Not Peeved ***1/2

Well, like the very short-lived blog from over two years back, I shall post reviews of books, movies, plays, concerts and what-have-yous here. The star rating is something new, however. My reviews are all somewhat influenced by pet biases so haha! too bad.

Pet Peeve is another Xanth novel by Piers Anthony, and I have read about seven or eight from the twenty-odd in the series. It retains all of the flavour of Xanth and Pier's idiosyncratic style of using many many ideas and suggestions contributed by his readers, and is overall a pleasant read. I finished it over the three days at the class chalet. However, the main characters are not as adorable or memorable as those from the earlier Xanth novels. Perhaps the novelty has worn off. Piers, in my humble opinion (oxymoron!), still has a tendency to drag the pace in the middle of a novel with a lot of narration that functions more to fill in the gaps than to grip the imagination - a feature I've noticed since the Incarnations of Immortality series.

For those new to Piers Anthony's zany sense of humour and wicked puns, I would strongly recommend picking up a couple of the earlier Xanth novels for a sampling. My personal favourite is The Colour of Her Panties which starred the present King Dor and Queen Ivy as adolescents. More time was spent fleshing out the world of Xanth in those, so readers get a better sense and feel of it. I would recommend Pet Peeve more for loyal followers of Piers Anthony (of which I am one) who want a revisit to Xanth and escape the dreariness of life in Mundania. Think of it as holidaying at a favourite vacation spot you've visited countless times, where you know exactly what to expect and what you get out of it and still enjoy it. Better yet, it's that secluded beach in Krabi you found, away from the tourist highlights that are just around the corner. Experienced travellers (in Mundania or Xanth) will know what I mean.