If I Pay Thee Not in Gold cover

If I Pay Thee Not in Gold

by Piers Anthony

In the Age of the Mazonians women rule through magic—and men suffer what they must. Magical creations only last for a single day (magical food is great for dieting), but that is quite long enough for casting a giant wet blanket (if you're feeling kind) over a would be rampaging male—or a block of granite (if you're not). No uppity males in Mazonia indeed! But then as now some people rise above what they've been taught. One such is Xylina; somehow she has always understood that being of the wrong gender, or even lacking magical power, is no reason for stripping a human being of dignity. How ironic, then, that the Queen has ordained in order to avoid execution Xylina must use her magic to publicly conquer the most glorious male Mazonia has ever seen—and how doubly so that together he and Xylina will transform their world.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?