Something M.Y.T.H. Inc. (Paperback)

~ Robert Asprin (Author) "If there is one thing that a background as a Mob rough-off artist does not prepare you for, it is conducting a democratic-type business meetin'..." (more)
Key Phrases: disguise spell, home dimension, army types, Queen Hemlock, Sherwood Arms, Royal Game Preserve (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Things are not well in the kingdom…

While Skeeve and Aahz are preoccupied with the aftermath of Gleep’s shooting, the M.Y.T.H. Inc. crew faces its biggest challenge yet—not one, but multiple challenges to the king and his court sorcerer!

Word on the street is that the kingdom is under the control of a mighty sorcerer. It’s obvious that this magician dabbles in the black arts: He consorts with demons. He has a dragon for a pet. He’s connected to the criminal underground, trading political influence for their assistance in keeping the populace under control. And for most citizens, all this could be overlooked, except that this villain has committed the greatest crime possible: he’s raised taxes! Clearly something has to be done!

The citizens are beginning to ponder and mutter, both individually and in groups, about how this tyrant can be brought down. And while they vary greatly in skill and intelligence, certainly the sheer volume of them virtually ensures the eventual downfall of the scoundrel that’s currently growing fat off the kingdom…the man called Skeeve the Great.

Can the M.Y.T.H. Inc. gang protect Skeeve from these attacks and still convince him that everything is business as usual?

**New!**
In a last-minute change in plans, Something M.Y.T.H. Inc. will now also include a brand new short story by Robert Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye!

About the Author

Robert (Lynn) Asprin was born in 1946. While he has written some stand alone novels such as Cold Cash War, Tambu, The Bug Wars and also the Duncan and Mallory Illustrated stories, Bob is best known for his series: The Myth Adventures of Aahz and Skeeve; the Phule novels; and, more recently, the Time Scout novels written with Linda Evans. He also edited the groundbreaking Thieves’ World anthologies with Lynn Abbey. His most recent collaboration is License Invoked written with Jody Lynn Nye. It is set in the French Quarter, New Orleans where he currently lives.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Meisha Merlin Publishing, Inc.; 1st MM Pub. Ed edition (November 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892065894
• ISBN-13: 978-1892065896
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,229,316 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but this took eight years?, October 31, 2002

By	Victor Catano (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After a long wait and last year's head fake (Myth-ion Improbable), Asprin finally gets around to resolving the cliff hanger and loose ends of Sweet Myth-tery of Life. This is an odd hybrid of a book that left me, a die hard Myth fan, somewhat satisfied but wanting more.

First, since this is a M.Y.T.H. Inc. title, we are "treated" to much of the book being told through the voice of Skeeve's mob bodyguard, Guido. As such, much of the dialogue is written in an annoying faux-Damon Runyon dialect, youse knows wat I meen? I have no idea why Asprin is so enamoured of Guido, but a little of him goes a long way, and this is the second book told in his voice. (Hey, I think Guido and Nunzio are fine characters, but they aren't leading men and can't carry a book by themselves.)

What I always enjoyed about the Myth books was the interplay between Aahz and Skeeve, and the reason I haven't enjoyed the last few books as much as the earlier ones is a distinct lack of that chemistry. When Skeeve's voice finally takes control of the book (at the 3/4 mark), the book really comes to life. I only wish it happened sooner.

The story itself is OK. It is told parallel to Sweet Myth-tery, so it might take a few minutes to find your bearings, especially if you haven't read that volume in a few years. It involves Guido going out into Posstilium to investigate rumblings of dissent among the citizens and see how serious those are. The opposition consists of three groups: First, a Robin Hood type (literally) and his band of merry disgruntled taxpayers, who are pretty funny. Next, a spoiled rich kid doing a Zorro take-off, which isn't bad. Finally, an INCREDIBLY LAME group inspired by Lord of the Rings which really has no business being in the book and doesn't actually do anything. They literally have no point in this story other than to pad out the page count. Honestly, Asprin seems clueless as what to do with these people. He sets them up gamely and just lets them flouder around.

