Air Apparent-Piers Anthony

Air Apparent
Piers Anthony
Tor, Oct 2007, $24.95
ISBN 9780765304100

The son of the Gorgon and Good Magician Humphrey, Hugo disappears without a trace from the cellar of his home. His blind wife of seventeen Wira, panics as her spouse is always prompt and not subject to vanishing. At the same time that Hugo went poof into thin air or somewhere else, the corpse of a murder victim arrives in the cellar.

Meanwhile something happens to Humphrey’s book of answers so that he cannot provide any help; besides the cost is very high when you are already paying him like everyone else in Xanth seems to be doing. Instead, a bewildered Wira gets a break when thirteen year old Debra arrives from Mundania. However, Debra, “De-bra” to males has crossed over in hope that Humphrey can provide her the cure to her curse of the accent of her name by men; Humphrey cannot help her since his book of answers remains out of commission. The Gorgon converts Debra into a naturally bra-less flying centaur in exchange for her helping find Hugo and uncover the identity of the killer. Debra accompanied by Wira pun their way across Xanth on their quest.

AIR APPARENT is simply Xanth filled with horrendous puns that readers either make readers groan or laugh at the wild cast. The story line is a typical Xanth quest that roams anywhere and everywhere a pun or bad word joke can be found. Piers Anthony thanks his fans for providing some of the worst jokes that even Milton Berle would not have borrowed. Yet even at 31, the escapades in Xanth remain fun and humorous with the loyal audience casting a spell for Mr. Anthony to continue rewriting Humphrey’s book of answers.

Harriet Klausner