Jumper Cable (Xanth Novels) [Hardcover]

Piers Anthony (Author)

Book Description

Series: Xanth Novels | Publication Date: October 13, 2009

In the thirty-third thrilling escapade in Piers Anthony’s rousing Xanth fantasy series, an adventurous arachnid named Jumper must assume human form to save the enchanted realm from a cosmic peril.

A cataclysmic battle between two all-powerful Demons has severed a mystical connection that joins Xanth to our own world. The key to restoring it is hidden within a cryptic prophecy that Jumper discovers when he is suddenly transformed from spider to man. As he sets out to discern the prophecy's meaning, he gathers about him a half dozen alluring damsels who do their best to help him solve the riddle while vying for his attentions.

But a seductive siren and her demonic consort have determined to use their wiles to lure Jumper and his lovely companions away from their urgent mission.  In a madcap adventure that is alternately harrowing and hilarious, they soon discover that danger, deception, and even true love may be found where they least expect it.

In Jumper Cable, master storyteller Piers Anthony spins a wild and witty web of wonder that is sure to captivate fans of fantastic adventure everywhere!

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This being Xanth, the adventurers find absurdities, danger, and romance but also find themselves unwittingly involved in extremely complex intrigue. Classic Xanthromancy.”--Booklist on Air Apparent

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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. In addition to his bestselling Xanth books, Anthony is the author of a series of historical fantasies called The Geodyssey, that makes the broad sweep of human history into very personal stories. Piers Anthony has a devoted fan following, and he daily receives hundreds of letters and emails from them. Piers Anthony lives in Inverness, Florida.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (October 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765323516
• ISBN-13: 978-0765323514
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #873,273 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

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What a Disappointment, November 22, 2009

By 

Lainey - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jumper Cable (Xanth Novels) (Hardcover)

Wow, what a disappointment. I've been reading this series since I was 13 years old (I'm now 31), and it's always been my favorite, up to this point. I never thought I'd say this, but I think it's time for Piers Anthony to pack it in.

Instead of feeling like I just took part in a rollicking adventure, I'm left with the impression that Piers Anthony has gone senile and it's manifesting as a desperate obsession with sex. I'm not a prude and wouldn't normally care, but it's not even well done. It's just completely pointless, gratuitous sex that detracts from the story instead adding to it. I noticed this same problem with Under a Velvet Cloak (of the Incarnations of Immortality series), but I thought Xanth was safe. It isn't.

In the Author's Note he lambasts irate mothers (which I am not) and tells those who don't like the series heading in a more "adult" direction basically to take a flying leap. I get that it's never really been a kid's series (although it might as well have been considering all the kids who love it), but I've always liked the more innocent naughtiness rather than this in-your-face, "They had sex, and then this guy had sex with that girl...and then this other girl, and then this one, and then these two had sex all over again, and then..." sex, sex, sex, ad nauseum. I never thought it would happen, but I think I've just been turned off of the series. If you must read it, get it from the library. Don't waste your money.

It's too late for me, having read it, but my advice to you is:

RUN! SAVE YOURSELVES!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Perversity from Piers, February 16, 2010

By 

Working Mom "Working Mom" (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Jumper Cable (Xanth Novels) (Hardcover)

I've been a big Xanth fan from the beginning. Lately the Xanth series has been going downhill, but I loved them so much that I overlooked quite a bit. Jumper Cable pushed me over the edge. Sorry Piers, I think sex is great and all, but I like a good plot. Xanth books just don't have that any more. I agree with the other reviewer, it seems like Piers Anthony is just turning into a dirty old man. If you like porn more than plot, start reading this series with the later books, it's getting worse with each one.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fun lighthearted frolic, October 13, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jumper Cable (Xanth Novels) (Hardcover)

A narrative hook drops the spider Jumper from one scene into another where meets a woodwife named Wenda (a woman made of wood with no back) who wants to be made flesh. They find a prophecy on Jumper's carapace and decide to go to the Magician Humphrey to find out what it means. The pair also hopes that Humphrey returns Jumper to his scene and makes Wenda flesh and blood. Along the way they meet Maeve the Maenad who is avoiding the stork because she doesn't want an infant. She decides to join them to see if Humphrey can get the stork to stop delivering her package.

Haughty Harpy meets the travelers and tells them that at night she turns into Hottie Harpy. She decides to join them to see if the magician can help her. Two more ladies join the troupe; Phaedra, who can turn into a host who is being stalked by Genghis the ghost and Olive Huie who has no friends; the former wants the stalking stopped and the latter wants a friend. When the group breaches the magician's castle, Humphrey tells them he will give them what they want if they fix the broken cable that connects Mundania's Internet to Xanth's Outernet. They have plenty of enemies who want to stop them for various reasons.

Thirty three punster fantasy quests later, Xanth remains alive as if Chameleon was still seeking a spell. The hero is an innocent spider who learns to play and work with humans as he and the women march across some familiar locales and a several new spots on their misadventures. There is plenty of romance and action even with the typical thin plot as JUMPER CABLE is a fun lighthearted frolic.

Harriet Klausner