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Myth Adventures #3-4
Myth Direction / Hit or Myth
Skeeve must deal with myth guided desires, fairy godfathers, and an offer he can't refuse in two of Robert Asprin's most delightful myth adventures.
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 28, 2002
3 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
About the author
Robert Lynn Asprin
219 books1,062 followersRobert (Lynn) Asprin was born in 1946. While he wrote some stand alone novels such as The Cold Cash War, Tambu, and The Bug Wars and also the Duncan & Mallory Illustrated stories, Bob is best known for his series fantasy, such as the Myth Adventures of Aahz and Skeeve, the Phule's Company novels, and the Time Scout novels written with Linda Evans. He also edited the groundbreaking Thieves' World anthology series with Lynn Abbey. Other collaborations include License Invoked (set in the French Quarter of New Orleans) and several Myth Adventures novels, all written with Jody Lynn Nye.
Bob's final solo work was a contemporary fantasy series called Dragons, again set in New Orleans.
Bob passed away suddenly on May 22, 2008. He is survived by his daughter and son, his mother and his sister.
Bob's final solo work was a contemporary fantasy series called Dragons, again set in New Orleans.
Bob passed away suddenly on May 22, 2008. He is survived by his daughter and son, his mother and his sister.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 24, 2019
The plot of the first book in this volume is kind of lame. It revolves around a sporting event (I tend to dislike stories like that). Still, the characters are likeable, and their interactions and misadventures are fun without being overly silly or absurd. The second book is much better. In this one, Skeeve is asked to fill in for the king. He doesn't know at the time (unbelievable given his position as court magician) the the king's new bride is supposed to arrive the next day. Again, the plot has its weak points, but its an enjoyable story. My plan is to reread this entire series.
October 26, 2018
MYTH Directions: 4.5
Standard book from this series, pretty good. Little too much casual fatphobia but that's unfortunately common for this series and the time period it was written in.
Hit or MYTH: 3.5
Spoilers ahead
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I consider Aahz the best character so his absence from most of the book make Skeeve even more annoying than normal.
Also the mob storyline was annoying. The references to our world are normally funny and enjoyable but the mob ones were a little heavy handed. The ending of their particular story line also seemed unnecessary. I think it would've played better if it had been left for a separate book later in the series.
Standard book from this series, pretty good. Little too much casual fatphobia but that's unfortunately common for this series and the time period it was written in.
Hit or MYTH: 3.5
Spoilers ahead
>
>
>
>
I consider Aahz the best character so his absence from most of the book make Skeeve even more annoying than normal.
Also the mob storyline was annoying. The references to our world are normally funny and enjoyable but the mob ones were a little heavy handed. The ending of their particular story line also seemed unnecessary. I think it would've played better if it had been left for a separate book later in the series.
September 6, 2018
Reminiscent of Douglas Adams. Midway through the second story the author seems to get bored and come up with a quick fix for one problem so he can set up the next book and it's pretty clumsily done. Still, it's a good light read.
October 1, 2014
Somewhere in the back of my mind I had expected this book to disappoint. After all, it's often the case that a series loses focus and value over time, as the initial conceits wear thin. Besides, even though I did not remember what stories were where, I had read these at least once before, and my recollection was that eventually the stories started to get dull. So I am pleased to have been surprised at how good this actually was.
My first positive note was when I realized how quickly I was devouring the book. I was a good two-thirds of the way through the first book in very little time at all, and enjoying it thoroughly. Certainly I remembered quite a bit of the story, but somehow most of the big twists and turns had faded from my recollection.
The first of the two books, Myth Directions, centers on a sports event that is somewhere between rugby on steroids and paintball with real guns. Skeeve becomes involved in this because Tanda, the enticing Trollop from the dimension Trollia, takes him "shopping" with her so she can find something truly unique to give to Ahz as a birthday present, and settles on stealing the trophy from "The Big Game" in the dimension Jahk. The Big Game settles not only which of two cities--Ta-hoe or Veygus--gets to hold the trophy, but which city rules the world for the next year. Upon their arrival one city has just won the game, but before the duo can steal the trophy the other city steals it first. Tanda gets caught, and Skeeve escapes to find Ahz; they learn that the city magician holding Tanda prisoner is the demon hunter they embarrassed in the first book, and ultimately determine that the only way to get the trophy is to challenge both cities to a three-way game for it. They pull some fancy stunts and squeak out a win, then vanish with their prize.
