Okay, so I'm laughing my ass off. These books are all kinds of perfect, assuming you want light, fluffy, funny D&D fantasy with absolutely delightful characters. Con-man demon, wet-behind-the-ears mage, and amazing misadventure.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Let's just apply for the Court Wizard position, kid. It's all posture. The hard part is just getting the job.

Yeeeeeeesssssss. :)

The side characters were also fantastically funny. When I compare this 30-year-old book with the kinds of modern fantasy we get these days, it's holding its own with flying colors. The newer ones owe a great debt to this.

2020-shelf fantasy humor24 s Carrot :3 (on a hiatus)320 112

3.75 stars.

the previous instalment, this one was light and humorous. This series is best for when you need a break reading intense books.

We have a reunion of the characters from the first book and some additional ones. Loving how our Skeeve is growing.

A very quick and delightful read.2023 owned21 s Orient255 232


The story has quite a similar plot, pace and humor as Another Fine Myth (the most enjoyable thing, Mr. Asprin can give). These books are a comic fun with a touch of fantasy and magic to me. I ran with my hungry eyes and impatient fingers through “Myth Conceptions”. Of course everything is prepared for the show, so I just enjoyed meeting the main characters, some familiar and loved from the first book and some interesting, new ones. To my joy, the Myth world gets bigger, diverse, more interesting and fun. It’s not only magic, I found court drama, military tricks and lots of light jokes and humor, to emphasize, even lighten serious things. The message is clear


The plot sometimes seems somewhat obvious. Some episodes were quite simple and at first I thought that it’s a setup and everything will turn into a tangled twist but nope. the one with Mr. Super Arrow being too old or the spying harmless Gremlin. I sometimes feel too wicked and expect the books to be more wicked too :D
I d that the shy general-to-be magician apprentice became more confident and his BFF, Aahz let him have his star-hour. Skeeve is growing, not only as a magician, but as a leader too. I could see his growth in the way he cooperated with others and I d that he showed tenderness and toughness as well. As usual Skeeve is left alone in the so called market to wait for trouble and bring smth/smb unusual and dangerous. It’s no need to say that he succeeds. The mad crew, he recruits, is worth a lot. I cared about them, while giggling from their jokes and worrying in serious moments.
The cocky, fashionable imp from the first book

Mr. Old Sleepy Super Arrow

A stony gargoyle with his pet, a living fire-breathing salamander.

Not forgetting the old crew. The sarcastic alcoholic demon and a sexy green-haired assassin. Oh and the heroic lovely baby dragon.
There is definitely a lot of fun to read how they manage to survive (the end was unexpected and just gripping) adding the funny dialogues.
To sum up, this book is a great fun to read though the plot is quite simple, but jokes, puns and characters help it to shine. So if you’re looking for a quick fun read, you can definitely count on “Myth Conceptions”.
desperado entertaining fantasy ...more16 s Gavin934 411

This is the second book in Robert Asprin's lighthearted and fun Myth series of fantasy books. It delivered much the same as the first book. Witty dialogue, action, magic, and likable characters.

Skeeve is invited to try out for the position of court magician by his master Aahz, who claims it will be an easy job. It's not of course, and before long Skeeve finds himself having to defend the whole kingdom against a massive invading army with only the few magical tricks he has mastered so far. Lucky for him some familiar faces from the first book join his fight along with a few new friends.

This was a quick and very enjoyable read.

Rating: 3.5 stars.

Audio Note: Jeff Woodman again delivers a fantastic performance. fantasy9 s Stephen1,516 11.6k

3.5 stars. This is the second book in the Myth Adventures series and, the first book Another Fine Myth, I really enjoyed it. These books are fun, light reads that are perfect for when you either need a mood pick me up, or maybe just want to be entertained without having to invest too much grey matter at the same time.

