Product Description

Chthon was Piers Anthony’s first published novel in 1967, written over the course of seven years. He started it when he was in the US Army, so it has a long prison sequence that is reminiscent of that experience, being dark and grim. It features Aton Five, a space man who commits the crime of falling in love with the dangerous alluring Minionette and is therefore condemned to death in the subterranean prison of Chthon. It uses flashbacks to show how he came to know the Minionette, and flashforwards to show how he dealt with her after his escape from prison. The author regards this as perhaps the most intricately structured novel the science fantasy genre has seen. It was a contender for awards, but not a winner.

About the Author

Piers Anthony is an established novelist with more that 130 books published, 21 of which were New York Times bestsellers. He lives in backwoods Florida with his wife.

Product Description

Phthor is the sequel to Chthon, less intricately structured and less complicated in plot, but still quite dark and ugly in theme and detail. Rather than flashbacks and flashforwards, it has a Y outline, with the stem the initial story and the ends alternate futures, neither of which is acceptable to Aton’s son Arlo. Arlo has his own encounter with a Minionette, and naturally destruction is upon him and all with whom he associates. Write/editor Charles Platt was so impressed with the chthonic setting that he wrote two additional sequels, Plasm and Soma, which are even darker and grimmer.

About the Author

Piers Anthony is the acclaimed author of more than 100 novels and short story collections. His works include the Xanth series, the Mode series, Chthon and Total Recall.

Product Description

Bad As Fuck is a short collection of stories. Three previously published and two never seen before. Stories included are: Man Changes Mind, Morning Breath, Rejected, Ass To Mouth and Employee Of The Year.

From Publishers Weekly

Sometime in the near future, a lonely boy named Thor becomes attached to a genetics project named Balook. Born from reconstructed genes, Balook is a Baluchitherium , one of the largest land mammals of prehistoric times. When puberty hits Thor and Balook, Balook leads them to their female counterparts--Barb and Theria. Thor and Barb take matters into their own hands, however, after Balook is charged--in an improbable plot twist--with manslaughter. Faithful to the bug-eyed-monster tradition of SF writing, bestselling Anthony (the Xanth series) eschews his customary tongue-in-cheek tone; Thor's instant attraction to Barb, and Barb's prickly personality, hail straight from the stock characterizations of a space opera. Avid science fiction fans may enjoy this broadly done effort, but more discerning readers and followers of Anthony's popular series may be disappointed. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up-- Beware, dear readers, of the book that includes a lengthy rationalization of its troubled publishing history. Take note especially of an author's note like Anthony's that follows, rather than precedes, the story. Although he goes to great lengths to convince his audience that editors bounced this book due to differences in ideological beliefs, readers will find a simpler explanation: it's bad writing. The plot has potential: Thor and Barb, two teenagers in America's near-future, help raise Theria and Balook, two genetically designed prehistoric rhinos. Romance develops for both the rhinos and the kids. When Balook accidently kills a boy who frightens him with a firecracker, Barb and Thor must try to protect their gigantic pets from the wrath of vigilante citizens. Anthony's at his best writing action scenes. Unfortunately, the first half of the book is bogged down with tedious narrative that tells rather than shows what Thor thinks and feels. The love scenes are awkward and naive, in the manner of 1960s sci-fi pulps. But the biggest problem here is that the future described, and its inhabitants, seems almost as prehistoric as the rhinos, in comparison to the adolescent cyberpunks and MTVovites who fill the halls of high schools these days. The illustrations tend to favor static, pretty scenes instead of depicting the action. Thor and Barb look younger in the pictures than in the story, which may turn off older readers. Adult science fiction titles by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling provide more mind-expanding reading. --Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Wandering tribes of primitive humans meet and fight and love and die. When one tribe meets another, individuals fight inside a Battle Circle. The loser must become a member of the victorious tribe. Each warrior is named by his weapon. When Sol the Sword is bested by Sol of All Weapons, he loses his tribe, his name, and his weapon. Re-named Sos the Rope, he joins with Sol of All Weapons to try to create something greater than a world of Battle Circles. An early classic from Piers Anthony, creator of the legendary Xanth series, Sos the Rope was nominated for the prestigious Hugo Award.

Third book of a trilogy by Piers Anthony. An age of darkness was descending upon the Empire. Soon there would be no food, no weapons, and no honor - the laws of the nomads were forgotten in the struggle to survive.