Hit or Myth

Myth Adventures #4

by Robert Lynn Asprin

King Rodrick takes a powers - leaving Skeeve in his place to marry his homicidal fiancee Hemlock and face the tender mercies of Bruce, the Mob's fairy godfather who wants Skeeve working for him . . . or not at all.

On top of that, Aahz has taken a forced vacation, a two-ton demon has a crush on Skeeve, and both Possiltum and Deva are about to be invaded. it looks like Skeeve has gotten himself into another fine myth. . .

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

170 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

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

[Orient · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is definitely another Hit in the Myth world
The funny dialogues, hilarious twists, fast pace and easy style worked for me once more.
I enjoyed finding teamwork, lots of surprises, various tricks and incidents in the book. Also some interesting new characters like:

The Mob's fairy godfather

With his

A murderous queen-bride-to-be

Not forgetting the fun mess and machinations they made.
Though I missed Aahz for the biggest part of the book, but Skeeve is worth to have his shining hour! It was delightful to see Skeeve, making the circle of his friends-allies bigger and becoming confident and at last leaving the apprentices phase to become a skilled partner magician.
It was good to get back to find that Skeeve, as always, has a lot of fun giving and receiving mess not only in the kingdom but also in Deva Bazzar, especially as Skeeve and Deva have a common bond for trouble and friends.

At first I decided to put the series down just to strengthen my love to the Myth Adventures, but with the help of my encouraging GR friend, Evgeny, and the secret door, I found at the end of the story, I decided to have a one more fun and crazy ride with Skeeve and his gang. Damn I want to know what is behind the secret door! So “Myth-Ing Persons”, here I come! ;)

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This whole book runs like a mob racket scheme being foiled by a master con-man. :)

That's not a bad thing. Indeed, it's funny as hell. Only, let's make sure our con-man has magical chops, a reputation to soar, and a LOT of chumps in two dimensions. :)

Yay! :)

*smacks lips* Very tasty and funny fantasy. :)

[Carrot :3 (on a hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun addition to the series!

The misadventures in this are more elaborate with some funny twists and turns making it a tad more entertaining.

Love how Skeeve is progressing and becoming more confident in his abilities. Even his bond with Aahz is growing deep, which is nice to see.

All in all, a fun read for a break!

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth book in Robert Asprin's Myth series and it might be the best yet. It was stuffed full of all the adventure, magic, humor, and quirky characters that we have come to expect from reading the previous books in the series.

In this one Aahz is called home to deal with a family emergency leaving Skeeve on his own in Possiltum. Skeeve is soon convinced by King Rodrick to use his disguise spell to fill in for him while he enjoys a much needed vacation. Unfortunately King Rodrick forgot to tell Skeeve about the impending royal wedding to a power hungry neighboring Queen, or the fact that he plans his vacation to be permanent! Throw in more problems caused by the arrival of the mob, who are seeking compensation for the loss of Big Jules and his army, and Skeeve is soon in big trouble.

I really enjoyed this installment of the series. Skeeve and his friends are as likable as ever and the plot was fast paced and exciting.

I'm eager to read the next book in the series after the tiny cliffhanger ending to this one.

Rating: 4 stars.

Audio Note: This was the first book in the series I have listened to that was not narrated by the excellent Jeff Woodman. His replacement was Noah Michael Levine, who has recently recorded the whole series for Audible, and he was almost as good. Like Woodman he just got the humor of the story.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hit or Myth is the fourth volume in Asprin's long-running Myth Adventures series. In this one, magician apprentice Skeeve has to stand pretty much on his own since his partner-in-crime Aahz has to make an emergency trip home to Perv. It's a two-part story; in the first, Skeeve stands in for a cowardly king who's due to marry the promiscuous and bloodthirsty Queen Hemlock, and in the second he has to outwit the Mob. (He's up for both tasks, make no mythtake about it.) It's a funny series of slapstick situations and jokes and puns, some a little creaky with age now, but still worth a smile and even an occasional titter if not a guffaw.

[Desinka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another hilarious ride. I loved the story. It was great to see Skeeve's fan club growing and his newly acquired confidence to act as an independent leader. The intrigues with both the murderous queen and the mafia were highly entertaining. Reading on.

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

Reading the books out of order it was really nice to get a lot of the background information in this volume. A lot ofthe future settings and arrangements happen here. I won't spoil but I loved seeing how the characters got together and events played out.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the last in the original tetralogy that Robert Asprin proposed to his publisher when he first thought up the “Myth Adventures” series. Of course, it was not the end of the series and he went on to write many more, but it was a kind of “stopping place” or ending to a cycle within the series. It ends with a fairly major boost in the main character’s prestige, power, and confidence, so the books that follow do take place in a different context, so to speak. I think I read a few of the later books, but it’s also the last one I remember with any clarity.

