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Myth Adventures #16
Class Dis-Mythed
After years as a court magician and inter-dimensional hero, Skeeve needed a rest. So he took some time off to study magic and relax. When a few months later several members of the M.Y.T.H. Inc. Team each ask him to train some talented, young magicians in "practical magic" he has to agree. But after the assassins attack and a manticore tries to eat them, the Khlad mage soon discovers that there is more going on than learning. His students are preparing for a very deadly magical game and you won't believe where. Worse yet, the game may be fixed, and the only way to save his students lives is for Skeeve to risk his own.
300 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
7 people are currently reading
1202 people want to read
About the author
Robert Lynn Asprin
224 books1,067 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 - 30 of 44 reviews
February 16, 2021
Sometimes these books are hit-or-myth. Fortunately, this one was definitely a hit. I think it's been about ten or more books in the series when I had quite this much fun.
Skeeve, mostly retired from success, gets wrangled by his friends into teaching a bunch of misfits the art of magic.
Of course, he's a big con artist that just happens to have a heart of gold and an awesome ethic when it comes to his friends, so the kids, far from learning crap from a crappy wizard, learn to DOMINATE.
The first half of the book was fantastically funny and reminded me fondly of the first, and best, in the series. The second half was funny in its own right and I admit to fanboying over all kinds of tournament stuff.
This was one of the heartwarming ones. :)
Skeeve, mostly retired from success, gets wrangled by his friends into teaching a bunch of misfits the art of magic.
Of course, he's a big con artist that just happens to have a heart of gold and an awesome ethic when it comes to his friends, so the kids, far from learning crap from a crappy wizard, learn to DOMINATE.
The first half of the book was fantastically funny and reminded me fondly of the first, and best, in the series. The second half was funny in its own right and I admit to fanboying over all kinds of tournament stuff.
This was one of the heartwarming ones. :)
November 29, 2015
Book 16 from the Myth Adventures series, and this one almost sees a return to the humour and style of the original books. Maybe it is solely down to the fact that once again things are narrated from Skeeve's point of view. Most of the original characters feature somewhere along the line, and there are also reappearances of Markie and Don Bruce.
Regular readers of the series will be aware that Skeeve has taken a sabbatical from MYTH Inc, so that he can apply himself to his magical studies. These studies get interrupted with the arrival of three Pervect students who wish to study practical magic. The three soon become six as other students, from different dimensions, also enrol. Skeeve, being Skeeve, puts aside his own studies to help out with the usual mishaps and mayhem.
Regular readers of the series will be aware that Skeeve has taken a sabbatical from MYTH Inc, so that he can apply himself to his magical studies. These studies get interrupted with the arrival of three Pervect students who wish to study practical magic. The three soon become six as other students, from different dimensions, also enrol. Skeeve, being Skeeve, puts aside his own studies to help out with the usual mishaps and mayhem.
December 15, 2016
If there's one book in the new series that feels like the old books, this is it. Skeeve, in his self-exile from M.Y.T.H. Inc. to learn proper magik, is saddled with several people who want to learn magik themselves, so he becomes the teacher to a bunch of apprentices. They're a various crew, all related to other characters who have appeared in the series (one of them is the nephew of Markie, who was last seen as the antagonist in Little Myth Marker), and Skeeve comes up with ways to teach them the practical uses of magik, even though some of his students know more than he does.
What makes the book feel familiar is the student-teacher relationship between Skeeve and his students. It's strained at times -- there are multiple students, so that relationship is broken across several characters, and that relationship doesn't feel consistent -- but for the most part it works. Skeeve has moments where he can speak at length to different subjects, which is something I hadn't realized was missing in these new novels. The puns still seem forced, but the rest of the humor feels more natural, and the novel starts to show signs of the charm that made the early books so entertaining.
The ending was a bit of a let-down for me, as it took what felt like the end of the story and took it a bit further -- about 80 pages further, in fact. Skeeve has finished his training, and we finally learn why the students were so determined to learn, and why they acted so strangely in a few scenes. It felt like that could have been the next book in the series instead of a tacked-on ending at the end of the third act; in fact, that whole part of the story felt rushed, so I wonder why the authors didn't make that the next book in the series. I think it would have worked well standalone.
The books in this second half of the series are definitely not as good as what Asprin did by himself, but at least here I started to see some of the hints of what made those other books so much fun. I hope I see that again in the remaining books.
What makes the book feel familiar is the student-teacher relationship between Skeeve and his students. It's strained at times -- there are multiple students, so that relationship is broken across several characters, and that relationship doesn't feel consistent -- but for the most part it works. Skeeve has moments where he can speak at length to different subjects, which is something I hadn't realized was missing in these new novels. The puns still seem forced, but the rest of the humor feels more natural, and the novel starts to show signs of the charm that made the early books so entertaining.
The ending was a bit of a let-down for me, as it took what felt like the end of the story and took it a bit further -- about 80 pages further, in fact. Skeeve has finished his training, and we finally learn why the students were so determined to learn, and why they acted so strangely in a few scenes. It felt like that could have been the next book in the series instead of a tacked-on ending at the end of the third act; in fact, that whole part of the story felt rushed, so I wonder why the authors didn't make that the next book in the series. I think it would have worked well standalone.
The books in this second half of the series are definitely not as good as what Asprin did by himself, but at least here I started to see some of the hints of what made those other books so much fun. I hope I see that again in the remaining books.
August 3, 2022
MYTH INC and Me
A million years back, my older brother picked up a fantasy comedy novel, one that he heard was pretty good, and in typical fashion right after he finished it, I picked it up, and then our younger brother. Our parents loved when we did this, and then discussed and debated the books endlessly. This kept on with this one series until years later, when the writer kinda went into more depressing territory and the books became less fun, more of a chore.
So I stopped reading them, while my brothers kept going, and I had no clue how many books were coming out. But a year or so back I grabbed most of the rest of the series from them and plunged back in.
Now this was an experience.
