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Night Mare
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Night Mare (Xanth #6)
Mare Imbrium has been exiled to the day world with a message for King Trent: "Beware the Horseman!" With Xanth being invaded from the north, the message could spell disaster for Xanth.
Hardcover, 307 pages
Published
December 12th 1987
by Turtleback Books
(first published January 1983)
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Imbrium is the main character of this story. She's the author's first female protagonist in this series, and though she is a horse (a night mare to be exact), she's still handled with the same sort of disrespect that Anthony frequently frames his female characters. At one point she is made powerless because a man tricks her into being dominated by him (he gets on her back and fits her with a bit, and she can't escape), and later the same man turns out to be a shapeshifter who dominates her by sh...more
Night Mare reads like a lazy attempt to revisit all of the characters from the previous novels in the Xanth series. It will be the last Xanth book that I read, and probably the last Piers Anthony book that I read.
While younger readers might appreciate the childish humor, mainly in the form of puns and wordplay, Night Mare-- like almost all of the other Xanth novels, offers nothing for someone wanting to delve into a good fantasy novel.
There really isn't anything redeeming for younger readers, e...more
While younger readers might appreciate the childish humor, mainly in the form of puns and wordplay, Night Mare-- like almost all of the other Xanth novels, offers nothing for someone wanting to delve into a good fantasy novel.
There really isn't anything redeeming for younger readers, e...more
Dec 30, 2011
David Sarkies
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Tweens who liked the Harry Potter Books
Shelves:
fantasy
Well, now in the Xanth series we are starting to move away from the main characters to single books, set in Xanth, but evolving around a new character. In this novel we meet Mare Imbrium, a Night Mare. Nightmares are given the task of carrying bad dreams to the people of Xanth. However Imbrium's problem is that she has obtained half a soul (which she got from the previous book) and this has affected her ability to carry out her task.
Piers Anthony does like playing with words, but then he was...more
Piers Anthony does like playing with words, but then he was...more
Night Mare (and the rest of the Xanth series) sadly didn't hold up to a re-reading as an adult, but as a pre-teen and young teenager, I found these hilarious and wonderful.
Piers Anthony specializes in a kind of subversive and dirty humor that's just on this side of not appropriate for children. They're also almost terrifying, in a way that left me wanting more. That combined with the mythology made for absorbing childhood reading for me.
The one thing that saved the book upon my adult re-read was...more
Piers Anthony specializes in a kind of subversive and dirty humor that's just on this side of not appropriate for children. They're also almost terrifying, in a way that left me wanting more. That combined with the mythology made for absorbing childhood reading for me.
The one thing that saved the book upon my adult re-read was...more
I read this as a teenager. As an adult I probably would not enjoy this book as much, I have found that Piers Anthony is pretty sexiest.
Update: figured out what happened to my review. Definitely shouldn't try to do this when I'm sick because I hit the wrong button, lost my window and ended up starting a completely new review with a different edition without realizing it. All better now.
This book was my introduction to the world of Piers Anthony. To be brief, I've never looked back.
Eventually, I'll write a more in depth review, but the short version is if you do not like puns, you won't enjoy any of the Xanth novels. If you want...more
This book was my introduction to the world of Piers Anthony. To be brief, I've never looked back.
Eventually, I'll write a more in depth review, but the short version is if you do not like puns, you won't enjoy any of the Xanth novels. If you want...more
A night mare that no longer does well delivering bad dreams has a problem. Xanth is being invaded by the NextWave of Mundanians, another problem. The Kings of Xanth are being ensorcerelled, another problem. How will all the problems be solved? By following this advice, "Beware the Horseman!"
Of course everyone is beware of the horseman, but none know exactly who the horseman is and that is the flaw in the plan.
Filled with puns which are always fun and layers upon layers of twist and turns this is...more
Of course everyone is beware of the horseman, but none know exactly who the horseman is and that is the flaw in the plan.
Filled with puns which are always fun and layers upon layers of twist and turns this is...more
i first discovered this series in high school for a book report... where i read demons dont dream. i found the book a couple years ago and was like hey i liked this book in high school ill read it again... and liked it again... after some research i found out it was the 16th book in a series of over 30 books... i was like... i will conquer this series... Piers Anthony's series is fun to read though not that memorable... the series does build on each book... so im excited to see where it'll go in...more
This, the 6th Xanth book, is sort of hit or miss for me. On one hand, it is the first time that we get a female protagonist and it turns out that Piers does just fine writing for the opposite sex. It also continues the new trend from the last book of having a non-human protagonist. She's a horse. Well, more correctly a night mare which is a horse which delivers dreams. Imbrium has found herself changed from the other night mares after gaining part of a soul at the end of the previous book and as...more
Like the others, the trick to reading anything out of Piers Anthony is to skip over any paragraph that is a repeat of information. It makes the book faster to read and gives a better story.
I'm beginning to suspect that Piers Anthony's writing style isn't necessarily distrustful of its readers having remembered previous books/previous explanations given 10 pages ago and more that he might have forgotten that he already explained this and its a sort of literary amnesia.
