First thing I want to mention is how bad a title Another Fine Myth is for the first book in a series. Having read the Myth-adventures series when I was younger, I decided that it was time to revisit it. I had to sit in the library on my phone looking up the series online to verify that this was indeed the first book, since the title almost implies that there was a book before (at least the work another does). Having determined that I did indeed have the first book in the series, I was glad to find out that the book was just as funny and entertaining as I remembered. I lost track of the series in the 90s (when Asprin took a writing hiatus to deal with IRS issues), but am looking forward to checking it out again (even with the absurd mis/myth puns in all the titles). So, let’s check out the fine myth..er..mess.

Skeeve is a wanna-be crook in the dimension of Klah (and yes they are known as Klahds) who’s apprenticing to a magician (Garkin) since he thinks he can use magic to be a better thief. But as his skills start getting better, Garkin tries to show Skeeve that magician is a much better goal than thief. So he summons a demon to show Skeeve real power. Unfortunately, right at the same time an assassin jumped in. Garkin and the assassin killed each other leaving Skeeve face-to-face with the demon (Aahz).

Aahz quickly makes sure Skeeve knows exactly what is going on. Demon is a catch-all term for dimensional travelers and Aahz is from the dimenson Perv (so he is a Pervect…not a Pervert thankyouverymuch) and a good friend of Garkin. Aahz also realizes that Garkin played a trick on him by taking away his powers before unfortunately dying, so Aahz is now stuck on Klah with Skeeve. Since an assassin was sent against Garkin (and assassins travel in packs), Aahz and Skeeve leave the house and set out on a journey to find out who wanted Garkin dead and end up having to save the world.

Along the way, we run into a bunch of bounty hunters, end up in the bazaar (a giant marketplace that pretty much takes up an entire world) where Skeeve accidentally buys a dragon named Gleep, run into a friendly assassin and plan an attack on a rogue magician that ends in an unexpected manner. Aahz proves to be a much better teacher for Skeeve than Garkin and Skeeve actually gets the hang of some magic that he had trouble with previously.

Overall the book is a fun, short fantasy novel that is more of a comic adventure than a LOTR style quest. The characters are interesting and there are some great comic moments throughout the book. Aahz as the smooth talking master with a talented (but still learning) apprentice Skeeve make for a great pairing and the book succeeds based on their chemistry more than the plot (which is fairly meager). There are some decent secondary characters, but the majority of the book is just the relationship between Skeeve and Aahz. It’s a fun book that leads into a fun series. Highly recommended.