MYTH-NOMERS AND IM-PERVECTIONS

Myth Adventures #8

by Robert Asprin

Skeeve, head of a group of magik consultants, goes into Perv, one of the most hostile of the known dimensions in the galaxy, to find his cohort, Aahz, not knowing that the weapon he has brought with him, a Djin in a bottle, has only reduced powers to help him.

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

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

For the SFF author, see Robert Lynn Asprin

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

By any standard, this is VERY light fantasy/humor entertainment. It rides the wave of everything that had built up before it, including becoming a very large person of importance with a casino and huge ties to the mob in several dimensions, but focuses more on a voyage of self-discovery for Skeeve as he searches for his old partner on the world of Pervs. (Not to be mistaken with perverts. They prefer to be called Pervects.)

So, what's included? Light misadventures in a foreign world of lizards, getting into trouble with the law, and making new friends.

Very light entertainment, but not unpleasant. :)

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit of an odd addition to the Myth series. Usually Skeeve and his friends team up to deal with some sort of task or mishap, but in this one Skeeve is off on his own solo quest.

After Queen Hemlock pretty much sent a deceleration of war at the end of M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link Skeeve decides to send the M.Y.T.H. Inc team to Klah to try to put a stop to whatever she is plotting. Skeeve himself heads to Aahz, his mentors, home world of Pervect in a last gasp attempt to lure him back to the M.Y.T.H. Inc team. He stormed off at the end of the last book convinced he was dead weight without his magical powers!

This story only focused on Skeeve's mission on Pervect. I gather the next book will be the action from Klah. The result was that got a strangely introspective entry into the Myth series. While Skeeve did meet a few new friends, including the Djinn Kalvin he picked up in one of the earlier book, this was a coming of age quest. Skeeve had to learn how to deal with things on his own and how to trust his own judgement. The poor guy even got drunk for the first time, with hilarious consequences, and opened his first bank account!

The story was still an enjoyable one. It was good to see Skeeve developing as a character and we still had plenty of funny moments in Pervect. The most hilarious of the bunch had to be Skeeve's shopping trip where he tried to buy a luggage bag. We also meet a few new characters that I'm sure will pop up again in the later books.

Rating: 3.5 stars.

Audio Note: Noah Michael Levine does a good job with this series. Not that I'm without complaints as his annoying mispronunciation of the word Djinn even made one of the jokes fall flat!!!

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The One About Perv

When I decided I wanted to re-read these books, I tracked most of them down through used bookstores. In my haste, I grabbed what I could find, not paying attention to whether or not they were the editions with the Phil Foglio illustrations. The first time I read this book, I read that edition, and I found myself missing them during my re-read.

With this book, we go back to Skeeve's point of view, as he travels alone to Perv to ask Aahz to come back to the company. Perv is based on New York City, or Chicago, or any other large metropolitan area around the world, and it gives Asprin a chance to explore the modern world while still staying entrenched in his Myth Adventure style. I thought it was well done, especially in how he handled some of the themes in the novel.

All of the books have had some passages where Asprin focuses on one theme or another, and they help make the books be more than just funny fantasy books. Myth-nomers takes that a step further, looking at the culture of big cities and how they affect individuals. From examining the police force to addressing the divide between the wealthy and the poor, the book has a lot to say, more than the other books in the series. As such, I think this is my favorite of the books in the series. That it comes so much later in the series is surprising to me, since I expected them to start falling off by this point.

This was the first book in the series that stood apart from my nostalgia and was able to stand on its own merits. Here's hoping that the rest of the books in the series are able to do the same (though I have two more M.Y.T.H. Inc. books to finish, so I'm not holding my breath).

[Ensiform · Rating 2 out of 5]

With the rest of the gang on Klah to see what they can do about Queen Hemlock’s having thrown down the gauntlet to Skeeve in the last book, our hero travels alone to Perv to find Aahz, who has quit the team in a snit. Left to his own devices, Skeeve learns about city life, street vendors, credit limits, corrupt cops, alcohol, and muggers, while following in Aahz’s footsteps, discovering what makes his partner tick.

