Roc and a Hard Place

Roc and a Hard Place is the nineteenth book of the Xanth series by Piers Anthony.^[1]

Roc and a Hard Place

First edition
Author	Piers Anthony
Cover artist	Darrell K. Sweet Carol Russo Design
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy novel
Publisher	TOR Books
Publication date	October 1995
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages	312 pp (hardcover 1st ed.)
ISBN	0-312-85392-0
OCLC	32698441
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 20
LC Class	PS3551.N73 R64 1995
Preceded by	Geis of the Gargoyle
Followed by	Yon Ill Wind

Plot

One year after the events of Geis of the Gargoyle, Demoness Metria, whilst making her husband Veleno deliriously happy, finds that the stork will not acknowledge her summons. Seeking to summon the stork, Metria (and her worse half, D. Mentia) are sent on a quest by the Good Magician Humphrey. Metria is then tasked by the Simurgh to deliver a bag's worth of summons to their respective citizens of Xanth in order to hold a trial for Roxanne Roc. All that remains is to find out why Roxanne Roc is on trial as Metria meets with many old Xanth characters, including Grundy Golem, Sorceress Iris, Magician Trent, Gray Murphy, Jordan the Barbarian and Desiree Dryad.