Pet Peeve (Xanth, No. 29)

This is yet another good book from Anthony. Although I was very confused by the book cover, sometimes I think they let the illustrator have a little too free reign.

Pet Peeve (2005) is the twenty-ninth Fantasy novel in the Xanth series, following Currant Events. In the previous volume, Clio collected the currant berry and returned home. Drew and Drusie made a scene, frightening Clio into saying the necessary words. Sherlock reversed her curse and the couple adopted Ciriana as their own daughter. In this novel, Goody Goblin is the only polite, good-natured Goblin male in Xanth. He receives the finger from a stranger and doesn't want to pass it on to anyone else. He decides to take the problem to the Good Magician. After solving the requisite challenges, Goody is admitted into the castle. Humfrey solves his problem immediately and doesn't even require Service from him. Yet Goody feels that he owes something to the Good Magician for relieving him of this burden and insists on performing a service. As it happens, Humfrey does have a task for which Goody is well suited. The pet peeve is a talking bird with a high Annoyance Quotient. The bird verbally harasses everybody with the voice of his companion. The peeve has been living in the Good Magician's castle since being rescued from Hell by the Gorgon. Goody's task is to find a permanent home for the pet peeve. Since he is essentially pacifistic, Goody is provided with a bodyguard, Hannah Barbarian, who has a talent with deadly weapons. After an initial misunderstanding -- the peeve insults Hannah -- Goody and Hannah set out to find someone who wants to provide a home for an annoyed (and annoying) bird. In this story, Goody and Hannah have many adventures, mostly triggered by the irritating comments of the pet peeve. They find helpful companions along the way and accidentally inflict Xanth with a horde of invasive robots. These mechanical creatures are programmed to reproduce to the limits of the available resources and may well drive out all living creatures. Goody finds that he is recovering from his loss of his wife, Go-Go Goblin, who had died young from a curse. He gains interest in other women and finally meets someone who almost replaces Go-Go in his affections. She too is looking for a spouse and Goody has the required qualifications. Highly recommended for Anthony fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of punny quests, deadly invaders and Goblin romance. -Arthur W. Jordin

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but beyond the puns in the Xanth books lie really good stories. The puns are, of course, outrageous. You either love them or think they're hopelessly stupid. If you think bad puns are just juvenile, don't even bother with this (or any) Xanth novel. If you love the puns, don't forget that there's a story too. Goody Goblin is on a mission with his bodyguard Hannah Barbarian (see what I meant about the puns?) to find a home for the Pet Peeve. In Mundania, this would be considered an foul-mouthed parrot. The Peeve certainly lives up to it's name, insulting everyone in sight, and making it almost impossible to find a home for it. Along the way, Goody and Hannah get to understand and like each other. Of course, they both find love along the way too, not to mention saving Xanth in the process. As another reviewer said, this novel isn't quite the innocent book like previous ones. Lots of groping and kissing. Nothing explicit, of course, but it's not handled as subtly as usual. It seemed more...grown up? I liked the change. If you've never read a Xanth novel before, pick this one up. You'll either love it or think it's totally inane. It's one of those things in life that you have to at least try once.

I am kinda torn on what I think of Piers Anthony's newest Xanth book. On the one hand I am pleased that this book has more of the spirit of the earlier books in the Xanth series. Maybe I am alone in my viewpoint, but I have felt that the last two or three books have seemed somewhat forced (sort of like Mr. Anthony is running out of ideas after so many Xanth books but is continuing to churn out a book a year). This one, I am happy to say, did not seem that way. The plot was great, the characters were funny and fresh, and the puns were.... the same as usual *grin*. On the other hand, this book seems to have taking more of an "adult" feel to it. This seems to be becoming more and more prevelent in the later Xanth books (however the "Adult Conspiracy" has always been part of Xanth), and Pet Peeve pushes it a bit further than any of the earlier Xanth books have. I guess Mr. Anthony can do whatever he wishes to with his series, but it isn't the reason I have been a fan of the series since the tale of Bink in "A Spell for Chameleon". I very much enjoyed the book (more so than the recient Xanth books, but not as much as the origional 10 or so) and read it almost straight through, but found myself skimming over the sections about all the kissing, feeling, etc. Bottom line is I guess it is hard to argue with a book series that has seen 29 installments, with many of those being on Best Seller lists. If you are a fan of Xanth, you will most probably like Pet Peeve. If you are new to Xanth, Pet Peeve is a good one to start on (as you don't need much, if any, knowledge of earlier books in the series) but I would recomend reading the first three Xanth books before Pet Peeve (as I just think those three are hands down better).

When the cursed to be polite and act nice Goody Goblin asked the Good Magician Humfrey to help him get rid of the "Finger", the mage simply takes the objectionable object away. However, being a goody, the Goblin feels he owes Humfrey. She is willing to oblige the Good Magician when he assigns her to deliver the parody. Goody Goblin and his assigned bodyguard the warrior Hannah Barbarian set off on a joint quest to locate a "suitable home" for the hostile foul-mouthed Pet Peeve. The foul fowl is a nasty creature that insults everyone and anything that has the misfortune of being nearby. That would not be so bad to the monster's current carriers except that Pet Peeve exactly imitates the voice of the dummy carrying it. Thus the insulted hold Goody responsible and when that upset individual is a fire exhaling dragon one tend to feel the heat. Whereas Sue Grafton has reached R, Xanth is into the alphabet for the second time with PET PEEVE being the twenty-ninth fantasy parody. The story line contains the usual assortment of puns, adventures and more puns. This time the parody comes from the skills of the Don Rickles of birds as readers will appreciate the insults using the voice of the poor soul (that is if a goblin has a soul) stuck toting it so that anyone else in the area will think the carrier insulted them. Fans of the long running series will appreciate the latest lighthearted Xanthian quest that answers "what is ultimate reality?" Harriet Klausner