So what I am babbling about is The Myth Inc Series by the late author Robert Asprin, a fantasy comedy which starts off a medieval place called Klahd, which is pronounced Clod, and a young man named Skeeve who is being trained as a magician. His master pulls a trick, and is then promptly assassinated, and suddenly Skeeve is left to deal with a green scaly demon man his master conjured up. Turns out, he is an old friend of the wizard, and has been left powerless by the trick. Aahz, which is pronounced Oz and is no relation, agrees to team up as Master and Apprentice with Skeeve.
Thus begins an interesting partnership, as Skeeve and Aahz get a pet dragon, fight a war for a kingdom, join the mob but do no moblike stuff, hop from dimension to dimension, meet vampires, play dragon poker, and meet a ton of new allies who fast become friends. We get the sexy Tanda the assassin, her brother Chumley the troll, Guido and Nunzio Skeeve’s mob bodyguards, and even more and more as the series progresses. And we get pun filled titles like Myth Conceptions and Little Myth Marker. By the time we reach M.Y.T.H. Inc Link, Asprin decides to switch the narrator from Skeeve to all sorts of the rest of the cast. It is a nice switch up for the series, but could not stop the mountains of subplots spinning everywhere and how stuff had become depressing in some places.
However one thread that was a bright spot all along was the occasional cartoon, showing scenes from the story, in the trade paperbacks by Phil Foglio, who also did the comics adaptation of the first book.
Where I exactly left off from decades ago was my first challenge, and a reread of M.Y.T.H. Inc In Action reveals I left this one two chapters short of finishing. The re-invasion of the kingdom has been settled, largely thanks to Guido and Nunzio joining the army and sabotaging it from the inside.
With a whole bunch of subplots resolved, we move into my first completely new read of the series this century, Sweet Myth-tery of Life, where Skeeve has brought Aahz back from his dimension of Perv after they had a big falling out. Now Skeeve has received a marriage proposal from Queen Hemlock and goes back to wondering about love. Oh, and he needs to fix the kingdoms finances. And more subplots get resolved. But it is also gets kinda repetitive.
Which leads to Something M.Y.T.H. Inc, where the multiple narrator shtick is back as the kingdom is in rebellion against the tyrant who raised taxes, that evil one time Court Magician Skeeve! The Myth gang set out to quell the insurrections, who are remarkedly like Zorro and Robin Hood, and not let Skeeve know what is going on. This one takes place at the same time as the last one. And this one starts off really really good, then falls apart. And all the subplots get figured out and Skeeve moves into a new place in life, so that the series can rebuild, which leads to….
Myth-Ion Improbable, a flashback tale to Skeeve and Aahz and Tanda going on a treasure hunt in a far off dimension. It is cute at best. And the big relaunch happens with….
Myth-Told Tales. Or not. Asprin gets an official co-writer here with Jody Lynn Nye, and the many narrators idea is back, but it is really just short stories. It is a mixed bag, like any collection, and still like treading water until whatever the new reality is. Methinks Asprin and Nye may not have hit it off right away, and this format was a compromise just to keep the Myth series going. Nye has a track record as a writer before this book, and I believe a real affection for these characters, so I kinda wish Asprin would just hand the series over to her, since he seems not so into it.
Myth Alliances is a Skeeve without Aahz book, where Skeeve and Bunny, his sexy and super smart assistant, have to free the dimension of Wuhses from a group of Perv business women who have become dictators. Or have they? This one starts very promising, then keeps going on and on, but still gives a pretty spectacular ending.
This leads to the Aahz centered book Myth-Taken Identity, where he finds out someone has stolen Skeeve’s id and is wrecking his good name in the mall dimension. No one does that to his former apprentice and good friend! This one is just like the last one, starts off well, meanders quite abit, then finishes strong.
It feels like Nye takes over more with Class Dis-Mythed, where Skeeve is asked by various people to teach a whole bunch of apprentices in magic. It is a learning curve for Skeeve, and one for the students, and we get a whole bunch of cameos from other characters from the series, some being very very surprising. Their is a secret the students are keeping through, which leads to the surprise ending chapters. I really dig the new characters and hope they make reappearances in future books.
So it seems like whatever Asprin and Nye got working, is really working, and Myth-Gotten Gains is proof of that. Aahz finds a magic talking sword in a bazaar and is promised money AND getting his powers back if he helps find his family of magical objects. Turns out they are The Golden Hoard, an ancient and all powerful group who don’t really get along. Aahz and Tanda travel all over, find the Flute and the Purse and the Book and the Crystal Ball. And Aahz and Tanda are completely driven crazy by the Hoard’s constant bickering and insults and attitude. I loved these new additions and their banter read in my head like a Monty Python skit.
This new groove moves us into Myth-Chief, where Skeeve comes back to adventuring and his Myth Inc aren’t all happy. So eventually Skeeve and Aahz have a contest with two competing but not so competing goals, to save a kingdom from financial ruin. Unfortunately, this one backslides to being too long, unfocused, and only one part of the ending making sense. Their is hope, since the new dynamic of Myth n Inc is finally in place here.
This is also the last one my brothers got, but Asprin and Nye gave us one more with Myth-Fortunes, and then suddenly Asprin passed away. Nye continued on with Myth-Quoted and Myth-Fits. I have no idea what happens in these volumes, or how these go generally with Nye fully in charge.
Even with the mixed results of this catchup, I am still glad I did it. It was nice to see how these old friends were doing, and seeing that they were in good hands with Nye. I think Asprin would be happy. And my brothers and I can debate this endlessly as well.
Scoopriches
A million years back, my older brother picked up a fantasy comedy novel, one that he heard was pretty good, and in typical fashion right after he finished it, I picked it up, and then our younger brother. Our parents loved when we did this, and then discussed and debated the books endlessly. This kept on with this one series until years later, when the writer kinda went into more depressing territory and the books became less fun, more of a chore.
So I stopped reading them, while my brothers kept going, and I had no clue how many books were coming out. But a year or so back I grabbed most of the rest of the series from them and plunged back in.
Now this was an experience.
So what I am babbling about is The Myth Inc Series by the late author Robert Asprin, a fantasy comedy which starts off a medieval place called Klahd, which is pronounced Clod, and a young man named Skeeve who is being trained as a magician. His master pulls a trick, and is then promptly assassinated, and suddenly Skeeve is left to deal with a green scaly demon man his master conjured up. Turns out, he is an old friend of the wizard, and has been left powerless by the trick. Aahz, which is pronounced Oz and is no relation, agrees to team up as Master and Apprentice with Skeeve.