I'm beginning to suspect that Piers Anthony's writing style isn't necessarily distrustful of its readers having remembered previous books/previous explanations given 10 pages ago and more that he might have forgotten that he already explained this and its a sort of literary amnesia.
SUMMARY:
Although the Nextwave of barbarian warriors was invading Xanth, Mare Imbrium discovered that ever since she had gained the half soul, the night mare had begun to mishandle her job of delivering bad dreams. Exiled to the day world with a message for King Trent, Mare met the relentless, unforgiving Horseman. For the night mare, it began to be all a horrible nightmare!
Although the Nextwave of barbarian warriors was invading Xanth, Mare Imbrium discovered that ever since she had gained the half soul, the night mare had begun to mishandle her job of delivering bad dreams. Exiled to the day world with a message for King Trent, Mare met the relentless, unforgiving Horseman. For the night mare, it began to be all a horrible nightmare!
This is book #6 in the Xanth series. This was the first book I read in the series and fell in love with the zanyness of it all -- the puns, characters, silly story, placement in a place that looks like a map of Florida, etc. By the end of the series, Anthony had so many followers that people were sending in hundreds of puns and similar silly story lines.
Yes, this is "fluff" reading. Yes, some of the puns are really bad. Yes, sometimes Anthony will beat you over the head with a concept. And yes... I love it. This series does not pretend to be the height of literary achievement, it is designed to be FUN, which it delivers, at least for me. Don't expect too much, just enjoy it. :)
You have to take Xanth novels collectively because they're all very similar. Full of neat characters, puns and imagery, they all sort of mesh together in your head. One is not necessarily better than the other, they're all just...Xanth. They're all decent, nothing special, nothing groundbreaking. Good reads to pass the time.
I remember little about this book except that I learned what a Nightmare was from it. It didn't really help much except that I knew what it was when I came upon it in D&D years later. I vaguely remember thinking this book was okay, but not liking it as much as the others. Meh, probably why it was one of the last ones I read.
The Xanth books were a hoot the first time through (many years ago). I attempted to reread them again recently, but they don't work for me now. It's probably not a maturity thing, because I still think Gilligan is funny! Hmmm. If you haven't read them yet, go for it. If you've read them once, remember them fondly.
This is my least favorite of the Xanth novels, I still found it intriguing, but not something I want to read over and over. It has to do with a Nightmare horse and not a Magician taking over, but now that I am through this, I can get on to the. Next one which is one of my favorites.
I think this is the only Anthony book I've ever read. I don't know why I never read more of him so I could have the horrific double-vision OH GOD NO experience later in life so many of my GoodReads peers did. I mean, that sounds so appealing! ....I think I was distracted by Le Guin.
I have been re-reading many of the books as I loved as a child, and this one still ranks as one of the best Piers Anthony books. The puns are minimal, which is great, and there is more action. It allows you to see many of the Magician-class characters use their powers.
I loved these books as a young adult and I'm considering introducing them to my son who is 11. I read the first 7 or 8 but soon got tired of Anthony shoehorning bad puns into everything. Or maybe I just grew up a bit. Good light fantasy.
Least enjoyable of the six Xanth books I've read so far, but still a good yarn. I don't think this one was as clever as the others, just more straightforward story telling with existing characters. Still enjoyed it...and will tackle the next one soon.
This was not one of my favorite in the series. I don't really remember why, I might have to reread it to see if I changed my mind, but all I know is it took me forever to fininsh it!!
There is no story, and the "twist" can be seen from miles away, making most of the book a boring waiting game. However, the end battle is quite exciting, and I like the ending for Imbri.
Jul 10, 2012
Cathy Holford
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
anothony-piers
Meet the nightmare Imbrium was a great thing in the book. I like like Piers Anthony can have main characters that are not remotely human. He has a great imagination.
Average rating for this book. Series is getting tired and what was originally fun and humorous is getting stale and boring. Time to give this series a rest.
I remember I enjoyed this series a great deal when I was an early teen. I also remember that as the series went on it got darker, weirder and a little pervier.
Don't these people ever listen to anybody who's been outside the village? Does anybody tell anyone else that the plants and landscape can kill you?
best book I have read so far in this series. Very nice play on self sacrifice and "the needs of the many out way the needs of the one or few"
When a night mare no longer becomes fit for duty due to the half soul she carries she is released into the land of Xanth with warning for the king. Xanth is being attacked by the Mundanes (non magical folk) and she must do everthing in her power to help.
This one had some new twists and I really liked it. Funny but fun in the "look out or it'll kick you in the backside" sense.
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Though he spent the first four years of his life in England, Piers never returned to live in his country of birth after moving to Spain and immigrated to America at age six. After graduating with a B.A. from Goddard College, he married one of his fellow students and and spent fifteen years in an assortment of professions before he began writing fiction full-time.
Piers is a self-proclaimed environm...more
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