In this book, our hero, Skeeve, is suddenly deprived of his mentor and protector, the demon known as Aahz, right before two major crises hit. The first crisis is that the organized criminals who ran the Army Skeeve defeated in the second book now come looking to find out what happened and either recruit or “neutralize” the magician responsible. The second is that the King tricks Skeeve into taking his place on the day of his wedding – to a deadly and conniving neighboring queen who obviously plans to use the marriage to her own advantage whether the King survives or not. Even without Aahz present, Skeeve is able to get to the Bazaar on Deva and find allies from the previous novels to sort out these problems – creating new problems along the way which have to be taken care of when Aahz finally returns.

The book has the usual level of puns and humor, but also works pretty well as a “coming of age” for Skeeve. The organized criminals supply much of the most recognizable satire – they come straight out of a bad “Godfather” rip off movie, but with the addition of magic and dimensional travel. Still, there’s something about this one that never quite worked for me. It may be that there are too many plot threads working at once, or that the lack of Aahz takes away from some of the funner moments early in the book, or just that the book is too much a transition from the first part of the series to the later, and not enough of a book on its own. Whatever the case, I’d recommend this one only if you’re fairly addicted to the series already.

[East Bay J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t like book four as much as I have other books in this series so far. I got to thinking about and, pondering the concept of the plot, figgered it out. Hit Or Myth marks the first time Skeeve is forced to deal with a situation without Aahz. It occurred to me the interplay between Aahz and Skeeve is what I like most about this series. Without it, something’s lacking. I just don’t like Skeeve on his own as much as with Aahz, let alone the various killer cast and characters. Still, Hit Or Myth is nothing to shake a stick at. Fun, funny and full of beans. That’s a darned fine thing.

[Tyrannosaurus regina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was essentially two stories stuck together, which made the pacing of it quite strange and really did a disservice to both the 'homicidal fiancee" half (who unfortunately never got to have a personality) and the mob shenanigans half, which is definitely not all it could be. The fact that I breeze through these so quickly lets me overlook a lot of the writing flaws, but let me say again that this series is not great with the female characters.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Turns out the answer to the question "how many of these books can Charles burn through before the delight of nostalgia is no longer enough to overcome the slender plots and weak characterization" was "four books."

[Richard Seltzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for the second time, out loud to my son Tim.

[Joel · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I've enjoyed the lighthearted, whimsical tone of the series to this point, I felt like this installment missed the mark, and not just because it dealt with the mob, which is one of my least favorite tropes. There were so many loose ends that I don't even know which one to pick at first.

Overall, it was satisfactory as entertainment, but just barely, and if I hadn't followed the characters for multiple books before this, this would be the last.

2 out of 5 stars.

[Sofie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for eye-rolls and groans. It’s full of dry humour and long-form dad jokes. You know when someone starts to tell you a story and 3 minutes later you find out it the whole point was to set up a ridiculous punchline? That happens on pretty much constantly in this book. Hilarious, but not with a lot of substance.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

UPDATE: As of Mar 2018, I have decided not to continue re-reading this series. The first book in the series was only a solid 3 for me, and with nearly 20 books in the series, I am not interested in continuing on with a series I only liked OK. I originally read thru book 6 or so.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun read of a book from childhood. The mob humor was a little too on-the-nose, but that's par for the course with this series.

[Michael Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite on par with the last couple but still a good laugh. I enjoyed most of the novel but parts definitely dragged or felt a tad obvious and cliche.

[Nathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a myth (that's about as humorous as it gets people)

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and Thweet!

[April Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A childhood favorite re-visited.

Is the story as good as I remember? – Yes

What ages would I recommend it too? – Twelve and up. While ten to twelve might enjoy it, there are many ideas they will not understand. Though, they will certainly get many of the jokes.

Length? – Most of a day’s read.

Characters? – Memorable, several characters.

Setting? – Fantasy, alternate dimensions.

Written approximately? – 1983.

Does the story leave questions in the readers mind? – Ready to read more.

Any issues the author (or a more recent publisher) should cover? No.

Short storyline: Everyone is obviously ready for a vacation. Aahz is kidnapped by his nephew, leaving Skeeve alone. The king wants a days vacation, and calls on Skeeve’s disguise spell, to replace him for a day (which turns out to be a lot longer than a day.) Skeeve is left to figure out how to get the king home for his marriage to a queen he doesn’t want, protect the kingdom (and retired mob warriors from “Myth Conceptions”) from the mob, as well as get himself fired so he can get a vacation himself.