In this second installment, Skeeve, an apprentice magician, and his teacher Aahz, a demon from another dimension summoned in the first book by Skeeve's dead master, along with their pet dragon and unicorn (the cast of characters should give you a good idea of the tone of the book) are recruited to stop a war. Unfortunately, not everyone is happy about it and comedy and light-hearted adventuring follows. Recommended!! 1980-1989 comfort-food humor-and-satire ...more9 s Robert1,785 150

This one was always my favourite back in the day ( it was one of the 6 or 7 I owned at one point) as it eschewed all the world building from Another Fine Myth in favour of a madcap mission to stop an aggressor army whose front lines are literally wider than the border of the kingdom its invading.

The audiobook narration was again quite on point, with distinctive voices conjured up for all the new and minor characters along the way, while sticking to what already works when delivering Aahz's various pithy remarks such as, "Shut up, kid."

audio-reads fantasy-fundamentals hoopla9 s David Sarkies1,844 330

It's All Smoke and Mirrors
27 February 2016

Having somewhat enjoyed the first book, when I was around my friend's house in Adelaide (and he was insisting on lending me as many books as possible, despite my protestations at having a huge TBR pile as it is) I decided to grab the next couple in the series just to see how well Asprin writes his sequels. Mind you, I tend to have a fairly low opinion of sequels, namely because Hollywood tends to have this really bad habit of completely ruining them (or creating them where they are not needed, and in the process completely ruining them – think Ghostbusters II). Anyway, it was two pages into this book when I had my first laugh out loud moment, so I knew that I was going to enjoy it.

The fact that it only took me two days to read it is probably testament to that, but then again it is a pretty short book, though a short book does not necessarily mean an easy, or a quick, read (The Abolition of Man is testament to that).

Well, we once again meet Skeeve and his mentor the Pervet Ahaz, who are spending some time in the old inn that they settled down in after sending the wizard Istvaan off into some random dimension. However, as is the case with life, this isn't the end of the story since a soldier from a nearby kingdom rocks up and tells Skeeve that the king would to interview him for the position of court magician. Well, that sounds a really cushy, high paying job where Skeeve can pursue his chosen career of being a thief – as long as they get it that is.

This is where Ahaz once again comes in because as anybody who has ever been to a job interview would know (or doesn't know for that matter) the whole interview isn't so much about the skills you have (because that is generally outlined on the resume), but rather how you present yourself. In fact you could be one of the best qualified candidates at the interview and get absolutely nowhere simply because the interviewers simply do not you.



Anyway, enough about the job interviews because needless to say, with Ahaz's help, he nails it (and sometimes I wish I had a mate Ahaz, but then again don't we all?). Problem is that it turns out that they weren't looking for a court magician to simply sit around doing the occasional party trick for the king, but to deal with an invading army that happens to be really, really big. The problem is (as if that isn't a big enough problem) that the general, who's pretty upset that the chancellor wouldn't give him any money to hire some more troops (let alone finish the walls around the castle), doesn't want to give him any troops simply because the way he sees it, if the magician wins then the chancellor's going to see this as an excuse to disband the army because as everybody knows armies are really expensive to maintain. However the problem is that soldiers and generals really, really don't being thrown onto the unemployment lists, and no country wants a bunch of really upset vets running around complaining about the government.

Anyway, I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself, and I'm probably getting a bit too far into the book, which means that you don't need to read the book, which sort of defeats the purpose of a book review (and further more if I had written a book review at school which basically rehashed the plot of the book, I probably would have failed – that is unless I bribed the teacher, but then again I don't know anybody who went around bribing teachers – if that is even possible). However, I'm sure we all know how this book ends, pretty much the same way that most fantasy novels end, but then again I suspect it is not so much the ending that counts, but how we actually get there.fantasy8 s WernerAuthor 4 books643

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 many of the characters have prior history with each other, it can be enjoyed well enough as a stand-alone.

