A Spell for Chameleon (Xanth, Book 1)
by Piers Anthony
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Book Summary Information
Author: Piers AnthonyEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1987-03-12
ISBN: 0345347536
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Del Rey
Book Reviews of A Spell for Chameleon (Xanth, Book 1)
Book Review: My Favorite Book This Year
Summary: 5 Stars
If Bink doesn't find his magic in one month he will be exiled to Mundania and he will never be able to go back to Xanth. Bink lived in the magical land of Xanth and he was about to be exiled so he decided that he had to go see the Good Magician Humphrey. When Bink got to the magician he learned that he had very powerful magic but the magic wasn't visible. Once he got back he was exiled anyway and in Mundania. In Mundania Bink met The Evil Magician Trent and then a storm came up and Bink and magician Trent ended up in Xanth again. In Xanth Bink and Trent operated under a truce until they were slit up in a battle. After that Bink discovers his magic which is a protecting magic and because it protects Bink it can't be found. A Spell for Chameleon was one of the weirdest and best books I have ever read.
I really liked this book because it had strange names for characters. The protagonists name was Bink and there was Evil Magician Trent who was set up as the antagonist when Bink first met him. The three names of Chameleon were Wynne the beautiful but dumb, Dee the average, and Franchon the brilliant but ugly. Some other names are Good Magician Humphrey, Herman the Hermit, Justin Tree, Potifer, and Zelda.
This book had a lot of action. In the Gap the Gap Dragon attacked Bink and Wynne and Bink had no weapons to use against the dragon except his brain. Another time was when Bink, Trent, and Chameleon were trying to escape the sea where they faced kraken weed, charging tritons, other sea monsters. There was also a lot of action when Bink and many other creatures were faced with wiggles. When they were confronted with the wiggles Bink was transformed into a Salamander by Evil Magician Trent.
This book had a lot of antagonists that Bink went up against. One Antagonist was Iris the Sorceress of Illusion, who said that she would make it seem like he had magic if he would be with her so that she would be able to be queen. Another antagonist was Xanth itself because of obstacles like the tangle tree, hypnotic squash, razor grass, harpies, dragons, and wiggles. Another antagonist was Evil Magician Trent because he tried hurting Bink to try to get him to tell Trent where the shield stone's location was.
A Spell for Chameleon was the best book I have read since school started. In this book many of the characters had odd names like Herman the Hermit. This was also packed with a lot of action in every chapter. This book also had a lot different people and things that he had to go up against. I recommend this book to people that are in middle school or older because it has a lot of characters that each do a lot of different things either against Bink or for Bink.
R. Roston
Summary of A Spell for Chameleon (Xanth, Book 1)
Xanth was the enchanted land where magic ruled--where every citizen had a special spell only he could cast. That is, except for Bink of North Village. He was sure he possessed no magic, and knew that if he didn't find some soon, he would be exiled. According to the Good Magician Humpfrey, the charts said that Bink was as powerful as the King or even the Evil Magician Trent. Unfortunately, no one could determine its form. Meanwhile, Bink was in despair. If he didn't find his magic soon, he would be forced to leave....Though already developing a successful career in SF with such heady novels as Chthon and Omnivore, Piers Anthony did not reach brand-name status until he cooked up some fantasy in 1977. And it was cheerful, humorous fantasy at that, as in his first Xanth series novel, A Spell for Chameleon. The book's young hero, Bink, is without magical powers in a world ruled entirely by magic. Worse still, if he doesn't discover his own magical talent soon, he will be forever banished from his homeland. Naturally, it takes an epic quest for Bink to learn what his unique talent truly is--and perhaps to win the girl of his dreams as well. A Spell for Chameleon was the very first of Anthony's bestselling (and still ongoing) humorous fantasy series. Noteworthy for their outrageous word puns and bizarre characters, the Xanth books are a light yet often satisfying brew, especially when compared with the author's sometimes nihilistic and ultraviolent hard SF. --Stanley Wiater
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