I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Harpy Thyme
by
Piers Anthony
fantasy, satire in a paperback edition that was published by Tor Books on February 15, 1995 and has 352 pages.
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Seventeenth in the Xanth fantastical series filled with satire.
My Take
Harpy Thyme involves the very lonely Gloha, the only female harpy-goblin in Xanth who is desperately in want of her very own male harpy-goblin. Naturally, since this is the pattern for all Xanth tales, Gloha undergoes the ritual set of riddles so she can finally get to the Good Magician who will solve all of her problems.
And, naturally, the Good Magician — the cantankerous old boot — sends her out on a journey to find his second son whom no one knows exists…except…maybe…one person. Who, naturally, isn’t sure and sends Gloha on another journey as she collects fellow adventurers also seeking the answers to their questions.
I really don’t know how Anthony manages to pull so many puns into each story and I find myself eagerly reading both for the actual adventure as well as for the pun of it.
While you can read each Xanth novel on its own, I do recommend starting at the beginning with A Spell for Chameleon, the first story, if only because each succeeding novel builds on it and makes the experience richer for the reader. It’s a wild set of wacky adventures through the pun that is Xanth in the course of which you learn to look at your own world with more tolerance and consideration.