A fun read, light (as usual) on plot, and with the usual monologues about Life and What it Means To Be a Success. New characters (a bodyguard, Pookie, and a Djin, Kalvin) are not fully explored and thus seem flat; the former, a shining example of the Female is Deadlier Than the Male archetype, has potential, while the latter serves only as a device with which Asprin can point out what the reader should be surmising unaided about Skeeve’s character. It’s not too well thought out detail-wise, full of minor in-universe contradictions (one of the most egregious being Pookie vehemently adumbrating her duties as a bodyguard, then ignoring her own iron-clad rules because, I guess, Asprin thought it would be easier to write Skeeve alone in a particular scene). It doesn’t stand out as one of the finer entries, possibly because it’s missing the squabbling but lovable ensemble cast.

[read three times: <93, 7/1/97, 11/10/11]

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was book 8 in the Myth Adventures series.At the end of the previous book we learnt that Aahz had returned to his home Dimension of Perv. Also Queen Hemlock has thrown down the gauntlet to Skeeve and his crew. While the rest of the crew are sent to Klah to try and halt the Queen's plans, Skeeve ventures to Perv to try and locate Aahz.
This book mainly focuses on Skeeve and the problems he faces whilst in a new Dimension for him. He get to meet some more unusual characters, and through what they tell him he becomes introspective. There is still humour to be found, and as usual mishaps and mayhem follow Skeeve wherever he goes.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great little read and it doesn't matter if you haven't read any of the series (like me) as most of what you need to know is explained during the course of the story. Obviously not all the characters are fully developed but there is plenty of others that make their appearances that carry the story well. Skeeve is an hysterical character and utterly inept at making his own decisions until someone manages to give him the wake up call he obviously needs. The setting is superb and Asprin gives the reader just enough detail to be able to create the world without bombarding them with detail and leaving room for their own imaginations to fill the gap. I'm lloking forward to hunting down the rest of the series.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tough one to rate because I did enjoy it but I also felt unfulfilled. It was fun to visit Perv and meet other Pervects but in terms of plot, not a whole lot happened. Kalvin the Djin was fun but he didn't do much. There weren't any real stakes or jams Skeeve needed to overcome. I appreciated the book focusing on Skeeve and, to an extent, Aahz since the last few books have had too many characters with not enough for them to do.

Overall I was entertained but at the end I didn't feel like I'd been on much of an adventure.

[Jessica Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this adventure Skeeve sets off to find Aahz. Along the way he kind of finds himself, makes some new friends and of course he finds his best friend Aahz. Such a wonderful read.

[Stifynsemons · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.293 stars, it was ok, and I might read again, but probably not.

It might be better to read this series in order, but mostly, I'm reading them as I find them. Nonetheless, I don't thinking proper order would have improved the rating much. The premise wsas clear, and I was familiar with the characters and most of the backreferences.

This story is very much like a Bildungsroman for the main character, Skeeve, which I'm not particularl fond of, but is somewhat unusual in a fantasy format. There are funny parts, and parts where the author is trying too hard to be funny. But some people like that.

Yet I will continue with this series.

[Abe · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the zany vignettes of the previous book spending chapter after chapter listening to Skeeve moan about customer service culture on Perv (AKA an ersatz rundown early ‘80s Manhattan) and also his ruminations on business, friendship, personal character…it was A Lot. Largely absent from all this was the near-cringey wordplay and banter that gives the series its charm, though, so for me it’s one of the weaker offerings in the run thus far. This is a shame as I was initially quite excited to get to know what was really behind the legendary reputation of Aahz’s place of origin.

[John Kirk · Rating 2 out of 5]

The basic plot is reasonable enough, but it's also pretty straightforward (Skeeve goes looking for Aahz). So, a book like this really relies on the way the story is told, and it seems to fall flat compared to earlier books in the series: it just doesn't have the same spark of humour.

