From Publishers Weekly
A brassy 15-year-old, Breanna, stars in this cheeky new installment in Anthony's popular series about Xanth (Faun & Games, 1997, etc.), a quirky magical realm where everything is taken literally. Since she spent most of her life in Mundania, Breanna knows all about stork-summoning, but she needs help to escape the unwelcome attentions of King Xeth of the Zombies, who stirs up his grisly minions to try to make her his queen. Anthony combines Breanna's tale with a sweeter one, that of Jenny Elf's love for handsome werewolf Prince Jeremy. He also revives several engaging characters from earlier novels to spice up the girls' adventures. His punny goings-on, liberally salted with reader-submitted howlers like a barrister/bare aster flower, zip and zoom around his traditional themes: be considerate of other people's feelings, apologize for temper tantrums, learn how to be tolerant even of zombies who shed gobbets of decaying flesh. Xanth devotees should be delighted; others may scratch their heads.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
There are so many books in Anthony's most durable creation, the Xanth series, that one can justifiably call this the umpteenth novel of Xanth. A gorgeous black girl named Brianna finds herself lusted after by Xeth, king of the Zombies. Being inclined, even grimly determined, to decline his attentions, she thereupon must flee to the Isle of Women, then onward, past many Xanth landmarks and through meetings with a good many characters whom dedicated Xanthropologists will recognize, from King Dor on down. Anthony's guided-tour-of-Xanth approach in this and other recent books in the series makes them much more entertaining for Xanth newcomers. Meanwhile, newcomers and old-timers alike will enjoy Anthony's latest collection of truly mind-boggling puns. Every so often, most readers get a craving for a book like this; be grateful to Anthony for continuing to satisfy it. Roland Green