Most fantasy literature is pure escapism -- light, easy, black and white. Thieves' World instead features surprisingly complex characters (for a fantasy tale) with uncertain motivations. It's low, gritty, and not concerned with the matters of elves and men. As a mosaic novel (or linear anthology,...
The gang's all back! And you know what that means - more hilarity ensues! This book is the sequel to Phule's Company and it is every bit as good as the first book. This time the Omega Company is up against the mob - where they will have to use all their unique skills if they want to succeed. In t...
I picked up several beaten-up MYTH books at my high school library booksale when they were getting rid of their beaten-up paperbacks. This was back in 1996 or '97 or something. I loved these books and quickly read them as I got a few additional ones to fill in the gaps.Then I reached 'Sweet Myt...
Phule gets on the wrong side of celebrity canine Barky the Environmental Dog by hosting a group of big game hunters who think they can bag a dinosaur on Zenobia. Needless to say, dinosaurs are not a native species. But cold, hard facts never stopped a Phule. And neither will Barky's cold, wet nose.
When the planet Zenobia is invaded, Captain Willard Phule is made their military advisor. But, unknown to the Zenobians, they're getting two Phules for the price of one. A robot double of Captain Phule appears out of nowhere. And only the real Phule knows who the real Phule is.
Kit Carson best time scout is retired now shadowing endangers his life, can get caught at same time and die. Gamine redhead Margo 16 wants him to teach her. Malcolm 30s guides her in Victorian England. Mistakes get worse, she runs away in Coliseum era Rome. Her trip through dying Gate to Africa 1...
In the early part of the 21st Century disaster struck -an experiment on an orbiting station went wrong -bad wrong. The Accident almost destroyed the universe, and ripples in time washed over the Earth. Like the plagues of an earlier millineum, Earth was depopulated, and then it rebuilt. And the p...
This was a bit of an odd addition to the Myth series. Usually Skeeve and his friends team up to deal with some sort of task or mishap, but in this one Skeeve is off on his own solo quest. After Queen Hemlock pretty much sent a deceleration of war at the end of M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link Skeeve decides to...
One of my most childhood (well, teenagerhood) possessions is a pair of graphic novels based on Robert Asprin's "Myth" series, illustrated by Phil Foglio. I also read most of the books themselves and enjoyed them nearly as much. When I recently decided to re-read the first three books (Another Fin...
Hit or Myth by Robert Asprin is the fourth book of the MythAdventures series and becomes a huge turning point by the end of the novel. Things start out at the kingdom of Possiltum where King Roderick takes a sudden leave of absence in order to dodge his own wedding, leaving Skeeve, aka Skeve the ...
Settle Back for a Hot One: IT'S RIPPING TIMEWhen terrorists gun down Jenna Caddrick's fiancee, the only daughter of Senator John Caddrick is trapped in a desperate struggle to stay alive. With a pack of killers on her trail, Jenna plunges through Shangri-La Station's time touring gates -- and lan...
I read the first two books in this series while I was in the beautiful town of Scottsdale. They weren't amazing, but they were cute, fun light reading. I liked Asprin's Myth series more, but they were still enjoyable.While I can't say I disliked A Phule and His Money, it wasn't what I was hoping ...
E. Godz, Inc.'s stock-in-trade was magic. When Edwina Godz had inherited the family corporation after her parents were killed in an accident, she had put to work all the sorcerous techniques that she had learned during her Spiritual Quest period, taking all the shamans with the Right Stuff on boa...
International conglomerates plot a complete domination of the free world, facing off against world governments, who want only freedom, in a calculated and vicious battle of wits and blood.
I stumbled across the first volume of the Thieves' World anthology series shortly after it came out, and being a die-hard, ultimately I bought and read all 12 of the collections (and most of the novels), but after about vol. 6 it was more a labor of stamina and obligation than one of love. The t...
This was my first Asprin/Evans collaboration. Although the story's concept was interesting, I found myself trying to distinguish between what I thought Asprin's contribution was vs. Evans, which was a distraction to the actual reading of the book. The reason for this was because some parts were...
Storm Season Paperback by Robert Asprin - 1982 - First Edition - First Printing
Welcome to Sanctuary, a city of outlaws and adventurers in a world of war and wizardry, peopled with colorful characters created by today's top fantasy adventure talents, including: Robert Lynn AsprinRobin W. BaileyC.J. CherryhJohn DeClesChris MorrisDiana L. Paxson In this brilliant eleventh volu...
I'll be honest, I figured I'd be giving this book a 1 star review after only a chapter. And for the first 79% of it (according to my Kindle), that is exactly what it was. Pure stubborness was all that kept me going...as in I am extremely stubborn. I was so disappointed. It gets rave reviews becau...
For years the mysterious figure known only as Tambu has held the settled planets in his iron grip. The fleet of pirates and criminals under his command have established and maintained a reign of terror and extortion, successfully defying all efforts of the newly-formed Defense alliance to halt or...
MIRROR FRIEND, MIRROR FOE came out in 1979. At StellarCon in Greensboro, N.C. that year, I met both authors, though I'm not sure they were promoting this one as the first Trek movie hadn't been out long and I never actually saw them together the weekend. Asprin was holding court in a lounge the f...
Usually, when I read books that are part of a series, I prefer to start at the beginning. However, my wife picked this second volume of the author's Myth series up at our local flea market, and suggested that we read it together, so I did. While it makes some reference to previous events, and m...