There are also a couple of odd quirks that don't really work. The first time JR pops up in the story, he's working as a street vendor. The book doesn't go into any detail about what he's selling, but presumably he had the relevant items out on display, so it would have been obvious to Skeeve. Later on, after Skeeve decides to invest in JR's business, Kalvin points out that they don't know what type of merchandise he's selling, but I think it's reasonable to assume that he'd carry on with what he's already doing, just on a larger scale.

Then there's the taxi driver, Edvik, named after someone who won a charity auction to get his name in the book. I'm quite happy for the author to do this type of Tuckerisation, but I don't like him shattering the fourth wall in the process. That type of exposition would be much better off in an afterword, i.e. told by the author rather than the (character) narrator. As it stands, it's the equivalent of watching a film when one of the extras suddenly starts waving at the camera and shouting "Hey, look at me, I'm on TV!"

I'm leaning towards the view that it's best to stop reading this series at the end of book 6.

[Hidekisohma · Rating 4 out of 5]

So after the big fat MEH that was "Myth INC" i was worried about the direction the series was going. Thankfully, it seems that the terrible volumes are left to the short story collections. Because this one was right on point and back to fun, wacky shenanigans.

The premise is pretty simple. Skeeve has to find Aahz in Aahz's home dimension to apologize and hopefully bring him home.

For the short page length, we get quite a bit of description in how the world of Perv works as well as Skeeve's inner thoughts and how he develops as a character.

There are some neat characters here we're introduced to such as Aahz's mom and Skeeve's new bodyguard Pookie (who is a much better character than Skeeve's 2 stupid mafia goons).

There isn't a lot to talk about here in terms of plot as it's really an exploration through the world. It's kind of like taking a tour through Aahz's homeworld with a backdrop plot excuse of finding Aahz. However, due to the books shortness (barely cresting 200 pages) it definitely doesn't outstay its welcome and i actually had quite a bit of fun. i'm actually excited for the next one (even though i know it's another myth inc style book. ugh.) So i looked ahead and there's only 3 of those. so, 1 down 2 to go.

Still though, glad to see the series hasn't lost its charm and i'll definitely keep reading.

4 out of 5.

[BridgetT · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still enjoying this series. Easy, fun to read, no-brainer. Just plain entertainment.

[Conan Tigard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was happy with the focus of the story returning to Skeeve. Without the Aahz and Skeeve interaction, I found the story lacking its quick dialog and the fun that I was used to expecting in this series. Still, the story is interesting as you get to learn more about Perv and more information about Aahz in his youth, although I felt that it wasn't enough. I really would have liked to learn a lot more.

Overall, even though Myth-nomers and Im-pervections is not quite as funny as the others, it is still an interesting read as Skeeve tries to figure out how to survive in a hostile environment. Like all the books in this series, this is a quick read that can be enjoyed by all ages. The Myth series is a fantastic run of books that top my list of fantasy series to read.

I rated this book a 7½ out of 10.

[John F. Gragowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poor

This series has been excellent until this book. The star of the series went from immature and funny to a whiny baby. One of the touted beliefs became what is right in one situation is not in another. Situational ethics is the home of cowards and heroes should be heroes. I guess the author is P.C. I will try one more in the hopes the author returns to a better pattern.

[Kiro Selanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is less funny than the usual for Myth books. Asprin actually puts speeches in the mouth of Skeeve's associates at some points, about the nature of friendship, investments, and other odds and ends. Skeeve gets one or two temporary sidekicks for this book, but I like the usual crowd better.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this one back when it first came out but never wound up reading it. Pretty cute and typical of all the Myth books, but not exactly a heavy read and pretty much what you'd expect if you're a fan of the series.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skeeve goes looking for Aahz in Perv. Hijinks ensue.

[Charity Fairman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about as real as you can get in a fantasy novel. Loved the soul searching in this one. Great development of character and relationships. Growth can be so painful.

[Anthony Faber · Rating 3 out of 5]

By the author of the Phule books. If you like them, you'll probably like this.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

"She wasn't such a bad mother."
J. Voorhees

[Strawberry Witch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first Myth book I ever picked up, so it’s hard for me to review it objectively. Here’s notes I made while I was re-reading it.

