Little Myth Marker

Myth Adventures #6

by Robert Lynn Asprin

Skeeve's dealt himself a fine mess of trouble this time. First he bluffs his way into a high-stakes game of dragon poker, and, by some miracle wins. Then, still flush with luck, Skeeve heads straight for the king of dragon poker, the Sen-Sen Ante Kid. And with a pot of half a million, there'd better not be any myth-deals.

But even if Skeeve can hold his own in a high-stakes game, there's still Markie. Left as a pint-sized IOU by a player who went broke, she conjures a house full of trouble every time she tries to cast a spell. And to top it off, jealous magicians have hired the notorious assassin, the Axe, to cut more than the deck...

Genres: Fantasy, Humor, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Comedy, Magic, Science Fiction

167 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Robert (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.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, Skeeve now feels like he ought to really change his name to Stu. Gary Stu.

When things get become THIS easy to him no matter how many obstacles or bad hands get in his way, I WANT to see him fail spectacularly rather than just have the whole implausibility highlighted in grand style.

But that being said, the absurdity worked and the stakes (including the resolution) still gave us a fine playbook for cardsharping. Or I really ought to say, anti-cardsharping. Or should it be null-cardsharping?

The point is, it's magical. A card game for the Myth. :)

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sixth book in the Myth Adventures series was one of the best and most hilarious of the whole series.

Skeeve tries his hand at the notoriously difficult game of dragon poker and, despite not knowing the rules, has a lucky streak and wins. Unfortunately one of the players cannot pay in full and leaves Skeeve with his "marker". Which turns out to be a little girl!. To make matters worse Skeeve's Mob boss Don Bruce has decided to gift him with a moll to "keep up appearances". Skeeve goes from care free lad to family man in the space of a day with hilarious consequences. Throw in to the mix a challenge from the undisputed master of dragon poker for a high stakes game and a character assassin on Skeeve's tail and we had the perfect mix for mishaps and hilarity.

I like how Skeeve is growing up and learning to accept his responsibilities. I also enjoyed the stories main themes of family and friendship.

All in all this was a really fun read. I cannot wait to pick up the next book in the series.

Rating: 4 stars.

Audio Note: Noah Michael Levine continues to do a fantastic job with the narration of this series.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a real return to form for me with an entertaining plot and the introduction of another key character in the Marisa Tomei-esque "Bunny" the Moll.



As a father to small kids this one hit differently as surprisingly heartfelt, and the narrator did a wonderful job adjusting to the more earnest tone of some passages.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the sixth volume in Asprin's Myth Adventures series, a pun-laden and very amusing fantasy series. In this one, Skeeve wins a game of dragon poker (despite having no knowledge of the game), and walks away with a young girl very reminiscent of O'Henry's Red Chief. (His opponent was the Sen-Sen Ante Kid... puns galore!) Just as he's beginning to get a handle on the whole parenthood/family concept, local magicians hire the Axe, a Character Assassin, to put him in his place permanently. Luckily Aahz and the rest of his motley crew of friends are there to lend a hand. It's another light-hearted but fun romp for fans of Xanth, Spellsinger, and Discworld.

[Desinka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this new installment. It was as much fun as the previous one and I ca say he series's getting better and better! This particular adventure was very, very entertaining. Gambling at the bazaar at Diva. What else can one expect? It was great to have new additions to the team and see them all working together. I also loved the theme of the book - parenting. Aahz's take on the topic was quite interesting.

So, reading on:)

[Wiebke (1book1review) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This adventure really showed how Skeeve thinks and feels about his troupe and that he can be smart, too.
A fun read as usual.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for an objective review, I can't give it. This series is so encoded into my earliest memories of fantasy fiction that re-reading them is like the best comfort food.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one kind of ended on a bit of a sadder note, because of Markie. I had her pegged as one of those small-folks from the planet that had the wrestlers from some clues that were provided, mostly in that she didn't talk or act like a child. But I felt bad that she was sad she couldn't join.

