Contents of blog copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2023
I've been gone a while. I started reading fanfiction to escape and I got sucked in an abyss.

I have no idea if someone else is hosting similar challenges. I just grabbed some of what I have hosted before.

Here's to a happy year of great reading
Jan2023: Not much has changed. Writing a fanfiction now O_o as well as reading but I bought 7 new books in December and hope to get those read soon. Crossing fingers about adding challenges (late!)

Monday, April 28, 2014

X is for . . .


I have two X title books and two X title series.












First the books . . .

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
Ender #3, 1991?

The series starts with Ender's Game. If you've seen the movie . . . the book was better. There are five books in the series then another four telling what is happening back home while Ender is off among the stars.

In this book: On the world Lusitania there are now three sapient races-the Pequeninos, who evolved there; Humans, who came to colonize; and a Hive Queen and her children brought by Ender long years ago. But on Lusitania there is also the descolada, a virus deadly to human beings which would spread like wildfire throughout the Stairways Congress should it ever escape the planet.

The Starways Congress decided that The descolada should be wiped out once and for all, and sent a fleet, armed with a planet-destroying weapon, to do it. A fourth intelligence, loyal to Ender and Lusitania caused that fleet to disappear.

On a distant world called Path live a people whose culture owes much to that of ancient China on Earth. They have evolved a caste known as the godspoken, people of superior intellectual abilities who pay a terrible price for their gifts. The godspoken of Path have given their loyalty and service to the Starways Congress. Among the god spoken is a young girl named, in The language of her people, Gloriously Bright. It is to her that the Starways Congress turn with the mystery of the disappearance of the Lusitania Fleet. There is no doubt that Gloriously Bright will discover the answer to the puzzle. The question is, what will she do with the information.



Xone of Contention by Piers Anthony
Xanath #23, 1999, hardcover

A cataclysmic cloud hangs over the enchanted land of land of Xanth. Three courageous couples must venture into the O-Xone, a cybernetic interface between Xanth and our own world, to rescue the enchanted realm from destruction.

After a year filled with harrowing adventures, all Breanna of the Black Wave and her newfound love Justin Tree want is a little time to get to know each other better, and explore the wonders of the enchanted land of Xanth. But their incipient idyll is soon shattered by a stunning discovery. A climatic catastrophe is causing a massive meltdown that threatens to inundate the ancient forests of Xanth.

The only way to avert this dire disaster is to undertake a voyage into the distant mists of the past, to find the moment when this ghastly greenhouse effect began. And the only people who can safely make that journey are those unaffected by Xanth's magic - normal, ordinary humans from our own world.

So Breanna and Justin turn for help to the Demon X(A/N)th (a.k.a. Nimby) and his lovely consort Chlorine. Together, they devise a daring plan. Making use of the O-Xone, a magical computer network that links the worlds of Xanth and Earth, Nimby and Chlorine make contact with Pia and Edsel, a young couple from Earth who are working on a Xanth game, and arrange to exchange bodies with them.


Now for the series . . .

Xanth

The Beginning . . .
A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony
Xanth #1, 1977

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....




Be careful what you wish for... in book 38 for the puns are alive and well!
Board Stiff by Piers Anthony
Xanth #38, 2014

"I'm actually a smart girl who would make any man an excellent wife. But no man sees that. No man is interested in my mind or personality, just my whatevers. So here is my wish: I'm board stiff. I want Adventure, Excitement, and Romance.”

So begins Piers Anthony's 38th Xanth novel, in which Irrelevant Candy, looks at her reflection in the water of the shallow well and sees luxuriant midnight black hair to her breathtakingly slender waist, matching dark eyes in a lovely face. A torso coming yea-close to absolute perfection. She was man's desire. That was part of the problem.

And in the shallow magic of a wishing well, she asks her wish to be granted. Something happens. A sudden whirlwind surrounds her, lifting her up and ripping off her clothing. She is changing, somehow. Then she falls flat on the ground.

Literally. She has been transformed into a flat, stiff board with two knotholes for eyes.







This one needs a warning. This is a sex series with a great storyline. Sure it is NSFW but on top of that, it is male/male ... male/male/female ... male/male/male. There are also retellings of sexual assault/torture, entitled people, bullies, scenes of light BDSM, emotional back stories, and happy-ever-afters.

Oh, and cowboys! Lots of Delicious Cowboys.

I'm counting this as an X because the club is a supporting character
The Xxchange is a meat market, not exactly the kind of place one would expect to encounter the love of their lives. Yet something about the raunchy club fires a passion and longing in the men of Love in Xxchange, freeing them to reach for their deepest desires.

Even if it's only a quick stop in the place, the experience is one that will alter them forever—and even fulfill the dreams they never knew they had.
There are nine books in the series. Yes, you could read just one of them but the characters show up in all the books and there is an underlying story that starts in book one and continues to book nine (then an offshoot into another series).

Book 1:  straight m/m *snicker* Chance goes to the Xxchange because he's lonely only to find out the club is filled with Pretty Young Things and he wants nothing to do with them. Rory's new in town and stops by for something to do.

Chance and Rory have a hot encounter right there but what happens the next day when the ranch owner (Chance) is interviewing for new hands?

. . . and to tell you more than that would lead to spoilers. Let's just say I enjoy the whole series ;-)




copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2014

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the Xanth series, I really need to re-read it :)

Anna (herding cats-burning soup) said...

I've not tried any of those! But, yeah that last one. Totally checking it out :)

Joy V. Smith said...

I love your choices.

Joy V. Smith said...

I love your choices.

Book Dragon said...

Oh Anna, I was totally thinking of you when I posted that last series!

Disclaimer

In accordance to the FTC guidelines, I must state that I make no monetary gains from my reviews or endorsements here on Book Dragon's Lair. All books I review are either borrowed, purchased by me, given as a gift, won in some kind of contest, or received in exchange for an honest review.