Talk:Piers Anthony

Hmm.. adding "Total Recall" to the list of non-series fiction - but unsure whether it is a novelization or not - the movie was released 1980 and book 1989 - best info I can find so far suggests the book was written based on the screenplay... but no confirmation of that yet. (maybe I'll have to email the author :))

I have held Total Recall in my own two hands, and can vouch for it being a novelisation of the movie. —Paul A 02:35, 2 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Just for the record, it's a novelisation of a movie based on a short story by Philip K. Dick.DS 00:06, 6 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

My friend was telling me he had another book called "Kelvin of Rudd" or something like that. But, I don't see it here.

I just fixed some category redundancy (an article should not generally belong to both a category and a subcategory of that category, but rather only to the subcategory), but at some point someone might want to actually consider whether Anthony should be listed as both a British and an American writer--particularly since (I think) all his published work was written in America. Or am I wrong about this? -- कुक्कुरोवाच|Talk‽ 21:22, 2 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I think the line in the intro paragraph about overtones of pedophilia should either be stricken or at least moved further down. I've never heard of such accusations, but that doesn't mean they haven't been made. At least they should be properly sourced and attributed. For what it's worth, And Eternity also has a relationship between an adult male and a teenage (underage) girl as I recall. --Dante Alighieri | Talk 21:26, Nov 8, 2004 (UTC)

Every Piers Anthony book I've read includes a rape scene or at least an attempted rape scene. Clearly, this is a strange and sick preoccupation--a fetish that Anthony (at least at one point)felt the need to bring to life again and again on the pages of his books. I don't know if this is typical of his work as I haven't read anywhere near all of them.----As well, the overall general all-around eroticism of his books...I have likewise noted.

This is (I hope) a result of your having not read many of his books. I've read dozens, literally. This is not as widespread as you'd have us believe. --Dante Alighieri | Talk 09:49, Jan 24, 2005 (UTC)

You have, have you ? Did you read 'Heaven Cent', protagonist aged nine or 'Firefly' which features a sexual relation involving a child of five. The only sexual relation possible with a child of five is rape. Anthony is a pervert, end of story. Angusmclellan 13:45, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

You certainly have a lot to say about a person's character based on the books they write. I truly believe this to be the case with Mr. Anthony, however. In his biography of a troll, he hints around the very issues mentioned in his fiction. He is also well known for inserting bestiality in his Xanth novels. Even necrophelia is not to obscene for his tastes. He couches it as harmless and as society not understanding, which is truly typical of a sexual deviant of his ilk. --Kerohazel 5 July 2005 18:57 (UTC)

I looked this up wondering if this question had been addressed in the Wiki article. There is truly some stomach-turning pedophila in Anthony's books - very disturbing stuff. The tendency for underage sex scenes between a man and young teenager or young girl should be addressed. It's very common in his books. We can't call him a "pedophile" for what he's written or imply anything about his proclivities, but we can certainly address that he's written these scenes over and over and over again. Does anyone have a list? Danlovejoy 22:28, 25 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

FISH EAT TOMATOES

Uh, what? I'm reading Heaven Cent right now. Angus is extremely confused. The protagonist is indeed aged nine, and roughly every character they meet has a problem with that, and tries their damndest to keep any hint of sexuality away from him, despite that their world (like the real world) is full of sexuality. If anything, Piers' works are stuffy and prudish, or at least make fun of how prudish people tend to be... in regards to children and natural sexuality.

I always thought Piers Anthony was a dirty old man, but to claim that he "directly" advocates pedophilia because of something he wrote in a work of fiction isn't exactly fit for an encyclopedia. If he has in fact said something outside of his novels about this, then please find a quote and reference it. If it's just what's inside his books, then it's only suggestive of his dirty mind, and not direct. Either way, I think some references are in order. Somebody should get to work compiling a list of all pedophillic (sp?) acts in the xanth novels! (I'm kidding... One or two would probably be ok.) Pulsemeat 04:13, 1 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Basically, his "underage" girls are usually physically mature and are 14 or over. The only exception I can think of is the book Firefly, which was intended to be shocking. I could go to my local library and look it over again so I can make some better comments - should I?

