Robert Asprin (1946–2008)

An omnibus of the first two MythAdventures books.

Another Fine Myth
The first book in Robert Asprin's MythAdventures series, Another Fine Myth introduces us to an apprentice wizard Skeeve and his frustrated mentor, Garkin. Skeeve is only half-heartedly studying his lessons as his real desire is to be a thief. Everything changes when Garkin is assassinated while summoning a demon. Now Skeeve and the purple-tongued demon Aahz the Perv must track down Garkin's killer.

Despite the grim sounding show more synopsis above, Another Fine Myth is a very light-hearted and funny fantasy story that never takes itself too seriously. Filled with narrow escapes, plenty of magic and encounters with strange and interesting characters, Skeeve and Aahz tend to escape using their wits and magic rather than brute force.

I very much enjoyed this first entry to the series. Robert Asprin spins a terrific yarn filled with humor. The universe he has created for this story is interesting. Similar enough to other fantasy stories that it is familiar, but unique enough that you don't feel like you are reading a parody of Tolkien. This is a funny book, but the humor is situational rather than slapstick and obvious. The jokes never seem forced; rather they arise organically from the story.

I very much enjoyed this first MythAdventures and am planning to read the rest of the series.

Myth Conceptions
Myth Conceptions, the follow up to Another Fine Myth finds Aahz talking Skeeve into trying out for a court magician’s post in the tiny kingdom of Possiltum. Those civil service jobs are a magicians dream!

As usual there’s more than meets the eye and the next thing you know Skeeve is caught up in a power struggle between a general and a chancellor. Did I mention he also has to single-handedly defend Possiltum from an invading roamin' empire?

As in the first book, Robert Asprin gleefully piles the complications on Skeeve and Aahz who solve their troubles with wit and magic rather than brute strength.

I’d say this book is more humorous than the first book. Aahz can always be counted on to throw out a bad pun, usually one with a reference to Earth culture that the other characters don’t get but we do. Old friends return for another go and new guys are introduced. I hope we see more of Gus the gargoyle. But again with all this going on, Asprin doesn’t lose sight of the story. The story never felt like a framework to hang jokes on. I was always interested in what was going to happen next.

Overall, I am very much enjoying this series and plan to read all twelve of the original Asprin books. I hope they are as entertaining as these first two have been. show less

3.5 stars

You cannot go into this expecting anything serious.
Yes, REALLY.
Also - if you don't like people throwing around money to solve problems, you have no business getting into this at all. Just do yourself a favour and turn around right now.

One of the things to keep in mind when starting in : this is a product of its time. Parts of it are somewhat dated, but it holds up surprisingly well. It's definitely not up to modern standards in some ways. But then again, modern standards seem to show more include "everyone must suffer, suffer a lot and at a great length, and preferably die in the end", so maybe it's for the best.

No use pretending this is a high literature. This is a fun romp with no particular pretensions, IMO.

In case you've missed it, here, spelled out : throwing around money is one of the points. It was specifically written this way.

Sure, you can resent Phule for using money as a means to solve problems. There are plenty of people who do if reviews are to be believed.
But think about it!
You have the money (and connections) to outfit your unit with the best you can buy.
Why wouldn't you?
It's an investment that will pay back several times over in the long run - in reputation, if not money.

Also - the only flashy thing of note mentioned is Phule's ownership of 2 portable computers that few people can afford. Except the reasoning behind it is so very valid, like yes, makes sense, and why not? if you can actually afford it.

(I too would throw money at problems if I had the means to do so. Such a convenient way to make them go away. Well, some of them at least.) show less

Reread.
Captain Jester of the Space Legion is assigned to Haskin's Planet to command the Omega Company there, a band of troublemakers and misfits. Jester applies his own brand of psychology (with a healthy dose of cash) and soon has the company running like a well oiled machine, but not without a few hiccups along the way.
I love Willard Phule and revisiting his trademark fearless approach to company management, not to mention his butler Beeker. Lighthearted and fun.

This short story collection has the following stories:
"Sentences of Death" by John Brunner;
"The Face of Chaos" by Lynn Abbey;
"The Gate of the Flying Knives" by Poul Anderson;
"Shadowspawn" by Andrew Offutt;
"The Price of Doing Business" by Robert Lynn Asprin;
"Blood Brothers" by Joe Haldeman;
"Myrtis" by Christine DeWees; and
"The Secret of the Blue Star" by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

There's also an essay about the creation of the book.

This collection is one that I had fond memories of. It was really show more the pioneering work for shared world building and eventually spawned a published RPG setting which I cheerfully used. Even my players loved playing in that world. Would the book hold up to my memories?

It did! Some stories I loved more than others. Poul Anderson, Andrew Offutt, Christine DeWees, and Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote my favorites. The setting was just as rich as I remembered with plenty of unsavory characters running around, along with some that have a touch of inner nobility.

The only downside is the scanning was less than perfect. Sometimes I struggled to decide what word they were aiming for. But this is a case where I am so glad to have the book again that I will overlook the ebook's flaws.

If you are a fan of fantasy short stories, this book should be on your "read now" list. If you are into RPGs, this book can fan the creative ideas you have. I highly recommend it. show less