Set in another dimension where magic, or magik, as Asprin spells it here, (strictly of the incantational sort) operates, this is basically a lighthearted humorous fantasy romp, with no deep messages or symbolic themes. Our hero is Skeeve, a moderately able apprentice studying under Aahz, a demon (in Aspirin's fictional universe, as in Piers Anthony's Xanth, "demon" is simply a term for any member of various magical humanoid species, which aren't inherently evil and have no connection with Satan) who's a "magician," i.e., a sorcerer --but one who's lost his powers for the present. Early on, Skeeve manages to land a job as court magician in the kingdom of Possiltum --only to learn that he's expected to fend off an approaching invading army of invincible size. This, of course, lands the two in hot water (their usual situation, apparently :-)) of a potentially lethal sort; but given the humorous tone of the book, the reader doesn't have any doubt that they'll be able to pull through. The humor is wry and pseudo-cynical, a veneer over an essentially ethical and optimistic outlook; I don't recall laughing out loud, but I did enjoy the read. (For me, one of the more delightful parts was a visit to the "Yellow Crescent Inn" situated in an inter-dimensional bazaar frequented by inhabitants of various worlds, including ours. If you've ever thought the McDonald's chain --for which my wife happens to work :-)-- was getting to be really ubiquitous, you didn't know the half of it!)

There are a variety of secondary characters here, ranging from Skeeve's lovable pet dragon, Gleep, to Possiltum's military commander, the appropriately named General Badaxe. One of the more interesting is a green-haired beauty named Tanda, who's taking time off from her jobs to help Skeeve and Aahz in their jeopardy. The author implies that one of her jobs, at times, is prostitution; but she doesn't behave lewdly here, and though Aspirin's humor can include some mild sexual innuendo, there's no sex (or bad language, either), in the book. Her principal occupation, though, is contract killing --which would make it a real challenge to make her even remotely likable! Surprisingly, Aspirin pulls that off (helped greatly by the fact, of course, that he doesn't depict her at work); she comes across as a loyal friend, and a person with integrity, a sense of responsibility, and a basically kind heart. How she balances those qualities with the demands of her line of work would make an interesting character study, which Asprin doesn't really attempt (as noted above, this isn't a deep work). But he does hint at it when Tanda refuses Skeeve's suggestion that she kill the officers of the invading army; assassins, she says, only take on contracts in personal feuds, never as a part of a war. In her world, the Assassins Guild is a recognized (and, apparently, perfectly legal) professional body with a code of ethics that she takes seriously; she seems to see herself essentially as an honorable, rule-bound professional --a stance that doesn't evoke approval, but can evoke respect.

I've never run across any other volumes of the Myth series in any of the venues where I usually purchase books. But if I did find one, I'd snap it up! If you enjoy humorous fantasy, this book would probably be right up your alley.books-i-own fantasy5 s Klodovik250 14

Stvarno sam u nedoumici oko ocjenjivanja ove knjige. Uop?e nije loša dapa?e dobra je ali nekako ne dopire do mene. Prva knjiga me uvukla u svoj svjet u zadnjij tre?ini a ova tek u zadnje dvi stranice.
Ocjena 3.5/54 s Caitlin906 71

“Now that we've got the whole story," he said solemnly, "now you can panic.”

Myth Conceptions is the second of the Myth Adventures books by Robert Asprin and picks up shortly after the events of Another Fine Myth. Apprentice magician Skeeve and his mentor Aazh (along with a unicorn and baby dragon) are happily installed at an inn that they won in a fight. When a messenger shows up to invite Skeeve to apply for a job as the court magician in a local kingdom, Aazh encourages Skeeve to apply for one of the easiest jobs a magician can have. Trouble being, this one's a bit less cushy than your average government job. An invading army bigger than any known on Klah has now become their problem and it'll be up to Skeeve and Aazh to find a solution that isn't running away screaming.

When I listened to the audiobook of Another Fine Myth, I spent a good deal of my time giggling at the humor in it. Myth Conceptions is still amusing, though perhaps not quite so laugh out loud funny. It pokes fun at government jobs and armies and a number of other things and as always, the quotes at the beginning of every chapter are amusing. But for whatever reason, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the previous one. It does have a fair amount of character growth for Skeeve as he has to assemble a group to help him fight the invaders and then has to figure out how to lead them. The characters involved were delightful and I almost enjoyed them more than anything else in the story.

