Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Xanth #25

Swell Foop

Rate this book
Someone-or some thing-has kidnapped the dreaded Demon Earth. If he isn't found, the very fabric of our world will unravel, removing the Earth's gravitational field, and, incidentally, that of the magical land of Xanth as well! To combat this dastardly deed, six bold adventurers must locate the mysterious object known as the Swell Foop, and wield it in a deadly cosmic contest against an awesome enemy.

The twenty-fifth exhilarating episode in Piers Anthony's fabulous saga of Xanth, Swell Foop blends laughter and romance, wonder and danger, in one of the most intricate and intriguing tales in the history of the series.

Swell Foop, the twenty-fifth volume in Piers Anthony's bestselling Xanth fantasy adventures, is one of the most intricate and intriguing tales in the history of the series.

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

21 people are currently reading
2390 people want to read

About the author

Piers Anthony

440 books4,194 followers
Though 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.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
957 (30%)
4 stars
932 (29%)
3 stars
987 (31%)
2 stars
232 (7%)
1 star
47 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
Profile Image for Jacqui.
41 reviews1 follower
January 28, 2010
I can't believe I read through 25 of these.
Profile Image for Velvetea.
494 reviews17 followers
August 10, 2011
I love Piers, I really do, but I this was around the time when I became a bit too distracted by the overt sexuality of nearly all of his female characters. It's not so much a problem to have attractive creatures in the story at all, it's more that they all have lusty factors repeatedly brought into play, and it just got a little vexing. Sorry, Piers~ I still love you!
Profile Image for Paul Darcy.
280 reviews8 followers
January 9, 2012
by Piers Anthony, published in 2001.

Xanth, the one fictitious world in which all else are real . . .

. . . Er, or something.

This is indeed another (number 26) Xanth novel by Piers Anthony, full of puns, low necklines and magical mayhem. So after twenty six novels in the same magical world, has the magic departed or is it still about in force?

I would say that this particular story is not outstanding in the series of Xanth novels, but that does not mean it is not enjoyable for it surely is. It would appear that the Demon Earth has been abducted by another of his/her/its kind and only the unlikely inhabitants of Xanth can save him/her/it - oh, and add in one Mundane as well, romance and an almost omnipotent Roc and well, you are in Xanth.

You see, with the Demon Earth missing, gravity which is his/her/its prime power is going to wane until it is no more. Xanth, and every other realm, won’t survive if this happens. So, when Cynthia Centaur goes to as Magician Humphrey if she will breed true with Che, ask a service task she must gather the six rings of Xanth and assemble the Swell Foop to rescue Earth . . .

Sounds confusing, but the plot is rather straight forward and riddled with puns as you would expect. In fact, I found the plot very plotted - if that makes any sense. It went like, ring one - check, ring two - check, and so on. Not the greatest, but then the reason most of us return to Xanth is not for the amazing convoluted plots, but to bask in the silliness (with pointed though subtle overtones of morality) which is Piers Anthony’s creation.

I say well done again for that, and now I have to go and read “The Dastard” (Xanth number 25), which I somehow skipped (in all the years I have not done that). It was on my bookshelf next to Doone Mode, and the covers were both very dark (which is not usually a Xanth thing) and so I grabbed Swell Foop when I should have grabbed The Dastard.

If you have never read any Xanth, you should really pick up “A Spell for Chameleon” and see if it is for you.

Another thing I enjoy about the Xanth novels (at least the last dozen or more) is the author’s notes in the back. He relates the tale of writing that particular novel and you get an insight into the mind of the creator. He also lists the puns he uses from contributors too. He can be found online at hipiers(dot)com I believe.

I would list all the Xanth novels to date - but there just isn’t room . . .
Profile Image for Don LaFountaine.
468 reviews9 followers
June 5, 2016
This is the 25th installment in the Xanth series. It was a fun book that had a little bit of everything for a fan of the series.

