Customer Reviews

Myth-Chief

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

 

 

Robert Asprin, say it ain't so!

What happened to the light hearted yet quick to turn serious series we all loved so well?

Never mind the awful plot(a contest between Skeeve and Aahz to see who can make the most money) just about everyone except Chumley in the book is out of character. At some point before the story even began Skeeve had decided he's going to suck as a magican and comes out of retirement(WHY, he took the sabbatical to become a more powerful magician?)

When did Bunny become the level head of the group?

When did her and Tananda become buddy buddy? They were going at it tooth and nail before Myth nomers and Impervections, yet somewhere in the almost decade lull between books they're best girlfriends?

Aazh and Skeeve's friendship has overcome so much in the first 8 books alone and now they're at each others throats because of some contest? Wasn't Aahz bothered by Skeeve's becoming more ruthless in Myth Inc. LINK? Why would he encourage such behavior?

Why does Skeeve get punked out multiple times in this book by stupid ninja and magical spirits? Wasn't he studying magic on his sabbatical?

What happened to the Bunny/Sleeve love angle that was being built up over 4 books? There's almost no development in that whatsoever in this book or almost the previous 4 books. No one who hadn't been following the series since the 90s would know they were a perspective couple by reading this book and Bunny lacked the caring qualities along with the efficient attitude that made her such a good match for Skeeve one upon a time.

But before the book is done with, she's called skeeve an idiot multiple times,(And I guess he's been acting like one since Nye interjected herself in the series) and by the end of the book, she's in charge of Myth Inc and punking out Skeeve in his own series.


I know it was intended to take Bunny to a more 3d character from the moll gimmick she first appeared with, but she's a totally new person in this series, bossy, and uncompassionate towards Skeeve's problem. I like strong female characters, but Bunny was all cardboard here and no new ground was covered with her.

I prefer the pre Something Mtyh Inc Bunny, who worked out like a freak and yet kept things going for Myth Inc on the money side. Her elevation here to the head of Myth Inc seemed forced and without much substance.

It's Skeeve's book series(WHY IS FORMER ASSISTANT HIS BOSS NOW?!)

There were some pros to the book. (Phil Foglio on the art for one. Love the girl genius, Phil! Phil does fantasy art like none other and his work on the Myth Comics minseries in the late 80s brought the series even more alive than ever before) We got to see the dangerous side of Tananda behind all the curves when she almost kills Skeeve and Skeeve did some cool magic tricks to save Aahz and company from a swamp. But then that's when he wasn't being punked by Ninjas who make cake and stupid Fox Ghosts(Don't ask me, the book and the 1 dimensional, stupid character didn't make much since at various parts)

I have more whys for this book than I can list here. It was really bad. I wouldn't recommend it and I won't recommend the series until Nye is gone and Asprin gets back on track.

Why are bombarded with this pointless garbage contrived by Nye?
What about great concepts introduced in the background of the comics about why Garkin was in exile and Tanandas love affair with him and Isstvans and Skeeves linked Destiny with the awesomely powerful sorcerers the PRIMEWORLDERS(makers of the D Hopper), or even some characters from the hilarious is so final comic run like the Law Robots orDuke Pincpini and Kitten?) There is so much potential still in the series, but it's being run into the ground by Nye and her one dimensional characters. Please Mr. Aspinr, for Skeeve's sake, end the series, or do the series justice and put out straight graphic novels with Phil Foglio on the art so the Myth Series can become that place our imagination temporarily escapes to once again.

I may be one of the few readers in that I actually was still somewhat able to enjoy the latest Myth books. I've reread the series more times than I'd like to admit, and what a let down!

This book could have been good. Had it not been for the characters all seeming to become cardboard images on themselves. Tananda all of a sudden is hurt by Skeeve's actions and is showing crying eyes instead of simply confronting him? Aahz has forgotten all the things he learned from Skeeve and is bad mouthing him at the Bazaar? Skeeve...where to begin? I don't mind someone getting the magical drop on him but what the heck is up with him losing focus of the goal... to the point where he put Aahz's life at risk for even a moment? What is this?!

And that ending... Is this series now about Bunny? Maybe we can get a series about Pookie and Spider as they seem to encompass the Skeeve/Aahz relationship better than Skeeve and Aahz do at this point.

I got the most enjoyment in this book out of our Princess and Prime Minister. The plot could have been a fun ride had it not turned so bitter and false to the characters. For that, it gets 2 points. If you knew nothing about this book and it characters it may've been more enjoyable with just a touch of background.

Can we have our beloved characters back please?

I have been reading this series for a long time and the last few books haven't been of the same caliber. I had high hopes for this edition, but I was left disappointed. Boring doesn't begin to describe how badly this book was written. The characters really don't conduct themselves as you would expect them to. I gave it a second star only out of loyalty.

