What do you think?
Rate this book
Xanth #27
Cube Route
For nearly three decades, Piers Anthony's bestselling Xanth series has been delighting tens of thousands of fantasy fans around the world. Now, with Cube Route, the series' twenty-seventh adventure, Anthony has penned a tale that adds another dimension to this exciting saga.
In the magical land of Xanth, wishes are far more than mere words. So when a Plain Jane called Cube whispers a wistful wish to be beautiful, she finds herself leading a company of colorful companions on a search for the mysterious Cube Route--a perilous path that leads to danger, adventure, and perhaps her heart's desire as well.
This curious quest takes them all over Xanth, into the mythical realm of Phaze, and even to our own world, where Cube rescues a beautiful human woman from a very ugly situation, ending at last in a mysterious Counter-Xanth where things can be transformed into their opposites in the wink of an eye.
A rollicking tale brimming with laughter, wonder, and enchantment, Cube Route is also a moving exploration of the beauty that dwells within all of us.
In the magical land of Xanth, wishes are far more than mere words. So when a Plain Jane called Cube whispers a wistful wish to be beautiful, she finds herself leading a company of colorful companions on a search for the mysterious Cube Route--a perilous path that leads to danger, adventure, and perhaps her heart's desire as well.
This curious quest takes them all over Xanth, into the mythical realm of Phaze, and even to our own world, where Cube rescues a beautiful human woman from a very ugly situation, ending at last in a mysterious Counter-Xanth where things can be transformed into their opposites in the wink of an eye.
A rollicking tale brimming with laughter, wonder, and enchantment, Cube Route is also a moving exploration of the beauty that dwells within all of us.
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
7 people are currently reading
2481 people want to read
About the author
Piers Anthony
441 books4,217 followersThough 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 environmentalist and lives on a tree farm in Florida with his wife. They have two grown daughters.
Piers is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and lives on a tree farm in Florida with his wife. They have two grown daughters.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
October 15, 2014
If you look into the credits, I was given credit by the author for sending him a pun to use. Life made :D
February 15, 2020
Quick fun fact: The shortest known published pangrammatic window occurs in this book. Moving on...
I used to read the Xanth books back in high school. Well, some of them, anyway. I remember getting up to Ogre, Ogre and stopping with a real "oh those were kinda benign" thought about them, and then later on reading Up in a Heaval and kinda enjoying it. But after a brief moment of nostalgia seeing these covers again in my local library, I knew I could revisit Xanth without feeling too lost regardless of what book I picked up.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure if Piers Anthony was running on fumes, if Xanth just wasn't as well-written as I remembered it being, or if this particular book is just a complete dud out of the series and the ones after it are better, but I found myself bored, disappointed, and annoyed with this book. I've fallen asleep quite a few times trying to finish this book, and it took some major "gumption" to finally reach the end.
The plot, threadbare as it is, goes as such. Cube (who, despite her name, has the ability to summon nickelpedes, in a setting where 80% of the characters have names related to their magic power) is a homely girl who hates the way she looks and men won't pay attention to her or her butt and legs because she's not beautiful. Thankfully, a demoness who talks like a thesaurus app is here to remind her about longtime Xanth mainstay Good Magician Humphrey, who can help her with her problem in exchange for a task or a year of servitude. Humphrey, after making her suffer through some tasks that include her taking her clothes off to foil a "Comic Strip", tells her that her task is to survey Counter-Xanth, territory won by the events of a previous book, which is a difficult task because if Xanth and Counter-Xanth touch a person, they will explode. She has to have 9 Companions and follow the Cube Route in order to find it.
Get it? 9 companions? Cube? This book being number 27? Don't worry, readers, we have plenty more cube jokes to follow.
And so, poor plain Cube gathers everybody from a winged centaur named Karia who hates puns (and ended up being the most relatable character in this book) to a dragon that breathes perfume to creepy triplet princesses with musical powers that reminded me a bit of The Shining. And they have an RPG-style travel across the land (complete with a magical sock where the extra party members can be stored in at any time, similar to an RPG game's party) where they run into various encounters throughout Xanth that they solve and learn something along the way.
The Cube Route, it turns out, is not actually a path, but a way for Cube to develop enough as a character to reach Counter-Xanth. Cube often complains about being plain or not pretty or how she looks like a man, which gets super annoying after a while, but she has her "gumption" to help her out on her quest.
