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Piers Anthony
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The Ring Kindle Edition

by Piers Anthony (Author), Robert E. Margroff (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 28 ratings
Far-future convicts get “ringed”—and lose their free will—in this novel of “chilling extrapolation” cowritten by the New York Times–bestselling author (Clifford D. Simak).

After a youth spent trapped in space exile, Jeff Font returned to Earth to seek vengeance against the planetary mogul who had framed and destroyed his family. Jeff’s plans backfired: He was captured, drugged, rammed through a computerized court system, convicted . . . and ringed.

The ring. The ultimate high-tech civics lesson. A surgically implanted electronic monitor that automatically caused unendurable agony when a convict strayed from righteousness. A ringer would do no evil, think no evil, see or hear evil robocops—nor defend himself or others from insult or injury.

And in a corrupt world of licensed sin and satanic parties, floral estates, and city-size slums, ringers were the ultimate victims. But the ring’s data banks had not factored in Jeff Font’s strength, courage, and his will to fight society, the world, and the agony of the ring to unravel the plot that entrapped him—and see justice done.
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  1. Print length
    247 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy
  4. Publication date
    July 1, 2014
  5. File size
    4.5 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Piers Anthony is one of the world's most popular fantasy authors, and a "New York Times" bestseller twenty-one times over. His Xanth novels have been read and loved by millions of readers around the world, and he daily receives hundreds of letters from his devoted fans.
In addition to the Xanth series, Anthony is the author of many other best-selling works. Piers Anthony lives in Inverness, Florida.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00KLOY10U
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy (July 1, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 1, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4.5 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 247 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 28 ratings

About the author

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Piers Anthony

Piers Anthony

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Piers Anthony is one of the world's most popular fantasy authors, and a New York Times bestseller twenty-one times over. His Xanth novels have been read and loved by millions of readers around the world, and he daily receives hundreds of letters from his devoted fans.In addition to the Xanth series, Anthony is the author of many other best-selling works. Piers Anthony lives in Inverness, Florida.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
28 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book! I'm amazed that it ever became out-of-print.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    This short yarn has only 250 pages but it packs alot into them. There are at least 6 cliffhangers of difference in degree, five classic females roles (Pamela's, Alice's two roles, Annie, and Rhonda), egalitarianism, immutable human existential issues, a clever idea (the capactor-powered gyroscopic one-wheeled car), a peudo-satanic sex cult, psychedelic drugs (used as various tools), criminals (crime doesn't pay), four fight scenes, and passing resemblances to five shakespearean plays (King Lear, Romeo & Juliet, Othello, The Taming of the Shrew, and Hamlet), and finally some repeatable quotes from Tennyson's Locksley's Hall - Sixty Years After. I couldn't put it down and read it straight through. I highly recommend this book. I'm astonished that it ever went out of print! Great read.
    10 people found this helpful
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  • Mister G
    4.0 out of 5 stars This old story still rings true
    Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    I chose this book being a fan of Piers fantasy books. I really liked the pacing and storytelling although the twist was a little predictable. Still entertaining.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • DAB
    5.0 out of 5 stars A very nice sci fi find!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Another marvel from the mind of Piers Anthony and Robert Margroff. Totally different than their other works.
    The best part is, this is a series.

    I really loved the different world they created with so much room for more.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Harkius
    3.0 out of 5 stars A Great Idea, Nearly Squandered
    Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2008
    This novel tells the sort of Geofferry Font Junior, the son of a industrialist who, prior to the setting of the novel, has apparently been framed for extortion by his partner, McKissack. Between the two of them, they had control of one of the largest and most lucrative companies in the near future, G&G Gyromotors (think GM, except gyrotastic). The protagonist has returned from his forced exile on Alpha IV, an inhospitable prison planet where his father was forced to go after his conviction for extortion and his mother was placed after an attempted assault on her husband's business partner.