Overall, Myth Conceptions is a fun sequel to Another Fine Myth and is both amusing and entertaining. Certainly enough to convince me to keep going in the series, particularly since the narrator for the audiobook is so good. And strangely, makes me think of Miracle Max from Princess Bride. I'd recommend it if you're a fan of satirical fantasy, though you'll definitely want to start with Another Fine Myth if you haven't already. fic-fantasy owned-audible3 s Hidekisohma309 7

So after reading two heavy hitter books (both of meh quality) i wanted to go back and read a book i was pretty sure i would , and having recently read the first book in the series and really liking it, i jumped into the second one, and thankfully, it's just as good as the first.

We basically have the same characters from the first book with a few new ones. The only real addition are a couple of people Skeeve hire on temporarily, and they're all just fine characters.

This time around Aahz (skeeve's mentor) wants him to get the job of a court magician. Fighting an army then ensues.

Once again, the writing was quick and clever, leaving you with just enough details to know what was going on, but not so much that the prose overstays its welcome.

One thing this series does very well is resolving a lot of their problems without succumbing to violence. in the first book there was a body count of 2 and in this one, it's 1. There's hardly any deaths in this series and honestly, it can be quite refreshing.

I can't really say anything earthshaking happened in this book compared to the first one. It really is just "Did you the first book? Well here's the same thing but in a different setting with a different plot." Meaning if you d the first book, you'll the second one. If you didn't, then you won't. I for one, did the first one, and i also d this one.

It's nice to get a light hearted, fun, quick 200 page novel once in a while, especially after reading through some never ending trudges.

I'll DEFINITELY keep reading this series. And if it's anything the first 2, i'm sure i'll enjoy it.

4 out of 5fantasy2 s Michael935 151

This, the second book in the “Myth Adventures” series, was the first I read as a book (see my review of “Another Fine Myth” for the full explanation thereof). I still had the images from Phil Foglio’s comic books to inform my ideas of the characters, but this was a new story to me. The focus is less on the process of learning magic and more on Skeeve’s developing confidence and a bit of an expansion of our understanding of his world and the other worlds nearby.

The story, once again, pits Skeeve and his magical trainer Aahz against seemingly impossble odds. It begins when a visitor from the nearby kingdom of Possiltum invites Skeeve to audition for the position of Court Magician. Skeeve is leery, but the (other-)worldly Aahz assures him that it’s an easy job, and all he needs to do is impress the king with a certain amount of razzle-dazzle to get it. They manage to do so, despite competition from an unexpectedly high number of competitors, but then find out that their first task is to repulse an invading army – the chancellor has convinced the king that this will be cheaper than hiring an army of their own. When they scout the situation, they discover that the army they are to fight is actually the largest and most effective fighting force ever known to Skeeve’s world, and also learn that their old friend the assassin Tananda was the one who got them the recommendation for the job. This leads to another inter-dimensional trip to the Bazaar on Deva (run by Deveels, but we don’t meet any in this outing). While Aahz is out trying to find mercenaries, Skeeve manages to befriend a powerless imp, an aging archer, a gargoyle with a salamander, and an elusive gremlin. This unly force (plus Skeeve’s pet baby dragon Gleep) now has to use its wits to confront a vastly superior, but essentially un-magical, force.

This episode was a bit heavier on puns and in-jokes, as Asprin perhaps was beginning to feel more comfortable with the fantasy-comedy genre. The leaders of the enemy force, for example, are all based on Roman history: Claude, Antonio, The Brute, and Big Jules. He even manages to get an “et tu” joke in. But, as with “Another Fine Myth,” the humor is there more as dressing for a good young adult coming-of-age story with strong fantasy elements. Although Skeeve hopes to let Aahz make the plans and decisions, he winds up more or less in charge of the situation, and learns that he has better leadership skills than he had believed. His magical powers develop as well, but we begin to see him learning these on his own, without his earlier dependencies. The only problem is that he isn’t really the one to figure out the resolution (it’s up to Aahz again), but there is a definite sense of development that allows the series to grow. fantasy satire2 s April BrownAuthor 23 books45

A childhood favorite re-visited.

