Firefly

I read this book more than 15 years ago, and it still haunts me to this day. As a former victim of childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence, I identified strongly with certain characters... especially Oenone. I love Piers Anthony's books and have a large collection, including a copy of Firefly. But of all the Anthony books I've read, none has stayed with me the way Firefly has. Even after all these years I still carry with me the feeling that Firefly left with me; a mixture of fascination, horror and the feeling that I could have been a character in the story. This is definitely a story for open-minded adults, and one that will stay with you for a long time, whether you like it or not.

I was reading through these reviews and I saw one line that interested me. "He can't bring himself to really kill evil!" Does everything boil down to good and evil? I think not. Besides, because an animal (which is all the fireply is) kills humans for food, is it evil? No, it is not. That is all I have to say on that issue.I thought the book was exceptionally well written, and erotic, not vulgar, vulgar implies needless immorality, and this was not immoral. There was excellent control of grammar and language among other positive attributes. I am sorry that I cna't get a hold of a copy of the book anymore. I think that the publishers gave into some of the above viewpoints of immorality and didn't desire to cause a stir.

This superbly written novel deals with the truths of life, death, sex and love. I loved the depth of the characters and how they all fit into the puzzle, as well as the symbolism portrayed throughout. My life is strangely portrayed in this book, as I can relate to the main character. But, as many of these reviews note, this book is not for young audiences, as I myself felt certain scenes where unneccesarily sexual. So, if you love great writing and don't mind the sexual side, this is a great book by Piers Anthony.

A lot of people seem to take offense to this book, but what they fail to realize is that it shows truth in it's sexual content. It's not pretty (the truth never is) but Anthony did a great job of illustrating it. I read this entire book in a few hours. I couldn't put it down! A must-read!

Piers Anthony's Firefly is an excellently written novel of horror, love, and yes, sex. That Piers writes so vividly seems to offend some people, but I believe that this is what makes him such a good writer. This book is a great read, but if you are a fan and you think vivid sex scenes involving a child might ruin that for you, skip it. No need to let this book ruin your opinion of him. As for the ending, I like it's non-traditional way of working out. But I don't want to ruin it.