Sat 20 Apr 2024
SF Diary Review: PIERS ANTHONY – Chthon.
Posted by Steve under Diary Reviews , Science Fiction & Fantasy[5] Comments
PIERS ANTHONY – Chthon. Ballantine U6107; paperback original; 1st printing, 1967. Cover artist unknown. Berkley, paperback, 1975. Ace, paperback, 1987. Nominated in 1968 for both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel of 1967.
Because of his love for the creature known as a minionette, Aton Five is sentenced to imprisonment in the underground caverns of Chthon, from which no escape is known. But the image of his nymph drives Aton to find a way out, no matter the consequences to his fellow inmates.
He must find the key to his own behavior, buried in his memory, before he can fight his evil birthright and love normally. For the minionette he loves is his mother, for whom inversion of love is natural, but who sacrifices herself to swing the balance in his inner conflict. Chthon is more than a place, It is an intelligence seeking to use Aton to destroy man, but all it has seen before [has been] man’s unsanity.
A story of love, and of cultural conflict, on many levels. The very structure of the novel demonstrates this, as it is told in flashbacks and flashforward parallel to — and symbolizing — Aton’s adventures in Chthon’s caverns. A highly effective way of presentation, as parts which are obscure [at first reading] will be clarified by continuing on, but the significance [of which] would be decreased if told in the usual chronological fashion.
Hence the story is more than a tale of love; it is also one which requires time and effort [to reach the depth it offers].
Rating: *****
April 20th, 2024 at 9:33 pm
Anthony was incredibly popular, and I read a few early books, but he was a writer I could never connect with. Not a question of his ability, he just didn’t speak to me as a reader.
April 20th, 2024 at 10:02 pm
Some facts, some of which are answers to good trivia questions:
CHTHON was Anthony’s first novel, and perhaps the only one to be nominated for either a Hugo or a Nebula Award (in this case, both).
He will be 90 in August.
He claims one of his greatest achievements has been to publish a book beginning with every letter of the alphabet, from Anthonology to Zombie Lover.
Many of his pun-filled Xanth books hit the NY Times bestseller list. There are 47 of them, with the most recent one being Apoca Lips (2023).
I gave this one 5 stars. but nothing I’ve read by him afterward would I have ranked more than a 2.5. They didn’t speak to me, either.
April 21st, 2024 at 1:30 am
Steve, it may be a case of “connecting” or it may be that some authors only have one good — or even great — book in them.
April 21st, 2024 at 12:52 pm
Right. And if so, it’s almost always their first one, not their last.
April 28th, 2024 at 12:19 am
My wife listens to the Xanth Books as audiobooks. Nothing I have heard convinces me to read farther. I think MACROSCOPE was the one that defeated me, and I gave up after that.
He’s a major best seller, so more power to him, but that one good book trope only works if you don’t write any others. I know he has been controversial in SF circles for some time.