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Xanth

# 26 - Up In a Heaval [UIAH]

Profusely punning his path through his 26th Xanth fantasy, the prolific Anthony (The Dastard, etc.) focuses on a contest between Demon Jupiter and Demon Fornax, reviving to great effect the dueling demons theme from last year's Swell Foop. Believing a piece of Mundane Snail Mail has provoked Demon Jupiter to hurl his red spot at the Demon Earth (which could result in the obliteration of Xanth), Umlaut, the story's hero, sets out with Sesame Snake and Sammy Cat to consult the Good Magician. To avert tragedy, they must deliver the letters that remain from the Snail Mail left at the Zombie Castle. As they crisscross Xanth, they encounter many of the characters featured in Anthony's previous works. To add depth to the plot, the Demoness Metria appears regularly to tempt Umlaut from his path using raging hormones and the "Adult Conspiracy" theme that salts all the Xanth novels with schoolboy humor and sophomoric jokes. Anthony's latest offering is certain to please fans. New readers, however, may lack the patience to plow through so many puns and so much childish humor.

Major Characters

Character Name Species Origin Talent Notes First Chapter Mentioned
Metria Demoness Hades Lover of Gromden; wife of Veleno; mother of Threnody, Ted, and Chaos; troublemaker who has a problem with vocabulary; has alter egos Mentia and Woe betide 03
Para Boat Xanth A duck-footed boat that can go on land or sea, to the Isles of WO 09
Sammy Cat Two Moons finding things, except home Mate of Claire Voyant; father of Kitten Kaboodle; pet of Jenny Elf; cute orange fluffball 03
Surprise Crossbreed Xanth Many Daughter of Rapunzel and Grundy; wife of Umlaut; mother of Prize; delivered at age 6. With her talent, one never knows what magic will manifest. Initially she showed talents of size change, hair, changing objects, invisibility, and bringing nightfall, later, a whole paragraph more. However, she thinks she can only use each talent once. She now lives in Euphoria in Mundania. 12
Umlaut Golem Xanth Emulation Husband of Surpise; father of Prize; created by Fornax for a bet with the semblance of body, life, and awareness. If he accomplishes his chore, Xanth wins. Gained a real soul at the conclusion of his quest. 02
Sesame Serpent Xanth Emulation Mate of Souffle; trapped in the basement of Castle Zombie while fleeing from another sea serpent; found by Breanna and Justin after the Zombie Master retired and named Drivel. 02
Claire Voyant Cat Xanth Clairvoyance Mate of Sammy Cat; mother of Kitten Kaboodle 09
 
KEY - Xanth Titles; so far, by the numbers: (Click on any Title for more info on that book)
1 A Spell For Chameleon [ASFC]  2 The Source Of Magic [TSOM]  3 Castle Roogna [CaR]  4 Centaur Aisle [CA] 
5 Ogre, Ogre [OO]  6 Night Mare [NM]  7 Dragon on a Pedestal [DOAP]  8 Crewel Lye [CL] 
9 Golem In The Gears [GITG]  10 Vale Of The Vole [VOTV]  11 Heaven Cent [HC]  12 Man From Mundania [MFM] 
13 Isle Of View [IOV]  14 Question Quest [QQ]  15 The Color Of Her Panties [TCOHP]  16 Demons Don't Dream [DDD] 
17 Harpy Thyme [HT]  18 Geis of the Gargoyle [GOTG]  19 Roc And A Hard Place [RAAHP]  20 Yon Ill Wind [YIW] 
21 Faun & Games [FAG]  22 Zombie Lover [ZL]  23 Xone Of Contention [XOC]  24 The Dastard [TD] 
25 Swell Foop [SF]  26 Up In a Heaval [UIAH]  27 Cube Route [CuR]  28 Currant Events [CE] 
29 Pet Peeve [PP]  30 Stork Naked [SN]  31 Air Apparent [AA]  32 Two to the Fifth [TTTF] 
33 Jumper Cable [JC]  34 Knot Gneiss [KG]  35 Well-Tempered Clavicle [WTC]  36 Luck of the Draw [LOTD] 
37 Esrever Doom [ED]  38 Board Stiff [BS]  39 Five Portraits [FP]  40 Isis Orb [IO] 
41 Ghost Writer in the Sky [GWITS]  42 Fire Sail [FS]  43 Jest Right [JR]  44 Skeleton Key [SK] 
45 A Tryst of Fate [TOF]  46 Six Crystal Princesses [SCP]  47 Apoca Lips [AL]   
Back to Xanth
Doug Harter maintains the Xanth Character Database, updating it as new books in the Xanth series are released. Thanks to Piers Anthony, for letting me see some of his Character Notes, to Peg Rombach-Riggs who did the work creating the original table, Seajay who supplied the numbers, Dawn M. Burge for suggesting and helping Origin to be accomplished, and FNProgramvare's BookCat, which I use to store the Xanth Character info.
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