jbronderbookreviews

Hair Power by Piers Anthony

Terminal cancer patient, Quiti, walks into an abandoned building planning on taking her life.

Instead, she encounters a telepathic ball of hair that insists it is an alien seeking to facilitate diplomatic communication on Earth.

Quiti assumes it is all a hallucination conjured up by her brain tumor.

Because of this assumption, when she saves the alien’s life and it insists on doing Quiti a favor in return, she only asks for her hair back. She soon discovers, however, that the creature’s gift extends much further than her new locks that can change color with a thought. As her powers grow and her deadly illness goes into remission, Quiti quickly realizes that there are those that would want to use her for her abilities and is forced to leave behind everything that she knew.

Will this blessing curse her to a life on the run, or does the mysterious hairball have more in store for her?

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My Review

3 stars

Quiti is a 20 year old, plain girl with a brain tumor. She has seen the strain that it has put on her parents and she decides that she is going to kill herself. When she gets to the site, she meets a giant hairball that needs her help. Because she sets it in the sun in return it gives her a head of hair. But this is special hair that gives her special abilities. This puts her on the government’s radar and goes on the run. She meets some wonderful people along the way and learns that she is not the only hairball around. But this knowledge is not going to keep her the others safe. She is going to have to make a stand.

I absolutely love the Incarnations of Immortality and the Zanth series so I was over the moon to review Hair Power. Hair Power started out well, you feel for Quiti and can understand why she wants to commit suicide. But once the hairball gives her hair I started getting kind of irritated with it. She has to consume large amounts of food for the hair. But instantly she becomes a knock down, gorgeous girl that is clearly highly intellectual and is over the top with anything relating to sex.

I think the part that just grated on my nerves was how she is now super smart but she talks like she was a robot. Her dialogs were just rough and choppy. Then there was Roque and Desiree. I’m not a prude but that whole section just got to me. Plus I was screaming about the ending and not in a good way. Really?!?! Mind you I have to remind myself that Piers Anthony did come up with cat-ass-trophies in Xanth.

Over all that book was not as bad as I am making it out to be. Yes, it is supposed to be ridiculous and it is an over the top fantasy. It is very imaginative and I did not expect the powers of the hair. I listened to the audiobook and I feel Kristin James did a fantastic job narrating the book. She was clear on the different characters and has a beautiful voice. It is the start of a series and there was a lot of ground to lay. I can’t wait to see what happens in Hair Suite.

Hair Suite: Sequel to Hair Power by Piers Anthony

Quiti and the rest of the Hair Suits have just set up the Hair Suite, the embassy of the alien Hair Balls, when they learn they have competition. Alien cyborgs called Chip Monks want to win Earth for themselves. The two species must duel for control. These rivals discover a third alien species that threatens to destroy Earth, and have to join up quickly in order to protect the planet they are both seeking to win. Along the way, they get swept up in a world of intergalactic politics, wormholes, and role-playing. Will they be able to save Planet Earth in time? Piers Anthony, critically acclaimed author of the New York Times bestselling Xanth series, shows off his signature originality and wit in this entertaining and inventive sequel to Hair Power.

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My Review

4 stars

Quiti and the gang are back. They have started a Hair Suite temporarily until a building is built. But then Quiti learns that there are endless other aliens out in the galaxy’s. She is approached by Levi and Burn who have Chip Monks that have modified them with alien cyborgs. It seems Earth is in a battle zone between the Chip Monks and Hairballs. Thankfully a friendly competition could determine who controls Earth. But then they get notice of another alien pod that is going to crash on Earth. This one has a plant based alien life but they plan on destroying the Earth. It is going to be up to the group to create more alien hosts and stop the alien plant pod.

I have to say after my nitpicky review of Hair Power that I enjoyed Hair Suite more. All of the alien hosts still had a rough dialog but either I got used to it or it did not both me as much. I liked the idea of a friendly conflict to see who controls Earth but I have to say that all the sex discussed in the book got old.

I liked how the group had to “purchase” their answers and their payment. It expanded this world out with a bit of a chuckle. It seems that the galaxies took more from Earth than I expected. I really liked the behind the scenes and the different support cast. That really worked well. But the ending didn’t really wrap up the story. I’m curious to see what will happen in the next book.

I am reviewing the audiobook. Kristin James narrates Hair Suite and I think she did a beautiful job. I am curious to listen to other books that she has narrated.

I received Hair Power and Hair Suite from Dream Big Publications for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

Author’s Bio

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.

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