Just when I thought Piers Anthony had forever sunk into a relme of countless unoriginal (if still amusing) xanth novels at publisher behest, I came across this small print offering. In fact, I own the ebook edition, though ebooks don't seem to yet be listed on librarything (why no fictionpress search option?). For the price, this long volume, first in a series of three, is well worth purchasing. Following the adventures of a country boy forced into becoming king of a planet, It continues in Mr. Anthony's unique style of average seeming characters having grand adventures of epoch proportion. The key addition to the formula is an absolutely staggering amount of sex. While many don't find Piers Anthony's cartoonish style of sexy softcore pornography appealing, I find his sexual views refreshingly different from run of the mill lay and slay fantasy sex. If you're comfortable with Anthony's sex in his other novels (Firefly, Refugee, and Cluster come to mind), you'll enjoy this less popular offering; you might even come to feel, as I do, that this represents some of his best work. However, if you find Anthony style sex unappealing, give this book (and probably the entire series) a pass.