Thus begins an interesting partnership, as Skeeve and Aahz get a pet dragon, fight a war for a kingdom, join the mob but do no moblike stuff, hop from dimension to dimension, meet vampires, play dragon poker, and meet a ton of new allies who fast become friends. We get the sexy Tanda the assassin, her brother Chumley the troll, Guido and Nunzio Skeeve’s mob bodyguards, and even more and more as the series progresses. And we get pun filled titles like Myth Conceptions and Little Myth Marker. By the time we reach M.Y.T.H. Inc Link, Asprin decides to switch the narrator from Skeeve to all sorts of the rest of the cast. It is a nice switch up for the series, but could not stop the mountains of subplots spinning everywhere and how stuff had become depressing in some places.
However one thread that was a bright spot all along was the occasional cartoon, showing scenes from the story, in the trade paperbacks by Phil Foglio, who also did the comics adaptation of the first book.
Where I exactly left off from decades ago was my first challenge, and a reread of M.Y.T.H. Inc In Action reveals I left this one two chapters short of finishing. The re-invasion of the kingdom has been settled, largely thanks to Guido and Nunzio joining the army and sabotaging it from the inside.
With a whole bunch of subplots resolved, we move into my first completely new read of the series this century, Sweet Myth-tery of Life, where Skeeve has brought Aahz back from his dimension of Perv after they had a big falling out. Now Skeeve has received a marriage proposal from Queen Hemlock and goes back to wondering about love. Oh, and he needs to fix the kingdoms finances. And more subplots get resolved. But it is also gets kinda repetitive.
Which leads to Something M.Y.T.H. Inc, where the multiple narrator shtick is back as the kingdom is in rebellion against the tyrant who raised taxes, that evil one time Court Magician Skeeve! The Myth gang set out to quell the insurrections, who are remarkedly like Zorro and Robin Hood, and not let Skeeve know what is going on. This one takes place at the same time as the last one. And this one starts off really really good, then falls apart. And all the subplots get figured out and Skeeve moves into a new place in life, so that the series can rebuild, which leads to….
Myth-Ion Improbable, a flashback tale to Skeeve and Aahz and Tanda going on a treasure hunt in a far off dimension. It is cute at best. And the big relaunch happens with….
Myth-Told Tales. Or not. Asprin gets an official co-writer here with Jody Lynn Nye, and the many narrators idea is back, but it is really just short stories. It is a mixed bag, like any collection, and still like treading water until whatever the new reality is. Methinks Asprin and Nye may not have hit it off right away, and this format was a compromise just to keep the Myth series going. Nye has a track record as a writer before this book, and I believe a real affection for these characters, so I kinda wish Asprin would just hand the series over to her, since he seems not so into it.
Myth Alliances is a Skeeve without Aahz book, where Skeeve and Bunny, his sexy and super smart assistant, have to free the dimension of Wuhses from a group of Perv business women who have become dictators. Or have they? This one starts very promising, then keeps going on and on, but still gives a pretty spectacular ending.
This leads to the Aahz centered book Myth-Taken Identity, where he finds out someone has stolen Skeeve’s id and is wrecking his good name in the mall dimension. No one does that to his former apprentice and good friend! This one is just like the last one, starts off well, meanders quite abit, then finishes strong.
It feels like Nye takes over more with Class Dis-Mythed, where Skeeve is asked by various people to teach a whole bunch of apprentices in magic. It is a learning curve for Skeeve, and one for the students, and we get a whole bunch of cameos from other characters from the series, some being very very surprising. Their is a secret the students are keeping through, which leads to the surprise ending chapters. I really dig the new characters and hope they make reappearances in future books.
So it seems like whatever Asprin and Nye got working, is really working, and Myth-Gotten Gains is proof of that. Aahz finds a magic talking sword in a bazaar and is promised money AND getting his powers back if he helps find his family of magical objects. Turns out they are The Golden Hoard, an ancient and all powerful group who don’t really get along. Aahz and Tanda travel all over, find the Flute and the Purse and the Book and the Crystal Ball. And Aahz and Tanda are completely driven crazy by the Hoard’s constant bickering and insults and attitude. I loved these new additions and their banter read in my head like a Monty Python skit.
This new groove moves us into Myth-Chief, where Skeeve comes back to adventuring and his Myth Inc aren’t all happy. So eventually Skeeve and Aahz have a contest with two competing but not so competing goals, to save a kingdom from financial ruin. Unfortunately, this one backslides to being too long, unfocused, and only one part of the ending making sense. Their is hope, since the new dynamic of Myth n Inc is finally in place here.
This is also the last one my brothers got, but Asprin and Nye gave us one more with Myth-Fortunes, and then suddenly Asprin passed away. Nye continued on with Myth-Quoted and Myth-Fits. I have no idea what happens in these volumes, or how these go generally with Nye fully in charge.
Even with the mixed results of this catchup, I am still glad I did it. It was nice to see how these old friends were doing, and seeing that they were in good hands with Nye. I think Asprin would be happy. And my brothers and I can debate this endlessly as well.
Scoopriches
September 3, 2023
Why? Why do I keep doing this? I haven’t liked any of these damn books since Asprin got in trouble for tax avoision and stopped writing for awhile. I had this grand plan to sit down and re-read every single Myth book I own, in order, as I hadn’t read them all in years. I thought it’d be fun to read these books I first read when I was 14. And to be fair, the first few were kind of fun. Now it’s become just a chore, but I told myself I’m gonna read all these stupid books, and I’m doing it, dammit.
Ugh.
Aahz is in a bar with Guido when 3 young Pervects come in looking for the Great Skeeve, who’s on “sabbatical” with Bunny. Aahz doesn’t want to tell them where Skeeve is at first, but then he does bc they offer him money, and at this point in the series (what is this, like the 16th freakin book?) that’s like his only character trait.
Skeeve is tinkering with Bunny’s little computer. She’s watching a play, which is supposed to be like, their version of tv. I really hate the way they started throwing actual technology in these books.