Skeeve manages to get himself into a game of Dragon poker, wins amazingly, and then finds himself challenged by the Great Poker Master himself. To top it off, his friends are feeling bad and having issues and seem to be in the midst of leaving, and there's a character assassin after him that was hired by the other magician merchants because they felt cut off from the good jobs.

Good book, I really like how Skeeve is growing up and into himself but still manages to stay kind, modest and humble.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 Stars

I think Asprin phoned this one in, the story was filled with a lot of strange stretches of dialog about being a parent and theorizing about the evolutionary nature of male/female relationships. Two female characters are introduced and both spend the bulk of the book being insufferable. The "big" twist is pretty obvious and the entire story takes place in Deva which up until this book had been a pretty interesting place.

The stakes were pretty low and the adventure almost non-existent. The only thing that kept this alive was the increasing charm of Skeeve.

Overall this felt like a sitcom that reached the introduce a random "cute" kid to distract from the lack of plot stage.

[East Bay J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Myth Marker is one of the better of the Myth books. More Aahz and Skeeve and a good little storyline. Lots of mystery and intrigue. The “marker” idea is hilarious! Skeeve’s a daddy! Sort of. The chapter quotes continue to be excellent. Asprin does a fine job showing how Skeeve’s growing up and becoming a man. Still could use more illustrations from Foglio but there you go. This is easily one of the best series ever.

[Andi]

I've read enough of the series to understand how the twists and turns will work by the end, which, of course, only makes me smug and obnoxious when I'm finally proved right.

[Walt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sixth book in the myth series. This storyline was very clever. I had no idea who the villian(s) were until the very end.

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 6 of Myth Adventures. This fun little romp features the Great Skeeve doing what he does best, getting into trouble. His success has bred an enemy and that enemy has hired the unknown Axe to assassinate his character. Aside from that the boss has foisted a moll on him. Let the antics commence. I just love this series and this one was no exception. Hope you enjoy it too.

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragon Poker is very complicated. It's best to play against the players and not with the hand that you are dealt.

[Richard Seltzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read out loud to my son Tim.

[John Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best compliment I can give this book is that it's a mystery story which holds up to re-readings. Once you know "whodunnit", a second reading will reveal clues that you might have missed the first time around, so the writer plays fair by giving you enough information to work it out for yourself. At the same time, there are valid reasons for the characters (and reader) to miss those clues. Also, there are enough other things going on that the story doesn't rely on the mystery.

There are some new members of the cast, but the writer makes time to develop existing characters, which I liked. I also learnt a bit about dress sense from reading this!

There are a couple of weak points regarding internal continuity. For instance, Skeeve makes an offhand comment that "folks wouldn't have to watch summer re-runs". I assume this refers to TV, but the fantasy setting seems to preclude electrical gadgets. (I know that you can have fantasy books set in modern times, but this series always seemed to go for a medieval environment.) Also, when Skeeve saw the Dispatcher with a room full of TV screens in Myth-ing Persons he seemed to be quite baffled by them.

As others have commented, the value of gold pieces seems to fluctuate quite a lot in this series. When Skeeve hired mercenaries in Myth Conceptions he paid them 1 gold piece each, which they considered a high salary for a couple of week's work. Now think about how much he's gambling with in this story.

I have mixed feelings about the ending. Skeeve tells Markie that he won't work with her because she takes advantage of people's trust. However, isn't that the same thing that he does every time he casts a disguise spell? For that matter, he started out as an aspiring thief, and he doesn't seem to have any moral objection to Tananda killing people for money (as a former assassin). On the other hand, Skeeve is basically shown as a decent guy, so I can understand why he's uncomfortable with this. Personally, I think it would have been better to bring her into the group in a different capacity, e.g. undercover agent rather than character assassin.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The One About the Kid

To this day, I still use Dragon Poker as an analogy for any system that is prone to overcomplication and whimsy. Since I play a lot of board games, it comes up at least once a year when someone starts explaining the rules of a new game that's not very streamlined. My memory of the Myth Adventure books is that Dragon Poker featured heavily in almost all of them, but it turns out it didn't make an appearance until here, book six of the series.

