After finishing Another Fine Myth (my review), I raced through second book in the Myth Adventures series. Myth Conceptions seems more like a complete story from beginning to end. This may be because there is no longer a need to set everything up. The main characters are already set and Asprin brings back some familiar characters and introduces some new characters. The overall effect is to make the Myth Adventures universe bigger, more varied and a lot more fun. So let’s see what happened.

After the end of Another Fine Myth, Skeeve and Aahz are holing up at the (not dilapidated looking) inn while Skeeve trains to learn more magic. Their training is interrupted by a visitor who invites Skeeve to apply for a Court Magician village at a nearby kingdom. Aahz points out what a potentially lucrative and easy position this would be and (after some sleight of hand training and disguise creation), they’re off. Of course, they win the contest (or it would be a really short book) and find themselves in a huge myth…er mess. The only reason they wanted a Court Magician is because there is a huge army heading towards them and the Magician is a lot cheaper than a Army.

Helped by Tanada (who set them up with the position before realizing what a mistake it was), they head to the bazaar. Skeeve is sent to hide in a bar (and not make any trouble…or buy another dragon) while Tanda and Aahz go recruit some mercenaries. Needless to say, Aahz and Tanda don’t have the money for real mercenaries, while Skeeve recruits a motley band to help them. In the recruits are Brockhurst (one of the imps from Another Fine Myth), Ajax (a legendary archer who has a gremlin that can barely be seen…even if you believe in gremlins) and Gus (a gargoyle) with his pet salamander (a living fire-breathing salamander) Berfert. Aahz isn’t thrilled with Skeeve’s recruiting (but then again he did leave Skeeve alone in the bazaar…again), but beggars can’t be choosers and the group goes to turn back the largest army ever seen in Klah.

There is no doubt of who is going to win, but the fun comes seeing how they do it (the final resolution is just perfect) and how the characters interact. Skeeve is growing, not only as a magician, but as a leader as well. You can see the growth in how he interacts with everyone, as well as some of his rawness in the mistakes he makes.

Overall, it’s another fun romp where the plot is a skeleton to hang the jokes, puns and characters on to. Once again, the fun in the book rests on the characters. Asprin does a wonderful job not only making you care about this motley crew, but making them funny while throwing in some well earned serious moments as well. If you’re looking for a quick fun read, you can’t go wrong with Myth Conceptions.