The Griffin or the Agate

     Remember Skeeve and Aahz, the protagonists of Robert Asprin's comic fantasy Myth series? It's okay if you don't, since it's been about seven years since the last release, a subject Asprin addresses in his author's note. He also admits to being concerned about being able to find the voice he uses for the books, even shuffling the order of intended novels to ease himself back in. Is he successful? Well . . .
     The Myth series can be best described as light-hearted fantasy. Young magician Skeeve, blessed with a good heart and burdened with being extremely naīve, finds a mentor and father figure in Aahz, a scaly dimension-hopping creature known as a Pervect who has lost his own magical powers. The books follow them around as they get into one misadventure after another, peppering the reader with one-liners and wordplay. Myth-ion Improbable, set timewise between the third and fourth books of the series, is a little more somber in tone. This is not to say that it's an Elizabethian tragedy, but the usual air of frivolity is nowhere to be found, along with the truckload of puns fans have come to expect. As Skeeve, Aahz, and their green-haired assassin friend Tananda begin following a strange treasure map, Asprin seems more focused on the story and less on the joking asides than in the past. The plot involves more than the original quest, including mass murders, evil villains - and cows. Does it work? Sure, to a degree. Even with a slightly different tack, Myth-ion Improbable is still light fare, a summer book that arrived a month too late. It's entertaining, and fans won't be disappointed - after seven years, how can they be? It's the sort of book that makes a good palate cleaner between heavier, more involving texts, something that can be devoured in a day or two. While new readers can treat the book as a stand-alone and not have problems, they might be better off starting with the first books, which are scheduled for re-release in early 2002.
     Im-pervect or not, the return of Skeeve is a welcome thing, even if he's not quite all there. Hopefully Asprin will be back to his old form in time for Something M.Y.T.H. Inc, promised for September 2002.   §

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