I think my main problem is that the puns, the main seller for these books, the very reason a lot of people like the Xanth novels, are...not very good. A lot of the puns in the later Xanth books are written in by volunteers, with there even being a credits list at the back, but Anthony fails to use them in a way that would be seen as funny.
For example, one of the puns is that there's a cave with the letters "COM" written out on top of the cave. A bat flies out and attacks the main character. COM-bat! He has a friend named Pete. COM-Pete!
Yes, that is considered a pun in this book. Half the word is literally spelled out in the text.
What makes it most irritating - and this might be more of a complaint towards all of the Xanth series as opposed to just this novel - is that the writing doesn't let the readers guess the puns for themselves, instead highlighting the pun and having a character groan whenever a pun happens. This tree helpfully offered the main character a drink and bowed. The novel then pips up. "IT'S GALLAN-TREE! GALLANTRY! GET IT?" and the winged centaur, who hates puns, has to groan audibly in text. These characters are kinda intoxicated in a stone city. The book smiles at the reader and shouts, "They're STONED! HAH!" and Karia groans because this counts for a running gag.
How about this, book. You assume I, the reader, know something about the English language and let me figure the puns out for myself. How's that?
The puns highlight another problem this book has; the writing style is very clunky and juvenile, with nary any description to describe anyone or anything whatsoever. I couldn't tell you how the human characters in this book look beyond the fact that one has blue hair, Cube is plain-looking (but never written in a way where she sounds hideously ugly), and one is short. This book likes telling rather than showing. An example of some exchanges.
The character dialogue never really reads as anything an actual human being would say. The descriptions feel stiff, the characters barely emote, a lot of character development occurs off-screen and is told to Cube in the last couple pages of the book in a real "Oh we've been talking amongst ourselves behind your back the whole time!", and the book just feels like a lifeless DnD session where the Dungeonmaster is a school teacher who is trying out his curriculum on puns on his unsuspecting friends. Roll the dice, oh you encountered a printer that oozes jam, therefore it's a paper jam!
But all of this probably would've been more bearable if the book wasn't a story about finding one's own inner beauty that kept subverting its own lesson at every turn. Perhaps Cube wouldn't be so down in the dumps about her own beauty if other characters in this book weren't like "I can't wait for you to get beautiful" or "yeah I can see why you're looking to become beautiful" or gazing at her legs and then losing interest when they see her face. She gets together with the guy she was crushing on at the end of the novel, but he only professes his love after he sees her beautiful and never before that, choosing to instead be a heel for the rest of the book.
This exchange irritated me:
Well, at least this is equally insulting to both women and men, at least?
Yes, the romance in this book is incredibly terrible. Two characters randomly get together because they fell in love while in the magic sock, which means you never got to see them actually fall in love. It's just "well, these two characters you know are now together, hooray".
And that's of course not getting into a very weird and incredibly uncalled for segway where Cube helps a sexual assault victim in the mundane real world and then scoffs at the very idea that anyone would ever force themselves on HER! In HER body! When she's so plain-looking!
I think the only good portion of this book is the part where Cube keeps traveling to overlapping planets that are orbiting around a character's head, but even that could've been in a much better book. One that isn't so laden with bad puns, bad writing, and bad portrayal of both feminine and masculine characters.
A definite skip, unless you read the other 26 books before this and simply have to read these things in order. In which case, forge on ahead, you determined person, you.
I used to read the Xanth books back in high school. Well, some of them, anyway. I remember getting up to Ogre, Ogre and stopping with a real "oh those were kinda benign" thought about them, and then later on reading Up in a Heaval and kinda enjoying it. But after a brief moment of nostalgia seeing these covers again in my local library, I knew I could revisit Xanth without feeling too lost regardless of what book I picked up.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure if Piers Anthony was running on fumes, if Xanth just wasn't as well-written as I remembered it being, or if this particular book is just a complete dud out of the series and the ones after it are better, but I found myself bored, disappointed, and annoyed with this book. I've fallen asleep quite a few times trying to finish this book, and it took some major "gumption" to finally reach the end.