    This is the essential backstory, which was not summarized in fair detail by other reviewers, to my taste. Now, for the plot. Jeff Font wants to clear his father's name and to marry the daughter of McKissack, with whom he shared a childhood romance (of sorts). To this end, he attempts to kidnap her.

    As an aside. Several things colored my appreciation of this book. First, it is clearly dated. The characters make mention of hidden repressions, an allusion to Stockholm syndrome (see the botched kidnaping attempt just referred), etc. These episodes are clearly referenced, although quite shallow and poorly developed. Which is unfortunate. Second, along with the undernourishment of the remainder of the novel, securely places it into the realm of common science fiction: Escapism. This is even more tragic because of the novelty and the quality of the material which was tainted.

    Back to the plot. After his attempted crime, the protagonist is Ringed. What this means we are left to discover through alternatingly heavy-handed attempts and vague impressions that Big Brother (ooops, I mean the Ultra Conscience) is not only watching, but He is in our heads! While this is not particularly novel, the idea that a normative conscience could be foisted upon a poorly socialized or aberrant individual was quite interesting. The more poorly you behave, the more severe is the punishment, leading to a strongly reinforced motivation to behave yourself.

    The philosophical implications of this are addressed, but only in a schoolboy fashion. The one serious incident in the novel has little impact, because a person we have met twice, for about five minutes each time, is the only one who seriously suffers.

    The final problem with this book is the ending. Perhaps it was originally twenty or thirty pages later. As is, it stands out as an exemplary deus ex machina, as everything is neatly tied up within twenty pages or so, with only one thread left untied (something about a daughter who is mistaken for someone else at a key moment, for no apparent reason).

    Three things would have made this book better. First, the novel should have been four to five hundred pages, not 250. This extra space would have given much greater depth of characters, more space for examining the precariousness of this attempt at resocialization, and a more organic ending. Second, the moral dilemmas faced by Mr. Font would have been more interesting if he had been given more time to work through them to discover what was and was not allowed. We are given to believe that Ultra Conscience is a person, at one point. Who? What are his morals? How are they in comparison with society (obviously they are discrepant, but how much?)? How did this person (or his morality) come to be at the center of jurisprudence? Etc. Third, as mentioned, a more organic, less mysterious, less deus ex machina ending would have been icing on the cake. Even if it were only the icing, the book would have been better.

    Not bad. Not great. I probably will read it again fifteen to twenty years from now. Not something I will feel compelled to share.

    C

    Harkius
    7 people found this helpful
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  • R-Walker
    5.0 out of 5 stars Have the paperback wanted a protable version
    Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I liked the book when I bought the paperback, and wanted a portable copy.one two three four five six seven.
    One person found this helpful
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  • D. E. Evans
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great SciFi from Anthony and REM
    Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2018
    I read the excellent quality trade paperback edition from Xlibris, which includes a new, brief author's note explaining the genesis of the novel.

    I first read about this book in the description given in Bio of an Ogre. The thing that stood out about that description is the date he gives for typing it up (presumably the final draft), and the fact that the same week he began writing Macroscope. This is the second collaboration novel, the first with Robert E. Margoff (REM).

    This is the story about a ring which enforces good behavior, and the personal and social consequences that stem from it. It's hard hitting science fiction, and the fact it was written in the late 1960s does not detract from its relevance. This is well written and was fun to read.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Lio Dnoml6
    4.0 out of 5 stars Read it a long time ago, but I thought it was good
    Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2006
    I've read around 10-15 books by Piers Anthony, and no offense, but I didn't care for the silly fantasy style of the Xanth series, but this one was a pretty good read. I felt like the protagonist had to succeed, and the risk he faced kept the suspense going.
    5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • CWsnail
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favourite Sci Fi books
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 3, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Been looking for this book for years, loved it the first time I read it, still loved it second time around. There are a few printing errors in the kindle version, but I don't care, it was still totally readable
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