Reviews

The writing style is simple to the extent that most of the time it feels like a cheesy young-adult novel. But the story is still fun and charming. I didn't want to enjoy this book, but I did. An easy and entertaining read.

acecool's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

sakurafire's review against another edition

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5.0

What a good book. I read this many years ago, pulling it off of my uncle's bookshelf when I was a kid. It was a little hard to read then, but I'm glad I had the chance to read it again.

It was a ton of fun and I enjoyed the fantasy world of Xanth. The main character, Bink, experiences much on his adventure. He learns from his mistakes and prejudices and develops as a genuinely likeable character. It is rare to see this much character development in a book, but it does take away from the cast. It seems like every other character in the book exists in an one-dimensional foil to develop Bink and send him on his journey. Of course, that very well may be the case when you discover the source of Bink's magic near the end of the book!

If you read the other reviews, you may find some disparaging remarks about how Bink treats or judges some of the characters. As I said, they exist to prove the main character wrong, which they do, so he can learn from his mistakes. You yourself may be experiencing a similar feeling when you get to the end of the book. Just go at it with an open mind and I hope you find a great adventure like I did.

daeus's review against another edition

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1.0

Nostalgic (I think I first read when I was 12-13), very creative/cool world building/plot, and unforgivable sexist (it does not age well at all).

pietwombly's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

stereopticons's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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