The plot, threadbare as it is, goes as such. Cube (who, despite her name, has the ability to summon nickelpedes, in a setting where 80% of the characters have names related to their magic power) is a homely girl who hates the way she looks and men won't pay attention to her or her butt and legs because she's not beautiful. Thankfully, a demoness who talks like a thesaurus app is here to remind her about longtime Xanth mainstay Good Magician Humphrey, who can help her with her problem in exchange for a task or a year of servitude. Humphrey, after making her suffer through some tasks that include her taking her clothes off to foil a "Comic Strip", tells her that her task is to survey Counter-Xanth, territory won by the events of a previous book, which is a difficult task because if Xanth and Counter-Xanth touch a person, they will explode. She has to have 9 Companions and follow the Cube Route in order to find it.
Get it? 9 companions? Cube? This book being number 27? Don't worry, readers, we have plenty more cube jokes to follow.
And so, poor plain Cube gathers everybody from a winged centaur named Karia who hates puns (and ended up being the most relatable character in this book) to a dragon that breathes perfume to creepy triplet princesses with musical powers that reminded me a bit of The Shining. And they have an RPG-style travel across the land (complete with a magical sock where the extra party members can be stored in at any time, similar to an RPG game's party) where they run into various encounters throughout Xanth that they solve and learn something along the way.
The Cube Route, it turns out, is not actually a path, but a way for Cube to develop enough as a character to reach Counter-Xanth. Cube often complains about being plain or not pretty or how she looks like a man, which gets super annoying after a while, but she has her "gumption" to help her out on her quest.
I think my main problem is that the puns, the main seller for these books, the very reason a lot of people like the Xanth novels, are...not very good. A lot of the puns in the later Xanth books are written in by volunteers, with there even being a credits list at the back, but Anthony fails to use them in a way that would be seen as funny.
For example, one of the puns is that there's a cave with the letters "COM" written out on top of the cave. A bat flies out and attacks the main character. COM-bat! He has a friend named Pete. COM-Pete!
Yes, that is considered a pun in this book. Half the word is literally spelled out in the text.
What makes it most irritating - and this might be more of a complaint towards all of the Xanth series as opposed to just this novel - is that the writing doesn't let the readers guess the puns for themselves, instead highlighting the pun and having a character groan whenever a pun happens. This tree helpfully offered the main character a drink and bowed. The novel then pips up. "IT'S GALLAN-TREE! GALLANTRY! GET IT?" and the winged centaur, who hates puns, has to groan audibly in text. These characters are kinda intoxicated in a stone city. The book smiles at the reader and shouts, "They're STONED! HAH!" and Karia groans because this counts for a running gag.
How about this, book. You assume I, the reader, know something about the English language and let me figure the puns out for myself. How's that?
The puns highlight another problem this book has; the writing style is very clunky and juvenile, with nary any description to describe anyone or anything whatsoever. I couldn't tell you how the human characters in this book look beyond the fact that one has blue hair, Cube is plain-looking (but never written in a way where she sounds hideously ugly), and one is short. This book likes telling rather than showing. An example of some exchanges.
"Are you a guide dog?" Karia asked the dog.
Diamond looked down. Her tail drooped. She was not a guide dog.
"This should be child's play," Melody said.
"Which is fine for us," Harmony agreed.
"Because we're children," Rhythm concluded.
The character dialogue never really reads as anything an actual human being would say. The descriptions feel stiff, the characters barely emote, a lot of character development occurs off-screen and is told to Cube in the last couple pages of the book in a real "Oh we've been talking amongst ourselves behind your back the whole time!", and the book just feels like a lifeless DnD session where the Dungeonmaster is a school teacher who is trying out his curriculum on puns on his unsuspecting friends. Roll the dice, oh you encountered a printer that oozes jam, therefore it's a paper jam!
But all of this probably would've been more bearable if the book wasn't a story about finding one's own inner beauty that kept subverting its own lesson at every turn. Perhaps Cube wouldn't be so down in the dumps about her own beauty if other characters in this book weren't like "I can't wait for you to get beautiful" or "yeah I can see why you're looking to become beautiful" or gazing at her legs and then losing interest when they see her face. She gets together with the guy she was crushing on at the end of the novel, but he only professes his love after he sees her beautiful and never before that, choosing to instead be a heel for the rest of the book.
