Book #:1
Title:Demons Don't Dream
Author:Piers Anthony
Year:1993
Genre:Fantasy
# of pages:335
Rating:4/10
Synopsis (from cover):
Beloved by millions of readers around the world, Piers Anthony's Xanth novels are among the most popular fantasy adventures ever published. Demons Don't Dream begins a thrilling new Xanth sequence, as a pair of young adventurers play for the highest stakes of all: the future of Xanth--and of Earth as well! Drawn into Xanth by a harmless-looking computer game, two young people find themselves competing for a precious prize: Dug, who is beguiled by a beautiful serpent-princess, and Kim, who discovers her favorite fantasy realm has suddenly become frighteningly real. In a desperate race against time, dug and Kim battle their way across the wondrous, perilous land of Xanth, testing their courage against dozens of fearsome obstacles (and their wits against a host of outrageous puns!) But when treachery, danger, and deceit place Xanth itself in peril, Dug and Kim learn that some things are more important than winning or losing. A breathtaking, madcap quest filled with fearsome monsters and far-fetched fun, Demons Don't Dream is vintage Xanth, an unforgettable escapade from fantasy's most imaginative storyteller.
My Review:
This book was pretty bad, I must say. It's the first I've read by this author, part of his Xanth series. The book follows two storylines of 2 separate teenagers who are playing a computer game in which they are drawn into the magical world of Xanth populated by demons, dragons, skeletons, elves, shapeshifters, and other magical beings and manifestations. It was very lighthearted fantasy with a lot of jokes and plot points that revolved around word puns. This is not much my thing. Fans of light fantasy might enjoy this more than I did. It might also appeal more to young adult readers. However, in my opinion, the characters were flat, the plot was weak, and even the writing was often clumsy. There is a lot of magic in the book, but problems are continually solved by some easy magical solution that just happens to appear. I give it 4 out of ten stars, for it wasn't abysmally bad, just bad. It was mildly entertaining, and did contain a lot of fun, fantastical elements. They just weren't developed very well.
