Key to Havoc

ChroMagic Series Book One

by Piers Anthony

1,000 years ago Earth sent out a ship that colonized the planet Charm. But the population of Charm is now far removed from their ancient ancestors. Technology has been lost over the years but the people have something better—Magic!

Charm is a world covered by volcanoes, each erupting a different color of magic. Everything within a particular Chroma becomes that color. Plants, animals, insects, and even humans all become one color and can perform that color of magic. Traveling is dangerous because a person leaving their native Chroma home can no longer perform their color magic.

Havoc is a barbarian living in a nonChroma village, where no one has magic. As a boy, he rescued a dragon that rewarded him with special magic; to sense pending danger.

His gift becomes more valuable than he can imagine as he is suddenly drafted and forced to become the new king of the planet. He must perform his duties or be executed for treason.

To make matters worse, the assassin who killed the former king is now after Havoc!

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About the Author

Piers Anthony

Piers Anthony is one of the world's most prolific and popular authors. His fantasy Xanth novels have been read and loved by millions of readers around the world, and have been on the New York Times Best Seller list twenty-one times. Although Piers is mostly known for fantasy and science fiction, he has written several novels in other genres as well, including historical fiction, martial arts, and horror. Piers lives with his wife in a secluded woods hidden deep in Central Florida.

Awards

Mundania Press Best Seller Award—November 2004

Reviews

A full five swords! Key to Havoc is a major work of fantasy by a major author. —J. Crispin-Ripley, KnowBetter.com

4 STARS! Once again, Mr. Anthony creates a complex world unlike anything we might imagine. Though he uses elements recognizable from previous books, they are recombined in a fresh way. Honesty and frankness are as much a hallmark of his work as magic, so you may blush a bit, for he leaves little to the imagination. Yet, you will be laughing and turning the pages rapidly as well. —Amanda Killgore, Scribes World

Key to Havoc is the first book in a projected five-book series, all involving a rather peculiar solar system, and the denizens thereof. Vivid and Void, star and black hole, rotate about one another, fomenting chaos in the twin planets of Charm and Counter-Charm. Literal fomentation in this case—much as Jupiter wreaks havoc on Io, causing it to constantly be in flux, Charm and its twin are covered in volcanoes. Magical color-spewing volcanoes. I loved the book. I didn't want to see it end. And so—a strong yes. It's quite worth reading. Executive summary: familiar yet new setting. Big book, big world, big ideas. (Something old, something new, nothing borrowed, something blue...) Buy this book. Please. I want to find out how the series ends, dang it! —David McGrath, 2003

Mr. Anthony can DEFINITELY write more than Xanth novels! Oh my lord, this was a fantastic book!! I've been having trouble just sitting down to read this last year, but once I picked this up, I couldn't put it down. Yes, it's a bit cliche, but it's true too. The book involves a barbarian becoming king against his will and solving problems with the understanding that he can then leave the throne after solving these problems. His approach to each situation is unique and done in a manner that no one would expect—and he does it while avoiding assassination attempts to boot! All of his followers are loyal, but wait until you see WHY—you will (hopefully) end up like me; having more questions about what's going on, and eager for the next page, chapter, and book. Please, if you have any interest in fantasy novels, give this a try. I find it hard to believe that anyone would be disappointed by this. —Chris Roeszler, January 2004

A new whimsical, sexy and adventurous world by Piers! This is the first book in a fantasy series called the ChroMagic series. This is a fantastic book with a brand new world with a magic system that blew me away. A planet long ago colonized by humans and disconnected with Earth thereafter. What people didn't know is that it had volcanoes that created magical fields turning anything in the area whatever color the volcano spouts (red, yellow, green, black, white, etc...). The story is quintessential Piers. The main character Havoc is taken away from his village and his love, Gale, to the big capital city and forced to become King of the Chroma. Kingship has its privileges, but not if someone wants to kill you. That is just one of the many challenges that Havoc needs to deal with. There is a secret menace, a dark mystery, love and passion and lot of adventures. This is not a kiddie book a-la-Xanth. This is an adult novel with a lot of sex and blood but with a Piers' twist. If you like Piers and enjoy reading such things as Apprentice Adept or Bio of an Space Tyrant, this is the novel and the series for you. —Marisol, December 2003

This is a GREAT book!!! Best new thing from Piers Anthony! I loved this book! I have been a fan of Piers Anthony for 18 years now. I am thrilled that he has a new series published. This book, the first in the ChroMagic series, is EXCELLENT! It has a little bit of everything...magic, adventure, mystery, romance, s-e-x! I believe that any Anthony fans will be very happy with this book! No, it's not Xanth. Xanth is great. But this is WONDERFUL! I'm not going to give any details on the story because, well, you can read what you need to know above. I don't want to give anything juicy away! This is not a book for children, however. This series is written for ADULTS. On a much higher level than Xanth. —Kadyweb, December 2003

Piers Anthony is one of those authors who can perform magic with the ordinary... [He] is a craftsman, and, like a skilled furniture builder who can make a chair much more than a place to sit, makes a book more than words to read. —A Reader's Guide to Science Fiction

His portraits of aliens and their societies is one of his great strengths as a science fiction writer. —20th Century Science Fiction Writers

Want to know more about Piers Anthony?

Piers Anthony's official website is HI PIERS at www.hipiers.com, where he publishes his bi-monthly online newsletter. HI PIERS also has a section reviewing many of the online publishers and self-publishing companies for your reference if you are looking for a non-traditional solution to publish your book.

Piers Anthony's largest fan-based website is The Compleat Piers Anthony at www.piers-anthony.com. The Compleat Piers Anthony contains extensive information about all the books and stories that Piers has written, as well as up-to-date information about forthcoming books.

Excerpt

Assassination!

    Havoc continued calling out names, and the arrests were publicly made. Suddenly an arrow flew from above the audience. It struck Havoc directly in the face, and exploded. Gale and the child in red screamed and clutched each other. The king's head became a fireball. Then the body fell, headless.

    The crown that should have protected the king was still sitting at the side of the stage, supposedly forgotten. Havoc had done his best to trigger an assassination attempt, and had succeeded.

    "King Havoc is dead!" a Representative cried out.

    A female figure appeared, completely red, glowing with the aura of fantastic power. "Not quite," she said, her voice dulcet yet possessed of vital authority.