This exchange irritated me:
"Yes. I of all people know that appearance is only one aspect of a person, and beauty fades with age. I am happy to be beautiful for you, because I want to please you. You don't have to be handsome for me."
"But you know that I didn't love you until you were beautiful. I knew your qualities, but love wouldn't come before that. I'm shallow"
"You're a man. That's not quite the same. You were upfront about that. You never deceived me. Now I have it, and I'm glad it enabled me to gain your love."
"You had to be beautiful to win my love. Because of my male nature. You won it. Now it remains."
Well, at least this is equally insulting to both women and men, at least?
Yes, the romance in this book is incredibly terrible. Two characters randomly get together because they fell in love while in the magic sock, which means you never got to see them actually fall in love. It's just "well, these two characters you know are now together, hooray".
And that's of course not getting into a very weird and incredibly uncalled for segway where Cube helps a sexual assault victim in the mundane real world and then scoffs at the very idea that anyone would ever force themselves on HER! In HER body! When she's so plain-looking!
I think the only good portion of this book is the part where Cube keeps traveling to overlapping planets that are orbiting around a character's head, but even that could've been in a much better book. One that isn't so laden with bad puns, bad writing, and bad portrayal of both feminine and masculine characters.
A definite skip, unless you read the other 26 books before this and simply have to read these things in order. In which case, forge on ahead, you determined person, you.
April 17, 2020
This was another great Xanth book. This one was particularly imaginative and really traversed the length and breath of the entire Xanth universe and beyond. I don't want to say too much more, because I don't want to spoil it.
January 29, 2021
This book is better written that the last several books in the series and deals with some “more adult” issues that makes the book at least readable, in several ways that the older books in the series read. Taking all that into account, as this world is continued to be expanded book by book, we see Anthony falling into the same ridiculous pattern that makes portions of the book unreadable. The main character is randomly put on the map, he/she is part of a meta game between Demons, who affect the overall picture, we have to deal with 1,000 too many irrelevant puns, and the main issues directing the main character are not really actual issues, but more like individual peccadilloes that are either outgrown or simply removed through experience. Maybe the next set of novels will be similarly well written, just more unique so that they are interesting enough to read AND enjoy.
October 14, 2019
Holy shit yikes, the whole book I felt like this was going to be a "you don't have to be beautiful" or "everyone is beautiful in their own way" but it's literally about a girl who everyone hates because she's ugly. Then she gets hot and her crush likes her.
I'm also not sure who this is for. The writing is juvenile enough to be a kids book, but the content is decidedly mature. And the rape discussion is fucking awful.
This is a bad book with bad characters and bad writing. Doesn't help that Piers Anthony is a bad person
I'm also not sure who this is for. The writing is juvenile enough to be a kids book, but the content is decidedly mature. And the rape discussion is fucking awful.
This is a bad book with bad characters and bad writing. Doesn't help that Piers Anthony is a bad person
January 9, 2010
Before reading this book, I never had an idea how drugs made someone feel. Now I understand, and feel no desire to explore the feeling any further.
Nothing made sense. CThey're in, like, this world that's a giant doughnut shape? And there's this bag that you can put like centaurs and dragons and stuff in? And pi trees that grow pies in threes, ones and fours? (Get it? 3.14? Cause I sure didn't. I was too weirded out.)
Maybe if I re-read it, it would make sense. Somehow I doubt it.
Nothing made sense. CThey're in, like, this world that's a giant doughnut shape? And there's this bag that you can put like centaurs and dragons and stuff in? And pi trees that grow pies in threes, ones and fours? (Get it? 3.14? Cause I sure didn't. I was too weirded out.)
Maybe if I re-read it, it would make sense. Somehow I doubt it.
April 3, 2021
Not a bad Xanth novel. Though, certainly not my favorite. I mostly enjoyed it although the chapters involving Princess Ida and her stupid moons always turn me off. Can't she just get gobbled up by a Tangle Tree or chomped by a Dragon already?
March 8, 2024
Cube Route (Xanth #27)
by Piers Anthony
this is a hilarious story, and adventure on Xanth, with a lot of sarcasm.
by Piers Anthony
this is a hilarious story, and adventure on Xanth, with a lot of sarcasm.
