> Can anyone give me a good reason (without
> spoiling anything) why I should continue
> to read (and complete) Piers Anthony's
> Xanth series? I'm only on book 4 (Centaur
> Aisle)...

No I can't. Stop after book 4. For one thing, you *can't* read the series to completion, because I sincerely doubt he'll ever stop writing them.

I am somewhat embarrassed to say that I have read the first seven. The first four were ok. Five and six were a step down, pretty borderline, but not a complete waste of time. Seven was horrible. I stopped. I recommend you do it sooner, especially if you're already tiring with book four.

Piers Anthony is a maddening author. I know he can write. He's not a great writer, but at his best, he's good. The trouble is, the vast majority of the time he churns out stupid junk (at the insane rate of four books a year, or at least it used to be that fast), with the most nauseatingly elitist authors notes (some of them longer than the story that preceeds it) tacked onto the end. I gave up on him quite some time ago and have little desire to return.