Is the story as good as I remember? – Yes

What ages would I recommend it too? – Twelve and up. While ten to twelve might enjoy it, there are many ideas they will not understand. Though, they will certainly get many of the jokes.

Length? – Reasonable for an afternoon.

Characters? ?? Memorable, several characters.

Setting? – Fantasy, alternate dimensions.

Written approximately? – 1980.

Does the story leave questions in the readers mind? – Ready to read more.

Any issues the author (or a more recent publisher) should cover? No.

Short storyline: Skeeve and Aahz leave their hideout to work for a kingdom, not realizing the lihood of death that decision involves. They must visit another dimension in order to recruit help to save the kingdom and themselves. Skeeve’s dragon, Gleep plays an active role as well.

Notes for the reader: In this story, this author takes the emotions of his characters seriously. The characters don’t just race through the story full of action without emotion. The author realized the importance of the reader connecting to the characters by giving us the emotions, and even the reasons behind those sometimes odd emotions for the situation. While the first few times, it is a shock to the system to actually read of a character having an emotion, soon, it just becomes an enhancement to the story. In fact, when the lack of emotions by the main character becomes apparent in a later story, even that is noted by all the characters, until it is resolved.fantasy teen2 s Nick3,035 11

I remember now why I loved this series when it first came out. In addition to the outrageous and funny stories, the chapter headings, with the "quotations" attached, were a real treat.
The descriptions of this book simply don't do it justice. The idea of Skeeve being "mistakenly" appointed Royal Wizard, for example...um, it's far more complex and funny than that suggests. One of the ongoing plot threads in this series is that nothing should be taken at face value, and another is that any deal you're offered is going to have a catch attached, either deliberately or circumstantially. In this case, he's offered a truly great job...with no apparent way to survive it, because the job is apparently impossible, and if he succeeds in it, the forces opposed to him having the job will do their best to kill him off.
That may sound odd for a story that is, in fact, very funny, but that's because few authors wrote funny death and destruction as well as Robert Asprin did over his literary career.
My personal feeling is that anyone who sees this series should pick up the first book and read it. If you that, then keep reading the rest, because it continued to be very good.fantasy-adult humor-adult2 s Michael TildsleyAuthor 2 books8

Another quick, easy read. I d this book even more than the first one. The plot was solid. I loved the additional characters that were added. The humor was spot-on and laugh out loud. There was intrigue and suspense.

I read this in less than a day and enjoyed it immensely. I find Mr. Asprin's writing style a breath of fresh air. He does not take himself too seriously, but he knows when to be serious and when to joke. I admire his comedic timing, the wit and speed of his dialogue, and the movement of his prose. So much happens in so little (page-wise) time. Something I aspire to do and to be one day. I found myself unable to put the book down until I finished it. That's a great sweet-spot to find as a writer, and I applaud Mr. Asprin's offering here.

Can't wait to dig into number three in this series.2 s AlexAuthor 3 books25

The first half of this book slowly sets our heroes up to be backed into what appears to be a no-win situation. The second half gets them out in a spectacularly gleeful fashion. And then backs them into a corner for the inevitable sequel.

Again more jokes I didn’t get the first time around. I read this easily six years before experiencing Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, so the first time around, I was as lost as Aahz’s audience for his really bad pun related to it. As an adult coming back, I literally facepalmed the pun hurt so much. And yet, the author, by the way the joke is framed almost says to the audience: “I’m sorry this is a terrible pun. Really sorry, but I couldn’t help myself” -- by only having the joke teller laugh. And yet he accomplishes this without breaking the fourth wall with authorial intrusion. Masterfully done. I’m terribly glad I picked these back up.
2 s Desinka301 60

This second installment in the Myth series was a lot of fun. It was again full of witty dialogue and fun happenings. I d how Skeeve developed and a characters and the way he dealt with the hard situation he was in. I loved the new additions to the team as well as the appearance of some characters from the first book.