Bunny’s “bosom was approximately two thirds of her height and…” What? I know she’s stacked, but that’s…is she literally just 2/3 tits now?
So these three Pervect girls are all psyched to be training with Skeeve. He’s still living in an inn so there’s plenty of room. He takes them to Massha’s to try and pawn them off on her (he’s suffering from Imposter Syndrome, which is legit), but she’s like yeah no actually here’s another one for ya. Apparently Bee from the military subplots wants to learn magic too. Bee was supposedly like in his early 20s back in those boring army books, wasn’t he? “Maybe my age or a year or two older.” How fucking old is this kid we’ve been following around for over a dozen books now?? I get that Skeeve’s thing is that he’s young and inexperienced, but even if the first book took place when he was, let’s say, 14, he’d be at least 30 now. Anyway so I guess Bee was Massha’s apprentice but she’s pawning him off on Skeeve now for some reason? Why was he her apprentice when she doesn’t know any magic? Why didn’t Skeeve ever finish teaching Massha anything? Wasn’t she supposed to be his apprentice? Did he just neglect her for so long she gave up and was like ah fuck it I’ve got all this magic jewelry. God Skeeve sucks so bad.
Then Chumley rolls up and has a friend who’s from “Canida,” that’s a sort of dog thing called Tolk. Skeeve doesn’t want yet another pupil but the Chumbucket throws out the old “when have I ever asked you for anything?” Never. The answer is never, bc all your little blond teenage ass ever does is bitch and moan while your grown up friends take care of everything.
Markie rolls up and Bunny takes after her with claws out bc women can’t get along with each other and Markie was just doing her job back in book 8 when Skeeve was living in the house he tricked the Devan Chamber of Commerce into giving him. (Yes, I am extremely triggered by the “free house” shit.) Anyway, Markie spends half a page talking about Skeeve’s integrity and shit and convinces him to tutor her nephew Melvine. Bunny’s mad about this bc she still hates Markie from back in the day, but there’s nothing Skeeve loves more than having smoke blown up his young ass, so he’s all about it.
On a side note, tho, why do all the female characters all hate each other so much? And not for nothing, but Bunny met Skeeve and Markie while she was pretending to be a mob moll, which was her job at the time, but she’s still pissed at Markie for pretending to be a little girl? Which was her job at the time? The way they all hate on Markie makes zero sense. She tells them that in the dimension she and her nephew are from, you stay small if you’re a good person and if you’re a jerk you grow to normal size. And she’s tiny. So wouldn’t that make her a decent person? Why have I thought about this more than the authors of the book?
Then Chumley says he has to jet but he doesn’t want to do magic in front of the pupils, so Skeeve “drew power out of the force lines that crossed above and beneath the inn and sent the big troll away with another loud bang.” Sorry, since fucking when can Skeeve dimension hop? Earlier he said he had a D hopper set to Deva for Bunny in case she got bored and wanted to leave. But now he can just…do it? Like ten pages later??
Look, I’m not a writer, but if you have a 15+ book series, maybe at one point you should sit the fuck down and figure out some details? Like, is dimension hopping easy or not? In the next chapter he’s using the D hopper again. Jfc.
Skeeve takes them all to a dimension called Sear to teach them how to work together. He’s surprisingly good at it. He mentions he got ideas from overhearing a show called “Sink or Swim” on Bunny’s “PDA.” Do you think that’s gonna come up later?? Also, have I mentioned how much I hate having tv and computers in fantasy novels? I don’t care that it’s comedic fantasy or whatever.
Skeeve casts several little spells we’ve never seen him learn or practice before. It’s almost as if his magical powers vary upon the needs of the story. But that’d be ridiculous, right?
So they’re doing magic exercises and this guy runs up to them looking for the Great Skeeve to get rid of a monster in their village. Instead of being like “oh shit, yeah, let’s go; I’m not gonna let a big monster fuck up my home dimension,” Skeeve lets Bunny steer the man into a side room to discuss paying him. Skeeve tells his students it’s important to get paid for work you do. Bee, the cute military kid (who’s older than Skeeve, as he keeps mentioning) is incensed and says he’ll always help anyone who needs it, regardless of money. Remember back in the first couple of books when Skeeve felt the same way? Back when he was likable?
Skeeve’s disguised and does this big theatrical bullshit thing, pretending to summon himself. God, what a fucking poser.
So they find this manticore they need to try and communicate with and Skeeve suddenly remembers this spell he learned from a “friendly merchant at the bazaar.” Okay first of all none of the merchants at the Bazaar are friendly; second of all; how have they all been communicating up to this point? They’re all off worlders. All of them should speak different languages, right? Make it make sense. No, seriously. Either skip the language plot completely or make it make sense within the world you’ve created.
The manticore’s name is Evad. It’s Dave spelled backwards. Like “Idnew” and “Drachir” from that one about the vampires. It was sort of cute then. It isn’t now. For that matter, absolutely nobody has “normal” names. Like they try so hard to be so “fantasy” and shit, but then this whole dumb ass book is about a tv show? With a crap ton of new characters that aren’t particularly interesting?
“Don’t just stand there like a bunch of movie ninjas!” Markie shouted. Why? Why are there fucking movies now? First there’s computers, then tv (“the crystal ball network), now we have movies? Also, who says it like that? “Movie ninjas.” Just say ninja? That’s weird. None of the dialogue in these books is very good. Like none of it sounds the way real people talk. And not even in like a high fantasy way like “thou cannot share in the spoils of my carnage,” flowery way, just like…idk, off. And Asprin’s quirk where he never uses the word “said” is super annoying, and honestly just bad writing. “Hohoho,” she laughed. “Why’d you do that?” She inquired. Just fucking use “said.” It’ll be fine. Really.
Ugh so blah blah turns out the students were secretly studying to be on some dumb game show on the “crystal ball network;” Skeeve does all kinds of spells he’s never done in other books and is just somehow really good at magic all of a sudden.
Inconsistent characterization, way too many new characters I didn’t care about, way too long, not at all funny, and irritatingly anachronistic. Also Aahz was barely in it. Maybe in the next book it’ll be from his POV and he’ll just bite everyone’s heads off. One can only hope.
