Swell Foop (Xanth Novels)

By Piers Anthony

Book Overview

When Cynthia Centaur journeys to ask the Good Magician Humfrey a very personal Question, she expects nothing more than the usual Challenges and Puzzles, as well as some small sort of Service, in exchange for her Answer. What she doesn't expect is that she will be responsible for the future survival of Xanth itself.For a peril of immense gravity endangers the enchanted land of Xanth. Or, rather, a lack of gravity. The Demon Earth, who rules our own world, has suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. Without Demon Earth's vast powers, everything on the surface of the Earth and all other worlds, including Xanth, will go whirling weightlessly away into space. By merest chance, Cynthia Centaur has come to the Good Magician's castle at precisely the wrong moment. For the Muse of History has decreed that the very next Querent who asks Humfrey a Question will be charged with the awesome responsibility of finding the Demon Earth and saving Xanth. It's whispered that another Demon (with a capital D) has done the dastardly deed. The only weapon that can prevail against such a cosmic being is the instrument known as the Swell Foop. And the only way to handle its awesome power is to locate the Six Lost Rings of Xanth, whose whereabouts are known only to the Zombies. So Cynthia and five companions-her beloved mate, Che; Breanna of the Black Wave and her fiance Justin Tree; Sim, the immortal bird who will one day know all the secrets of the universe; and Jaylin, a young human girl from the Mundane land of Hawaii -embark on a quest of utmost danger, to challenge an Unknown Demon for the fate of a dozen worlds. A harrowing and hilarious escapade that ranges from Earth to Xanth to a galaxy far, far away, "Swell Foop" is pure magical merriment from the prolific pen of fantasy master Piers Anthony.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312869061
• ISBN13: 9780312869069
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.3" x 1.0" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

There's no Place Like Xanth...

I have finished Swell Foop and I can't wait to get Piers Anthony's next book. I have read the Xanth series from the first book (Spell...). I would really recomend any of Piers' books to any one if they love puns and Fantasy. You can start on any book you want, but if you like to read stories that go some where you should start with the first one.

Swell Foop

Another Xanth addition. This book was pretty good, though, not THE best Piers Anthony book. As always, this book is full and packed with puns and that Piers' "silly humor". Basically the story is: The Demon Earth has been kidnapped and without him the world of Xanth will be without gravity. The result: Xanth flies off into space and all the Xanth creatures float away. Bad Bad! So the next person to pose a question to the good Magician, will be the person who is given the task of finding the Demon Xanth because only a Non-demon can find a demon. Anyway the person who shows up with a question is a flying centaur named Cynthia and she must find 6 people to help her find the swell foop (the only thing that can control demons). So overall a good book with quite a few of the recurring characters. Such as the Simurghs son, Sim, and Justin Tree and his beloved Breanna of the black wave. Oh yeah and lots of talk about cleavage and lovely female bodies. (as always) LOL

Not just puns--some adventure and games too

Cynthia Centaur has a simple request for Good Magician Humphrey--but the quest he sends her on is anything but simple. She must find the Swell Foop to rescue the Demon Earth. Before she can even find the Foop, she must first find the six rings of Xanth--rings so powerful that they are hidden to prevent abuse. Even finding the Foop only gives Cynthia a chance. Should she fail, Xanth, the solar system, and possibly the entire universe are at risk.Cynthia gathers a party of adventurers including the Syn, the bird that will eventually know everything, Zombies, and even a girl from Mundania (Earth as we know it), each of whom must find and control one of the rings.To the puns and adolescent sexuality that make Xanth run, author Piers Anthony adds some of the games more common in some of his other series (e.g., the Apprentice Adept series), giving SWELL FOOP a bit more complexity and plot than some of the other Xanth series.In each Xanth novel, Anthony combines a huge number of truly bad puns (is there such a thing as a good pun?) with an adventure. Some of these novels (e.g., A SPELL FOR CHAMELEON and CASTLE ROAGNA) are truly wonderful while others are less so. SWELL FOOP is above average in this hugely popular series.If you enjoy the Xanth novels, you'll find SWELL FOOP a fine addition to the series. If you aren't familiar with this series, you may start with this novel, but I recommend starting with the first book in the series (A SPELL FOR CHAMELEON).

Yet another beautiful Xanth novel.

I've read every Xanth novel and his two autobiographies and I just loved this new adventure. I like his punny sense of humor and some may be sexual, but that's only a fraction of them. Xanth is a magical place that you escape to when you read Anthony's book and I can't wait for next year when we get the next grand adventure.