The best compliment I can give this book is that it's a mystery story which holds up to re-readings. Once you know "whodunnit", a second reading will reveal clues that you might have missed the first time around, so the writer plays fair by giving you enough information to work it out for yoursel...
The tenth Myth Adventures book. Following immediately after its predecessor, M.Y.T.H. Inc. in Action, this book opens with Skeeve and the gang back in the kingdom of Possiltum, hanging fire while Skeeve frets over Queen Hemlock’s ridiculous “ultimatum” (marry her, or she will abdicate and give h...
This book has a really fun concept. A space-faring race of lizard men are embroiled in war with a "coalition" of insect species. Having received their advanced technology from a peaceful race of now extinct highly advanced benefactors, both forces have similar weaponry and technological abilities...
The legendary warlord, Dardas, died more than two hundred and fifty years ago. Now, his spirit lives on in a host body, resurrected by a magician to lead a conquering army across the city-states of Isthmus. But there are military scholars familiar with Dardas's tactics--scholars who may hold th...
The fourth (and final) set of three short story collections from the Thieves' World shared universe series. Includes:Aftermath Uneasy Alliances Stealers' Sky
BLAISE "BUT I'm telling you, Boss, jailbreak is a bad rap. With you operating at only half power in the magic department, there's no tellin' what can go wrong, and then…" "Before we get all worked up about what can go wrong, Guido," I said, trying to salvage something constructive out of the conv...
J. Cherryh i There was enterprise among the sprawl of huts and shanties that was the Downwind of Sanctuary. Occasionally someone even found the means of exacting a livelihood out of the place. The aim of most such was to get out of Downwind as quickly as possible, on the first small hoard of coin...
Humbled descendants of the rulers of an empire dwarfing Ilsig or Ranke eked out their livings among the gnarled, ancient trees. They wrapped each unripe fruit in leaves for the long caravan journey and wrapped each harvest in a fresh retelling of their legends. By shrewd storytelling these once p...
One foot rested on a broken-off piling; his folded forearms rested on his upraised knee. His eyes were empty, staring at the still, starlit harbor, watching for the faint ripple that might mean a breeze coming up. A thick blanket of sun-steamed air had clung to the city these last four days. Last...
Last time, I’d hit around eight in the evening, then again at about two o’clock. I was of course hoping to stumble on Jo-Jo—or should I say, José Munoz? I’d ordered my dinner in tonight, Chinese food that I ate with chopsticks while I listened to some Shostakovich violin concertos. Then I spent a...
Ignoring her husband's puzzled glance, she made her way into the crowds in search of the source of the voice. Though only half S'danzo, the cards were still her trade and she owed it to her clan to discover any intruders into their secrets. A yellow-toothed smile flashed at her out of deep shadow...
Toulouse, two blocks off Bourbon, was absolutely deserted at this hour. Still, she expected company. He came around the corner a block away and started to head toward her. She knew he could have appeared at any time; he could have surprised her. Instead, he wanted her to s...
To most, it would look like an idyllic paradise. To me, it was a major problem. I gazed out over the massed pine trees, wondering what kind of wilderness we'd gotten stuck in. A few bare crests, like the one I was sitting on, protruded above the treeline, but they were miles away. None of it look...
In the pale moonlight it was nearly impossible to discern just how threadbare and worn it really was. There was a certain sad beauty to it and to its wearer. "Evening, Asphodel," Dayme said softly. "That perfume. I smelled you before I saw you." She approached him, grinning, and suddenly she didn...
Not that his form conveyed any softness or weakness. If anything, his shiny ebony skin stretched tight over lithe, firm muscles gave an immediate impression of quick strength, while his scarred, severe facial features indicated a mind which would not hesitate to use that strength to his own advan...
For some it was the Essence Fest, another of the numerous music festivals that dotted the city calendar. For others, it meant a long weekend break from work. Weather permitting, an excursion to the beach, the Audubon Zoo, or even just a picnic or backyard barbecue provided...
His nose told him that he was in one of Sanctuary's numerous brothels ... though exactly which one he was unsure of. At his advanced age he did not frequent the town's houses of ill-repute even though he could now easily have afforded them, and therefore he was unfamiliar with their individual nu...
He knew it; he knew himself. For the kind of subterranean work he was trained to do, self-knowledge was a prerequisite. If it weren't, his distress over Strat and the horrid triangle of the two of them and the vampire might well have killed him before this. Might kill him yet, if he became too di...
They called their leader "Zip," when they called him anything at all. He didn't encourage familiarity; he'd always been a loner, a creature of the streets without family or friends. Even before the Beysib had come and the waves of executions had begun, the street urchins and the Maze-dwellers had...
The narrow, eventually pointed dome resembled an elongated onion. Its needle-like spire thrust up to pierce the sky. That spire, naturally, flaunted a pennon. It bore the device of Imperial Ranke (Ranket Imperatris). Below, the dome was clamped by a circular wall like upended herbivorous teeth. I...
Confused, disoriented, she turned her head- and found an IV bottle hanging near her head and a heart monitor beeping softly beside her. The slight movement tugged at monitor leads placed at seeming random about her torso. Then Rachel Eisenstein came into her frame of view and smiled. ...
"You've thrown away your honor, Com mander. Molin and his cronies may praise you for your obedience and sense of duty. But the common men and women of this town know you now. Look in their eyes the next time you walk the streets. You'll find reflected there nothing but scorn." She turned to Molin...