Ugh.
Aahz is in a bar with Guido when 3 young Pervects come in looking for the Great Skeeve, who’s on “sabbatical” with Bunny. Aahz doesn’t want to tell them where Skeeve is at first, but then he does bc they offer him money, and at this point in the series (what is this, like the 16th freakin book?) that’s like his only character trait.
Skeeve is tinkering with Bunny’s little computer. She’s watching a play, which is supposed to be like, their version of tv. I really hate the way they started throwing actual technology in these books.
Bunny’s “bosom was approximately two thirds of her height and…” What? I know she’s stacked, but that’s…is she literally just 2/3 tits now?
So these three Pervect girls are all psyched to be training with Skeeve. He’s still living in an inn so there’s plenty of room. He takes them to Massha’s to try and pawn them off on her (he’s suffering from Imposter Syndrome, which is legit), but she’s like yeah no actually here’s another one for ya. Apparently Bee from the military subplots wants to learn magic too. Bee was supposedly like in his early 20s back in those boring army books, wasn’t he? “Maybe my age or a year or two older.” How fucking old is this kid we’ve been following around for over a dozen books now?? I get that Skeeve’s thing is that he’s young and inexperienced, but even if the first book took place when he was, let’s say, 14, he’d be at least 30 now. Anyway so I guess Bee was Massha’s apprentice but she’s pawning him off on Skeeve now for some reason? Why was he her apprentice when she doesn’t know any magic? Why didn’t Skeeve ever finish teaching Massha anything? Wasn’t she supposed to be his apprentice? Did he just neglect her for so long she gave up and was like ah fuck it I’ve got all this magic jewelry. God Skeeve sucks so bad.
Then Chumley rolls up and has a friend who’s from “Canida,” that’s a sort of dog thing called Tolk. Skeeve doesn’t want yet another pupil but the Chumbucket throws out the old “when have I ever asked you for anything?” Never. The answer is never, bc all your little blond teenage ass ever does is bitch and moan while your grown up friends take care of everything.
Markie rolls up and Bunny takes after her with claws out bc women can’t get along with each other and Markie was just doing her job back in book 8 when Skeeve was living in the house he tricked the Devan Chamber of Commerce into giving him. (Yes, I am extremely triggered by the “free house” shit.) Anyway, Markie spends half a page talking about Skeeve’s integrity and shit and convinces him to tutor her nephew Melvine. Bunny’s mad about this bc she still hates Markie from back in the day, but there’s nothing Skeeve loves more than having smoke blown up his young ass, so he’s all about it.
On a side note, tho, why do all the female characters all hate each other so much? And not for nothing, but Bunny met Skeeve and Markie while she was pretending to be a mob moll, which was her job at the time, but she’s still pissed at Markie for pretending to be a little girl? Which was her job at the time? The way they all hate on Markie makes zero sense. She tells them that in the dimension she and her nephew are from, you stay small if you’re a good person and if you’re a jerk you grow to normal size. And she’s tiny. So wouldn’t that make her a decent person? Why have I thought about this more than the authors of the book?
Then Chumley says he has to jet but he doesn’t want to do magic in front of the pupils, so Skeeve “drew power out of the force lines that crossed above and beneath the inn and sent the big troll away with another loud bang.” Sorry, since fucking when can Skeeve dimension hop? Earlier he said he had a D hopper set to Deva for Bunny in case she got bored and wanted to leave. But now he can just…do it? Like ten pages later??
Look, I’m not a writer, but if you have a 15+ book series, maybe at one point you should sit the fuck down and figure out some details? Like, is dimension hopping easy or not? In the next chapter he’s using the D hopper again. Jfc.
Skeeve takes them all to a dimension called Sear to teach them how to work together. He’s surprisingly good at it. He mentions he got ideas from overhearing a show called “Sink or Swim” on Bunny’s “PDA.” Do you think that’s gonna come up later?? Also, have I mentioned how much I hate having tv and computers in fantasy novels? I don’t care that it’s comedic fantasy or whatever.
Skeeve casts several little spells we’ve never seen him learn or practice before. It’s almost as if his magical powers vary upon the needs of the story. But that’d be ridiculous, right?
So they’re doing magic exercises and this guy runs up to them looking for the Great Skeeve to get rid of a monster in their village. Instead of being like “oh shit, yeah, let’s go; I’m not gonna let a big monster fuck up my home dimension,” Skeeve lets Bunny steer the man into a side room to discuss paying him. Skeeve tells his students it’s important to get paid for work you do. Bee, the cute military kid (who’s older than Skeeve, as he keeps mentioning) is incensed and says he’ll always help anyone who needs it, regardless of money. Remember back in the first couple of books when Skeeve felt the same way? Back when he was likable?
Skeeve’s disguised and does this big theatrical bullshit thing, pretending to summon himself. God, what a fucking poser.
So they find this manticore they need to try and communicate with and Skeeve suddenly remembers this spell he learned from a “friendly merchant at the bazaar.” Okay first of all none of the merchants at the Bazaar are friendly; second of all; how have they all been communicating up to this point? They’re all off worlders. All of them should speak different languages, right? Make it make sense. No, seriously. Either skip the language plot completely or make it make sense within the world you’ve created.
The manticore’s name is Evad. It’s Dave spelled backwards. Like “Idnew” and “Drachir” from that one about the vampires. It was sort of cute then. It isn’t now. For that matter, absolutely nobody has “normal” names. Like they try so hard to be so “fantasy” and shit, but then this whole dumb ass book is about a tv show? With a crap ton of new characters that aren’t particularly interesting?
“Don’t just stand there like a bunch of movie ninjas!” Markie shouted. Why? Why are there fucking movies now? First there’s computers, then tv (“the crystal ball network), now we have movies? Also, who says it like that? “Movie ninjas.” Just say ninja? That’s weird. None of the dialogue in these books is very good. Like none of it sounds the way real people talk. And not even in like a high fantasy way like “thou cannot share in the spoils of my carnage,” flowery way, just like…idk, off. And Asprin’s quirk where he never uses the word “said” is super annoying, and honestly just bad writing. “Hohoho,” she laughed. “Why’d you do that?” She inquired. Just fucking use “said.” It’ll be fine. Really.