Looking forward to starting the next book.

Rating 3.5 stars.2 s Doris1,938

It has been a while since I read this, but I still recall the Archer and Skeeve's conversation at the battle, where Skeeve built up the Archer's confidence. Then the Archer asked him, if you could do that, why do you need me? The answer was classic, and wonderful advice to and from a managerial type.dragons fantasy2 s Kristen36

These are decently fun books for children, and I once dated someone who still adored reading them as an adult, but it really bothers me when an author's vocabulary is so limited that they continually use words "chortled" in place of "said" several times throughout the book. That's a once per book word, Robert. Pick another.2 s diane479 33

Silly fun with many moments of hilarity. Still good after all this time. :)fantasy read-with-ford2 s James3,389

What a great way to deal with an invading army. Good banter.fantasy humour2 s Hali102 13

"You should have fed him to the dragons," Aahz said bluntly.
"The Brute?" Julie frowned. "Fed to the dragons? Why?"
"Because then he could have been 'et, too'!"
Apparently this was supposed to be funny, as Aahz erupted into sudden laughter as he frequently does at his own jokes. Tanda rolled her eyes in exasperation.
Myth Conceptions is full of ridiculous humor, good feelings, fun characters, and that specific type of charm I seem to only find in specific books from this specific era. I d the new characters who are introduced here, and I enjoyed what was done with the familiar ones. This is a very worthy continuation to the first book, and I am excited to continue the series. 1 Maksim116 3

??? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? "????????", ????? ? ?????? ??????1 Brecht Denijs260 32

I don't know if it is because I knew what to expect this time around but I enjoyed this one more than the first one. The Myth books are a bit dated at times, Discworld which is in a similar vein and written around the same time is much more progressive, but they are great fun and funny. Perfectly suited a for a fun, relaxing, light read. An excellent pallet cleanser if you need one. I'll most ly pick up another one when given the chance.books-that-i-own fantasy funny ...more1 Luna Tempestate5

The title justifies the book.1 Trollslayer1562 9

I finally got around to this series which I started forever ago, long before ebooks were even an idea. It's comic fantasy along the lines of Terry Pratchett but different. Easy to read/listen to, fun and usually has me enjoying it with a dopey smile on my face. This story sends Skeeve the apprentice magician on another adventure with Aahz the Pervert/Pervect Demon, the voluptuous Tanda and Gleep the dragon along with various other characters, becoming a court magician and attempting to stop a war against an immense army.

Great for a fun read with characters that are well written. Noah Michael Levine the Narrator does a fantastic job with so many different voices for the characters that it really brings them to life.

The quotes at the start of each chapter range from clever to amusing to hilarious. A worthy 5 star book. 2020 audiobook fantasy ...more1 Rik556 6

Probably a little better than the first book, maybe because the characters and world are developing. There's quite a clever story going on, interweaving the bizarre characters and the impossible situation, whilst keeping it light and humorous. I thought the chapter sub headings were great little teasers at times, encouraging you to resolve a little puzzle, whilst also being relevant to the chapter.fantasy fiction funny ...more1 Allison Ray11

This book picks right back up with the same humor and witty banter the first one left us with. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and I would highly recommend it if Another Fine Myth left you wanting more. It's an easy read, and you'll be laughing the whole adventure as Skeeve and Aahz find themselves in over their heads, again!1 Stephen367

I usually find the second book in a series to be somewhat disappointing but this one is pretty solid. I've forgotten enough about the Myth series that rereading them makes it all seem new again but the absurdity of the resolution for the war is exactly what I love about this series by Robert Aspirin.20181 Leonardo Etcheto540 15

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