From: cmeadows@nyx.cs.du.edu (Chris Meadows)
Subject: Piers' Books, and Various Other Things
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Date: Tue, 13 Oct 92 14:18:39 GMT


Funny...I subscribed to the Newsletter at issue one, and only got 3 out 
of the alleged 5 issues.
 
Comments on a few of Piers' series.

Apprentice Adept:
  The first book is, by the way, SPLIT INFINITY.  The first three books
were okay; the second three were better; but the 7th did to Apprentice
Adept what End of the Circle did to Robotech.  Anthony took his world
and turned it inside out (literally).  Some characters died, other aged
years in a couple of weeks, and they all were royally messed up at the
end.  You just don't DO that to the reader!  (UGH)
 
Battle Circle:
  It was okay, but Piers was quite bloody-minded.  For example, in Neq
the Sword, he had the main character kill the main character from another
of the books, by accident.  This is about like what Alien^3 did with 
Aliens, and I think it stank.  Oh well; the bloody-mindedness of Piers
prepared me for Bio of a Space Tyrant.

Bio of a Space Tyrant:
  Wow.  I think that Freud would have a field day with this series.
Rape, rape, rape, kill, kill, eat flesh, rape, rape some more.  This
series is not for the faint of heart, or those with weak stomachs.
Notwithstanding, it is a pretty good story; a look at the life cycle
of a politician from his childhood to his death.  Other than the 
goriness and violence with which it was written, the only thing wrong
with it (IMHO) is PA's liberal bias (I'm conservative).
 
Of Man and Manta:
  I've only read the last two books of this, but I think I can say
that they're quite fascinating.  Here is where he plays around for
one of the first times (not counting In the Barn) with alternate di-
mensions.  In fact, the third book is very reminiscent of Virtual
Mode--the hero and heroine have to run through a (well, not circular
per se but geometrical--it ends where it begins) array of dimensions
in order to get back where they started.
  However, the third book is, in places, confusing as heck...

Mute
  Technically not a series but a book; this is a really neat novel.
It deals with a galaxy where mutants abound and are needed for space
flight; some are lobotomized for crimes, and the lobotomized psychics
are determined to take over the galaxy.  A young man with a remarkable
"talent" gets roped into helping against the rogue former-psychics,
and the result is vintage Anthony.

Macroscope
  It was a pretty good book; I really loved some of the technology in
there, and if it was ever made into a movie, the Terminator morphic 
FX could be used to great effect when they're melting themselves down
for space transport.  But as he does in so many of his books, he com-
pletely screwed up the ending.  One main character is dead, another is
in the process of being transported to a nearby star.  Two of the major
supporting characters are gone, just like that, so the two main characters
can be alone with each other.

Tarot
  I've only read the first book, but it was good.  It connects to his 
Viscous Circle series, and features Brother Paul, a character we get to
meet in the also-connected But What of Earth?
  The book may meet with religious criticism, though...it shows the
corruption
of a priest through Tarot cards...

But What of Earth?
  As a novel, it's okay.  But as a treatise on what can happen to a book
at the publishers if you don't watch them very closely, it's excellent.
Through footnotes (about half the book is footnotes!) Anthony traces
the mutation of his novel from his original manuscript to an (unauth-
orized) collaboration.  A must-read for any Anthony fan or anyone who
wonders just "what goes on" at the publisher's.  Did I mention that
this book is set in the Tarot/Cluster universe?

Mode
  Wonderful book; I've only read the first but it has a great deal of
potential.  Going to computers was a good move for Piers; it gave him
many new ideas and concepts, some of which he has used here.  I can't
wait to read the second.  Who created the chips and blocked off that one
dimension, anyway?  I look forward to finding out about the girl's psychic
development, and I really love that psychic horse.  This could be Piers'
best work in a long time.

Cluster
  I've forgotten the true name for this 5-book series, but if that isn't
it, heck with it.  Anyway, I think this is one of Piers' best series.
The plots are engaging, the creatures fascinating, the characters unfor-
gettable.  The first book seems largely dedicated to alien sex, however,
and I don't like the way he killed off the two main characters, but all
in all, this series is great.  I think the third book is my favorite...

Xanth:
  What can I say?  Either you love it or you hate it.  I loved it, up
through the first few books.  Then the quality peaked, and it went down-
hill from there, but I kept buying because I'm such a big fan.  I think
it got better with Question Quest, but I haven't read Color of Her
Panties yet, so I can't give you an opinion there.


Has anybody read that collaboration he did with Phillip Jose Farmer,
called something like The Caterpillar's Question?  Is it any good?


Now, about other stuff...Someone asked whether PA read this newsgroup.
I don't think he does, or would even if he knew about it.  The reason:
Piers just doesn't like criticism.  He's gotten enough of it from critics,
so frankly, I don't blame him.  I think if he took one look at the Xanth
argument currently going on, he just might swear off telecommunications
for good.

There was some other stuff I intended to mention, but I can't remember 
what it was now.  If it's more of Piers' books, the reviews shall be 
forthcoming.