Ugh so blah blah turns out the students were secretly studying to be on some dumb game show on the “crystal ball network;” Skeeve does all kinds of spells he’s never done in other books and is just somehow really good at magic all of a sudden.
Inconsistent characterization, way too many new characters I didn’t care about, way too long, not at all funny, and irritatingly anachronistic. Also Aahz was barely in it. Maybe in the next book it’ll be from his POV and he’ll just bite everyone’s heads off. One can only hope.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2016
Class Dis-Mythed takes us back to Skeeve, who's on a long-term hiatus on his home dimension, Klahd, trying to become the awesome magician everyone thinks he is. But somehow trouble always manages to find him. This time, trouble comes in the form of a random group of young magician wannabes who are looking for instruction from The Great Skeeve in practical magic.
This installment seems to be everything I've always loved about the Myth series. Robert Aspirin and Jodie Lynn Nye wrote it together, and unlike in the last couple of books, their styles seem indistinguishable in this one. The tongue-in-cheek humor, the bit of mystery, the randomness that feeds into a coherent conclusion, all are very well done and a lot of fun.
Overall, I loved this book and got a lot of laughs from it. I'd strongly recommend this to folks who love fantasy and humor, particularly corny humor.
I received this book as a gift from my husband because he knows I'm a fan of the series and we'd both thought no more of these were being written.
This installment seems to be everything I've always loved about the Myth series. Robert Aspirin and Jodie Lynn Nye wrote it together, and unlike in the last couple of books, their styles seem indistinguishable in this one. The tongue-in-cheek humor, the bit of mystery, the randomness that feeds into a coherent conclusion, all are very well done and a lot of fun.
Overall, I loved this book and got a lot of laughs from it. I'd strongly recommend this to folks who love fantasy and humor, particularly corny humor.
I received this book as a gift from my husband because he knows I'm a fan of the series and we'd both thought no more of these were being written.
January 10, 2021
As Bob Aspirin transitioned out of the MYTH writing business, Jody Lyn has her hands full.
This story was engaging, gave some face time to nearly all the MYTH Inc members, and felt impossible from the outset, until the results of the training were on literal display for the internal audience.
Good callbacks to Skeeve's nearly complete storyline from Don Bruce, who has had no real presence in the MYTH world since early on in the series. Solid connector for the casual reader (whomever that may be).
Nicely written juggling within a couple of scenes/sequences that had way too much going on, but held together nicely.
The ending seemed to regurgitate the training in a supposedly larger venue, otherwise the same tasks repeated for effect.
Ultimately, this was a decent MYTH book with more Skeeve and less Aahz.
Thanks for reading.
This story was engaging, gave some face time to nearly all the MYTH Inc members, and felt impossible from the outset, until the results of the training were on literal display for the internal audience.
Good callbacks to Skeeve's nearly complete storyline from Don Bruce, who has had no real presence in the MYTH world since early on in the series. Solid connector for the casual reader (whomever that may be).
Nicely written juggling within a couple of scenes/sequences that had way too much going on, but held together nicely.
The ending seemed to regurgitate the training in a supposedly larger venue, otherwise the same tasks repeated for effect.
Ultimately, this was a decent MYTH book with more Skeeve and less Aahz.
Thanks for reading.
November 25, 2017
A fast and really funny read!!
I must say that this book, together with the short stories in vol 13, is the best of the Jody Lyn Nye and Robert Asprin colaborations so far. Nice illustrations also helps to brighten the reading spirits!
Skeeve, a loosy magican with a way to big reputation, get's his first apprentices... without anyone noticing him he get a bunch newcombers from a lot of diffirent places... with a lot of diffirent attetudes towards each other. He try to do his best and the chaos that follows is really funny.
Now only four myth-novels left until I've covered them all, phu.
I must say that this book, together with the short stories in vol 13, is the best of the Jody Lyn Nye and Robert Asprin colaborations so far. Nice illustrations also helps to brighten the reading spirits!
Skeeve, a loosy magican with a way to big reputation, get's his first apprentices... without anyone noticing him he get a bunch newcombers from a lot of diffirent places... with a lot of diffirent attetudes towards each other. He try to do his best and the chaos that follows is really funny.
Now only four myth-novels left until I've covered them all, phu.
November 27, 2024
Not bad, but also not great. We get to see the introduction of many brand new characters, which I hope to see in future books. With only three books to go I can’t imagine there will be many huge revelations or series changes to come.
It was great to hang out with Skeeve and Gleep more than anyone else. Let’s get the old gang back together for the rest of the series shall we ? It was also brilliant to hear from characters long since forgotten like don Bruce.
So in summary, funny and fun as regular just not as much as others in the series and let’s hope the last few books are brilliant.
It was great to hang out with Skeeve and Gleep more than anyone else. Let’s get the old gang back together for the rest of the series shall we ? It was also brilliant to hear from characters long since forgotten like don Bruce.
So in summary, funny and fun as regular just not as much as others in the series and let’s hope the last few books are brilliant.
October 1, 2007
Another fine installment in the Myth Adventures - when Skeeve takes time off for his own studies, he finds himself teaching a group of young magicians the tools of the trade. Some old favorities, such as Markie, Tanda and Bunny all make appearences.
February 9, 2008
This book revists some of the characters of the earlier novels and their "relatives." It is a very cute story about friendship and teamwork. It has some comedy; but its strength is in the uplifting message, unusual in Asprin's myth books.
January 14, 2019
This is always a fun series. But, due to the way that characters re-appear and subplots run over multiple books, it is best to read them in order. Much like cotton candy for the mind, but filled with puns, this series is a great way to relax and have fun.
January 30, 2023
Skeeve, still technically on sabbatical, becomes a teacher for a trio of Pervects, a Klahd, and a couple others. The hardest part of the job is getting them to cooperate.
Another fun fantasy. Worth a reread on occasion.
Another fun fantasy. Worth a reread on occasion.
June 27, 2016
A jumbled collection of random encounters amongst the MYTH crew - poor continuity with flat, boring characters that do not maintain stable personalities.
