Customer Reviews

Myth Alliances

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The bad guys aren't really bad; the good guys aren't really good. There is none of the humor, sensibilities, or character of his first three books in the series.

Mr. Asprin can be a fine, funny writer but has a tendency to lose both control and track of his characters. What started out as a fine funny romp in 'Another Fine Myth' has settled down into formulaic nonsense in which the characters don't have character, they have stereotypes. The characters aren't flawed, they are plot points. No exploration of the humor of the human condition, just something else to resolve to extend the text a few pages.

What could be interesting interplay between a not quite mature or worldly boy wizard and a way too worldly Businesswoman Bunny is completely... well... nothing. There is no there there. Tananda has been relegated to a set piece (where is the fiery whimsical assassin who said "Bark at the moon, Istavon"?). The rest of the guys remind me of Michael York's Basil Exposition in the Austin Powers movies. They are simply there to inject or resolve plot points that Rob didn't have the imagination to deal with properly. Also, when did Ahaz become Yoda?

The whole series died somewhere during `Little Myth Marker' and perhaps should have stayed dead.

Let the flames wars begin!

As a long time MYTH-series lover, I was so excited to have a new MYTH book to read. I was terribly enthusiastic through MYTH-ION Improbable but my reading pace slowed to a crawl through MYTH Alliances. The plot was predictable, the puns came across as merely a substitute for imagination, and I really didn't feel as if I were getting to know the characters any better. You could see where the plot was headed from chapter 1. Three weeks on my desk and 29 chapters later, it went exactly where I thought it would and took an inordinate amount of time to get there. In addition, Asprin and Nye have taken to making Skeeve's character just plain uninteresting. Before he had his faults, but he was still endearing. Now, he's matured into a standard, boring adult. Bring back the orginal creativity and spark!

..but we finally have a really good Myth book!

This is the Myth I remember! Snappy pacing, whimsical adventure, funny action scenes! At last!

I'm not sure how much credit should go to Robert Aspirin, but considering that he's said in the past that when he co-authors a book he puts his name on the cover and doesn't add a whole lot else and that this book is quantum leaps ahead of the last SIX VOLUMES, I think the lion's share of the credit should go to Jody Lynn Nye. She has done a fantastic job of staying true to the spirit of the Myth books and the characters while making them fun to read again.

Everything here clicks. The quotes, the characters, the plot. It's like a visit to an old friend who was ill, but has now recovered. It's great to see them again without having to ask them if there's something wrong.

The Myth books in their entirety are fun and instructive. I am reading the entire series with my grandson and find there are 2 levels - his and mine. Some of the references I understand but he doesn't. The adventures are about a young Khladian who lives on Khlad and becomes apprenticed to a magician. Their adventures together and with the myriad of people from other dimensions (One is Aahz - pronounced OZ as in the wizard of)is even enough to keep me interested. Our discussions after we read each book are very interesting.

This is not pulitzer material. There are mistakes, but if you are willing to overlook them, it is a fast fun read.

Since Robert Asprin teamed up with Jodie Lynn Nye, the stories have really taken a hit. Asprin's stuff was light-hearted and fast-moving - these are drawn out and plodding. Asprin included modern concepts like credit cards, computers, and novelty items (Rubber Doggie Doodle with Realistic Life-Like Aroma That Actually Sticks to Your Hands!) as props, just enough to get some fun and a bit of satire out of them; Nye appears to want to build an entire story around them and milk them for every nuance - in this case, computers and televisions. C'mon, a recitation of the exact win/loss ratio of someone playing computer solitaire? Boring! Sadly, I got a third of the way into this book and found myself wishing that they'd hurry up and just get it over with.

Skeeve the Great is back. The Great Magician Skeeve is back in a rip-snorting, lollygagging new adventure and he is as good as he used to be!

