The Gutbucket Quest [Hardcover]

Piers Anthony (Author), Ron Leming (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2000

Slim's a Texas bluesman down on his luck and just about broke -- but that's what the blues is all about. He loves "the real down-home gutbucket blues". Then, one day, the music loves him back.

In a single burst of lightning that comes from the ground, Slim finds himself in Texas. It's a little bit magic, and a whole lot different, but the blues is the same. The blues manifest here as a Strat called the Gutbucket, and it's fallen into the hands of T-Bone Pickens, who wants to suck up all of its powers and turn it to evil.

Slim's off on the Gutbucket Quest, with the help of his mentor Progress T. Hornsby, and an unstoppable blues singer named Nadine.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Anthony's collaborations with unknowns (Dream a Little Dream, etc.) have a mixed record, but this latest effort is notably successful. The novel draws on Leming's background as a Texas blues musician, by flipping its hero, blues guitarist Slim Chance, into an alternate reality where racial and environmental harmony prevail and music (especially the blues) holds magical power. The key to the power of the blues is the Gutbucket, a magical guitar incorporating the ashes of a famous musician. The Gutbucket has been stolen by the corporate villain T-Bone Pickens, who threatens all magic and music. With a classic elder mentor, the African-American Progress Hornsby, and Progress's gorgeous daughter, Nadine, Slim sets out on the quest to turn his own music into a magical weapon against Pickens and to retrieve the Gutbucket. Along the way to the inevitable victory, he meets a colorful gaggle of largely New Age but largely well-drawn secondary characters, and eventually becomes Nadine's lover and husband. The long passages of dialogue sometimes overwhelm the pacing, but readers will appreciate the graceful use of dialect and the compelling passion for the blues that positively sings out of the pages. Best of all, Slim is slowly and believably changed by his situation into a person worthy of Nadine's love, not handed her as a reward by auctorial fiat. This is a very readable variation on the theme of music as a source of magic. (May)

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Transported by a lightning bolt from his home in Texas to the independent country of Tejas, guitarist Slim Chance joins an old blues man named Progress T. Hornsby and a sultry singer called Nadine on a quest for the Gutbucket, a guitar that contains the essence of magic and power. Pitting their skills against the machinations of T-Bone Pickens and the Vipers, who seek to control the power of the Gutbucket, Slim and his companions wage a war of music and magic that takes them deep into the heart of the blues. Coauthors Anthony and Leming combine their skills to produce a fast-paced fantasy adventure filled with the lore of the blues. A good choice for most fantasy collections.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (May 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312864639
• ISBN-13: 978-0312864637
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,395,232 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Piers Anthony is one of the world's most popular fantasy authors, and a New York Times bestseller twenty-one times over. His Xanth novels have been read and loved by millions of readers around the world, and he daily receives hundreds of letters from his devoted fans.In addition to the Xanth series, Anthony is the author of many other best-selling works. Piers Anthony lives in Inverness, Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Warning: This is *not* Piers Anthony, August 1, 2000

By 

"psychoadept" (Fayetteville, AR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gutbucket Quest (Hardcover)

I read the Author's Notes. Piers Anthony put his name on the cover of this book to help a friend get published. The book itself is so far removed from his style (not to mention quality) that I knew after only a few pages that he couldn't have contributed much. This is possibly the worst book I've ever read, and while I sympathize with Mr. Anthony's motives in helping to publish it, I am appalled that he could put his name on anything of such poor quality.

Unfortunately, even though I knew after the first few chapters that I didn't like the book, I was forced to read the whole thing because I was reviewing it. It's fraught with word confusions and errors in grammar. The characters were, if not one dimentional, then at least stereotypical. The main character's name: Slim Chance. The plot was predictable--or it would have been, if Mr. Leming would have bothered to tell us what was going on, rather than wasting pages on self-pitying ruminations. There was a great deal extraneous sex and vulgarity that didn't fit the style of the piece. As a whole, it had the feel of a self-indulgent adolescent fantasy. For someone as sensitive as I am to poor writing, it was 300 pages of nails on a chalkboard. Even now, just thinking about it sets my nerves on edge.

Yet, while I dislike Mr. Leming's writing, it is Mr. Anthony who I am really disappointed with. It is not Mr. Leming's fault that he's a poor author, but this book should never have been published, and Mr. Anthony has let down an awful lot of people. If he was going to put his name on the cover, he should at least have had the decency to turn it into a tolerable book first.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly underappreciated novel, January 26, 2009

By 

Dawnofday "Dawnofday" (Roanoke, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gutbucket Quest (Hardcover)

If you love Anthony, believe me you won't like this novel. However, if, like me, you find Anthony not even worth reading and IF you love the blues take a look at this novel. It doesn't have gratuitous sex in it. Any sex in it is truly loving and beautiful and it focuses on the heart of the blues.

It is also true to its Texas location and the Texas characters are amazingly believable for someone who lived for a long time in that state.

I'm sad that not as many people have read this novel as, I am convinced, would love it if it didn't have the Anthony name on it. That made people who like him pick it up (and hate the book) and people who don't like him (who might have loved the book) stay away in droves.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blues Fantasy Novel ... a nice suprise, August 4, 2000

By 

"ladyaustin" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gutbucket Quest (Hardcover)

If you are looking for Piers Anthony's lighter PG rated material or think sex is a four letter word; this won't be the book for you. However, get this book to understand what the Blues music means to the people who play and enjoy a fantasy adventure. The abundance of very loving sex in it is true to the Blues culture.

Recognized some of the Texas characters which made the Tejas of the book plausible and more enjoyable for me. This book doesn't fit properly into any one genre. It is a cross between a socio-historical novel, science fiction, and a fantasy adventure.

The book reads like a good Blues song. It is simple on the surface with emotional depths and a directness that reveals the truth of human nature. Very enjoyable.