Xanth


Xanth is a fantasy world created by author Piers Anthony for his Xanth series of novels, also known as The Magic of Xanth. Anthony originally intended for Xanth to be a trilogy, but a devoted fan base persuaded the author to continue writing the series, which is now open-ended.
Anthony has stated that he has kept the series going as long as he has because the Xanth novels are "just about all that publishers want" from him.

Books

As of July 2020, there are 43 novels.
NumberTitlePub. YearMain character
1A Spell for Chameleon1977Bink
2The Source of Magic1979Bink
3Castle Roogna1979Dor
4Centaur Aisle1982Dor
5Ogre, Ogre1982Smash Ogre
6Night Mare1983Mare Imbrium
7Dragon on a Pedestal1984Ivy
81984Jordan the Barbarian
9Golem in the Gears1986Grundy Golem
10Vale of the Vole1987Eskil
11Heaven Cent1988Dolph
12Man from Mundania1989Grey
13Isle of View1990Chex Centaur
14Question Quest1991Humfrey
15The Color of Her Panties1992Gwendolyn Goblin
16Demons Don't Dream1993Dug
17Harpy Thyme1993Gloha Goblin-Harpy
18Geis of the Gargoyle1994Gary Gargoyle
19Roc and a Hard Place1995Demoness Metria
20Yon Ill Wind1996Demon Xth / Nimby
21Faun & Games1997Forrest Faun
22Zombie Lover1998Breanna
23Xone of Contention1999Dug
24The Dastard2000Becka Dragongirl
25Swell Foop2001Cynthia Centaur
26Up in a Heaval2002Umlaut Golem
27Cube Route2003Cube
28Currant Events2004Clio
29Pet Peeve2005Goody Goblin
30Stork Naked2006Surprise
31Air Apparent2007Debra
32Two to the Fifth2008Cyrus Cyborg
33Jumper Cable2009Jumper Spider
34Knot Gneiss2010Wenda Woodwife
35Well-Tempered Clavicle2011Picka Bone
36Luck of the Draw2012Bryce
37Esrever Doom2013Kody
38Board Stiff2013Irrelevant Kandy
39Five Portraits2014Astrid Basilisk
40Isis Orb2016Hapless
41Ghost Writer in the Sky2017Tartan
42Fire Sail2019Lydell and Grania
43Jest Right2020Jess and Magnus
44Skeleton KeyForthcoming
45A Tryst of FateForthcoming
46Six Crystal PrincessesForthcoming

World of Xanth

Inhabitants and talents

Each human character in Xanth is born with a unique magical ability, called a talent. With the exception of the curse fiends, the winged centaurs, and the child Surprise Golem, these abilities never repeat exactly in individuals throughout the entire history of Xanth. Though many talents are limited in scope, the series focuses mainly on individuals with "Magician" caliber abilities.
In addition to the human characters, Xanth is populated by elves, centaurs, demons, dragons, fauns, gargoyles, goblins, golems, harpies, merfolk, naga, nymphs, ogres, zombies, curse fiends, and other fictional beasts. Though initially introduced as obstacles to the human characters, some individuals from those groups become main characters in later books of the series.
As the series progresses, some of the half-human species are discovered to have the potential to possess magical talents. The centaurs of the primary centaur community, Centaur Isle, exile any centaurs who demonstrate a magical talent ; however, they tolerate talents in "lesser" races such as humans. Goblins and harpies are shown to have the potential to possess half-talents, the complementary half existing in a member of the other species, ; the hostility between goblins and harpies proved a major obstacle to any serious effort by them to work together to develop these potential talents. Other non-human species are also known to possess talents, for example: Sesame Serpent and Claire Voyant. Visitors from other dimensions with talents retain their talents after arriving in Xanth.