Little Myth Marker is also the rare book that doesn't bring in a new member of Skeeve's team. We get introduced to Markie, the kid whom Skeeve takes as a marker for his winnings in a game of Dragon Poker, but at the end of the story, she parts company with the group. Considering that even Vic, the vampire antagonist from the previous book, eventually becomes a part of the team, it's an anomaly. There's a good reason that's addressed at the end of the book, but it comes down to honesty and character, which is a trait common among all the books in the series.

I think that's part of what makes the books so approachable. Skeeve is a nice guy who always wants to do the right thing (even if sometimes it gets repeated so much that it'll make you sick to hear it again), and everyone on his team has that same characteristic. The main characters are all good, respectable people, and it makes it easy to like and root for them.

This book marks the end of the first books under contract for the series, and it ends on a fairly complete note, though it remains open enough to continue the series. I used to have these books in the Science Fiction Book Club omnibus editions, and this one marked the end of volume two. After this point, I started reading the books as they were published.

[Ensiform · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sixth Myth Adventures book. Skeeve lucks into a big win in a Dragon Poker game at the Bazaar, leading to three unwanted consequences. The first is Skeeve reluctantly taking charge of titular Markie, a little girl left as an actual "marker" in the game by a losing player; the second is a challenge to a face-off by the greatest player in the dimensions, the Sen-Sen Ante Kid, a challenge which Skeeve’s reputation cannot refuse; and the third is the news that a coterie of merchants have hired the mysterious Ax, a character assassin, to ruin Skeeve’s reputation, since he seems to be so good at everything. Add in an unwanted sex-crazed moll foisted on him by Bruce, the fairy Godfather, and Skeeve’s being pulled in all directions.

This is a very solid entry to the series. Leaving aside the typical dialogue that seems ripped straight out of PSA’s on parenting, the perils of stereotyping people based on attractiveness, or (of all things) learning how to dress well --- this series is, at heart, a story about growing up and accepting adult responsibilities, wrapped in fantasy trappings --- this one’s got drama without the usual overselling, a bit of suspense, builds on previous plots, and solidly lays the foundation for future growth. A fun romp, and one that actually reads like Asprin spent more than a few minutes plotting it.
[read twice]

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 6 in the series, one of my favorite series of all times. There's nothing too complex about these books, not much that's going to plague your mind and keep you up until the wee hours of morning considering intricate philosophies or the meaning of existence. Just good solid entertaining characters and plot. These are also very short reads, so you can consume these in a day or two each.

If you decide to give it a shot, start with book one: Another Fine Myth. That will give you a taste of the characters and writing style.

I will give you an example, however. In this book, Skeeve (our protagonist) accidentally wins a high-stakes Dragon Poker game and ends up drawing the attention of "The Kid," who is far renowned as the best Dragon Poker player anywhere. His trademark is that on the first hand of again, he includes a breath mint as part of his ante. So he is known as the Sen-Sen Ante Kid.

Another bonus: no bad language, no gratuitous sex, no graphic violence. There is the odd double entendre here and there, but nothing that you couldn't read in front of your grandmother.

[Keziah · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I enjoyed this book more than the previous one, I still found the characterization of Skeeve irritating. I can appreciate the direction that Asprin is taking him in only because I know how things are going to lead, but when I first read this book his actions annoyed me no end. The explanations of Dragon Poker made me laugh however and I really want to find some rules and give the game a play myself. I mean two dozen conditional modifiers in a match??

The dynamics that Markie stirs up with her childish outburst is quite telling that all is not well in the house of Skeeve and grouping together a bunch of loners is not the best way to form a group. Bunny however is one of my favourite characters. I love the way she reduces Skeeve to a quivering mess with her games

[Tyrannosaurus regina · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I remember about this book is that I didn't get the title until long after I read the book. That, and I wanted to play dragon poker, but isn't that the case with almost all invented games and sports in fantasy and science fiction?

If it wasn't clear already, this is the point at which you really see that Skeeve is just ludicrously successful at everything. Even when he sucks, he wins. It is kind of fun at first because it's pure wish fulfillment, but at a certain point it just gets offensive.