How big are dimensions? Is it like, the equivalent of a town, with suburbs? They seem to move from place to place pretty quickly and there’s usually only one main area theyre in. Like the Bazaar at Deva is just…like the entire dimension is the Bazaar, right? So is it maybe like the size of Las Vegas? What about Limbo? Blut was the main city and they walked to the town where the woof writers lived. And they’re always popping to this or that dimension to find somebody. Which can’t be all that hard. Is Perv just the size of like, New York City?

It’s nuts to me how ppl are always suggesting to a healthy adult white male that he needs a bodyguard. Does anyone tell Bunny she needs one?

In the previous book they mentioned putting an ad in newspapers. And now Skeeve doesn’t know what a personal ad is? Really??

How old are you that you only have to shave “occasionally?” Does he age slower than normal humans or what? Why is he barely going through puberty?

[Mike Forster Rothbart · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Myth books are a light and entertaining fantasy series about a magician's apprentice who doesn't really know what he's doing, and his mentor, a demon who lost his magic powers due to a practical joke. I read them as a teen and just started to reread them.

The early books in the series are my favorites, funny and engaging stories that parody traditional fantasy novels, with adventures in multiple interesting worlds. This volume is the last of the good ones, IMHO, with some good character development. The later books are disappointing, as the young protagonist becomes a bureaucrat and more and more elements of the real world get added in — mafia, graduate school, business development. All are a quick read — I reread this one in a few days.

[Shadow Wolf · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad book as such but what am I actually reading at this point? Aahz has been getting increasingly sidelined for the past few volumes and here, he is once again absent until the last couple of pages. The crew is off dealing with Queen Hemlock so it's just Skeeve having character development time, I guess? Nothing wrong with that but not really what I am here for, certainly not to the point of dedicating an entire book to it. I won't call this a bad book but it is really not in keeping with the mold established by the series. No Skeeve-Aahz partnership as such, no fun caper, a light sprinkling of satire/parody but again, not really in line with the previous volumes. Hopefully, the next volume gets better.

[Robert Gilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun book in the Myth series. Skeeve has adventures in Aahz's home dimension Perv, well he is a Pervect. Skeeve is looking for Aahz to apologize for some of his actions in the previous book. Skeeve alone with out his usual crew gets into lots of trouble but his character grows a lot from this and he realizes that he needs to grow up and take more responsibility for his own life. Still a good story and helps to expand the Myth Adventures Universe.

[Arinniti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a bit different than others. I was used to Skeeve cooperating with other friends on his adventures and in this one, he went solo. I loved the interpretation of pervect dimension. For me, this was one of most enjoyable books of this series so far. Skeeve and his ability to create problems was really funny in this book. I was annoyed with Skeeve whining almost through the whole story, but it was also part of him growing up.

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This rounds down to four stars. I think that this did a better job of exploring the changes in Skeeve than the previous one. I liked the introspection and felt that the scenes that triggered each new thought were well conceived and believable. I didn't find it to be quite as funny as the previous books, but it's still a good source of lighthearted entertainment and I generally liked the supporting characters.

[James Atkison · Rating 5 out of 5]

25 years ago, I lost my mom. This was one of her favorite series, so I now have all of them and am re-reading the first few.

I really liked that we got back to a Skeeve story. I also like that Mr. Asprin did not let the crew sit idlely by and wait on Skeeve as the next book picks up at the time frame this book happened in. I also enjoyed Skeeve's character growth through painful means. The Djin got it right in his action to help that growth. Good reading.

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 8 of Myth Adventures. At long last we see Perv. This adventure focuses on Skeeve as he tries to locate Aahz. I loved that this book really talks to how we can so easily get focused on ourselves to the detriment of others. How easy we can make others feel less valuable to us as we get caught up in what we are doing. It is a great reminder among a hilarious storyline. If you’ve read the others you’ll find this one a strong next in series. ​

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com