Notes for the reader: In this story, this author takes the emotions of his characters seriously. The characters don’t just race through the story full of action without emotion. The author realized the importance of the reader connecting to the characters by giving us the emotions, and even the reasons behind those sometimes odd emotions for the situation. While the first few times, it is a shock to the system to actually read of a character having an emotion, soon, it just becomes an enhancement to the story. In fact, when the lack of emotions by the main character becomes apparent in a later story, even that is noted by all the characters, until it is resolved.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is "The One About the Wedding" and "The One About the Mob", which is a bit of a sticking point for me. This is the shortest entry into Myth Adventures yet, and it contains two full-blown plots. Add into that formula that Aahz doesn't even feature in one of them, and we have a rather disappointing addition to the series.

See, a lot of what makes the Myth Adventures books so much fun is the banter. Skeeve narrates the stories, so we get his sarcasm and naivete with or without Aahz, but without him, Skeeve doesn't have anyone to banter with. Asprin fills the role with a couple of other characters -- namely Massha -- but it wasn't the same. I get that Asprin wanted to develop Skeeve further and have him come into his own instead of always being Aahz's apprentice, but I wish he could have done it in a different way.

The series is still going strong, my nostalgia kicking in to keep my interest high, and it doesn't hurt that they read quickly. Hit or Myth is the first low point I've hit, but even then, "low" is a relative term, since I still had fun reading the book. I've been able to read these at the pace of one a day, and if this keeps up, I should be able to finish this entire series before the end of the month.

[Diane ~Firefly~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still love even on re-read.

Skeeve is in a spot of trouble (as usual) but this time Aahz isn't around to help. The mob finally comes to town looking for their missing army and the King has taken off, leaving Skeeve in his place.

What I enjoyed:
* Skeeve is really growing up. I love how his character always shines through in his decisions.
* Massha - I love how she admits her shortcomings and in the case of magic, has a plan to improve
* The mob. I love the whole plan. Both Skeeve's desperate ploy to save himself and the army as well as Aahz's devious way to put the mob out of business and then get paid from both the mob and the Deeval's
* Nice setup for the next book

What could have been better:
* I would have liked to have a bit more of the after wedding scene

[Valerie]

I'm picking up copies of this series more or less randomly, at least partly because I don't remember what I already own, and partly because of differential availability.

I've already reviewed a book from when the series goes bad. In this volume, it's not anywhere near there yet. This is after the Big Game in the Dimension of Jahk, and around the time Skeeve leaves his position as the court magician of Possiltum. It's also the book in which Skeeve takes Massha as his apprentice--which turns out to be necessary, because Aazh is lured away just as things begin to get dangerous again.

I've always thought that the best part of this series is the quotes in the chapter headings. That said, the stories are generally fun, and you're always pretty sure they won't end TOO badly. Just enough danger to be interesting, in other words.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read any of these books before, but I didn't feel very lost. The premise is pretty amusing, but the overall story felt too rushed and some of the characters, like the crazy fiancee, could have used some additional development. She was an interesting character and I would have liked to read a little more about her. As others have said, two great plot lines mashed in one short book leaves both lacking. Too bad. I still might go back and read the other books in this series, but this book isn't one I'd likely reread.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is more like two separate but connected stories. This story was pretty light on Aahz, my favorite character, but it actually allowed Skeeve to shine and demonstrate how much he has grown as a character.

In this story Skeeve has to deal with Queen Hemlock who was a very interesting character that didn't get nearly enough "screen time", I hope she reappears in future stories. The second plot involves the mob which was very entertaining but both of the main conflicts were resolved a little too quickly.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved these books when I was a tween/teen, and still have a few of them on my bookshelf, so I figured I'd do a re-read to see how well they stand the test of time. The answer: not well at all. This one definitely had a visit from the suck fairy.

A lot of the bits that made me laugh when I was 14 no longer even make me crack a smile, and it all just felt too simplistic. Also, it all felt weirdly dated, though with no specific bits I can put a finger on.

[Graznot · Rating 1 out of 5]

Never read anything else of this series. Maybe the other ones are better, maybe it's intended for kids, maybe there's a nostalgia factor at work there, but I couldn't read a full page of this without rolling my eyes.

I only read as much of this as I did because I didn't have anything else with me occupy myself during my breaks at work.

It was trying WAY to hard to make cute little jokes. 1920s mobsters and con-artists set in a quazi middle ages setting didn't work.

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth book in the series, and is just as much fun now as it was when I first read it years ago. Good, clean fun – you could give this book to a kid and enjoy it just as much as an adult. The narrator of the series – Noah Michael Levine - does a cast of voices reliably well (only Tananda grates) and brings another level to the already great book. I recommend the entire series.

[Bryan457 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skeeve is connned into impersonating the King, who skips town, leaving Skeeve to marry the king's homicidal fiancée. To make matters worse the Mob has come looking for its missing army.

Skeeve is starting to be annoy me instead of make me laugh.

[Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed with this installment. There wasn't very much action, and Ahz was absent for a majority of the book. I think his character is why I keep coming back for more of these books.
Gleep does help with a lot as the comedic relief, and I adore Buttercup the War Unicorn.