Spell for Chameleon, A - Piers Anthony

I thought it was a pretty good book. The beginning was a little uninteresting for me but about two chapters in it started to get exciting. The story had a really good plot and the rising actions were very believable and hooking.

The climax was especially exciting and shows the pain of what Bink is going through and it makes you feel the pain too. My favourite part was when Bink and Chameleon were taken to be turned into basilisks by the Evil Magician Trent.

The only thing I would want to change about the book is I would make the beginning a little more hooking. I decided to do this book for my book report project at school but I could use some help. I have to find two or three items about each section: plot, setting, character, and theme but I'm not quite sure what to use and I'm not quite sure what the theme was. Does anyone have any suggestions???

After witnessing the hysteria produced by the sixth Harry Potter novel, I felt that there would be a greater interest in fantasy than of yore. So I thought that perhaps the time was right to wipe the dust off a few old favourites and introduce them to the world at large.

Piers Anthony is by no means an obscure writer, at least as far as aficionados of SF&F (Science Fiction and Fantasy) are concerned. He created the magical world of Xanth, which is hidden from us mortals because of a magical wall which makes it invisible and impenetrable for non-magical beings. A spell for Chameleon is the first book of the Xanth series, first published in 1977 and recipient of a fierce and loyal fan-following today!

It is a light-weight and light-hearted story of the coming of age of Bink. In the magical land of Xanth, where everyone possesses some sort of magic, he is alone in having no magic at all! Approaching his 25th birthday, he faces expulsion from his motherland if he cannot prove that he has some sort of magic, no matter how trivial or useless.

He therefore sets out to get help from the magician Humphrey. Along the way to the magician's castle he meets the others of the cast, like the soldier Crombie and the beautiful Wynne (who wants a spell from the Magician). Along the way, he also has a number of colorful adventures. Humphrey is unable to help Bink, who is then expelled from Xanth. He then meets an evil magician called Trent, who is trying to conquer Xanth. Their battles with each other and the eventual exposure of Bink's magical abilities form the climax of the book. And the title? Well read the book to find out all about the Chameleon.

This is basically a book aimed at teenagers, but a fun book to read even for adults, so long as you are not too critical about the magical things and the occasional adolescent language. If you liked Harry Potter, there is no reason why this work of fantasy should not grab your attention.