At the tender age of ten or eleven, the one thing I wanted most was to be able to hire a book from the adult fiction section of my library. The rules were that no one under thirteen could hire any novel outside of the teen section, but I was terribly bored with the books there, and had read all of the series I considered worth my time already. My Dad turned to me conspiratorially one day and said "You go pick out any book you want, I'll hire it on my card and they won't know,". Of course, they had to have guessed, as my Father only ever hired out true crime and history books, but they never said a word and I left hugging this book under one arm. I remember walking into the section, going straight to 'A'. I wanted something colorful, pretty and unusual. 'Yon Ill Wind' jumped out; there was a dragon/donkey, a woman in a white dress, and a cloud blowing some flying centaurs and a caravan in the sky behind. It was irresistible.Opening the cover, I was greeted by a bright scene; a map of Xanth, plants, fish and a mermaid. I was entranced by the bright colors and especially the rainbow across the sky. All this, and I hadn't even read the actual novel yet!Xanth was to me like nothing I had ever read. High fantasy with dragons, damsels and everything I could have only dreamed of up until this point! The idea of Demons controlling each planet was one I instantly adopted, and loved. The idea of Nimby learning how to become human, learning human emotion. The mundanes, allowed to go on this fantastical adventure. Forbidden love, and hints of an adult world I had no idea of at the time.I don't think I could have picked up a better novel to start off my journey into reading, and this fact is something I firmly believe in. Before this, I had Enid Blyton, Colin Dann and stories of girls and their ponies. Now I had fantasy and puns, and I loved it!Yon Ill Wind is my favorite in this series, even now. I've read every one that is out in my country, but this one still holds more than a fleeting fancy with me. When asked 'What is your favorite book?' It is always this novel that comes to mind first. It was my first 'big book', but it is so much more than that, it was the book that took my love of reading and firmly cemented it as a permanent part of my life.I've said a lot about my love of this book, and how it came to be, but not much about the actual book itself. It is impeccably put together; each chapter is from the point of view of a different character, the focus of that particular point in the story. We get to see Xanth from everyone's point of view, from mundane to magic, and it makes it so much more real than it would be otherwise. Nimby is my absolute favorite character, as the Demon Xanth. Chlorine is a close second, and the form she crafts for herself. The story is fun and exciting, and if you're like me, you will both groan and laugh over the puns (and the puns are something you can't escape)So, we have hear a book like no other. An excellent book that lead me to reading my favorite book series of all time, a series I love over even Harry Potter (that's a really big ask for me) I know it isn't the first in the series, not even close. It was the first I picked up and read though, and all Xanth novels can be read singularly or as the set. There isn't much else I can say, I've told you over and over how much I adore it, it's up to you to find yourself some magic Xanth dust, and start your own exploration of the magical world Piers Anthony has created. I don't believe you will be disappointed, Mundane.
I enjoyed this 20th installment of the Xanth series. If it were possible, I would have rated it 3 1/2 stars, but gave it 4 because of my enjoyment of the series.This installment starts with the Demon X(A/N)TH being challenged by the other Demons because of his string of successes of late. The challenge that he has to go to Xanth in the form of a dragon ass named Nimby. He can have a moment to tell someone as much information as he likes, but he can't mention that he is Demon X(A/N)TH and can't mention that he needs to get a tear from the person he chooses. Also, once his moment is up he becomes mute. Unfortunately his plans run afoul of Miss Fortune, and he ends up speaking to Chlorine - a woman who is not very friendly or kind, and only has one tear left. What he does not know until afterwards is that he is being set up by the other Demons and when he is sent to Xanth, the interface is weakened. This not only brings in the Baldwin family from Mundania, but also Hurricane Happy Bottom. The Baldwin family and their pets can't believe what they are experiencing. Following Nimby's they explore Xanth trying to find their way back to Mundania. Along the way they realize that their fate is tied in with Xanth's, and that they have to help prevent Xanth from being blown away by Happy Bottom. Along the way they meet gas guzzlers, Imps, royalty, tangle trees, experience a meatier shower and fly through the air with the help of winged centaurs.This is a pretty good installment in the series, and it shows Demon X(A/N)TH in a different light. I was not enamored with the idea that they were driving an RV on a Highway in Xanth that was built by Trolls who collected payments for the priviledge of driving on it, but it does show how the series continues to adapt as new characters arrive and the known characters evolve. There are a number of surprises and fun sidelines in the book and I think that most fans of the series will enjoy the 20th book in the series.
Do You like book Yon Ill Wind (1997)?
As the series goes on...and, you know- on...it had become utterly about the puns and not so much actually about storylines or characters. And of course, that horrid "Disney-fication" that happens to authors who.write popular tales generally intended to be read by adults and older teens, but which inevitably fall into the hands of children who have no business reading them. Rather than having an author dumb a book down and edit it to the point that it has a cleaner GP rating than Dr. Suess, why don't adults simply say, "Put that dang book down you future pervert and pick up some Suess like you're told. Learnimg to alliterate doesn't happen on its own!"Piers, please return to that saucy, slightly sexy and a bit steamy series for adults you started out with? I keep reading...and waiting.
—Lisa Lenox
The story was good until they suddenly left the major action scene to go for a stroll while the battle is still going on and when they come back the battle is already over it truly is sad. The chapters do tend to shift from different characters in each chapter. My favorite is when they give the point of view to the cat who goes off and saves a snarl and rescues Katie and Tweeter from Sender. Nimby and Chlorine gives the cat a cat-o-tonic to be the hero.
—Jeremiah Johnson
