anthony had a 12 year old seduce an adult male. It is unfortunate but I can not continue reading any of the Xanth novels if this is the direction that Anthony wants to go.

Two to the Fifth (2008) is the thirty-second fantasy novel in the Xanth series, following Air Apparent. In the previous volume, Wira and Debra almost catch up with their sweethearts on the World of Cone, but Hugo and the Random Factor have to flee. Then they reunite on the World of Mote, but they all flee the Mote Monsters.

Later, Ilene repairs the chain of worlds. Fray summons the Demoness Gaia and forces a compromise on the Demon Earth. Gaia then removes the change in Factor's Talent and Demon Xanth restores Hugo and Factor into their original bodies.

In this novel, Cyrus Cyborg is a half-breed, the son of Roland the Robot and Hannah the Barbarian. His father and mother have both planned his future, but he is not sure what he wants to be. So he goes to the Good Magician Humfrey as a querent.

Don Donkey is a robotic animal made by Cyrus. He has a metallic body, burns wood for fuel and has a sardonic sense of humor. Cyrus can communicate directly with Don and see through the donkey's eyes.

Melody, Harmony and Rhythm are daughters of Princess Ivy. Together the princesses are eight times as strong as each is individually, thus are the strongest known magicians within Xanth.

Piper Nymph is also a hybrid. Her mother is Desiree Dryad and her Father is Hiatus Human. She is a healer and has a pet whirlwind named Dusty Dust Devil.

Xina is a girl who is able to magically change her hair style and color. She wants to be an actress.

The Sand Witch is a former querent of the Good Magician. She is now serving the time for her Answer.

Tuff is another former querent serving his time. He has the Talent of taking stone from volcanoes.

Acro is a nymph who is also serving her time. She has received her Answer, but doesn't yet understand it.

Dusti is a Dust Demon. She is the older sister of Dusty. She is another querent serving her time.

Lady Bug is a winged woman. She tends aphids, who make a sweet syrup.

Crabapple is a woman with giant crab pinchers on her arms. They are handy for cutting things, so she is treated with respect. Yet nobody wants to marry her.

The Dragon Lady is a fire-breathing dragon. She had a nymph roommate and now talks like a nymph.

Malete is a fragment of the Muse of Meditation. She cures writer's block. She is invisible to anyone other than her particular writer.

Curtis is a Curse Friend. His specialty is play production.

In this story, Cyrus reaches the Good Magician's Castle and passes his three Challenges. Once inside, he is taken in hand by Wira -- the GM's daughter -- and escorted to Sofia Socksorter, the GM's Designated Wife. She explains the current problem with Ragna Roc.

When Wira introduces him to her father, the GM states that Cyrus wants to be a Playwright. Then the GM tells him to gather a troupe and go on tour. Hopefully Ragna Roc will invite the troupe to perform a play, giving them a chance to remove the bird from Xanth.

Cyrus invites Dusti, Acro, Tuff and the Sand Witch to join his troupe. He gets Curtis to agree to produce the plays. Then he also gathers Piper, Dusty, Xina, Lady Bug, Crabapple and Dragon Lady into the troupe.

Meanwhile, with the help of Melete, Cyrus starts writing plays. The first play stars Crabapple and is performed in her home town. She is an instant hit. Others star Dragon Lady and a gnome named Gnonentity.

Cyrus also acquires a child actress named Rhyme. But she is really the Princess Rhythm is disguise. She will be the vanguard for her sisters when they enter enemy territory.

Rhythm is frustrated by the Adult Conspiracy and develops a magical spell that ages her by a decade. With this added decade, Rhythm becomes an adult on a technicality. But at other times she is only twelve years old and forgets most of what has happened while she is an adult.

This tale takes Cyrus and his troupe deep within the lands claimed by Ragna Roc. On the way, Cyrus discovers that Ragna has very good spies. Yet the bird does not know what two to the fifth really means.

Again the author creates a work with about a hundred and fifty puns. Some are major parts of the story and others are incidental jokes. The next pun-packed volume is Jumper Cable. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Anthony fans and for anyone who enjoys tales of romantic innuendo, derring-do, and cooperative punstery.

-Arthur W. Jordin