[Matt Baron · Rating 1 out of 5]

Admittedly, I didn't really give this one a chance, and it's the 6th in a series that I never started. Perhaps if I begin with #1 I may feel differently. I know, by the sixth book, the characters and setting are so familiar, so _cozy_, that little needs to be said. Well, since this is my first, I suppose I need a little more said, but I think I'll never start at the beginning. So Sorry Robert Asprin!

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another clever Myth Adventures novel with a bit of a myth-tery thrown in, though I figured it out pretty early on. What I still love about the series is how the characters have some depth and value, even if some of it isn't politically correct. However, I still maintain this series of books still stands the test of time, especially if you want an entertaining and quick read.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the myth books I remembered having liked the most when I read it in 7th grade. i really liked the dragon poker match and then loaning out all of the money. Good book and then at the end they formed the company M.Y.T.H inc.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite in the series so far! I feel like this is the book where both Skeeve and the author hit their stride.

[Fatbaldguy60 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, some decent new characters.

[Strawberry Witch]

So in this one, Skeeve gets an invitation to play Dragon Poker, which is so boring I can’t even read about it, and he gets set up to win this kid Markie as a marker for someone who lost. Do you get it? Markie? Like the word marker? Gosh that’s hysterical. So the Deveel running the game, the Geek (like the Greek…do you get it?? Do you???), tells Skeeve that if he doesn’t take Markie with him, she’ll be sold into slavery in two weeks. This becomes important later when Markie comments on it as if it’s a rare and wonderful thing that a person wouldn’t want to sell a child into slavery. Anyway Skeeve gets home and everyone’s all mad at him bc he’s an single adult and he went out and played card games? I don’t get their protectiveness of him at all. Isn’t he supposed to be like in his mid 20s at least? So then Don Bruce, the mafia guy, decides Skeeve needs a moll, which I guess is like a mob hooker? So he just randomly sends this hot girl over? Oh but our Skeeve is too pure for that and he talks to her and finds out she’s Don Bruce’s niece and she’s rebelling against her uncle, who wanted her to become an accountant, but she wasn’t able to make it in the accounting game bc she’s too pretty and wasn’t taken seriously. Wow.

So while all this is going on, Luanna, the “love of Skeeve’s life,” bc she’s pretty and blonde, comes over with all her luggage in tow and breathlessly informs her magic man that she’s finally left her abusive (in my head canon, anyway) boyfriend and is ready to settle down. Then Markie comes in and little kids it all up and Luanna leaves and that’s it. We don’t hear or see or think about her for like three more books.

Ugh then a bunch of speeches from the ever widening cast about how incredibly wonderful Skeeve is, on account of he didn’t let a child be sold for slavery and hasn’t taught his apprentice Massha a single thing in the two or so years they’ve all lived together in a house he scammed the chamber of commerce out of, oh and he just let his supposed crush leave thinking he has a girlfriend and a kid. Poor Luanna.

So Skeeve has to play a game of dragon poker and as he walks to the club where the game is, the entire population of Deva watches him and his motley crew. Seriously, they all stop selling; all the other dimensional beings just stop and stare in awe at one guy about to play poker. Ugh. Anyway he wins of course, but cuts the other guy a “deal” wherein the Kid (the “sen-sen Ante Kid. It wasn’t even funny the first time, let alone the next seventeen times it’s said) gets to keep the money he lost but he has to pay it back, and until he pays it back, Skeeve and co get half the Kid’s winnings. Isn’t that kind of a shitty deal for the kid? I mean, this guy makes his living playing poker. Why can’t he pay it back in installments and get to keep his winnings? Wouldn’t that make it harder to catch up on his debt? Idk. Seems shitty to me. Also Markie is really a grown up, like the kid in Orphan but with less murder, and she asks to join the crew and Skeeve tells her to fuck off bc her job is to trick people, and he doesn’t want someone like that on his team. I mean maybe she was trying to be a better person and that’s why she wanted to join? Why you gotta be such a dick about it? She looks like a 9 year old; what the hell else is she gonna do for a living besides pretend to be a 9 year old girl? And she makes good money. Not everyone gets houses just handed to them, you know.

