Looking for a great, fun fantasy series that will keep your teen reading all summer long? Look no further, because Piers Anthony’s imaginative, fun and funny Xanth series is available in Kindle edition!
The series originated at a time when there wasn’t much of a Young Adult (YA) genre to speak of, so these books weren’t necessarily written with young people in mind and plenty of adults have loved them over the decades. But in terms of content, it’s about a PG-13. These books have a real Princess Bride sort of vibe about them: filled with swashbuckling adventure, magic and fantastical elements, but with plenty of puns and humor along the way.
Each book in the series is priced at $7.99, the same as the mass market paperback editions (price dictated by the publisher).
There are 35 books in the series in all and three more slated for release, so anyone just starting out on the series need not worry about getting hooked, only to find the next book in the series hasn’t been written yet.
First in the series is A Spell For Chameleon, rated an average of 4.5/5 stars across 193 customer reviews. From Amazon:
Xanth was the enchanted land where magic ruled–where every citizen had a special spell only he could cast. That is, except for Bink of North Village. He was sure he possessed no magic, and knew that if he didn’t find some soon, he would be exiled. According to the Good Magician Humpfrey, the charts said that Bink was as powerful as the King or even the Evil Magician Trent. Unfortunately, no one could determine its form. Meanwhile, Bink was in despair. If he didn’t find his magic soon, he would be forced to leave….
Ordered by King Trent to determine the source of Xanth’s magic, Bink and his companions were harried by an unseen enemy determined to thwart them. When even their protector turned against them, Blink still managed to reach his goal and carry out the King’s orders…but the king did not expect Blink’s next act–to destroy utterly the magic of Xanth!
The third book in the series is Castle Roogna, rated an average of 4.5/5 stars across 41 reviews. From Amazon:
Millie, a ghost for 800 years wants only one man–Jonathan, and he’s a zombie. To prove himself, Magician Dor volunteers to get the potion that can restore Jonathan to full life. But he has to go back through time to do it, to a peril-haunted, ancient Xanth, where danger lurks at every turn….
We could go on and on with this list, but instead we’ll just point you to the full list of Xanth Kindle editions, here. And if you’d like to learn more about Xanth mythology, or view a list of all the books in the series in order, there’s a terrific Xanth page on Wikipedia, here.
I really loved Piers Anthony when I was growing up (still do)!