September 28, 2019
4 Stars
Cube Route is the twenty-seventh book in the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. This is another enchanting adventure where we follow Cube on her quest- entering the mystical realm of Phase and finding much more than she/we bargained for.
The Xanthe Series is quite a really long series that has spanned many decades. I remember reading the first few books back in the very early 1980’s and was totally captivated by the epic fantasy that unfolded before my eyes. I collected all the books as each new one was released and have revisited them a few times over the years.
I can honestly say that although these books didn’t blow me away as they did the first couple of times I read them- I still really enjoyed all the adventure, magic, swords & sorcery like, epic fantasy that Mr. Anthony is renowned for.
He has imbued his stories with plenty of humour, a playfulness, lots of fun, action, some history, conspiracies, secrets, surprising developments, and much, much more. We meet so many varied and original characters along the way- the books are full of wonderful fictional beasts and paranormal creatures. From centaurs, to demons, dragons, fauns, gargoyles, goblins, golems, harpies, merfolk, elves, nymphs, ogres, zombies, and curse fiends- and a few more I am sure have slipped my mind.
The world of Xanthe is wonderfully rich and vividly descriptive. It is really well written and is so easy to imagine, it came to life before my eyes. Each ‘person’ in Xanthe is born with their own unique magical ability, which is called a ‘talent’. We follow along on many epic adventures and explore the world as the story unfolds.
I have many fond memories of reading this book/series and it’s definitely a series that’s worth exploring- especially for any epic fantasy lover who loves some fun and humour served with their adventure.
Thank you, Mr. Anthony!
Cube Route is the twenty-seventh book in the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. This is another enchanting adventure where we follow Cube on her quest- entering the mystical realm of Phase and finding much more than she/we bargained for.
The Xanthe Series is quite a really long series that has spanned many decades. I remember reading the first few books back in the very early 1980’s and was totally captivated by the epic fantasy that unfolded before my eyes. I collected all the books as each new one was released and have revisited them a few times over the years.
I can honestly say that although these books didn’t blow me away as they did the first couple of times I read them- I still really enjoyed all the adventure, magic, swords & sorcery like, epic fantasy that Mr. Anthony is renowned for.
He has imbued his stories with plenty of humour, a playfulness, lots of fun, action, some history, conspiracies, secrets, surprising developments, and much, much more. We meet so many varied and original characters along the way- the books are full of wonderful fictional beasts and paranormal creatures. From centaurs, to demons, dragons, fauns, gargoyles, goblins, golems, harpies, merfolk, elves, nymphs, ogres, zombies, and curse fiends- and a few more I am sure have slipped my mind.
The world of Xanthe is wonderfully rich and vividly descriptive. It is really well written and is so easy to imagine, it came to life before my eyes. Each ‘person’ in Xanthe is born with their own unique magical ability, which is called a ‘talent’. We follow along on many epic adventures and explore the world as the story unfolds.
I have many fond memories of reading this book/series and it’s definitely a series that’s worth exploring- especially for any epic fantasy lover who loves some fun and humour served with their adventure.
Thank you, Mr. Anthony!
Read
October 23, 2025For nearly three decades, Piers Anthony's bestselling Xanth series has been delighting tens of thousands of fantasy fans around the world. Now, with Cube Route, the series' twenty-seventh adventure, Anthony has penned a tale that adds another dimension to this exciting saga.In the magical land of Xanth, wishes are far more than mere words. So when a Plain Jane called Cube whispers a wistful wish to be beautiful, she finds herself leading a company of colorful companions on a search for the mysterious Cube Route--a perilous path that leads to danger, adventure, and perhaps her heart's desire as well.This curious quest takes them all over Xanth, into the mythical realm of Phaze, and even to our own world, where Cube rescues a beautiful human woman from a very ugly situation, ending at last in a mysterious Counter-Xanth where things can be transformed into their opposites in the wink of an eye.A rollicking tale brimming with laughter, wonder, and enchantment, Cube Route is also a moving exploration of the beauty that dwells within all of us.
August 12, 2025
This Xanth adventure saw Cube go to see the good magician in search of beauty.
Cube was sent on an adventure as her payment for her answer to a question.
This wasn't one of my favourite Xanth novels. Cube's quest just seemed to go on and on and on.
It wasn't until the final few chapters when the reader was let into the secret of why the quest was taking so long and an insight into Cube's thoughts on the answer to her question.
