Piers Anthony

Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (born August 6, 1934 in Oxford, England) is a writer in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He has written many novels and short stories, but he is most famous for his book series, and particularly for the long-running series set in the fictional realm of Xanth.

His work has often been criticised for overuse of puns, and for overtones of pedophilia - the book most often cited as an exemplar of this is Firefly, in which a sexual relationship between an adult man and a five-year-old girl is portrayed positively (and explicitly).

Biographical timeline

• 6 August 1934 - born
• 1956 - married Carol Marble
• 1956 - received Bachelor of Arts degree from Goddard College, Plainfield, Vermont
• 1957--1959 - served in the United States Army
• 1958 - became a United States citizen

Partial bibliography

Aton series

• Chthon (1967, his first published novel, nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards)
• Phthor (1975)

Battle Circle series

1. Sos the Rope (1968)
2. Var the Stick (1972)
3. Neq the Sword (1975)

Of Man and Manta series

1. Omnivore (1968)
2. Orn (1970)
3. Ox (1976)

Cluster series

1. Cluster (1977, aka Vicinity Cluster in UK edition)
2. Chaining the Lady (1978)
3. Kirlian Quest (1978)
4. Thousandstar (1980)
5. Viscous Circle (1982)

Tarot series

1. God of Tarot (1977)
2. Vision of Tarot (1980)
3. Faith of Tarot (1980)

Apprentice Adept series

1. Split Infinity (1980)
2. Blue Adept (1981)
3. Juxtaposition (1982)
4. Out of Phaze (1987)
5. Robot Adept (1988)
6. Unicorn Point (1989)
7. Phaze Doubt (1990)

Incarnations of Immortality series

1. On a Pale Horse (1983)
2. Bearing an Hourglass (1984)
3. With a Tangled Skein (1985)
4. Wielding a Red Sword (1986)
5. Being a Green Mother (1987)
6. For Love of Evil (1988)
7. ...And Eternity (1990)
8. Under a Velvet Cloak (proposed)

see also: Incarnations of Immortality

Xanth series

His most extensive series, with nearly 30 novels - see Xanth for list.

Bio of a Space Tyrant series

1. Refugee (1983)
2. Mercenary (1984)
3. Politician (1985)
4. Executive (1985)
5. Statesman (1986)
6. The Iron Maiden (2001)

Mode series

1. Virtual Mode (1991)
2. Fractal Mode (1992)
3. Chaos Mode (1993)
4. DoOon Mode (2001)

Geodyssey series

1. Isle of Woman (1993)
2. Shame of Man (1994)
3. Hope of Earth (1997)
4. Muse of Art (1999)

ChroMagic series

1. Key to Havoc (2002)
2. Key to Chroma (2003)
3. Key to Destiny (2004)

Non-series fiction

• Macroscope (1969, nominated for a 1970 Hugo Award)
• Hasan (1969, 1977 revised)
• Prostho Plus (1971)
• Race Against Time (1973)
• Rings of Ice (1974)
• Triple Detente (1974)
• But What of Earth? (1976, 1989 revised)
• Steppe (1976)
• Mute (1981)
• Anthonology (1985, short story collection)
• Ghost (1986)
• Shade of the Tree (1986)
• Pornucopia (1989)
• Total Recall (1989, movie novelisation)
• Hard Sell (1990)
• Firefly (1990)
• Balook (1990)
• Tatham Mound (1991)
• MerCycle (1991)
• Alien Plot (1992, short story collection)
• Killobyte (1993)
• Volk (1996)
• Realty Check (1999)
• The Magic Fart (2003)

Autobiographical works

• Bio of an Ogre (1988, to age 50)
• How Precious was that While (2001, to age 65)

Collaborations

• The Ring (1968, with Robert E. Margroff)
• The ESP Worm (1970, with Robert E. Margroff)
• Pretender (1979, with Frances Hall)
• Through the Ice (1989, with Robert Kornwise)
• Dead Morn (1990, with Roberto Fuentes)
• The Caterpillar's Question (1992, with Philip José Farmer)
• If I Pay Thee Not in Gold (1993, with Mercedes Lackey)
• The Willing Spirit (1996, with Alfred Tella)
• Spider Legs (1998, with Clifford A. Pickover)
• Quest for the Fallen Star (1998, with James Richey and Alan Riggs)
• Dream a Little Dream (1999, with Julie Brady)
• The Gutbucket Quest (2000, with Ron Leming)
• The Secret of Spring (2000, with Jo Anne Taeusch)

• Kelvin of Rud series (with Robert E. Margroff)

1. Dragon's Gold (1987)
2. Serpent's Silver (1988)
3. Chimaera's Copper (1990)
4. Orc's Opal (1990)
5. Mouvar's Magic (1992)

• Jason Striker series (with Roberto Fuentes)

1. Kiai! (1974)
2. Mistress of Death (1974)
3. Bamboo Bloodbath (1974)
4. Ninja's Revenge (1975)
5. Amazon Slaughter (1976)
6. Curse of the Ninja (1976)

Related Works

• Encyclopedia of Xanth (1987, by Jody Lynn Nye) a Crossroads Adventure game book set in the Xanth universe.
• Cut By Emerald (1987, by Dana Kramer) a Combat Command game book set in the Bio of a Space Tyrant universe.

See also

• Science fiction
• List of science fiction authors
• List of science fiction novels
• List of science fiction short stories
• List of science fiction television