Alright, so if you read the plot synopsis on the back of the book, you know you're not exactly in for one of the better myths. A competition between Ahz and Skeeve of who can make the most money for leadership of M.Y.T.H INC.? And how about the fact that the exiled princess and her country's prime minister pick the exact same morning to approach MYTH INC about their separate problems?

But here's the deal as I see it: this book is a filler that finally gives us the chance to return to the old series. Sure, it's contrived, but it finally get Skeeve and the gang back together again so finally we can have some of the fun character interactions that have been so terribly missing. With Skeeve back in as part of the team maybe everybody else can fall back into their rightful place (except with Bunny as the leader, which really isn't that bad in the thick of things).

As I read this book, yes, I got fed up with the glaring inconsistencies from the pre-Nye years, but I still found myself enjoying it and eagerly anticipating the next book. The characters were lacking their old glory, but at least we get to see them all together again and, in all honesty, it is still fun to see how they find solutions to their clients problems. Over all I say it's a quick read, and if you don't let yourself get too distracted by the fanfiction quality "out-of-characterness," then I say its worth a read.

The earlier Myth books are like popcorn -- light, fun, and one of the most re-readable series I know. I've spread the word widely among my friends -- even gone so far as to read excerpts out loud. Those early books are easily some of my favorite fiction, in any genre.
I plodded through the recent resurrection of the series in some sort of loyalty stupor. But this book was so sickening that it finally broke the trance. I actually threw the book at around the halfway point. I went back to finish it, but I wish I hadn't.
Let me put it bluntly -- if you like Robert Asprin's Myth series, you'll hate this book. It makes each of the characters either hollow, shallow, or stupid. The motivations are muddy, the "twists" are both transparent and unreasonable. Whereas in the earlier book the characters would think like the reader, asking relevant questions and coming up with creative solutions, in this book they seem to be generally duped and miss the most obvious ideas.
The Myth series is over. Stop buying the new books; go back and enjoy your old favorites instead.

The only reason to buy this book is for Phil Foglio's cover art (colored by Cheyenne Wright). Beyond that, there are no redeeming qualities to the dreck that's contained inside. I don't know whether to blame Nye or Asprin for what's happened to the series, but someone's lost sight of the goal. The characters are no longer fun to watch.

In this book, we're subjected to a level of mean-spiritedness that one would normally reserve for Isstvan, the Imps, Markie, or any other number of villains that the series has paraded before us. The problem is that this behavior comes from Aahz and Skeeve. I've never seen the two main characters be so nasty, short-sighted, ill-tempered and out-right mean to one another. It's almost like reading the series in some parallel universe where our favorite characters have few, if any, redeeming qualities.

And that ending...it's not bad just because of what happens with Bunny. It's how everyone suddenly stops fighting and becomes good friends again, after all they had done to one another, all the hatred and anger and near-violence. It doesn't just make no sense, it's bad writing. And it's rushed, as if entire pages were just left out of the book by accident.

What a stinker.

They are getting worse and worse. Obviously an attempt to continue to wring money out of this concept. Written by Nye and approved by Aspin. No wonder it doesn't feel like his original works.

It's really sad to see how the series as deteriorated.

As others have noted, the characters are not being themselves, I don't know who they are, but they are not the pair we came to love in the first books.

The less said about the writing the better, it's not up to snuff.

The only part of the book that is up to the old standards is the artwork. Excellent!

I understand they had finished another book, before Robert's unfortunate death. I hope we have a great book to close out the series with.

With the passing of Robert Asprin, this may have been the last chance to save this series. Unfortunately, it doesn't get saved. After the last 3-4 books have fallen apart and lacked any real link to the previous books in the run. This is the rejoining of Skeeve and Aahz in the series and it ends up being a fierce money making competition to see who gets to be president of MYTH Inc. Predictably, they are cast against each other through clients that have both hired MYTH Inc to solve their problems back on Reynardo, home of the Swamp Foxes. The close friendship Skeeve and Aahz had is completely absent and they seem to dispise one another now. The story flip flops between the POVs of Skeeve and Aahz, but both sides don't hold true to the older books, although the Skeeve story is marginally better than the Aahz side.

Maybe the inclusion of Jody Lynn Nye has hurt the series in an attempt to help her friend Robert asprin, or maybe I've just outgrown it like I did with Piers Anthony's Xanth series. Either way, this story just doesn't hold up to the older books and the characters are all flat impersonations of what they used to be. Rest In Peace, Mr. Asprin.

Well, I finally got around to buying the last two books in the series. Like all the books in the series since Robert Asprin, writing without a co-author, took that sabbatical from writing, it is not as good as the earlier books. But it was enjoyable.