A Spell for Chameleon (Magic of Xanth)

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So, the first half of the book is undoubtedly silly. So what? In fact, it’s more than silly, it’s often frankly bizarre and most likely best enjoyed with your hallucinogen of choice close at hand. The examples of Bink’s misogyny are so numerous and so innocuously presented throughout Spell, it’s hard not to conflate them with Anthony’s own views. Patronizing potshots at women is what passes for wisdom in the book, as delivered through Anthony’s mouthpiece Bink. And every major character in the book, women included, reinforces it. Among the snippets of misogyny Anthony delivers via various characters, male and female, in Spell:

Despite the lightheartedness of the story there is a perilous undertone. Xanth is a magical place, but it can be pretty dangerous too, since it is extremely unpredictable. It’s a place where walking off into the woods at night is almost sure to get you killed, and the method of demise can be as inane as “death by peacefulness” (which essentially boils down to losing all interest in living). I cannot, for the life of me, understand how J.K. Rowling is a household name but Piers Anthony isn't! His writing is eloquent and clever. The dialogue never disappoints and the characters have the perfect amount of development. Piers creates a fantastical world without boring his readers with repetitious concepts.

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As if she didn’t know. But as his mind formed the necessary words, his mouth balked. He knew what her answer had to be. No one could remain in Xanth after his twenty-fifth birthday unless he demonstrated a magic talent. Bink’s own critical birthday was barely a month away. He was no child now. How could she marry a man who was so soon to be exiled? So she's perfect for the protag because due to ... women burning him? ... he's come to the idea that he can't trust women who are both beautiful and smart. A lot of people have put it this way: in this book, women can be beautiful, smart, or good. Choose two. The Xanth series and Piers Anthony are two things that were first recommended to me about 25 years ago. Why has it taken me this long to read any? Who knows!?

He said he'd push her off the brink if she made a sound," the bailiff replied. "She was frozen in terror. Right girls?"Then I presume she would have fled him at the outset, had she disliked him--and that he would not have forced her if she trusted him.'" Bink stared down at his hands, pondering. His right hand was normal, but he had lost the middle finger of his left hand in a childhood accident. It had not even been the result of inimical magic; he had been playing with a cleaver, holding down a stalk of coilgrass while he chopped, pretending it was the tail of a dragon. After all, a boy could not start to practice too early for the serious side of life. The grass had twitched out of his grip as he swung, and he had grabbed for it, and the cleaver had come down hard on his extended finger.