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 for. Maybe it was the addition of Peter Heck as co-author, or maybe it was because Mr. Heck didn't assert himself enough to correct the problems. Whatever the cause, the book feels like a short story that should have fallen between two novels (but was instead stretched out to 300 pages). The entire book is simply the story of Phule's Company transferring from their old assignment to the new: how they managed to untangle themselves from the casino heavy-hitters, what General Blitzkrieg has in store for Phule now, and how they entrenched themselves (and their money) into their new assignment. It just felt unfocused. Disappointing.Another point I disliked is that Beeker became a stick-in-the-mud character, rather than playing Jeeves to Phule's Wooster. I missed the drole sentiments and reigning in of the boss by the butler, as it was one of my favorite parts of the first two installments.Oh well. If nothing else, I've still got the Myth books.
A great third book to an absolutely hilarious series. In this book Willard Phule (aka Captain Jester) uses the breaking of rules to help the Legion get money, a peaceful alliance with an alien species, and two fighting parties are now rivals instead of enemies. He has shown his commanding officers that there rules and regulations are hurting them more than helping them and that they need to change the way they do things. Phule has made the worst Legion group the best in a very short period of time. This series is absolutely hilarious with the completely different personalities pitted together in strange combination that makes you laugh and read in awe of how well opposites work together. Personalities such as a fake yakuza, a biker, a gourmet chef, a chaplain to Elvis Presley, a warthog, 3 six-foot talking cats, a mouth, a butler, a billionaire, strong-willed women, and a dinosaur. Great fun. Recommend this series.
What do You think about A Phule And His Money (1999)?
I don't know if it was the collaboration or just that the joke should have ended with the second book. The characters are very static and shallow and don't really support a continued series as any growth of the character only results in them not being interesting anymore. However, if books 3-5 had at least felt and read like the first two, I'd have read them all. I bought 3 and 4 at the same time because I had enjoyed the first two so much. I managed to get through this one and it was ok, but it was such a disappointment that I've never gotten around to reading #4. And they got up to #6.
—Linda