Cube was sent on an adventure as her payment for her answer to a question.
This wasn't one of my favourite Xanth novels. Cube's quest just seemed to go on and on and on.
It wasn't until the final few chapters when the reader was let into the secret of why the quest was taking so long and an insight into Cube's thoughts on the answer to her question.
July 26, 2017
"Life is mixed, and there is a price to pay for everything."
Premise has been set and established in the previous 26 Xanth books so there's no need to change it now.
Person with a problem --> Good Magician + quest = learns lessons and finds out about self
Throw in a half dozen companions and about 1000 puns, and you've got yourself a Xanth adventure.
Premise has been set and established in the previous 26 Xanth books so there's no need to change it now.
Person with a problem --> Good Magician + quest = learns lessons and finds out about self
Throw in a half dozen companions and about 1000 puns, and you've got yourself a Xanth adventure.
June 1, 2020
The Xanth books by Piers Anthony were one of the first SciFi/Fantasy series I ever read. I love puns so I have always enjoyed them. Upon re-reading them I can see that they have some weaknesses but overall they stand the test of time. They are a fun and fast read that keeps me amused without any deep thinking required.
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
August 8, 2021
I wanted some fun, some laughs and some good characters. This book delivered! Oh, and plenty of puns!
July 24, 2023
Interesting tale about a journey through Xanth, and how Cube finds her man . . .
September 4, 2023
I LOVE all Xanth books so much - the puns and inside jokes, the nudges and winks, the silly storylines, and the characters (boy, ARE they EVER characters!) - Piers Anthony was a great fantasy author.
February 13, 2023
Book #: 1
Title: Cube Route
Series: Xanth #27 (3^3^3)
Author: Piers Anthony
Format: Hardcover, 333 pages, own
Pub Date: Published October 1st 2003 by Tor Books
Started: 1/2/23 Ended: 1/4/23
Awards: none
Categories:
Rating: *** three out of five
If you're not familiar with the series, Piers Anthony wrote "A Spell for Chameleon" back in 1977, creating Xanth, a magical world where puns are literal and each inhabitant has one unique magical power. There's now nearly four dozen novels in the series. The novel have generally the same premise, an individual who wants something, a spouse, a different power, a purpose in life, etc. goes to see Magician Humprey, the Magician of Information. They get sent on a quest, they collect companions along the way, they have experiences, they complete the quest and get their wish. While it made sense to read the first few in order, you can now read them in any order. I picked this one up because it's number 27 in the series, which means he has completed a trilogy of trilogies of trilogies. It's literally the title 'Cube Root'. I wanted to see how many times he could mention numerical powers in the novel. The answer is quite a few, the main character is Cube, she has nine companions, has an adventure in a tesseract, etc. The book was exactly what I expected. His 32nd novel is titled "Two to the Fifth", we'll see.
Title: Cube Route
Series: Xanth #27 (3^3^3)
Author: Piers Anthony
Format: Hardcover, 333 pages, own
Pub Date: Published October 1st 2003 by Tor Books
Started: 1/2/23 Ended: 1/4/23
Awards: none
Categories:
Rating: *** three out of five
If you're not familiar with the series, Piers Anthony wrote "A Spell for Chameleon" back in 1977, creating Xanth, a magical world where puns are literal and each inhabitant has one unique magical power. There's now nearly four dozen novels in the series. The novel have generally the same premise, an individual who wants something, a spouse, a different power, a purpose in life, etc. goes to see Magician Humprey, the Magician of Information. They get sent on a quest, they collect companions along the way, they have experiences, they complete the quest and get their wish. While it made sense to read the first few in order, you can now read them in any order. I picked this one up because it's number 27 in the series, which means he has completed a trilogy of trilogies of trilogies. It's literally the title 'Cube Root'. I wanted to see how many times he could mention numerical powers in the novel. The answer is quite a few, the main character is Cube, she has nine companions, has an adventure in a tesseract, etc. The book was exactly what I expected. His 32nd novel is titled "Two to the Fifth", we'll see.
September 3, 2016
Book 27 of the Xanth series was a fun book that was rather reminiscent of the earlier books in the series.
