Robert Asprin started the MYTH series back in 1978 with the release of Another Fine Myth. For those of you unfamiliar with the books, the stories center around a human magician named Skeeve and his demon partner, Aahz. Their tales are told in a tongue-in-cheek style slightly reminiscent of the humor found in the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series -- the main difference being that instead of poking fun at science fiction, the MYTH books take on the fantasy genre.

M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link and Myth-nomers & Im-pervections are books 7 and 8 in the series, originally released in 1986 and 1987. In 2002, the books were re-released in a combined paperback volume. In a way, this is a good thing as each individual book in the series is rather short -- averaging about only 150 pages.

Whereas most of the stories are told from Skeeve's perspective, M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link takes a different approach. To catch you up quickly, Skeeve, Aahz, a couple of friends and Skeeve's underlings have partnered together to form M.Y.T.H. Inc., a corporation located at the Bazaar in the dimension of Diva. Known for their magical skills, they can be hired to solve any problem. And that is what this book is about -- a bunch of jobs M.Y.T.H. Inc. is hired to solve.

The twist with this book is that each job is told from a different character's perspective. Having formerly seen each of these characters through Skeeve's eye (assuming you've read the six prior books), the reader will now get a chance to see Skeeve through theirs. Not only does Asprin pull off each of these short stories in a clever way, I personally think he has increased the number of laughs. The best tale is told through the eyes of Gleep, Skeeve's pet dragon -- or dragon master, depending who you are talking to.

Myth-nomers & Im-pervections takes the reader back to story telling through Skeeve's eyes. This book centers around Aahz's resignation from M.Y.T.H. Inc. and his return to his home dimension of Perv. Aahz is known for his surly temper -- unfortunately, a common trait among Pervects (not Perverts). Despite opposition from the rest of the M.Y.T.H. Inc. personnel, Skeeve heads to Perv, alone, in search of his buddy.

To say that visitors from other dimensions are unwelcome in Perv would be an understatement. To say that Skeeve has his work cut out for him since he doesn't even know where to begin his search would not.

Asprin was also co-editor of the Thieves World series of short stories that were popular in the late '80s and was the author of The Bug Wars and Cold Cash. He currently lives in the French Quarter of New Orleans, where he has recently worked with Jody Lynn Nye on License Invoked.

Having read most of the Myth series over a decade ago, I have been able to jump into any of the books in any order. However, for those of you who are new to the Bazaar, you might consider starting at the beginning with Another Fine Myth, which is currently available with the second story, Myth Conceptions, in a single volume. In each successive story, there are a lot of references to past escapades that might make it a little confusing for new readers. You might still laugh at the humor, but you know deep down that you are missing something.

- Rambles
written by Wil Owen
published 12 April 2003