Hit or Myth picks up from there, with several disrupting events happening in quick succession to put Skeeve in a difficult spot. First, Ahz is taken back to Perv by his nephew Rupert, then King Roderick explains to Skeeve that he wants to take a vacation but needs the court magician to use his mastery of disguise to substitute for him in his absence, then Skeeve discovers that the King's departure has been timed to escape the arrival of his intended bride (a political marriage--her country wants military might and has incredible gold reserves), then the city magician from the other city, a very large woman named Maasha with very gaudy attire, arrives to ask Skeeve to take her as his apprentice, then representatives of The Mob arrive seeking the army Skeeve defeated and of course Skeeve himself. Yet with a bit of help from his new apprentice Maasha, and connecting with a couple of old friends from the Yellow Crescent Inn on Deva, Skeeve manages to resolve everything without the aid of Ahz, although in the process he quits the cushy job as court magician.
At this point the book shifts to a new story, or perhaps a very long denouement. To get the mob out of his own country, Skeeve gave them instructions for reaching Deva--a world of shopkeepers with no police and no law, which they believe they will be able to exploit admirably. Unfortunately, the deveel merchant association, unable to fight this new threat themselves, decide that they need to hire the one magician whose fame suggests he might be up to the task: Skeeve. Thus our wizard, this time with Ahz helping direct matters, has to find a way to persuade The Mob that Deva is a losing proposition without letting them know he is in any way involved.
By the end of the book, Skeeve and Ahz are nicely established in their own place on Deva, being paid by The Mob to represent their interests and prevent their involvement from becoming a costly fiasco, and by the deveels to keep The Mob out of Deva. It also sets them up for adventures in upcoming books very nicely, adds Maasha to their team, and leaves us eager to read what happens next.
It was a very enjoyable read. Many of the original conceits are still here, including characters being confused by common idioms whose meaning is so culturally connected that you could not possibly understand them apart from our world, and the misattributed misquotes at the beginning of the chapters, one of which had the rare effect of causing me to laugh aloud while reading. It is a wonderfully light fantasy comedy with plenty of plot and twists to keep it interesting.
My first positive note was when I realized how quickly I was devouring the book. I was a good two-thirds of the way through the first book in very little time at all, and enjoying it thoroughly. Certainly I remembered quite a bit of the story, but somehow most of the big twists and turns had faded from my recollection.
The first of the two books, Myth Directions, centers on a sports event that is somewhere between rugby on steroids and paintball with real guns. Skeeve becomes involved in this because Tanda, the enticing Trollop from the dimension Trollia, takes him "shopping" with her so she can find something truly unique to give to Ahz as a birthday present, and settles on stealing the trophy from "The Big Game" in the dimension Jahk. The Big Game settles not only which of two cities--Ta-hoe or Veygus--gets to hold the trophy, but which city rules the world for the next year. Upon their arrival one city has just won the game, but before the duo can steal the trophy the other city steals it first. Tanda gets caught, and Skeeve escapes to find Ahz; they learn that the city magician holding Tanda prisoner is the demon hunter they embarrassed in the first book, and ultimately determine that the only way to get the trophy is to challenge both cities to a three-way game for it. They pull some fancy stunts and squeak out a win, then vanish with their prize.
Hit or Myth picks up from there, with several disrupting events happening in quick succession to put Skeeve in a difficult spot. First, Ahz is taken back to Perv by his nephew Rupert, then King Roderick explains to Skeeve that he wants to take a vacation but needs the court magician to use his mastery of disguise to substitute for him in his absence, then Skeeve discovers that the King's departure has been timed to escape the arrival of his intended bride (a political marriage--her country wants military might and has incredible gold reserves), then the city magician from the other city, a very large woman named Maasha with very gaudy attire, arrives to ask Skeeve to take her as his apprentice, then representatives of The Mob arrive seeking the army Skeeve defeated and of course Skeeve himself. Yet with a bit of help from his new apprentice Maasha, and connecting with a couple of old friends from the Yellow Crescent Inn on Deva, Skeeve manages to resolve everything without the aid of Ahz, although in the process he quits the cushy job as court magician.