A young woman named Cue, who everyone calls Cube, longs to be accepted. Specifically, she longs to be beautiful, thinking that beautiful women never have any problems. As everyone does when they have a problem, she starts out on a journey to see the Good Magician with a question of how can she become beautiful. Along the way to the castle, she runs into demoness Metria, a young man named Ryver, who she develops a crush on, and a Centaur named Karia that starts to float away when anyone says her name.
Cube is able to meet the challenges of the Good Magician and finds out that in order to become beautiful, she must find the Cube Route to the contra-terrene. (This is what was won from Demon Fornax in a previous adventure.) In order for Cube to accomplish this she needs to get 9 companions who will agree to keep her mission a secret, and who will also agree to travel in a magical sock to keep out of sight until Cube is in need of them. While searching for companions, she meets Princesses Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm, who not only become companions but also use their magic to show Cube a trail to the contra-terrenr. While following this trail, Cube begins to have mini adventures along the way that don't seem to have anything to do with her search for the Cube Route. She meets many people along the way, (some of them Xanth characters fro previous adventures) travels to a number of Princess Ida's moons, visits Mundania briefly, and even meets Nimby and Chlorine.
I enjoyed this installment of the series because the adventure was rather understated, kind of like the first couple of books in the series. The story line holds up well in this book, and like many of the other books in the series, the reader is not lost if they have not read the series in order. I would recommend it to fans of the Xanth series, and anyone who enjoys a good fantasy story that admittedly brain candy.
A young woman named Cue, who everyone calls Cube, longs to be accepted. Specifically, she longs to be beautiful, thinking that beautiful women never have any problems. As everyone does when they have a problem, she starts out on a journey to see the Good Magician with a question of how can she become beautiful. Along the way to the castle, she runs into demoness Metria, a young man named Ryver, who she develops a crush on, and a Centaur named Karia that starts to float away when anyone says her name.
Cube is able to meet the challenges of the Good Magician and finds out that in order to become beautiful, she must find the Cube Route to the contra-terrene. (This is what was won from Demon Fornax in a previous adventure.) In order for Cube to accomplish this she needs to get 9 companions who will agree to keep her mission a secret, and who will also agree to travel in a magical sock to keep out of sight until Cube is in need of them. While searching for companions, she meets Princesses Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm, who not only become companions but also use their magic to show Cube a trail to the contra-terrenr. While following this trail, Cube begins to have mini adventures along the way that don't seem to have anything to do with her search for the Cube Route. She meets many people along the way, (some of them Xanth characters fro previous adventures) travels to a number of Princess Ida's moons, visits Mundania briefly, and even meets Nimby and Chlorine.
I enjoyed this installment of the series because the adventure was rather understated, kind of like the first couple of books in the series. The story line holds up well in this book, and like many of the other books in the series, the reader is not lost if they have not read the series in order. I would recommend it to fans of the Xanth series, and anyone who enjoys a good fantasy story that admittedly brain candy.
January 22, 2013
Cube Route by Piers Anthony was my first foray into the land of Xanth, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. I have seen his books on my local library's shelves for a long time, but never really felt the need or desire to give them a try. However, a couple of months ago I listened to a podcast where some guy talked about how as a kid he ran away from home and went to Anthony's house in search of help. This story was really interesting, and got me thinking about what his books were like. Which led me to this book. There was no particular reason for choosing this book over the four or five others on the shelf, though. It was pretty much the first one that I looked at.
As I started the book, I found the puns jarring. I knew about them coming into the book, but I don't think that I actually knew what it was going to be like reading a new pun every page. After a chapter or so, I got used to it, and I actually really liked it. I don't think I could read a lot of Anthony's books in a row, but it was a refreshingly different style of fantasy from what I usually read.
The only part that really stood out in a bad way was the Silhouette part of the story. Not the way that it was done, just that the story was really light and fun up to that point, then all of a sudden it got rape-y. I was really shocked when Silhouette's boyfriend came in and it was all attempted rape and domestic abuse. It was a really weird interlude, because the story continued in the same way it had before the gritty realness. That was really the weakest part of the book because it was so different from the rest of the book and it wasn't really addressed properly or integrated that well with the rest of the book.
Overall, fun book, I'll probably read at least a couple more of Anthony's books, but I doubt he'll ever be my favorite author.
