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Myth Conceptions

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Skeeve and his friends return in the second book of the Myth series (Another Fine Myth is book 1). Skeeve is a half-trained magician who accepts a position as court magician to Fodrick the Fifth of Possiltum. Why? Because everyone knows that a court magician is a "cushy" job. You really only have to know enough magic to impress a few nobles and you get to sleep-in most mornings!

Little does Skeeve know that a huge army is heading their way. The problem is that if Skeeve can defeat the army, the general will make sure he doesn't live much longer and if he fails, the chancellor will make sure he never works again. What's a poor boy to do?

Don't miss this book if you need a little light reading. It's funny and full of puns.

Yet again, Asprin has shown us how to look beyond our borders in trough a easy reading adventure of soon going to be Master Skeeve and his teacher, 'gentle' Aahz and their old and new friends - Tanda, Gus, Brockhurst, Ajax and others. Of course, their is also a baby dragon Gleep who with each day grows to a loving personality... An interested mixture of fantasy and reality which you shouldn't miss....

Out of the 10 "Myth" books that Robert Asprin has so far given us MYTH CONCEPTIONS is definetely one of the BEST. This book continues with the humor and mystery that the first one began. Follow Skeeve along on one of his greatest adventures, watch as he further develops his kind nature and see how Aahz and the new characters influence Skeeve to become an effective, courageous, and noble leader. The humor, action, and characters will keep you on the edge of your book (parden the pun).

Myth-Conceptions (1980) is the second Fantasy novel in the Myth series, following Another Fine Myth. In the previous volume, Quigley gave Buttercup to Skeeve. Isstvan took Tananda, Quigley, Higgins, Brockhurst and Frumple to another dimension with a sabotaged D-hopper. Aahz remained behind to mentor Skeeve.

In this novel, Skeeve is now the apprentice of Aahz. Of course, Aahz doesn't have any powers at the moment, but he does know his stuff.

Aahz is a green scaly creature with four inch pointed teeth from the dimension of Perv. He had been a master magician, but lost his magical powers due to a practical joke by Garkin. Now he has Skeeve as his apprentice.

Tananda is a Trollop, a native of the Trollia dimension. Tanda is also green, but a lighter shade than Aahz and much prettier. She is an Assassin and has certain powers of her own.

Brockhurst is an Imp from the Imper dimension. He had been working for Isstvan, but now he is unemployable after that fiasco.

Ajax is an Archer from the Archiah dimension. He is very old, but still exceedingly proficient with his bow and arrows.

Gus is a Gargoyle. He has been working at a Yellow Crescent Inn and is ready to move elsewhere. So is Berfert, his salamander friend.

The Gremlin does not exist, according to common belief. Yet he is blue and moves quickly.

Hugh Badaxe is the Commander of the Royal Armies of Possiltum. He has a mean temper.

J. R. Grimble is the Chancellor of Possiltum. He is a bean counter, always looking for a way to save money. Naturally, he does not get along well with Badaxe.

Gleep is a young dragon, only about ten feet long. He had eaten part of Skeeve's sleeve in the Bazaar and is now attached to him.

Buttercup was Quigley's war unicorn. Now he belongs to Skeeve.

In this story, an army messenger brings an invitation to Skeeve to apply for the position of Court Magician of Possiltum. Skeeve doesn't think that he knows enough for such a position. Aahz soon convinces him that the job is a sinecure.

When they arrive at the castle, Skeeve and Aahz position themselves at the front gates and wait to be noticed. A guard advances toward them and Skeeve levitates his spear. The guard tells them that the hiring is being done at the back of the castle.

So Skeeve, Aahz, Gleep, Buttercup and the spear go around back and join the line of applicants. Skeeve and Aahz observe the fierce competition between Badaxe and Grimble. Then Skeeve notices that Badaxe in looking at the spear.

Badaxe calls them over and asks if the spear belongs to one of his guards. When told that such is the case, Badaxe gets angry. But Grimble is pleased that Skeeve is finally there.

So Skeeve is hired and then learns that a huge army is approaching Possiltum. The King expects them to prevent this army from invading Possiltum. After Aahz negotiates a salary for Skeeve, they head north to reconnoiter the enemy forces.

Skeeve and Aahz find that the opposing forces are even greater than expected. Then Tanda appears and they go to the Bazaar to hire some mercenary troops. Aahz leaves Skeeve with Tanda and goes off to talk to someone he knows. Tanda leaves Skeeve and Gleep to buy a few supplies for the job.

