Currant Events (Xanth)

By Piers Anthony

Book Overview

When Clio, the Muse of History, sat down to pen the twenty-eighth volume in the Chronicles of Xanth, she was stunned to discover it was already there! And, what was worse, it was totally unreadable, for the words on its pages were fuzzed beyond comprehension. Vexed and bewildered, and more than a little concerned, Clio resolved to leave the quiet comfort of her study on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, and ask her old friend, the Good Magician Humfrey, to search a solution to her problem in his Book of Answers. But, much to her consternation, Humfrey required her to perform a magical Service before she could acquire her Answer: to rescue Xanth's dragons from the verge of extinction before the delicate balance of its wildlife was permanently thrown out of whack. Her momentous mission lead her to a dangerous Dragon World hidden amongst the Moons of Ida, across a perilous landscape filled with wonder and danger, in search of the fabled Currant, a very rare red berry that might hold the secret she sought. Along the way she acquired a fellowship of companions, including the brave and beautiful Becka Dragongirl, a pair of pocket dragons named Drew and Drusie, a charming young child called Ciriana whose destiny was somehow entwined with hers, and Sherlock, a sweet but homely man from Mundania who might just be a master magician himself. Together they gradually began to unravel the momentous mystery of Xanth's missing history. And Clio began to realize that Sherlock's enchantments had begun to work their way into her heart.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765304074
• ISBN13: 9780765304070
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.9" x 1.2" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

A Blooming Romance

Currant Events (2004) is the twenty-eighth Fantasy novel in the Xanth series, following Cube Route. Clio and her eight sisters are the Muses of Xanth. As the Muse of History, Clio writes the various volumes of the Xanth saga. In this novel, Clio discovers that the 28th volume of the history of Xanth is unreadable. Moreover, she cannot quite remember what it is about. She decides to take the problem to the Good Magician Humfrey. At the Good Magician's castle, Clio is treated as a querent! How could he treat a friend with such rudeness? Going along with his charade, Clio solves her three Challenges and enters the castle. When she explains her problem to Humfrey, he states that she needs a magic currant berry to solve her problem. First, however, she must obtain five breeding pairs of each type of dragon on Dragon World and bring them to Xanth to replace the rapidly dying native dragons. She has a week to accomplish this first assignment. To guide her path, Humfrey places a magic compass/timer in her wrist to tell her which direction to travel and how long she has to complete each travel segment. On Dragon World, Clio saves two tiny dragon lovers from being eaten and they vow to accompany her until this service is repaid. Since Drew and Drusie are telepathic and winged, they greatly help in the quest. Besides, they are small enough to fit into her pockets. The dragon lovers introduce Clio to the leaders of each dragon type and translate their conversations. Of course, dragon assistance is not free; Clio has to win a visible riddling contest with each of the five leaders. Her stakes in each contest are her life and the lives of her friends, but she also has to remove one item of clothing selected by the dragons for each lost point. Of course, Clio wins all five contests and arranges to take the selected couples back to Xanth. She goes on to other adventures, solving problems for other people and collecting items along the way to solve her own problem. She also collects fellow travelers, including Sherlock -- who has a reversing talent -- and Ciriana -- a young girl immune to the Adult Conspiracy -- and others who help in her travels. This story is chock full on puns -- the acknowledgments list is about three pages long -- and ends with a twist. In other worlds, a typical Xanth novel, with promises of more to come. A great read for most (except for critics). Highly recommended for Xanth fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of humor, atrocious puns and light romance. If you are not familiar with this series, please start with A Spell for Chameleon so that you don't miss any of the fun. -Arthur W. Jordin

Beat the winter doldrums

If the holiday season has you down and a good laugh, chuckle or chortle is all you need, then this is the one for you. You do have to like science fiction and fantasy and not be looking for a SAGA. This and all the others in the Xanth series are full of punish humor and silliness. There are underlying themes from the world of mundania, which are cloaked in Xanth's exagerated & colorful culture. These themes are a little like fractured fables and deal with moral dilemas. Piers Anthony has a way of addressing these issues in very subtle ways. It is always fun to see old names and talents surface, advance just a little in character development, then await their next adventure. New faces are added, given a foundation and they too are held in waiting for their next assist in an adventure. As you may have noticed, I am a Xanth fan from waaaay back and have read all 28 in this series. Although,I wasn't overly enthusiastic about the last 3 or 4 books, this 1st of a "trilogy" holds great promise or "pun-ishment" for dye hard fans. I am looking forward to the new episodes alluded to in this book. I wonder what the stork will bring for Sherlock and Clio?

Hopeless pun addict...

This most recent installment in Anthony's Xanth series was definitely worth the wait. I received it yesterday in the mail and finished it last night. I just could not put it down... but almost all Anthony's books are like that. Currant Events follows Anthony's recent trend with the Xanth books, being a bit more risque and broaching more controversial topics than the first twenty or so books of the series. He does it so tastefully, however, that you don't seem to mind the innocence and integrity of the series perhaps being shaken up a bit. Some of my favorite parts of this book were Clio's visit to Dragon World, and the description given of that world, as well as the little girl whose talent is immunity to the Adult Conspiracy (I think that was my talent growing up too!) and the re-introduction of Sherlock Black into the series. If you've never read a Xanth book before, treat yourself and start at the beginning of the series. For the rest of us, this is definitely a keeper, and according to Anthony's Author's Note, just the beginning of another 3-cubed trilogy.

for Xanth punsters

On Mount Parnassus Clio the Muse of History begins to write the twenty-eighth Chronicle of Xanth, only to find the tome exists, which means somehow she already has written it. Already shocked beyond words adding to her chagrin, the tome is impossible to read as it contains words that are indecipherable. Clio decides to visit Humfrey the Good Magician Humfrey to learn how to read the enigmatic book. Of course this being Humfrey, he does not care that Clio is a long time friend as anyone who wants his help must perform a required service. He orders her to find the magical red berry, a simple enough task. However, this is Xanth and not Mundania; nothing is ever simple especially if Humfrey is involved. On her trek, Clio gathers a host of fellow travelers especially Sherlock and must perform sidebar deeds like transporting safely six thousand dragons from Dragon World to Xanth and other dangerous tasks to solve the mystery of the unclear history book. More a book of puns held somewhat together by the quest, Xanth fans will appreciate this lighthearted romp that takes readers away from Mundania. The story line leaps from one pun to another with occasional twists and turns to make room for a double entendre. Clio is a fine muse although skirting the edges of her magical world. As has been most of the recent novels, Piers Anthony has fun incorporating a zillion jibes, jokes and witty and not so droll bon mots provided by Xanthian readers, whom the author acknowledges for their contributions, but the Mundanian masses might feel it is time to punt. Harriet Klausner