Dragon on a Pedestal, by Piers Anthony

The land of Xanth is once more threatened by a great danger. The Gap forget spell was weakened by the time of No Magic, and it has begun to break up into little forget whorls. They are invisible and nearly impossible to detect, and the people who walk through them forget everything. The Gap Dragon is also on the loose, having remembered a secret exit to the Gap. When the Good Magician Humphrey is harvesting some water from the fountain of Youth the Gap Dragon comes upon him, and both the Magician and the Dragon are youthened when the water splashes on them both. This accident couldn’t have happened at a more inconvenient time, for Dor and Irene’s daughter Ivy is lost in the jungles of Xanth, and the Good Magician cannot help them locate her. Irene is in great distress for her daughter, for she has had a premonition that her daughter is headed straight into the worst danger of all.

Yes, I did not mention the ‘worst danger of all.’ It’s called ‘suspense,’ even though leaving something like that out is really annoying. I like to give better previews than what is on the back cover of a book, but I still like to draw it out a bit. Heehee. I do really want to tell you what the ‘worst danger of all’ is. I had a hard time leaving it out. It’s so fun!

On to the real review: basically, apply all that I’ve said about all the other Xanth books to this one. Wow, that was a really short review. It is sad but true. This book isn’t one of Anthony’s best in terms of interesting themes etc. which seems to distinguish his good books from his bad (at least in my opinion). I mean, it is the fun romp and adventure we always get with all the terrible and funny puns etc. It just does not have anything to distinguish it from the common mass. As will all the Xanth books, you can expect fun and adventure and fluff: but not too much thinking. This is their curse, and their blessing. As always, they are good for a light read and I do recommend them for that.