A short life of the author
Piers Anthony Jacob (born 6 August 1934) is a British-born American science fiction and fantasy writer whose extraordinary productivity — over 180 books across more than fifty years — has made him one of the most commercially successful genre authors of the late twentieth century. He is best known for the Xanth series, over forty novels of pun-driven comic fantasy set in a magical version of Florida, but his earlier work in science fiction demonstrated genuine ambition and occasional brilliance.
Life
Anthony was born in Oxford, England. His family emigrated to the United States when he was six, settling first in Pennsylvania and later in Florida. He became a naturalised American citizen and served in the U.S. Army. He graduated from Goddard College in Vermont with a BA in creative writing.
His early career was marked by bitter disputes with publishers — Anthony has been vocal, sometimes vitriolic, about contracts, royalties, and editorial interference. He self-published newsletters to readers detailing industry grievances, and his willingness to fight publishers publicly (and litigate when necessary) made him a controversial figure in the genre community.
Xanth
The Xanth series, beginning with A Spell for Chameleon (1977, winner of the August Derleth Award), is set in a peninsula that occupies the same geographical space as Florida but is governed by magic rather than physics. Every human character has a magical talent, puns are woven into the landscape (a “shoe tree” grows shoes), and the plots typically involve quests.
The early Xanth novels — A Spell for Chameleon, The Source of Magic (1979), Castle Roogna (1979) — were clever and entertaining. As the series expanded, however, the puns multiplied, the plots grew formulaic, and the treatment of female characters drew increasing criticism. The later novels — Anthony published at least one per year for decades — are widely considered weak, but the series’ readership, particularly among younger readers discovering fantasy, remained loyal.
Serious Work
Anthony’s more ambitious fiction deserves separate consideration. Chthon (1967) — his first published novel — is a dark, structurally complex science fiction novel about imprisonment in a subterranean mineral planet. Macroscope (1969) is a sprawling hard-SF novel about a device that can observe anything in the universe. Both demonstrate real intellectual ambition and were nominated for major awards.
The Incarnations of Immortality series (1983–1990, beginning with On a Pale Horse) imagines a world where the offices of Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Evil, and Good are held by human beings who must learn to exercise their supernatural powers. The premise is original and the first several volumes are compelling.
The Bio of a Space Tyrant series (1983–2001) follows the rise of a Latin American refugee to political power in a future solar system, combining space opera with political allegory.
Critical Standing
Anthony occupies a peculiar position in genre fiction: enormously popular, widely dismissed by critics, and yet the author of several genuinely interesting early novels. His reputation has suffered from the sheer volume of his output, from the declining quality of the later Xanth books, and from criticism of his treatment of gender and sexuality — some Xanth novels contain sexualised depictions of young women that have attracted particular censure. His defenders argue that the early work is underrated and that his productivity, whatever its costs, reflects genuine creative energy.
Collecting Anthony
A Spell for Chameleon (1977, Del Rey) in first edition brings $20–$80. Chthon (1967, Ballantine) in first edition brings $30–$100. The sheer volume of Anthony’s output means that most titles are readily available and inexpensive. Signed copies are common; Anthony has been generous with correspondence and book-signing.