Tanda tells Skeeve to wait in the Yellow Crescent Inn. He cautiously enters the place and approaches the counter. Then the stone gargoyle asks for his order.

Brockhurst notices Skeeve and takes him back to a table. When he finds that Skeeve is hiring men, Brockhurst asks for a job. Skeeve tells him that Aahz has the money and may have hired others, but he will consider Brockhurst if Aahz is unsuccessful.

Ajax overhears this conversations and also asks for a job. Gus also requests a job for himself and Berwert. Then Aahz comes back without any troops and Skeeve finds himself hiring an Imp, an Archer, a gargoyle and a salamander.

This tale puts Skeeve and his friends in confrontation with the largest army ever seen on Klah. The defenders only have Skeeve's magic and a few other surprises. Then Skeeve meets Big Julie.

Winning this war requires the skills of all within Skeeve's group. The next installment is Myth Directions. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Asprin fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of simple magic, subtle (and not so subtle) humor, and young magicians.

-Arthur W. Jordin

In this tale of myth-adventure, Skeeve gets a job, with the aide of his mentor Aahz, as a court magician . Unfortunately, they get more than they bargained for; part of their job is to protect the kingdom's northern border from the invading Empire. When all hope is nearly lost, they return to the Bazaar at Deva and hire their own rag-tag army.

This is the second book in Asprin's Myth series; the first is Another Fine Myth. Each book in the series can be read as a stand-alone, but onch you read one you'll be hooked. The only thing I have to complain about is Asprin's over-use of details from the previous book in order to "catch-up" a new reader to the series. If you have already read the previous book, it can be a bit tedious. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it to anyone, whether or not you read fantasy. Asprin puts forth a great deal of effort to concentrate on character development and their relationships, and succeeds in writing an enjoyable and light-hearted story that just happens to have creatures from different dimensions.

Robert Asprin has done it again! In this, the second book in the Myth series, our unlikely trio of Skeeve- former thief want-to-be and current magicians apprentice; Aahz- demon master magician currently unable to use any magic because his powers were removed as part of a practical joke gone horribly wrong; and Gleep- baby dragon with the worst breath in all of Klah!

This time they find themselves trying to get a job as court magicians, since everyone knows that being a court magician is the cushiest job in all the dimensions. But this job comes with perils, and our trio find themselves in the middle of a war, where they're doomed whether they win or loose!

Myth Conceptions is wonderful, a fantasy/comedy that once you pick up, you will not be able to put down! It's absolutely one of the best books ever! As an added bonus, it's all ages. So get a copy for yourself and your friends. Once they see how much fun you're having reading this book they're going to want to borrow it and you're going to be too busy reading it for a second time!

Never having been able to get into fantasy books, I didn't have a lot of confidence approaching Asprin's "Myth" series, though it had been highly recommended.

I was plesantly surprised - "Myth Conceptions" was funny and entertaining. It's not exactly going to win any literary awards, mind you, but it was good nonetheless. Where other fantasy novels get bogged down in explaining setting and mythology in great detail, Asprin concentrates more on characters and relationships (and comical character names).

Don't pick this up and expect a hard-core fantasy novel; it's not. Instead, pick it up as a quick, entertaining read and you won't be disappointed. Recommended for anyone who thinks a lizard named "Berfert" is amusing.

This is the 2nd adventure in the Myth Series. If you liked the first book then I'm sure you'll like this one. Skeeve and Aahz find themselves in another mess in which they have to use their wits and pure luck to get out of it. You get introduced to some new characters in this book. I loved every single one of them. They were so hilarious. The book was hilarious. I look forward to reading more of this series.

A funny second book in the MYTH series, it provides a great comic break for fans of fantasy! In contrast to the first book, Skeeve is a little more experience in the ways of the world and "magyk" and makes a good partner for the surly Aahz in their quest to overthrow Big Julie's army, with unexpected results.

Magic not always overrated.

In the second book of Robert Asprin's Myth series, our hapless heroes decide that a nice office job would be a good idea. Court magician is not actually clerking, though. Generally you don't have to do much, until someone attacks you, then people will expect all sorts of tricks. The problem being that a demon-no-longer-magician and an apprentice-know-nothing don't have a lot, at least not of the magical variety.