From Piers Anthony's December 2005 newsletter locatred at http://www.hipiers.com: "A reader notified me that the Wickpedia site http://en.wikipedia.org/ carries the charge that I endorse or advocate pedophilia and ecoterrorism. I think this is an example of a person showing more of what's on his mind than what's in my writing. The fact that I may address controversial subjects in my fiction, and have my characters participate in them, does not mean that this is my personal philosophy. Otherwise I would believe in magic, because there is magic in Xanth; be a murderer because murders sometimes occur in my fiction; and be a rapist or pedophile because my novel Firefly addresses those subjects. I did a long interview for Jitterbug Fantasia www.jitterbug.com, where such questions are addressed, coincidentally. I trust that readers who are conversant with my books and with this column will understand what I actually write, instead of what some anonymous critic wants to claim I write. I defend anonymity, and protect it in my ongoing survey of electronic publishers so that whistle blowers can't be retaliated against. But anonymity also serves to hide those who may have private agendas or confusions that don't relate to the truth, as was the case recently in that same survey. My critics have in the past tended to avoid facing me directly, because I don't suffer rascals gladly, and am not afraid to air their charges in a public forum such as this one. I mention once again the charge that I was being an ogre in fan conventions, spread before I ever attended a convention, and the charge that I wrote to Jerry Pournelle and called him a Nazi, but of course he never produced the letter, because it didn't exist. (Actually, in both cases they are thinking of Keith Laumer, who was one mean man after his stroke. He lived about 40 miles from me.) Less egregious instances apply to persistent rumors of my death (perhaps a confusion with Poul Anderson); every so often I have to assure a reader that I remain alive and ornery, despite the evident preference of some critics. Really, do you think that anyone else could mouth off the way I do in these columns?"

Gah! I guess I got the wrong impression from the Geodyssey series, then. Sorry about the ecoterrorism charge. CronoDAS 03:25, 5 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

"Yes. What I consider sexual abuse are things like rape and subjugation. A fully voluntary and informed sexual relationship is something else. So I'd condemn a man raping a 40 year old woman, more than I would a man having consensual sex with a 15 year old girl. The problem is that young children don't know enough to make informed consent. So the age of consent laws help protect them. One thing children crave is love. Some adults teach them that love is identical to sex. Thus children can become willing, even eager sexual partners. This is nevertheless abuse." (from the interview on jitterbug) So I guess claiming that Piers Anthony promotes pedophily is quite irresponsible. Also, claiming that he advocates necrophilia and bestiality borders on moral fanatism. Soon people will come here and say that he promotes incest, muslim terrorism or rape. When it's all the contrary: most of Anthony's novels are precisely refreshing, 'cos when he touches upon such sensitive subjects, he doesn't condemns them blindly, he tries to see every aspect of it before passing judgment.(A thing some here should learn to do...) Yes, there may be some bestiality implied in the Xanth universe... but it's a fantasy world, dammit, where there are centaur, and other half-human/half-animal creatures. And also, I don't recall all the great ancient writers being called perverts, when in the greek myths Zeus took the form of a bull to seduce young ladys, thus giving birth to the Minotaur & co.

I personally feel that some mention of the possible pedophilia-type content of his books should be added in some form. It seems relevent, if only as a common mispreception. Manhatten Project 2000 05:42, 7 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If we add anything about pedophilia then we should by rights mention any illegal activity that he frequently writes about, as well as add notice of any material that is outside the bounds of a legal and conservative society to the page of any author that address the subject. As far as I can tell the original allegations have been made only by Wikipedia editors - if it's been brought up in public before then we should include it but otherwise I think it's best left alone. Anyone else agree? Graphia 03:28, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

An anonymous editor wrote quite a bit of bio info that isn't sourced. It's a little bit POV and needs a tiny bit of polishing, so I've added clean-up tag. I wonder about the structure of the article now. "Early life and career" looks kind of strange where it sits now. Dan Lovejoy 03:20, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

The information is straight from the the two autobiographies. I've read both.151.205.180.171 18:04, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Great! Please cite them. Dan Lovejoy 18:15, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

How does one create a link to an autobiography that's only available in offline format?151.205.180.171 18:49, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

You don't create a link, just a citation, like this.

Also, what's a Preditor? Dan Lovejoy 03:22, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Preditors and Editors ("Preditor" is a play on the words "predator" and "editor")is an organization dedicated to protecting writers from unscrupolous agents/publishers/contracts/etc. Their main purpose is to expose scams that exploit writers.151.205.180.171 18:04, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, OK. I don't think this word is appropriate in this context as it is a neologism and readers are unlikely to understand it.

Thanks for your contributions! Dan Lovejoy 18:15, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

No, it's not a neologism. It's the actual name of the organization. http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubabout.htm151.205.180.171 18:47, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, see my changes and let me know what you think about it. Dan Lovejoy 20:20, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I think the article has too much biographical information and not enough author treatment. Yes, we should get the outline, he attended college here, then army there, then marriage, then children--but I'm not sure going much further is useful, and I think what should be in its place is some explication about his writing. When I read about a physicist, for example, I expect to read more about what he or she discovered in science than about their personal life, the same is true of authors. I vote: prune the biography and tell us about Piers Anthony, THE AUTHOR. Anyone else with me? --Fuhghettaboutit 00:23, 26 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I know this was a little pointless, but I added the number of books he has written.

Would it be appropriate to have a little tiny mini-bio of the other author of the Xanth Family Trees on the Xanth page? (I know her.)

Lady Aleena 09:51, 5 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]