Customer Reviews

Zombie Lover (Xanth, No. 22)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I enjoyed the book itself, the writing always captures and maintains my interest. I usually read these books in one or two days. I have been pleased with Xanth books from the beginning and have not missed a volume. The reason that this book only received three stars from me is the cover art. The story depicts Breanna as a very dark skinned young woman. The cover depicts her as a pale faced girl with dirty or hairy arms and legs. A little more consistancy between the artist and the illustrator would appropriate and appreciated.

I am amazed to find that what seems like such a minor detail is so incremental in causing this book to lose two stars from my vote.

Piers and publishers, you cannot present a wonderfully diverse setting if the marketing on the front tries to appeal to only one group, by making the black character look almost white.

In the past twelve years, I've gone to being a rabid, enthusiastic and proselytizing Anthony fan to being... well... sorta lukewarm. (My first Xanth book -- and thus my favorite of the series for a long time, just for sheer exuberant silliness -- was "Crewel Lye.") To compare the style and scope of "Zombie Lover" to, say, "A Spell for Chameleon" or other earlier books is just begging to be depressed. The series has gone from being always gripping, often moving and consistently hilarious to merely amusing. (I've been noticing a constant, half-hearted resurrection of older characters from the series' "glory days," before Ivy's adolescence and before the Adult Conspiracy became such an annoyingly inescapable plot point.) And like many of today's mainstream authors, Anthony means well, but his interpretation of, for example, racial prejudice (in this book at least) is superficial and clueless. (I would be interested to guess the number of black women fans (yes they do exist) who, not having green eyes and straight, rump-length hair, might be more than a little hurt by his interpretation of black "beauty." Black Barbie, indeed. No offense meant to the Halle Berrys of the world who actually look like that.)

I was sad to realize that this will probably be my last Xanth book. Mild amusement has its place, but if you want a *real* taste of Anthony, let Xanth die a quiet death already and go directly to the "Incarnations of Immortality" series, or the first two "Geodyssey" books.

I enjoyed this book, and even bought it instead of borrowing from the library. But for a faithful Xanth fan, it is a little disappointing. The earlier books were gems. The middle ones were fun. But lately the quality of the plot (not the writing) has gone down. There is still hope for Xanth, though; I read a few Tamora Pierce books like Wolf Speaker and The Woman Who Rides Like A Man which didn't live up to my expectations of her, then WHAM! she retaliates with Emperor Mage and Lioness Rampant. Don't despair, friends: Xanth is not lost forever! In the meantime, check out Tamora Pierce and Gath Nix.

The Xanth series is what got me reading sci-fi and fantasy novels. Its a shame this series has turned into unreadable mush.

Zombie Lover was the last book I've bought in this series and I don't think I'll continue with it. I can't take in anymore stories of adolescents thinking about who they want or don't want to have sex with.

This book is alright but I feel that the author shouldconcentrate more on the plot and dispense with the puns... they'regetting irritating... I started reading xanth when I was 8 and was hooked instantly- I couldn't wait for the next book to come out! But now I think the books are getting worse and worse... frankly this is sort of a disappointment... I much prefer the earlier books.

This is not a bad book, but it would have been better if the author would concentrate on story-telling and humor, including the inevitable puns. I am no prude. There is nothing wrong with sexual innuendo, or outright sex for that matter. I read plenty of books that have sex in them. That said, I think the whole Adult Conspiracy sub-plot is getting way out of proportion in recent Xanth books. No one reads Xanth books looking for titillation. Also, why the thinly veiled social relevance? Anthony is always complaining about the "cri-tics" and I begin to wonder if he is responding to them by force-feeding political correctness into the stories. There is plenty of fiction, even fantasy fiction, on the market that addresses serious issues. Xanth books are marketted as being light entertainment, so why not provide that? Despite all that, I enjoyed the book. I just would've enjoyed it a lot more without the coyness and PC attitude.

Once again the master has done it, romance, comedy, (lots and lots of puns) a bit of danger, and anything a person could ever want in a good book. In a world shaped suspiciously like Florida, magic rules and pigs actually can fly; anything is possible. In this newest Xanth saga, Breanna, a not so-average mundane girl is given the adventure of her life with the promise of more to come. She is smart, sassy, beautiful, and willing to grasp the chance of a life-time. And our dear friend Jenny Elf is back, and just wait till you find out what happens to her. I stayed up all night reading this book and lost lots of potential beauty sleep. A pure delight to any Xanth fans, a must have for any collection. I have my copy, do you have yours?

received used book purchase 1 day early, very happy about that. book was in great shape. book purchased for gift and recipient was very happy with it.

Xanth #22: Zombie Lover, by Piers Anthony

I think "Zombie Lover" was the first Xanth book I read, and it's a perfect book for getting into the series. Breanna, the main character, isn't a native of Xanth but instead migrated with the Black Wave; human migration into Xanth has always happened in waves of people. And so the readers see Xanth through Breanna's eyes, which is a great way to see it if you're new to the series.

Not overfull of puns, as some of the later Xanth books are, "Zombie Lover" follows Breanna as she tries to escape marrying a zombie king. Anthony examines bigotry and racism through her attitude toward zombies, which mirrors the feelings some have toward Breanna herself as she is black.

Parallel to Breanna's story are the stories of Jenny, and of the kings of Xanth, who accidently drank Lethe water, causing them to forget where home was. Jenny, an elf and another non-native of Xanth, is writing invitations and planning a massive wedding, but no one knows who the bride is.

"Zombie Lover" is a solid installment in the series, and is better than some of the recent Xanth books published.

3/5.

This was the first Xanth novel I ever read, but it was easy enough to get into. I wasn't too confused by reference to other Xanth novels as they were minimal and were not much focused on. Some of the jokes were rather funny, and the plot had enough humorous twists in it (and a couple of cool surprises!) to keep me well-entertained. It was a rather enjoyable book, though I definitely like Incarnations of Immortality better. overall 3.5/5 stars.