As I started the book, I found the puns jarring. I knew about them coming into the book, but I don't think that I actually knew what it was going to be like reading a new pun every page. After a chapter or so, I got used to it, and I actually really liked it. I don't think I could read a lot of Anthony's books in a row, but it was a refreshingly different style of fantasy from what I usually read.
The only part that really stood out in a bad way was the Silhouette part of the story. Not the way that it was done, just that the story was really light and fun up to that point, then all of a sudden it got rape-y. I was really shocked when Silhouette's boyfriend came in and it was all attempted rape and domestic abuse. It was a really weird interlude, because the story continued in the same way it had before the gritty realness. That was really the weakest part of the book because it was so different from the rest of the book and it wasn't really addressed properly or integrated that well with the rest of the book.
Overall, fun book, I'll probably read at least a couple more of Anthony's books, but I doubt he'll ever be my favorite author.
May 28, 2015
This is the 27th Xanth book and both the characters in the book and Anthony in his author's note made reference to it being the conclusion of a "cubic trilogy" (3x3x3 books) though not the end of the series (there are already at least a dozen more). I missed this one when it came out, but have already read the next 5 and own 4 more. The formula is pretty well established: a quest set by Good Magician Humphrey, a visit to several of Ida's moons, other recurring characters, and a gazillion horrible puns. The story that bound these together was interesting. The main characters learned something about themselves and grew in the process. So a fun visit. But I'll take a break before I plunge into "Jumper Cable".
March 12, 2014
Another good read, I think it's starting to get to the point that whether I enjoy these depends almost entirely by how well I like the lead character of the tale! A little bored of being told about Ida's moons every single time someone visits them, I guess Anthony does have to assume that not everyone is reading the series in order, and there will be people that don't know, but for those of us following the series chronologically, it gets a tad tired, but beyond that, I did enjoy the story, and looking forward to possibly seeing more of counter-Xanth!
December 17, 2013
Cube longs to be pretty; pretty girls get the guys, and live happily ever after, don't they? So begins her quest, with the usual question to the Good Magician. Along the way she experiences adventure, love and discovers a whole new realm, thus fulfilling her quest. I like that characters from the marriages in the previous books get a go in this one, such as Ryver. Even the endings for Cory and Tessa are great.
Another excellent book, five stars.
Another excellent book, five stars.
June 27, 2013
It's a Xanth novel. You either like them or you don't. I own and have read all 26 books prior to this one, which speaks for itself. This is #27 and as such deals extensively with multiples of 3, as evidenced by the title. The author's Apprentice Adept world of Phaze has a cameo (I'm assuming - I haven't read that series), as well as the ever-nifty tesseract. Ida's truly bizarre moon(s) are traveled as part of the Route, and we are introduced to yet another new aspect of Xanth: Counter Xanth.
July 13, 2014
Anthony took a strong leap forward in the series with this book. Instead of the usual pointless innuendo, the story is about finding inner beauty.
There are some really bad puns in this book, but they are far fewer than some of the previous ones. There is an actual story to this book to which has been missing for a while. The story does far more than just tie the stupid puns together.
I really really hope this trend continues.
There are some really bad puns in this book, but they are far fewer than some of the previous ones. There is an actual story to this book to which has been missing for a while. The story does far more than just tie the stupid puns together.
I really really hope this trend continues.
November 12, 2008
Ok, so all the Xanth books are a little wanting in the plot area, but really this book was based on very little more than how many puns can I squeeze in. It was the first xanth novel that I had picked up in several years and thought I would give it a try, but really the author lost my attention back around book 14, let alone 27.
December 8, 2010
Not to bad lot od puns as is usual for the Xnath books. I would have rated it higher but it had a part where it tried to explain certain scientific principals that would have done a hard core science fiction reader proud but were to complicated for the average fantasy type reader to comprehend let alone care about.
April 24, 2009
I agree that any Xanth book is never going to be on anyone's 'heavy' reading list. Still, Cube Route does have something to say about beauty, worth, and generosity that, to me, makes it worth reading. Of course, some other readers would claim I'm getting Kariaed away.
August 6, 2014
it was good the puns were not quite up to what I enjoy kinda forced if you ask me, another one that felt like it wasn't the same author somehow but it was a good book none the less but I would have called it an xanth like book more then an xanth
April 18, 2021
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews