A Spell for Chameleon (The Magic of Xanth #1) by Piers Anthony

Cover art by Michael Whelan

​Bink of North Village has a problem, he has no magic. In the land of Xanth, magic is everywhere and every citizen has his own special magical talent. If you cannot display your magic by your 25th birthday, you will be exiled. With his twenty-fifth birthday fast approaching, Bink decides to visit the Good Magician Humfrey, whose magic is that of divination, to find out once and for all whether or not he has magic, even at the price of a year of servitude to the Good Magician.
Humfrey believes Bink has magic, very strong magic, but he cannot determine what his talent is. If Bink cannot display his magic, he will be exiled.
Surprisingly, until this novel, I had never read a Piers Anthony novel. For my first, this was a very interesting read.
The writing is different from some of the more modern fantasy novels I have been reading. The vocabulary is appropriate without being too difficult or archaic. The tone is surprisingly upbeat, despite Bink’s probable exile.
The creatures in this novel are interesting and unique. Some of them are common enough in modern fantasy. We encounter dragons, centaurs, and a kraken. At the same time, there is an abundance of unique creatures and plant life, mainly plant life that I have never encountered before.
I enjoyed this adventure with Bink. Bink is a very complex character with a strong personality. He is also well-developed, brave and honorable. I enjoyed the fact that Bink was always thinking, questioning, and theorizing. His intelligence is obvious in the way that he contemplates the world around him and the people with whom he comes into contact.
The story line is composed of a lot of traveling across the land of Xanth, encountering many magical obstacles and challenges. The adventure and action is comprised of these obstacles and the people and places that Bink encounters.
I enjoyed this novel. The characters and creatures were fascinating as well as the land of Xanth itself, though I found it interesting that Xanth is shaped like Florida.
I would recommend this novel to fantasy fans with a strong imagination. I plan to read further in this series.
This book, this series, was recommended to me by my Uncle and I have received permission from the publishers at Del Rey to use the cover artwork image featured above. 

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