The Gutbucket Quest

by Piers Anthony and Ron Leming

Book Overview

Slim's a Texas bluesman of a certain age, down on his luck, and just about broke--but hey, that's what the blues are all about. Then, one day, in a single hot burst of lightning that comes straight up out of the ground, Slim finds himself in Tejas. Not Texas, but somewhere else. It's a little bit magic and a whole lot different, but the blues are the same. And the blues--manifest here in the form of a maple-necked pearl-gray Fender Stratocaster with...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812564863
• ISBN13: 9780812564860
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

A truly underappreciated novel

If you love Anthony, believe me you won't like this novel. However, if, like me, you find Anthony not even worth reading and IF you love the blues take a look at this novel. It doesn't have gratuitous sex in it. Any sex in it is truly loving and beautiful and it focuses on the heart of the blues. It is also true to its Texas location and the Texas characters are amazingly believable for someone who lived for a long time in that state. I'm sad that not as many people have read this novel as, I am convinced, would love it if it didn't have the Anthony name on it. That made people who like him pick it up (and hate the book) and people who don't like him (who might have loved the book) stay away in droves.

True to the Blues

I wanna live in Tejas, a land powered by the magic of the blues, where good men live free. When that freedom is challenged by the unrighteous T-Bone, Slim Chance--a blues name if I ever heard one--rises to heroic proportions to defeat the evil forces. The "tribal" nature of the story was particularly enjoyable--Mother Phillips, who presides over Tralfaz, an animal sanctuary, where even the humans roam unashamedly naked; Elijigbo's Torriero, a successful hippie-like commune. The story comes to a climax at an inevitable blues fest. The "tribes" gather to back Slim in his triumphant defeat of T-Bone.I'd never read a fantasy book and probably never would've, had The Gutbucket Quest not flown into my hands and begged me to give it a chance. Once I sat down with it, I couldn't stop reading. It's how the real world ought to be. If you're into the blues, it's a must-read.

Blues Fantasy Novel ... a nice suprise

If you are looking for Piers Anthony's lighter PG rated material or think sex is a four letter word; this won't be the book for you. However, get this book to understand what the Blues music means to the people who play and enjoy a fantasy adventure. The abundance of very loving sex in it is true to the Blues culture.Recognized some of the Texas characters which made the Tejas of the book plausible and more enjoyable for me. This book doesn't fit properly into any one genre. It is a cross between a socio-historical novel, science fiction, and a fantasy adventure.The book reads like a good Blues song. It is simple on the surface with emotional depths and a directness that reveals the truth of human nature. Very enjoyable.

An interesting change from the Xanth series

...As a long-time blues aficionado and reader of Anthony's work, I have to say this is a pretty damn good novel! It puts into some wonderful words just exactly what it is about the music that just GETS some of us. No, it's not a light romp like Xanth, but neither is it dark and turgid like the Tarot books. It's a good read....that's all it is, and all it needs to be