Xanth

Xanth is a fantasy world created by author Piers Anthony for his highly popular series of novels.

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The series is noted for its punny and somewhat humorous style. The author's habit of using (and crediting) reader notions is another factor in the popularity of the series, as it includes readers in the creation process. Anthony has gone so far as to create a popular character based on a young reader.

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The name Xanth is in itself a pun, which matches the playful tone of the books. Xanth is both derived from the prefix xantho- for yellow, as well as the sound made by combining the last part of the author's first name and the first part of the author's last name ("Pier-XANTH-Ony"). Anthony has said that the coincidence of the word Xanth rhyming with a portion of his name was unintentional, and a fact he realized only years after the series was first created.

Fantasy world: A fantasy world is a type of fictional universe in which magic or other similar powers work. The world may be a parallel realm or dimension tenuously connected to our world via mystic gates (like Narnia and the Dreamlands); somewhere in our mythical past (like Middle-earth and the Hyborian Age of Co...

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 serie...