fieldofhats's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Spoilers ahead!
This one followed the basic formula of the Myth series, but it had some interesting takes nonetheless! The plot itself is pretty low-stakes, which I enjoyed a lot. I felt like I could just relax and enjoy the ride. The climax was about par for the course; Skeeve outwits his adversary and find out that the adversary isn’t all that bad. The context of the poker game was a lot of fun, though, and it was definitely one of the more entertaining climaxes. I wasn’t sold on the plot with Markie at all at first, but I loved how it worked out in the end. The twist that she is the Axe is not one I saw coming, but it made sense and gave some depth to the formula. And the last couple chapters were very well done, and the creation of a company amongst the main cast actually intrigues me quite a bit for the next books. And lastly, the ending does something none of the other books have done so far, and that is to leave a loose thread. Skeeve questions himself, and we don’t get a resolution for that. The main plot is wrapped up, but it still leaves us wanting to come back. Perhaps it’s because the pre book was so underwhelming, but I thought this one was one of the best!
This one followed the basic formula of the Myth series, but it had some interesting takes nonetheless! The plot itself is pretty low-stakes, which I enjoyed a lot. I felt like I could just relax and enjoy the ride. The climax was about par for the course; Skeeve outwits his adversary and find out that the adversary isn’t all that bad. The context of the poker game was a lot of fun, though, and it was definitely one of the more entertaining climaxes. I wasn’t sold on the plot with Markie at all at first, but I loved how it worked out in the end. The twist that she is the Axe is not one I saw coming, but it made sense and gave some depth to the formula. And the last couple chapters were very well done, and the creation of a company amongst the main cast actually intrigues me quite a bit for the next books. And lastly, the ending does something none of the other books have done so far, and that is to leave a loose thread. Skeeve questions himself, and we don’t get a resolution for that. The main plot is wrapped up, but it still leaves us wanting to come back. Perhaps it’s because the pre book was so underwhelming, but I thought this one was one of the best!
mdpenguin's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I was surprised to learn that I had remembered most of this one correctly: with the others I had general idea of the story but not all of the plot points. Another thing that I remembered was that this wasn't one of my favorites because so much of the conflict is just dealing with obnoxious frustrations and the characters not listening to each other enough. That said, it's still funny and literally wraps up by cleaning that up and moving the whole gang forward in a way that I really like.
bookworm_brad's review
4.0
Not quite as much humour in this book as some of the previous ones but a fun read nonetheless. We get to see another side to most of the main characters, more sentiment instead of the usual bluster.
No big surprises to the main storyline though. It's clear how the card game will go and the identity of the "Axe" was blindingly obvious.
No big surprises to the main storyline though. It's clear how the card game will go and the identity of the "Axe" was blindingly obvious.
shirtypantser's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
As far as the Myth series goes, this isn't the best book. It's very predictable (even for a Myth book!) Still enjoyable, still decent.
vaderbird's review
4.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
verkisto's review
4.0
The One About the Kid
To this day, I still use Dragon Poker as an analogy for any system that is prone to overcomplication and whimsy. Since I play a lot of board games, it comes up at least once a year when someone starts explaining the rules of a new game that's not very streamlined. My memory of the Myth Adventure books is that Dragon Poker featured heavily in almost all of them, but it turns out it didn't make an appearance until here, book six of the series.
Little Myth Marker is also the rare book that doesn't bring in a new member of Skeeve's team. We get introduced to Markie, the kid whom Skeeve takes as a marker for his winnings in a game of Dragon Poker, but at the end of the story, she parts company with the group. Considering that even Vic, the vampire antagonist from the previous book, eventually becomes a part of the team, it's an anomaly. There's a good reason that's addressed at the end of the book, but it comes down to honesty and character, which is a trait common among all the books in the series.
I think that's part of what makes the books so approachable. Skeeve is a nice guy who always wants to do the right thing (even if sometimes it gets repeated so much that it'll make you sick to hear it again), and everyone on his team has that same characteristic. The main characters are all good, respectable people, and it makes it easy to like and root for them.
This book marks the end of the first books under contract for the series, and it ends on a fairly complete note, though it remains open enough to continue the series. I used to have these books in the Science Fiction Book Club omnibus editions, and this one marked the end of volume two. After this point, I started reading the books as they were published.
To this day, I still use Dragon Poker as an analogy for any system that is prone to overcomplication and whimsy. Since I play a lot of board games, it comes up at least once a year when someone starts explaining the rules of a new game that's not very streamlined. My memory of the Myth Adventure books is that Dragon Poker featured heavily in almost all of them, but it turns out it didn't make an appearance until here, book six of the series.
Little Myth Marker is also the rare book that doesn't bring in a new member of Skeeve's team. We get introduced to Markie, the kid whom Skeeve takes as a marker for his winnings in a game of Dragon Poker, but at the end of the story, she parts company with the group. Considering that even Vic, the vampire antagonist from the previous book, eventually becomes a part of the team, it's an anomaly. There's a good reason that's addressed at the end of the book, but it comes down to honesty and character, which is a trait common among all the books in the series.
I think that's part of what makes the books so approachable. Skeeve is a nice guy who always wants to do the right thing (even if sometimes it gets repeated so much that it'll make you sick to hear it again), and everyone on his team has that same characteristic. The main characters are all good, respectable people, and it makes it easy to like and root for them.
This book marks the end of the first books under contract for the series, and it ends on a fairly complete note, though it remains open enough to continue the series. I used to have these books in the Science Fiction Book Club omnibus editions, and this one marked the end of volume two. After this point, I started reading the books as they were published.
captainjaq's review
4.0
There really is a nice progression to these books and they're just fun to read!
just_fighting_censorship's review
2.0
2 1/2 Stars
I think Asprin phoned this one in, the story was filled with a lot of strange stretches of dialog about being a parent and theorizing about the evolutionary nature of male/female relationships. Two female characters are introduced and both spend the bulk of the book being insufferable. The "big" twist is pretty obvious and the entire story takes place in Deva which up until this book had been a pretty interesting place.
The stakes were pretty low and the adventure almost non-existent. The only thing that kept this alive was the increasing charm of Skeeve.
Overall this felt like a sitcom that reached the introduce a random "cute" kid to distract from the lack of plot stage.
I think Asprin phoned this one in, the story was filled with a lot of strange stretches of dialog about being a parent and theorizing about the evolutionary nature of male/female relationships. Two female characters are introduced and both spend the bulk of the book being insufferable. The "big" twist is pretty obvious and the entire story takes place in Deva which up until this book had been a pretty interesting place.
The stakes were pretty low and the adventure almost non-existent. The only thing that kept this alive was the increasing charm of Skeeve.
Overall this felt like a sitcom that reached the introduce a random "cute" kid to distract from the lack of plot stage.