It seems that Demon Earth has been kidnapped. Obviously it could only be done by a Demon, but which one? The effect could be devastating to the mortals in Mundania, as well as the inhabitants in the land of Xanth. For without Demon Earth's gravity, everyone could float away.

In going to the Good Magician to find out whether she will breed true, Cynthia Centaur becomes the creature who has to save Demon Earth. Not knowing how, she tells her plight to Che and Sim, who go to Sim's mother to find out how to proceed. What they find out is that they have to go to Castle Zombie in search of the Rings of Xanth. The whereabouts of these rings can only be ascertained with the help of a zombie; one zombie per ring. Each ring is powerful enough to control a realm of Xanth - Air, Fire, Void, etc. When these six rings are put together, they can find the Swell Foop. The Foop is powerful enough to control Demons, and the hope is that the adventurers can use it to find and rescue Demon Earth.

In their rush, the group forgot that they needed 6 ring bearers. With the help of the Night Stallion, they located their 6th member; a girl from Mundania, specifically located in Hawaii. With the help of the Baldwin family, Breanna is able to travel there and recruit Jaylin to help. Little did they know that once the Foop was located and used to find Demon Earth, they would be sent on a journey in a galaxy far away from their own to do battle in a game against the Demon that captured Demon Earth.

This was a very good installment in the series. There are many of the characters that readers of the series are familiar with, but as with most Xanth books, a new reader will not be lost if they happen to pick up this book instead of an earlier story. I felt that the character of Breanna was a little more obnoxious than she was previously in the series, but seemed to return to her normal character traits by the end of the book. Otherwise, the story was captivating and enjoyable. Bottom line, readers of the Xanth series will enjoy this installment a lot, and if a non-reader of the series picks up this book and starts to read it, it stands by itself well enough. It is such a fun story that they may want to start reading other books in the series.
Profile Image for Brianne.
256 reviews6 followers
July 31, 2011
I can believe I've read 25 of these books. But there not bad. This one being an example of one of the better Xanth's. It was a new concept. Well written. Easy to read through. Through have over a hundred lovely puns it wasn't and overload.

Just re-read this review. Obviously my mind was a bit scrambled after reading the book. But I believe the gist of the sentence was that I liked it even though there were a ton of puns.
Profile Image for Richard Ayars.
81 reviews
March 21, 2021
Definitely more interesting than the previous novel, The Dastard. A quick, easy, silly read. Exactly what I want in a Xanth adventure.
Profile Image for Angela.
7,643 reviews111 followers
August 26, 2019
4 Stars

Swell Foop is the twenty-fifth book in the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. The fabric of our universe is at risk- Earth and Xanth's future is on the line. It will take 6 brave adventurers to track down the Swell Foop, a powerful weapon, and the only hope of defeating the dangerous foe.
The Xanth 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. Recently I had been reorganising my bookshelves, because eight book cases have become insufficient to house all my books (#bookwhoredilemma)- and it came to the point where I was going to have to get rid of some of my older books/series in order to make way for new favourites. I looked at all the larger/longer series first and this is one of the larger series that I have, it came under scrutiny. I decided to reread all the books I was considering getting rid of first- before making a final decision. I can honestly say that although I these books didn’t blow me away as they once did- 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/beasts. 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 I have missed.
The world of Xanth 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 Xanth 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 in the end I can’t cull any of my collection. So I decided to just purchase a couple of extra bookcases instead. #myprecious
A series worth exploring- especially for any epic fantasy lover who loves some fun and humour served with their adventure.

