Aging & Wisdom Quote by Piers Anthony

What looks like a friendly blurb is really a small act of canon-making, and Piers Anthony knows exactly how that game is played. He opens with professional admiration, the kind that signals credibility inside a genre community: not just "I like him", but "I belong in the lineage that takes him seriously". The second clause, "was glad for the chance to work with him", quietly elevates the speaker too. Collaboration becomes a badge, a way of saying: I was close enough to the source to touch it.

Then comes the sharper move: "Readers today may be too young to remember..". On its face, its generous, almost nostalgic. Underneath, its a mild scolding and a recalibration of attention. Anthony is invoking a gap in cultural memory: the way science fiction churns forward, branding yesterday's boundary-pushers as footnotes once the tropes they introduced become standard. By framing Philip Jose Farmer's work as something the current audience risks forgetting, he positions Farmer as foundational rather than merely influential.

Name-checking The Lovers does specific work. Its not just "a classic"; its a particular kind of classic, one tied to mid-century SF's flirtation with taboo, sex, and the politics of the body. Anthony, himself a writer often associated with provocative premises, is subtly aligning Farmer's daring with his own interests while laundering it through reverence. The subtext: if you think today's genre is bold, remember who opened the door - and maybe go back and read him with fresh respect.