This is the part in the series where it stops being about adventure and starts being about a jerk businessman who can sort of do magic occasionally, sometimes. And whose friends obsessively worship him for some reason. Honestly it’s sort of sickening at this point. They have a whole conference about the fact that he’s invited to play a game of poker? Like suddenly he’s sooo huge and awesome and amazing that this entire dimension, which exists solely for Deveels to sell things to off-worlders, stops dead in its tracks to see whether or not he’s gonna play a friggin game of poker?

Also the editing seemed off. I’m willing to bet the editors just sort of skimmed this bc Asprin was on a deadline or whatever and they just needed to get it out.

P 153: “I was about to risk half a million in gold so folks wouldn’t have to watch summer reruns.” What? There’s television? Really? Since when? Also, wasn’t it…flips back; p 135 “A quarter of a million???!?” Which is it??

Also what’s with all the open collared shirts? What was Asprin walking around in? Bunny forces Skeeve to get rid of his cool striped pants and into open collared shirts and vests with matching pants. I liked the stripes!

[Hidekisohma · Rating 4 out of 5]

6th book in the series, and i have to say, i'm not slowing down in terms of enjoyment. after the depressing bore fest that was my last doctor who read, it was nice to read a fun, short adventure.
There was a lot going on in this one and I actually found myself enjoying it more than the previous two books.

Basically Skeeve accidentally wins a big card game by luck but now there's a secret character assassinator after him as well as him having to deal with a kid he won in the card game until her father picks him up, not to mention he got an invitation to another card game from the head card game honcho.

It's a lot to happen in only ~160 pages. But funnily enough, it never seemed rushed or confusing.

The characters are all great as per usual and i really enjoyed the new character "Bunny" who's basically a moll (A pretty girl) given to Skeeve by the fairy godfather. I'm glad she'll be staying around.

Everyone was pretty on point in this book and despite its short length gave nearly all the side characters a chance to do something and the end of this one really sets up for the next one in the series.

The only issue i MAYBE can say i have is that they present you with something at the end that's a "twist" but i figured it out like halfway through the book so i wasn't sure if they were acting like the audience SHOULD know the answer and Skeeve was just slow, or they actually thought we were that slow. Unsure. But that's really just a nitpick.

All in all, a really good entry into the Myth series and can't wait for the next one.

solid 4 out of 5.

[Bree Hatfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one followed the basic formula of the Myth series, but it had some interesting takes nonetheless! The plot itself is pretty low-stakes, which I enjoyed a lot. I felt like I could just relax and enjoy the ride. The climax was about par for the course; Skeeve outwits his adversary and find out that the adversary isn’t all that bad. The context of the poker game was a lot of fun, though, and it was definitely one of the more entertaining climaxes. I wasn’t sold on the plot with Markie at all at first, but I loved how it worked out in the end. The twist that she is the Axe is not one I saw coming, but it made sense and gave some depth to the formula. And the last couple chapters were very well done, and the creation of a company amongst the main cast actually intrigues me quite a bit for the next books. And lastly, the ending does something none of the other books have done so far, and that is to leave a loose thread. Skeeve questions himself, and we don’t get a resolution for that. The main plot is wrapped up, but it still leaves us wanting to come back. Perhaps it’s because the pre book was so underwhelming, but I thought this one was one of the best!

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

As is often the case in this series, plot "twists" weren't really very mysterious, and you could see some of them a mile off. On the other hand, there were some clever ideas, like the idea of a Character Assassin as a highly-paid person who kills off a career, rather than a person. Dragon Poker is one of those games that should have become legendary, like Fizzbin or Calvinball. Having played Double Deck Joker Spade Royal Draw Casino regularly in high school, the rules of Dragon Poker mostly made sense...except for the directional seating modifiers, of course. Those are just over-the-top frills...
Markie and Bunny are both annoying at first, but become interesting characters. I do think that the resolution was a bit forced, and I'm still trying to figure out the "reverse cheating" that one of the sequences required, but the resolution was a matter of building things to set up the next few books. The final resolution with Markie was odd, but it worked, and was touching in the way that Skeeve talked about his friendships.