Thank you, Mr. Anthony!
Profile Image for Kara.
302 reviews14 followers
October 11, 2023
I must say that this has been one of the best Xanth novels I've read.
Che centaur goes to the good magician to ask the question of whether she will breed true when she marries Chex. But when she gets through the 3 challenges, Humphreys does everything to keep from answering her question.
When she finally gets her answer, of which, if she just thought more about it, she could have answered herself, she finds out why he didn't want to answer it.
Humphreys had made a deal with one of the muses that the next querant, upon getting their answer, must take on the challenge of finding the Demon Earth as the price of the answer instead of serving 1 year of service.
Che is given some more information to do this she will need to find the six rings of Xanth and the swell foop. Also, to find the rings, she will need to find the zombies who are in charge of where the rings are hidden from the last time the six rings and the swell foop were used, thousands of years ago.
Che heads for Zombie Castle to seek the help of the Zombie master before he and Millie the ghost retires to the Zombie moon, one of the ever smaller moons that circle each of the different heads of Princess Ida.
As the story progresses, Che is joined by Chex, Breanna and Justin, who will be taking over Zombie castle after the retirement and their wedding, plus the big chick who Chex is teaching (sorry, I can't remember his name).
The zombies who are in charge of the rings are called forth by Breanna, and each of them go on their own journey to locate the rings so that they can get back in enough time for Breanna and Justin to get married that day. But after they each get back with their ring, they realize that they only have 5. As each can only control one ring, they need to find a sixth person to help them out and now that they started the process, it's going to be interesting how they get the last person.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
289 reviews2 followers
January 19, 2021
At least this installment of Xanth started off well enough. The whole premise of the book is the kidnapping of a demon by another demon due to a bad wager (we learn this over midway through the book, but can deduce this if we bother to remember previous novels concerning demons, which I didn’t bother with or care to remember). In any event, some of the trials to get the rings were interesting. There are less bad puns in this book than in most others, making it sort of tolerable. I think that the solution of getting the demons involved emotionally using the “foop” was silly and hard to keep track of all the players at the end to the point where I just wanted the story to finally end. The sloppy sexual innuendo and flirting and skirt chasing and panties and shock value is already old at this point and this series is winding down to the 13 year old mentality. I’m just reading these now at this point to maintain my collection and they are losing all imaginative value, the whole point of reading this genre in the first place. If there’s any sort of allegorical value in these stories at this point, they get lost in the silliness of these books now. Onwards...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Helen Robare.
813 reviews4 followers
October 7, 2022
NOTE: This book series is 100% fantasy and is filled with puns!

I love this series and have been reading them since 1977 when the first of the series came out. Now the author is in his 80s and still writing the series. In fact, the last book (#47, Apoca Lips) just came out.

I read these books when I want to escape the real world and enter a TRUE fantasy world or when I just want something "light" to read. (Light in this case does not mean "not good"!)

In this book, Cynthia Centaur is on her way to the good magician's castle to ask a question about her future. Unfortunately, the muse of history has told the good magician that the next person to enter the castle with a question will have the task of finding the Demon E(A/R)th who has been kidnapped/demonnapped!

Thus Cynthia and six of her friends set out on the almost impossible task. Other adventures are found, new friends are made, and each member of the party learns something important.

As I said above, it's a cute fantasy novel that has stood the test of time and is still very enjoyable.
Profile Image for Joan.
2,424 reviews
July 7, 2020
Probably more of 3.5 stars. Much of the general plot is recycled from other Xanth stories, but this had some rather interesting twists combining demons such as Xanth and Earth with the forces of the universe such as the weak force, etc. (if you don’t know what I mean, go grab an Isaac Asimov book on Physics or something. Asimov refers to them as interactions rather than forces, the terminology has changed over the years. Also be aware Physics has advanced over the years and you should not use asimov’s info on your exams without double checking it!). Other than advancing on some ongoing storylines, such as Justin Tree and Breanna, this was an ok book at most. Recommended for Xanth addicts who will undoubtedly disapprove of my lackluster review.
Profile Image for Kate H.
1,684 reviews1 follower
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.
15 reviews
July 10, 2020
Romance book