At this point the book shifts to a new story, or perhaps a very long denouement. To get the mob out of his own country, Skeeve gave them instructions for reaching Deva--a world of shopkeepers with no police and no law, which they believe they will be able to exploit admirably. Unfortunately, the deveel merchant association, unable to fight this new threat themselves, decide that they need to hire the one magician whose fame suggests he might be up to the task: Skeeve. Thus our wizard, this time with Ahz helping direct matters, has to find a way to persuade The Mob that Deva is a losing proposition without letting them know he is in any way involved.
By the end of the book, Skeeve and Ahz are nicely established in their own place on Deva, being paid by The Mob to represent their interests and prevent their involvement from becoming a costly fiasco, and by the deveels to keep The Mob out of Deva. It also sets them up for adventures in upcoming books very nicely, adds Maasha to their team, and leaves us eager to read what happens next.
It was a very enjoyable read. Many of the original conceits are still here, including characters being confused by common idioms whose meaning is so culturally connected that you could not possibly understand them apart from our world, and the misattributed misquotes at the beginning of the chapters, one of which had the rare effect of causing me to laugh aloud while reading. It is a wonderfully light fantasy comedy with plenty of plot and twists to keep it interesting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2011
Myth Direction: 3 stars
Tanda gets caught trying to steal a birthday present for Ahz. The present just happens to be a hideous statue that has kept the peace in that dimension for the past 500 years. Skeev and the gang must rescue her by competing in The Big Game.
Hit or Myth: 4 stars
One of Ahz's relatives shows up and drags him home leaving Skeev on his own. The king convinces Skeev to impersonate him so that he can have a vacation. After he's left, Skeev discovers that he's supposed to marry a blood thirsty queen from the neighboring kingdom AND the Mob shows up looking for Big Julie, the army from another book.
Tanda gets caught trying to steal a birthday present for Ahz. The present just happens to be a hideous statue that has kept the peace in that dimension for the past 500 years. Skeev and the gang must rescue her by competing in The Big Game.
Hit or Myth: 4 stars
One of Ahz's relatives shows up and drags him home leaving Skeev on his own. The king convinces Skeev to impersonate him so that he can have a vacation. After he's left, Skeev discovers that he's supposed to marry a blood thirsty queen from the neighboring kingdom AND the Mob shows up looking for Big Julie, the army from another book.
January 11, 2008
The fourth book in the myth series.
This was undoubtedly meant to be a companion volume to the previous book. Instead of the hero seeking love, love is seeking the hero, except in this case, they want to kill him. It is another fun read, but it is not as beautiful as the previous three books. Asprin does include some novel twists; but they are not as brilliant as some of his other works.
This was undoubtedly meant to be a companion volume to the previous book. Instead of the hero seeking love, love is seeking the hero, except in this case, they want to kill him. It is another fun read, but it is not as beautiful as the previous three books. Asprin does include some novel twists; but they are not as brilliant as some of his other works.
December 22, 2009
These two myth books were just as good as the last two I read. The name game playing is still in effect with us finding out that Tananda is Trollop. The books aren't just laughs though. The relationship between Aahz and Skeeve is still growing with them becoming partners instead of apprentice and master. A great entertaining read.
May 12, 2010
I discovered the MYTH series and Robert Asprin as a teenager and have never stopped re reading these books. They get better every time. LOL
read 1985, 1987,1988,1990,1991,1992 (lost my copy and got bust having babies)2003,2006, 2006, 2007, 2009... 2010 (No that is not a typo I read it twice in '06.. I was in a slump with new authors. LOL)
read 1985, 1987,1988,1990,1991,1992 (lost my copy and got bust having babies)2003,2006, 2006, 2007, 2009... 2010 (No that is not a typo I read it twice in '06.. I was in a slump with new authors. LOL)
April 26, 2021
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
May 15, 2012
Probably great for older children- say around age 7-10.
Read
August 20, 2016The story continues with just as much humor and enjoyment as before, as well as more surprises. I was pleased that it was not always totally predictable either.
October 1, 2014
At the time I really enjoyed this book, its been so long that maybe a revision is in order :D
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews