The Xanth books by Piers Anthony were one of the first SciFi/Fantasy series I ever read. I love puns so I have always enjoyed them. Upon re-reading them I can see that they have some weaknesses but overall they stand the test of time. They are a fun and fast read that keeps me amused without any deep thinking required. ( )

I won this book from Goodreads' First Reads program.

A couple decades ago I read all the Xanth books I could find. They were fun, pun-filled adventures. That remembered pleasure fueled my excitement to sign up for and win this ARC from Goodreads.

The reality of the book shattered my nostalgia for the series.

Over the last two decades I have grown in many ways. For instance, 20 years ago I wasn't aware of the ocean of sexism throughout this series. From the first page, reading this was a slog through the Swamp of Eternal Stereotypes. I can forgive a lot in a fun adventure story. I can forgive a weak plot, poor characterization, even a bit of stereotyping when it's in service to humor. Apparently, 20 years ago, I could forgive a whole lot of hurtful stereotypes. That last is no longer the case.

Clearly, this book and this series appeals to a lot of people. While I worry about the passive absorption of sexist, stultifying stereotypes, it's ultimately up to each reader to decide if this book is one to spend time with despite it's prejudicial problems. ( )

The writing and editing is better in this novel, when compared with some of Piers Anthony's earlier books. I will admit I was cheering for the pun-destroying virus, but I liked the chapter on computer operating systems. I also like that, for all the sexism and raunchiness, there are a lot of strong female characters in this novel. In fact, with the idea that men 'freak out' at the sight of women's panties, women seem to be quite a bit more reliable and stable when it comes to adventuring, and the men in this book seem pretty clueless and dependent. The damsels in distress in this story have the ability to save themselves and just need a friend to point out their talents and how they might be better used.
Reading Piers Anthony's novels gives one a sense that everyone is really thinking about sex all the time, a view of modern society that the popular media also seems intent on maintaining, but in a book like this one it is easy to see how silly that sounds, as silly as the rest of the puns and word play that go on in Xanth. At the same time, younger readers will not find out through this novel how 'storks are summoned', or even why men are so afflicted by the sight of panties. ( )

I'm not sure exactly how to review this book, except to spell out the good and the bad like I usually do.

I want to say I'm biased; I love Piers Anthony & I love the Xanth books, but unfortunately, that's not really true, either. I USED to love Anthony & I LOVED the books as a kid; still love the earlier ones - I even reread them ever so often.

But seriously - Anthony's a dirty old man - 78.

In one way, the books are clean, though they aren't as clean as his earlier books. He doesn't spell out adult scenes or use adult language, instead writing "bleep" or "bleeping". It's amazing, however, how often his characters lose their clothing, show their underclothes, refer to sex, or otherwise get involved in adult situations. Perhaps it's just me, but I don't remember his characters in earlier Xanth novels actually engaging in adult behavior, just casual mentions of "summoning the stork". Board Stiff is very different.

Regular Xanth readers will want to know about the puns. Once again, I have to say, I enjoyed how he used puns in his earlier books, but after the first dozen or so, he seems to just try to cram as many puns as possible into a given book, without trying to have them actually make sense.

Most of them in this book aren't that bad, and I don't think there's as many puns as some books, but a lot of them just don't really fit into the story. There's a particularly bad one involving women who miscarry that's just horrifying - to me, there's just certain things you don't make fun of, and certain miscarriages is one of those topics. It's just crass, especially when it was just so random. There's several other puns that are equally as bad.

But what about the story line and the plot? In a way, this book has a better plot than some of the other books, but most of the adventures are triggered by a sequin falling off of a dress - as in, a sequence of events (I hear a groan). It was funny the first few times, but Anthony repeatedly uses this plot device in every chapter, to get the characters to the next part of the story.

My other big pet peeve was EVERY new character the "quest" group met up with, had to be reintroduced to the group and to their mission. I'm not a writer & don't pretend to be, but you're telling me Anthony couldn't figure out another way? He couldn't have just written, just once, "And Ease caught so and so up on their adventures so far"?

My last complaint is typical - you know how the book is going to end, and it ends exactly that way, and all in the 2 pages.

So what's my rating? Well... after all of my complaint, I still enjoyed reading Board Stiff. It's a fun, Xanth romp after all, and that's what it's meant to be, a fun, fast, don't take things too seriously and just enjoy it kind of book. You are supposed to read a Xanth book & groan throughout it, but if it makes you forget about life for a little while, then the book is doing its job. I'll continue to read Xanth books, maybe not every one, but every one I happen to come across by random chance, and I'll continue to appreciate the books for what they are.

I received a review copy of this book from Edelweiss/the publisher. ( )

*E-ARC provided through Edelweiss/Above the Treeline in exchange for an honest review*

Irrelevant Kandy is tired of having men look at her as just a... well, her name says it all, no? So she goes to a wishing well looking for love and adventure, but she accidentally tells the well she's "board stiff" and the well - thinking literally - turns her into a board. Then another wisher, Ease, comes along and picks her up. They travel to the Good Magician Humfrey for an Answer, are joined by a basilisk in human form who wears a dress with Sequins of Events (if a sequin falls off, her dress goes transparent and they have to put the sequin back on, causing them to jump into an Event).

If you've never read Piers Anthony's Xanth books, basically this is the 38th in a series that's all about puns and sex. I mostly read them when I was a teenager and much of the innuendo went over my head (appropriately enough, since there's an Adult Conspiracy in Xanth and you have to be old enough to know how to summon the stork). This latest entry is extremely episodic - a sequence of events, you see - and hard to describe without spoilers. Either it was heavier on puns and lighter on plot than other books I've read in the series, or my sense of humor has just changed a lot in the intervening years (both probable), but I found myself - ahem - bored stiff reading much of it. ( )