February 6, 2014
Nice light hearted read.
November 8, 2015
If you like Skeeve books, here's another one with an acceptably plausible plot.
There really isn't much more to say.
He's more mature this time, and sharing what he's learned.
There really isn't much more to say.
He's more mature this time, and sharing what he's learned.
July 21, 2020
Fun times!!
February 20, 2021
"It's just a game."
G. Gygax
G. Gygax
August 15, 2024
Book 16 of the Myth Adventures series. Juxtaposed the last novel, this one is Skeeve central. This time Skeeve is the teacher. This wonderful story about teamwork among the hilarity leaves this as a classic. I loved seeing Skeeve much more powerful and not just the screw up sidekick. Even though it was his own style and fun twists we see a team come together. The fun thing is that he could write books on this group and they would sell, the characters are that good. This series continues to surprise and delight.
Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com
Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com
August 9, 2018
This book was hilarious.
January 10, 2021
Suddenly this book resembles the 1st ones of the series. Liked it very much!
January 22, 2024
better than the last few. Some funny parts, but not the tightly wrought stories of the early days.
July 5, 2024
Audio Book: good actor. Plot didn't include Aahz so not as fun. Too many unlikable side characters.
September 26, 2014
Skīvs joprojām nodarbojas ar maģijas pamatu apgūšanu. Viņš sēž savā Khlad dimensijas krodziņā un nepievērš apkārtējai pasaule nekādu uzmanību, mācību atvaļinājums ir mācību atvaļinājums. Un te pēkšņi pie viņa ierodas vesels bars ar saprātīgām būtnēm, kuras vēlas apgūt pie viņa maģijas praktisko pielietojumu. Nauda jau ir samaksāta, un Skīvam atliek vien pieņemt audzēkņus apmācībā. Tomēr mācību procesam ritot, Skīvam sāk rasties aizdomas, ka te viss nav tik vienkārši kā šķiet. Studenti gatavojas kaut kam nopietnākam par ciema maga posteni, bet kam - to Skīvs īsti nevar saprast.
Ja pirmajās sērijas grāmatās varēja kunkstēt par nepieslīpētiem tēliem un otrā plāna varoņu kartona plakanumu, tad jāatzīst, ka daudzas lietas ir uzlabojušās. Nu par personām var uzskatīt ne tikai Skīvu, bet arī lielāko daļu no pārējiem tēliem. Skīva maģijas spējas ir pieaugušas, viņš varbūt nezina daudz, bet prot tās pielietot praksē. Viņam ir ar ko padalīties gan ar skolniekiem, gan ar lasītāju.
Būsim godīgi, sešpadsmitā grāmata sērijā tomēr uzliek savu zīmogu. Autoram pamazām ir aptrūkušās idejas par to, kā sēriju turpināt. Joki un asprātības jau ir kļuvuši klišejiski, lasītājs jau zinās, pie kura vārda jāsmejas. Un tas ir paša autora nopelns, jo lasītāju ar saviem jokiem viņš ir izklaidējis jau piecpadsmit grāmatas, un ir tikai normāli, ka pēc visu to izlasīšanas, lasītājam tie var nešķist svaigi. No otras puses nav slikti, ka par klišeju sērijā kļūst autora paša asprātības.
Pēc satura grāmata ir tipisks piedzīvojums, sākumā jauno burvju grupa tiek mācīta, un otrā grāmatas daļā viņi ir spiesti pielietot savas jauniegūtās zināšanas praksē. Šoreiz autors pat ir pacenties izskaidrot pāris veiksmīgas sakritības. Piemēram, kādēļ savus audzēkņus viņš ir trenējis tieši tādiem gadījumiem, ar kuriem viņiem nākas sastapties grāmatas otrajā daļā? Tāpēc, ka viņš kā jau katrs pedagogs - iesācējs un tīmbilderu kursu vadītājs visas idejas ir nospēris no kristāla tīkla (vietējais interneta analogs). Beigās gan autoriem bija beigušās idejas, un no krūmiem tika izstumtas milzīgas klavieres, un tas samaitāja manu entuziasmu par visu grāmatu.
Kopumā stabila sērijas grāmata lieku 7 no 10 ballēm. Ja jau esi ziedojies sērijai, tad var lasīt droši, ja ne, tad sāc no pirmajām grāmatām. Citādi nebūs ne jausmas, kas ir Geek.
Ja pirmajās sērijas grāmatās varēja kunkstēt par nepieslīpētiem tēliem un otrā plāna varoņu kartona plakanumu, tad jāatzīst, ka daudzas lietas ir uzlabojušās. Nu par personām var uzskatīt ne tikai Skīvu, bet arī lielāko daļu no pārējiem tēliem. Skīva maģijas spējas ir pieaugušas, viņš varbūt nezina daudz, bet prot tās pielietot praksē. Viņam ir ar ko padalīties gan ar skolniekiem, gan ar lasītāju.
Būsim godīgi, sešpadsmitā grāmata sērijā tomēr uzliek savu zīmogu. Autoram pamazām ir aptrūkušās idejas par to, kā sēriju turpināt. Joki un asprātības jau ir kļuvuši klišejiski, lasītājs jau zinās, pie kura vārda jāsmejas. Un tas ir paša autora nopelns, jo lasītāju ar saviem jokiem viņš ir izklaidējis jau piecpadsmit grāmatas, un ir tikai normāli, ka pēc visu to izlasīšanas, lasītājam tie var nešķist svaigi. No otras puses nav slikti, ka par klišeju sērijā kļūst autora paša asprātības.
Pēc satura grāmata ir tipisks piedzīvojums, sākumā jauno burvju grupa tiek mācīta, un otrā grāmatas daļā viņi ir spiesti pielietot savas jauniegūtās zināšanas praksē. Šoreiz autors pat ir pacenties izskaidrot pāris veiksmīgas sakritības. Piemēram, kādēļ savus audzēkņus viņš ir trenējis tieši tādiem gadījumiem, ar kuriem viņiem nākas sastapties grāmatas otrajā daļā? Tāpēc, ka viņš kā jau katrs pedagogs - iesācējs un tīmbilderu kursu vadītājs visas idejas ir nospēris no kristāla tīkla (vietējais interneta analogs). Beigās gan autoriem bija beigušās idejas, un no krūmiem tika izstumtas milzīgas klavieres, un tas samaitāja manu entuziasmu par visu grāmatu.