There's similarly lazy writing in a lot of places. Klah seemed to be a fairly Medieval dimension in the earlier novels. Now, there are so many anachronistic devices used, it could be set in Modern day America. Asprin tries to explain it all away with a line about how demons are trading anachronistic devices all the time, but that doesn't wash. If demons proliferate to the point where the common folk play D&D and read Lord of the Rings, etc., then why do they freak out when they actually SEE a demon? It's just lazy writing.

And the resolution to the cliffhanger we waited eight years for? Cop out. Lame. And you can see it coming a mile away.

Not to be too hard on the book, though. I smiled and chuckled and enjoyed reading it. Mind you, Asprin said he was trying to write with a larger canvas over the last few books (7-12) and take in bigger themes. The whole Queen Hemlock/Posstilium adventure could have been contained in one or two books if Asprin edited himself a little more carefully. It certainly didn't need five volumes.

As a result, the book seems VERY padded. It clocks in at a novella length 150 pages, with a short story and a glossary of the Myth world tossed in to bulk up the slim tome. Mind you, that doesn't stop Meisha Merlin from overcharging again. You guys want to charge book prices? Then publish a book and not a pamphlet. You'd think they could at least afford a copy editor to take care of the dozens of misspellings and typos and get a better artist.

The ending is bittersweet, and it leaves open the possibilities for future volumes as much as it leaves a place for the series to end off. If it is the last book, Asprin deserves the rest. Despite the recent decline in quality, he's written four of the funniest books I've ever read and I'll always appreciate that.

Overall, this is a book for the die hards. If you are new to Myth, go back and read the first four and enjoy them.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A sad return..., November 4, 2002

By	Tom (CA) - See all my reviews

I bought this book the day it hit the stores, having waited 7 years for it to come out, and in all fairness my expectations were high.

BUT even if my high expectations colored my judgement, the structure alone doomed this book from the start. Consider this...

2/3rds of the book is dedicated to the story of Guido(a character that was out of interesting things to say in MYTH inc in action), Pookie and Spyder (two characters that aren't even part of the Myth gang). The story has NOTHING to do with anything that has ever happened in the book before. Further, some of the chapters switch to third person narration which has never been done in the Myth books before. Beyond that the story is fairly weak.

1/6th of the book is dedicated to Skeeve's perspective. This is the only redeeming quality of this book. It continues the story of Sweet Mythtery of Life, but it reads like a "quick wrap-up" and although it has some up points it's still pretty weak.

The last 1/6th of the book is dedicated to Aahz and although it is well written it details a story that is both boring and stupid.

Bottom Line: This entire book has almost nothing to do with any of the books that came before it, it wraps up none of the mysteries of the previous books, and everything that looked dramatic at the end of Sweet Mythtery turns out to be a "wacky misunderstanding" that's quickly resolved.

Unless your really dedicated to the series, don't waste your time (but pick up the next one, there was some potential in the Skeeve chapters)

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Weak ending to a mediocre series, March 4, 2004

By	davepy (Novi, MI United States) - See all my reviews

I started reading the Myth books in college and enjoyed them quite a bit until Myth-nomers and Impervections, which started the downward trend to the books. I pretty much lost track of the series since Asprin also stopped writing them on a regular basis, but recently decided to finish off the adventures of Skeeve and co. once and for all. I first reread the original 6 or 7 books that I still find entertaining, although not as much as I did some 10 years ago, then slogged through the rest of the series and finally got around to Something M.Y.T.H.Inc.

Basically, the book is a rehash as well as a cop out of the events in Sweet Mythery of Life and their consequences. What might've had some good potential for tension and drama were turned into bad jokes. Pookie shooting Guido? Gleep getting shot? All a misunderstanding. Hell, the whole "uprising" is one big joke. It's like Asprin couldn't think of a good way to resolve some plot threads he set up earlier and said hell with it all.

Also, why is it that the majority of the non-Skeeve viewpoints in the M.Y.T.H.Inc stories are handled by Guido? Nothing against the guy, but I'd really like to see some of the other characters' POV's, especially Aahz or Tanda. The faux-mob speech also really grates after a while. It really feels like Asprin missed out on several good opportunities exit the series on a high note.

My advice to anyone who hasn't started the series yet would be to stop reading at Little Myth Marker. M.Y.T.H.Inc Link is still a tolerable read, but sets up a lot of things that will require to read some very bad books to find answers for.