The Iron Maiden (Bio of a Space Tyrant Series #6) Book

I hadn't read a Piers Anthony book in almost a decade, and The Iron Maiden had been on my radar since I discovered it via Goodreads several years ago. I, when younger, had been an avid fan of Piers Anthony's writing; I devoured it on a consistent basis as if I was emulating Cthulhu and his work was eternity, reality. At one point I had collected over 50 of his books when I came upon the "Bio Of A Space Tyrant" series. I set upon it with a vengeance, and even though I was not even 18 at the time when I read them, they added a new dimension to his work, that of overarching sci-fi, and I honestly thought it was his best work I'd read. Cut to the (mostly) present, when I heard he'd released a finale to what I'd believed was an already finished series, I couldn't help myself and ordered a copy immediately. A decade and more since I'd read the original work, my life had changed significantly; Working full time, love found, love misunderstood, love lost, money, responsibilities galore, and more stress than I'd ever imagined, I approached this new novel with a different mind set than the source material. I found myself transfixed, and couldn't set it down, finishing it in under three days, something I hadn't done since I had been a high school student. I discovered I remembered much of the original series, and what I hadn't came rushing back when reading about the events through the eyes of Spirit Hubris, sister of the Tyrant, titular character of the original series, and found that it was still magical. As an adult, I found I understood much of the political intrigue and subterfuge far more than I did as a teenager, as well as the sexual relationships and emotional depth appealed to me in different ways.

My love of reading sprung to life when, as a child, I read, "Vale of the Vole", from his Xanth series. I've read hundreds of books since then, and that love of reading has enchanted my life in ways I predict I'll still be discovering on my death bed. While I can easily admit my bias, I'll state here that this book, The Iron Maiden, was some of the best work I'd read from Piers Anthony, period. Fun, emotionally fulfilling, mature, honest, and easy to approach.

Thank you, Piers, for all the magic you've shared in my life.