Kopumā stabila sērijas grāmata lieku 7 no 10 ballēm. Ja jau esi ziedojies sērijai, tad var lasīt droši, ja ne, tad sāc no pirmajām grāmatām. Citādi nebūs ne jausmas, kas ir Geek.
Read
July 26, 2011If you have never read a MYTH book, you are in for a treat, but I wouldn't start with this one. This story starts after MYTH, Inc. has dissolved and Skeeve (actually The Great Skeeve) is on a sabbatical. For those of you familiar with Asprin's world of insanity, this is a good one.
Skeeve is off studying on Klahd and Aahz, his former partner, sees an opportunity to make a buck. Six young people of various species and magical abilities want to get some practical experience in magic (or magikal arts) from Skeeve. Skeeve agrees to take them on and it turns into whining teens meets Harry Potter (that might be redundant). Skeeve always has a low opinion of his abilities, but he teaches the kids quite a bit of practical thinking and magic.
Once the group of graduates leaves the 6 week course, they wind up on a game show. Apparently that was the reason they wanted the practical training. Skeeve is at first pissed, but then rallies round. I thought this bit was going to be like a version of American Idol or one of those crazy reality shows, but I was pleasantly surprised. Things turn out well for most of the beings involved and I just loved it.
This is a great summer read. Now I have to catch up some more of the MYTH books that I never read.
Skeeve is off studying on Klahd and Aahz, his former partner, sees an opportunity to make a buck. Six young people of various species and magical abilities want to get some practical experience in magic (or magikal arts) from Skeeve. Skeeve agrees to take them on and it turns into whining teens meets Harry Potter (that might be redundant). Skeeve always has a low opinion of his abilities, but he teaches the kids quite a bit of practical thinking and magic.
Once the group of graduates leaves the 6 week course, they wind up on a game show. Apparently that was the reason they wanted the practical training. Skeeve is at first pissed, but then rallies round. I thought this bit was going to be like a version of American Idol or one of those crazy reality shows, but I was pleasantly surprised. Things turn out well for most of the beings involved and I just loved it.
This is a great summer read. Now I have to catch up some more of the MYTH books that I never read.
May 26, 2014
Skīva maģiskās spējas ir krietni, krietni augušas un nu izrādās, ka no viņa iznāk arī tīri jēdzīgs skolotājs- Skīvs uz brīdi pārtrauc pats savas mācības, lai apmācītu 6 jaunos burvjus, kurus viņam tik laipni ir uzkrāmējuši viņa draugi. Bet, kā jau mēs labi zinām, vislabākais veids, kā kaut ko iemācīties, ir sākt to mācīt citiem.
Sērija joprojām ir aizraujoša un es turpinu sajūsmināties par tēlu izaugsmi, bet šī noteikti nav no sērijas labākajām grāmatām. Šeit sāk traucēt visādas sagadīšanās un vispār brīžiem varoņi krietni par vieglu tiek cauri savām problēmām. Joprojām asprātīga grāmata, bet autors pamazām būs izsmēlis šo sēriju, vismaz šī grāmata jau bija pagalam piebāzta ar klišejām un arī humoru šeit par diez ko oriģinālu nenosauksi.
Sērija joprojām ir aizraujoša un es turpinu sajūsmināties par tēlu izaugsmi, bet šī noteikti nav no sērijas labākajām grāmatām. Šeit sāk traucēt visādas sagadīšanās un vispār brīžiem varoņi krietni par vieglu tiek cauri savām problēmām. Joprojām asprātīga grāmata, bet autors pamazām būs izsmēlis šo sēriju, vismaz šī grāmata jau bija pagalam piebāzta ar klišejām un arī humoru šeit par diez ko oriģinālu nenosauksi.
May 27, 2008
I was delighted with this book because it was a return to Skeeve being the narrator. The last book was narrated by Aahz. While I love Aahz (and the other M.Y.T.H. characters), it's more fun to hear about Aahz's overreactions from an outside point of view than read his internal dialogue and imagine his "reasonable" reactions exploding on a casual bystander.
Even though I figured out the direction the last quarter of the book was going to take fairly early on, I still enjoyed the classic theme of Skeeve taking on "more than he can handle" and handling it exceptionally well in spite of himself.
Even though I figured out the direction the last quarter of the book was going to take fairly early on, I still enjoyed the classic theme of Skeeve taking on "more than he can handle" and handling it exceptionally well in spite of himself.
July 17, 2008
The Myth Adventures have been one of my favorite reads since I picked the first story up in comic book format back the late '80s.
My favorite character has always been Skeeve. From the time that he was naught but a ignorant Klahd just trying to understand this big confusing world of magic, to this book as the Great Skeeve training up young wand wavers in real world magic use.
He's always modest, always locked in perpetual self doubt. He doubts because he confuses knowledge for skill, and therefore sees himself as a fraud because he's comes so far with so little. That has been me in a nut shell as I grew from little knuckle head to big knuckle head.
My favorite character has always been Skeeve. From the time that he was naught but a ignorant Klahd just trying to understand this big confusing world of magic, to this book as the Great Skeeve training up young wand wavers in real world magic use.
He's always modest, always locked in perpetual self doubt. He doubts because he confuses knowledge for skill, and therefore sees himself as a fraud because he's comes so far with so little. That has been me in a nut shell as I grew from little knuckle head to big knuckle head.
March 16, 2008
Robert Asprin's Myth series has long been a favorite of mine although, like many long-running series, it has degraded through time. This book, though, is one of the better ones in a long time and although not up there with the very best of the series may be the best one since the revival with Jody Lynn Nye.
October 2, 2009
I'm so happy to be back with the gang from M.Y.T.H. Inc.! This one was a great read for such a big time gap from this book and the last. Not quite as good as the others, but still it was really fun! I forgot about Gleep! I adore Gleep! At any rate, a fun read and I'm looking forward to the other three!
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