Geography

Geographically, modern Xanth resembles the state of Florida in the United States in shape, but has landmarks that mimic well known geographical features from around the world. One major example of this is the Gap Chasm, an enormous canyon a mile wide which completely bisects the country, paralleling the DMZ of the Korean Peninsula. The position of the Chasm could also correspond with the Cross Florida Barge Canal, which, similar to the chasm, is generally forgotten except for those who stumble upon it. The Gap is guarded by a resident dragon, known as Stanley Steamer, and is crossed by means of treacherous bridges. Many of Xanth's other geographical features are puns on those of Florida. The Florida Keys also exist, though they are, in Xanth, actual keys. Other punning feature names include the Isle of View, Mount Ever-Rest and the Centaur Aisle created by a magician from the Centaur Isle. The moon is close enough that flying creatures may land there; the back side is sweet and honeyish, the visible side has turned sour and become curdled cheese, due to observing what has happened on Earth and Xanth. Plants may bear fruit of all descriptions or they may be carnivorous, making travel in Xanth risky.
Xanth has a connection with the normal world, which is referred to as "Mundania"; its people are called "Mundanes". Although any citizen of Xanth can enter Mundania at any time through an isthmus in the northwest, Mundanes enter the isthmus in Xanth from random geographic locations and time periods throughout history. In other words, Xanth does not have a fixed location or time in the mundane world; and the timeline between Xanth and Mundania seems to jump backwards and forwards. For example, within the lifetime of a normal citizen of Xanth, an American Mundane from and an Egyptian Mundane from 3000 BC could both walk across the isthmus. However, Mundanes seem to have trouble finding Xanth on a consistent basis, making any travel to Xanth a somewhat rare occurrence. Despite these seeming difficulties, Xanth was colonized in several waves by groups of invaders and nomads from Mundania over the course of several centuries. The series ties these colonization events to actual historical events on Earth, most notably the Punic wars.

Adult Conspiracy

First mentioned in Crewel Lye, the Adult Conspiracy is one of the prominent features of the Xanth world. In an interview with Moira Allen, Piers Anthony referred to the "Adult conspiracy to keep interesting things from children" as a literary device "parodying current societal conventions" Nearly all subsequent books contain references to the Conspiracy and its effects, particularly those novels in which the main characters are children.
At its core, the Adult Conspiracy seeks to protect children from knowledge that could bring them to great harm. The precise age for entering into the world of adults is age 18, corresponding to the age of majority in most places. The primary principle that inducts children into the Conspiracy is the understanding of the secret of "summoning the stork". In Xanthian terms, "summoning the stork" literally means to put out a call to summon a stork which will deliver to the couple a child. In Isle of View, it is revealed that summoning the stork will release an "ellipsis" into the air to fly off to the stork. This is a play on the joke that all the "adult" things happen after a paragraph ends in an ellipsis. Most inductees actually discover the specifics of the act "by accident" after marriage, or under the influence of a love spring.
Other faculties of the Adult Conspiracy include:
It is important to note that there have been occasions when children gained access to the Adult Conspiracy prematurely. Jenny Elf, Che Centaur, and Gwenny Goblin had to be given access to the Adult Conspiracy when Gwenny received a pair of contact lenses that corrected her poor eyesight while giving her the ability to see others' dreams. In one rare instance, a little girl was born with the magic talent of immunity to the magical censorship of Adult Conspiracy, causing her family much distress. This was remedied with magician Sherlock's talent of reversal and a vial of lethe water which erased her memory.

Mundania

Whenever Xanth characters visit the nonmagical land outside of Xanth, called Mundania, its natives speak what sounds like gibberish to the Xanth characters. The gibberish can be translated by a simple replacement cipher, depending on the Mundane language being spoken. Often the language is a simple shift in the alphabet, a letter or two forwards or backwards.

Curse fiends

Curse fiends, who call themselves "curse friends," are known for their talent to throw curses at their enemies. They are believed to be the primary cause of several different settings in Xanth: 1) the land of Air, 2) the land of Earth, 3) the land of Fire, 4) the land of Water the Void. The story about how these regions were created is described in Demons Don't Dream.
The curse fiends in the present day Xanth stay close to their own community where they put on plays. Because of this, they are widely known for their acting skills.

Related works