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Piers Anthony
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The Source of Magic Paperback – January 1, 1981

by PIERS. ANTHONY (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,719 ratings
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Ordered by King Trent to determine the source of Xanth's magic, Bink and his companions were harried by an unseen enemy determined to thwart them. When even their protector turned against them, Bink still managed to reach his goal and carry out the King's orders...but the king did not expect Bink's next act--to destroy utterly the magic of Xanth!
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  1. Book 2 of 42
    Xanth
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Del Rey book-Ballantine Books.
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1981
  5. ISBN-10
    0345300742
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0345300744
  7. See all details
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The Source of Magic
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A Spell for Chameleon (Xanth)
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Castle Roogna (The Magic of Xanth, No. 3)
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000OVJFME
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Del Rey book-Ballantine Books.; First Edition (January 1, 1981)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0345300742
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0345300744
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 0.01 ounces
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,719 ratings

About the author

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Piers Anthony

Piers Anthony

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Piers Anthony is one of the world's most popular fantasy authors, and a New York Times bestseller twenty-one times over. His Xanth novels have been read and loved by millions of readers around the world, and he daily receives hundreds of letters from his devoted fans.In addition to the Xanth series, Anthony is the author of many other best-selling works. Piers Anthony lives in Inverness, Florida.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
1,719 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Wesley H.
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun read
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2024
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Piers Anthony has made the magical, whimsical. With the juxtaposition on meanings of words and phrases he truly gets the laughs. He also brings the "Mundane" day in the life of his characters into perspective.
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Ryan Bauschka
5.0 out of 5 stars 2nd book
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2024
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So far the are great
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L Wood
4.0 out of 5 stars fantasy with humor!
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2023
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Always a delight to read Piers Anthony,
Interesting characters and adventures. Reading in order is not necessary story’s self contained.
Still highly recommend reading in order is a definite plus since characters in previous books can appear and the history of Xanth is revealed.
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Ancilleno O. Davis
5.0 out of 5 stars A wild ride. Fun and puns
Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2022
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I love the scattered puns, the magic and the romantic tension throughout.
The book is well written and though the previous book is good to read before, it is not necessary. Familiar characters and new ones appear and the story is as u predictable as any other in Xanth.
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book.
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2023
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Author knows how to tell a story. Second time I've read this book.
One person found this helpful
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vankarse
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Quality
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2023
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Love the quality of my book ordered. It was filed under a library system, yet was great quality.
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Joseph Boone
3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but YIKES is it sexist!
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2007
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The Source of Magic is the second in the Xanth series of books. The series became famous for its use of puns (e.g. a shoe tree is a tree that literally grows shoes you can pick and wear), but in the beginning these were really secondary to the story and characters and the early books are far better for it. The hero of this novel carries over from the first novel,  A Spell for Chameleon (Xanth, Book 1) . Bink is a seemingly ordinary man with possibly the most powerful talent anyone in Xanth has ever possessed. His gift is that nothing magic can harm him. His talent acts so subtly and in such far-sighted ways, however, that the effects are sometimes jaw dropping even though he and his king are the only two people who even know it exists.

The plot of this book follows the adventures of Bink and some comrades in search of the source of magic for the land of Xanth. Along the way, there are many dangers to be overcome and many lessons for them to learn about life and themselves. This is pretty typical of Xanth novels as most of them involve some form of personal growth as a major component. To avoid spoilers, I won't get any more specific but the story is reasonably well paced and entertaining. It was also nice that the good magician Humfrey came along on the quest, as he is always a character that I find interesting.

One negative aspect of this book is that there is a considerable amount of sexism that can honestly be said to cross over the line to outright bigotry against women. Early on, I lost count of the number of times women were referred to as "bitches" and they are even called "sluts" more than once. Beyond that there are numerous little snide asides about the vanity and untrustworthiness of women from pretty much all sides. I point this out for two reasons. One, if you are an adult you should just know it's here and can decide for yourself whether you want to deal with it but it certainly wouldn't compare to the lyrics of a typical rap song or other adult media where sexism is sometimes quite harsh. Two, for those with young children, you may want to think twice before sharing this book. The Xanth series has a reputation for being kid-friendly and I'm not sure I would want a nine year old to hear all of the language and attitude toward women in this book.

Other than the trashing of womankind, this isn't a bad book. I had read the first dozen or so Xanth books many years ago and just recently decided to re-read the first two. I'll probably stop here as Bink was by far my favorite character and all subsequent books focus on his children and subsequent generations while also flogging puns on virtually every page until they are no longer even mildly amusing. If you haven't read any Xanth novels before, I would recommend  A Spell for Chameleon (Xanth, Book 1)  first as it introduces Bink and the world of Xanth. If you like it (and don't mind some woman-hating) then give this one a try.
15 people found this helpful
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The Tatting Flutist
4.0 out of 5 stars So happy Xanth is on Kindle!
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2018
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I first read this in paperback several years ago. I am so happy to find the series available on Kindle. I enjoyed this book as much this time as I did the first time around. I had forgotten much of the details.

Anyway, this book continues Bink's adventures that began in the first book. The story picks up a year after the end of the first book, so not a lot of time has passed. In Bink's adventure, we gain some insight into how magic works in the world of Xanth, and what is the ultimate source of that magic. There are many characters from the first book, and several new characters are introduced. I am looking forward to book 3.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Ry H
5.0 out of 5 stars As expected print quality
Reviewed in Canada on January 10, 2022
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The contents of the book are subjective, the actual print is typical for older books (text is small but bold), might be an issue to see if someone can’t see well
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R. Merriman
5.0 out of 5 stars Another really good story in the Xanth series
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 30, 2016
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Another really good story in the Xanth series. This is number two. Great, and would also make a good film.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Xanth 2 - trivia pursued
Reviewed in Germany on August 6, 2013
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Source of Magic – trivia pursued

This reads like a fast moving cartoon, with one fantastical moment following on the heels of the last, with hardly a moment to breathe - especially if you are bottled by Humfrey. And yet, Piers Anthony constructs a coherent world, and has such a wild imagination that there is never an object creature or event that does not take one by surprise: just when you thought you had reached a point where Xanth was stable.

In and among all this fantasy there are some more serious explorations of human relationships and thoughts on the nature of things. If his style needs a little getting used to, it is worth the effortlessness of enjoyment. Good writing (some battle scenes are a tad too lengthy for my taste) with clarity and crispy detail.

I will without further ado move onto the next in the series.
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pogomama
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book has it all
Reviewed in Canada on February 14, 2020
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This book is filed with love fighting and heart brake it has every thing a book should have .read it
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Bill
5.0 out of 5 stars A fine series re-discovered
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2013
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I first read these books when published
I have just started re-reading them on Kindle
Still as fresh and utterly different to other fantasy series
Highly recommended
One person found this helpful
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