At first it was collection of characters that seem a little busy but enjoyable to read without influencing the story. At times it got a little dry with leaving me with were the book was going and rapping out plot later.
Profile Image for Elisa Kay.
496 reviews4 followers
August 4, 2025
This is one of the best Xanth books I have read so far.
Demon Earth is missing and if they're not found there'll be no gravity.
Five adventurers set out to find the six rings needed to control the swell foop.
This book had adventure and love.
Profile Image for Beorn.
81 reviews2 followers
May 12, 2019
Another fun Xanth adventure
Profile Image for Bill Jones.
400 reviews
July 20, 2023
Xanth goes intergalactic! Especially like the Authors notes at the end of the story. Worth reading.
Profile Image for Barbi Faye (The Book Fae).
660 reviews12 followers
April 29, 2016
The 25th Piers Anthony Xanth novel is always a swell delight, and as always is full of puns, fun, games, intrigue, fantasy, adventure, mythical beasties, romance, magic, and danger galore. And more PUNS! There will never be an equal to a fantasy filled Xanth novel, ever. In this terrific tale, somebody has kidnapped the dreaded Demon Earth, and in doing so it will remove the Earth's gravitational field, and that of Xanth, too!
To save the magical land and Earth as well from this current plight, Cynthia and Che Centaur along with other brave Xanth denizens and some Mundanes must locate the object known as the Swell Foop, and wield it in a deadly cosmic contest against an awesome enemy. As always its just games and demon machinations where they are involved...!
Profile Image for Kristen (belles_bookshelves).
2,979 reviews19 followers
September 11, 2023
"Nothing can exist without some dimension of space and time."

I like this Xanth installment a lot. It's your typical Xanth adventure (a hodgepodge group of characters with a crazy quest) but on a universal scale.

The Demon Earth has been kidnapped (demonnapped? planetnapped?) and it's up to several old and new characters to find the 6 rings needed to control demons and, hopefully, control whichever demon kidnapped.

A pun-tastic adventure that is literally out of this world, Xanth lovers and Piers Anthony enthusiasts are sure to love it.
Profile Image for El.
100 reviews
July 5, 2008
This was a generally quite good Xanth novel: certainly a lot better than most of the recent offerings. There was a semi-convincing plot, reasonable characterisation and a nice outing into the world of the Demons. Although Ptero was featured, it wasn't overused as has been the tendency since it was first featured, and I liked the fact that Ida finally got to visit it. The puns didn't quite get too annoying either.
Profile Image for Jeremiah Johnson.
342 reviews2 followers
February 26, 2014
This was much better writing than previous entries. The things that I've come to hate about the series (Ptero, Adult Conspiracy, Metria) were present but not a lot. Without those, it might have been a 4 star book.
The overall story isn't fantastic, but it isn't bad either. Seeing some of the older characters was nice.
The Demons' involvement was a fun twist, so I'll be interested to see what happens with that in the future.
Profile Image for Kirsti.
2,491 reviews102 followers
November 26, 2017
Somehow I missed reading this again when I read the entire series last year or the year before, and I'm sure I own it. I will be rectifying that as soon as possible, but until then this review will suffice!
Profile Image for Sara.
14 reviews
December 14, 2013
This was a pretty good book, but not quite as good as some of the others. I liked the elements of the story as they progressed and how so many seemed to fit together so well. I also liked the fact that most of the characters were not only one dimensional.
Profile Image for Andrea Elkins.
314 reviews8 followers
January 13, 2017
Boy I loved the Xanth novels as a teenager. But they don't pull me in like they used to. It's harder to find a good SciFi/fantasy series that keeps my interest and doesn't seem stale. I think the DiscWorld series is better entertainment in a similar style -- more wryness, fewer puns.
Profile Image for Vader.
3,757 reviews33 followers
May 21, 2021
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
Profile Image for Aaron.
51 reviews2 followers
October 5, 2007
Demons demons Demons.
This one was fun, and has a grand variety of characters.
fun one.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.