This book is the first in the new series of Skeeve books and Robert Asprin has taken on an collaborator (Jody Lynn Nye) to help him write the next installment in this humorous adventure saga that manages to poke fun at mayn sacred institutions. This is the first volume from a new publisher and also the first under this collaborative arrangement which the Editor's Note at the beginning of the book attributes to the stress of writing under timeline pressure. However a quick scan of the internet also yields another possible cause - Robert Jordan's tangles with the IRS.

Neve mind that, this adventure restores Skeeve to his glory as a bumbling adventurer and apprentice mage. The story takes place after the demise of M.Y.T.H. inc. and has Skeeve back in Klahd with Bunny, Gleep, and Buttercup as his sole associates as he tries to come to grips with his own (lack of) growth as a wizard. Then, along comes a sheeplike being from the dimension of Wuhs (yes, all the inhabitants are Wuhses!) who asked Skeeve for help since his dimension has been taken over by the Ten Pervects! This is a company of female Pervects who are ostensibly taking over every dimension they can. Well, that certainly gets Skeeve's attention so he recruits Tananda and off the merry gang go to save the dimensions.

One zany episode after another takes place and the authors poke fun at all kinds of topics, like self-help authors, computer culture, mass marketing, and on and on. At the end a positive resolution takes place as Skeeve sets everyone straight and gets that Wuhses to take control of their dimension.

While it is not possible to see the seamlines of the collaboration directly, I was struck by the differences in approach. In this volume we are treated to a split screen in a sense. Some of the text is written from the point of view of The Ten Pervects which necessarily imparts a whole different viewpoint on the proceedings. I do not recall something like this being done in previous volumes with the notable exception of the Guido-views of M.Y.T.H. but then they were being told from Skeeve's party point of view - not the adversary.

About the only thing I did not like came at the end of the book. Aahz makes a cameo appearance in the first person and claims to have been involved in the epic scene that causes the resolution of all the problems. What really irritated me was the final page or so where the stage is set for the next adventure. There was really no call for that as the Skeeve books will clearly continue. So, I took away one star for that big blooper. Otherwise a very enjoyable read.

He is known as The Great Skeeve, a powerful magician that other's fear, but he knows that it is mostly smoke and mirrors and that he ranks out as an apprentice. He retires from his position as Court Magician, a very profitable endeavor and returns to Klah to study magick so that he can be what his reputation advertises. Staying with him at his inn is his dragon, Glee, the war unicorn Buttercup, and Bunny a beautiful and intelligent woman.

Using a D hopper, Wensley from the dimension of Wuh meets and begs Skeeve to use his powers to get rid of the Prevects that control his world. Unable to think of an immediate way to control the Prevects, Skeeve picks up Tanada the Trollup and Zol Itchy, the self-help guru of Kobold and heads for Wuh to liberate the wuhs. What Skeeve doesn't know is that the Prevects have a business contract with the Wuhs and they have to meet it or see their reputations ruined. These two groups are working at cross-purposes laced with several misunderstandings and the results are totally hilarious.

This is a very funny lighthearted fantasy that will be appreciated by those readers who read the previous Skeeve and Aahz books or the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. Skeeve is his usual charming, urbane yet naive self who takes up for the underdog (in this case the Wuhs) who don't really appreciate his efforts. Robert Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye are great collaborators and together create a work that is refreshing as the previous Myth novels. MYTH ALLIANCE demonstrates that humor done right can be an integral part of a fantasy novel.

Harriet Klausner

Usually the collaboration of a well-known author with a new author involving a continuation of the old author's series just doesn't work. The new author does most of the work and just can't get the old humor and characters right. This is not the case with this book. I suspect that Nye writes Asprin better than Asprin himself! This novel is as good or better than anything in the series since "Little Myth Marker." I look forward to the next novel!

I enjoy humor and I love punny tales. I only started reading this series (after myriad recommendations) earlier this year. Trust me, if you have a funny bone, be sure to have a glass of water at hand, you may very well need it.