Currant Events by Piers Anthony (2004, Hardcover)

Piers Anthony seems to have gotten tired of the Xanth series. Having read and owned every one since "A Spell for Chameleon" I have looked forward to each additional book with hope. Overall most of them are Good. This one is only average. Once again he uses lots of puns and suggestions from readers. But he goes back to an old trick from a previous book where the characters visit a bunch of the moons that circle around Princess Ida. This was a confusing tactic when it started and has not gotten any better. It allows Piers to leave the confines of Xanth without really leaving it and not have to go over old gound. The early characters have been left behind and we no longer hear anything about Bink, Chameleon, Iris, Trent, Dor or others that made the series so interesting in the beginning. We are on the third generation from the earlier characters and they don't capture your heart like the first ones. The tragedies are not so tragic. The comedy is not so funny and it seems like he is writing out of habit not interest. It is a good book to have if you follow all the Xanth series and I bought it to keep my collection complete. This one is a little harder to follow without having read some of the ones that came before but it is still a fun read.