Night Mare (1983)
Night Mare is a 1983 fantasy book written by Piers Anthony.
Piers Anthony's sixth Xanth novel puts a night mare at the center: Mare Imbrium, whose job is delivering bad dreams, finds she can no longer do it properly after gaining half a soul. Exiled from the dream realm into the waking day world, she carries a single warning to King Trent as a barbarian army from Mundania marches on Xanth. The kingdom's only defense rests with its Magicians and one displaced horse of the night. True to the series, the fantasy runs on puns, wordplay, and light comic invention, with the relentless Horseman shadowing Mare at every turn.
Quick answers
What is Night Mare about?
Piers Anthony's sixth Xanth novel puts a night mare at the center: Mare Imbrium, whose job is delivering bad dreams, finds she can no longer do it properly after gaining half a soul. Exiled from the dream realm into the waking day world, she carries a single warning to King Trent as a barbarian army from Mundania marches on Xanth. The kingdom's only defense rests with its Magicians and one displaced horse of the night. True to the series, the fantasy runs on puns, wordplay, and light comic invention, with the relentless Horseman shadowing Mare at every turn.
When was Night Mare published?
Night Mare was published in 1983.
Who made Night Mare?
Night Mare was written by Piers Anthony.
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A few thoughts on Night Mare
Xanth's blend of quests, magic, and mischief translates well to open fantasy worlds like The Witcher 3 and Skyrim, both thick with monsters and lore to wander through. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild shares the same wide-eyed sense of a realm to explore. For comic reincarnation fantasy, Mushoku Tensei fits.
Fantasy adventures where animals are the heroes
Night Mare puts Mare Imbrium, a horse of the night, at the centre of Xanth's defense. These stories likewise hand the quest to creatures rather than people: mice and woodland warriors defending an abbey, dragons fighting for their place, a spider saving a friend. They carry the same charm of small beasts facing outsized danger.
Sprawling fantasy book series worth getting lost in
Night Mare is the sixth Xanth novel, one stop in a long, invention-packed saga. These books offer the same deep worlds to disappear into: knights of a storm-wracked land, a gunslinger's cursed quest, a court of fae bargains, and Death himself taking a holiday. Each rewards readers who want a fantasy world with room to wander.
Open-world fantasy games full of magic and monsters
Xanth runs on magic, Magicians, and a kingdom under threat, which makes Night Mare an easy jump to fantasy games. These worlds share its enchanted sprawl: monster-hunting across cursed lands, dragon-haunted mountains, and ruins begging to be explored. They put you inside the kind of magical realm Piers Anthony describes, free to roam it.
Dark and dreamlike fantasy in manga and anime
A night mare exiled from the dream realm gives Night Mare a strange, shadowed edge beneath the puns. These titles lean into that darker fantasy: spirits and wishes, a demon-haunted swordsman, a descent into a monstrous abyss, and a butler with an infernal bargain. They match the eerie undertow running through Xanth's lighter surface.