mdpenguin's review
adventurous
funny
medium-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
3.5
I remembered loving this one but this time around it felt a little flat to me compared to all of the other books so far. It was still very enjoyable and I liked the characters perspectives, but there was a lot more telling than showing going on. None of the stories were bad, but I think that I liked Massha's tale the best followed by Guido's. Though I liked the general story in each of the others, none of them really stood out to me. This was so much more about character and relationship – which is something that I generally like and is likely why I liked it so much when I was younger – but I just wanted slightly better storytelling out of it than what I got.
alannabarras's review against another edition
4.0
Some books are ageless, and can read as if written yesterday even decades after publication. The M.Y.T.H Inc. books are not like that, but as long as you're ok with them as a product of their time they're are a super fun read. The gender norms are pretty rigid and there's a definite sexist undertone, but there are very few authors I've read who had this much fun with bad puns and dad jokes. The sexism falls more into the benevolent than malicious/gross (think Piers Anthony) category, so while I was aware of it I wasn't particularly bothered.
This book was my introduction to the series, and I do wish I'd started at the beginning. This is a solid standalone book and I was never confused, but there were enough references to events from past books that I think reading from the beginning would have brought this from 4 to 4.5 stars. I did love Gleep's chapter though - getting to read from the perspective of a 'pet' who turns out to be super smart and who can't be bothered to communicate clearly with its people? Brilliant. 10/10. I want more.
This book was my introduction to the series, and I do wish I'd started at the beginning. This is a solid standalone book and I was never confused, but there were enough references to events from past books that I think reading from the beginning would have brought this from 4 to 4.5 stars. I did love Gleep's chapter though - getting to read from the perspective of a 'pet' who turns out to be super smart and who can't be bothered to communicate clearly with its people? Brilliant. 10/10. I want more.
tarana's review against another edition
3.0
I'm lukewarm on the book. The focus was on Guido, one of the gangster heavies that is part of Skeeve's entourage, but there seemed to be several plots going on that became really confusing. Still, it was enjoyable.
tregina's review against another edition
2.0
Moving onto other POVs was a good move for the series, but breaking it into several separate stories left it unsatisfying for me. And I'm a broken record, but it's still terrible with women; in this case, I've noted the gross and unnecessary catfighting.
vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
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 against another edition
4.0
The One About Everyone Else
Back when I first read this book, I was buying the books individually as they were released (the first six having been collected in two volumes for the Science Fiction Book Club). This was the first book in the series I read that included Phil Foglio's illustrations, and since then, his portrayal of the characters has been how I see them in my head.
M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link is the first book where Asprin wrote outside of Skeeve's point of view, and it was also the first book in the series that disappointed me. Skeeve was always the heart of the gang, and it made sense that he would narrate the stories. While it was nice to see him from his co-workers' eyes, it didn't have the same kind of narrative impact to read stories that didn't feature him. Sure, the crew deserved stories of their own, but I always felt like the approach to the stories here felt less interesting, and disjointed. That feeling holds true in my re-read, as well.
As I mentioned in my last review, Skeeve is the heart of the group, the one who holds them all together, and the stories are just more interesting when told from his perspective. He portrays his own exploits honestly, even when he comes across as cold and arrogant, so there's not much sense in having the other characters fill in when he's not around. Skeeve doesn't feature in the four stories that comprise this book, so there's not much he could have told, but the other books talk of other adventures that took place in between, so why not take the same approach here? Other than getting more insight into Gleep, I didn't see that the stories were necessary enough to feature their central characters.
In the foreword to this book, Asprin mentions that he intended to make this style a regular occurrence, but it looks like he only kept it going for three books. I'm not sure if it was in response to the general opinion of non-Skeeve books, but from what I've read in other reviews and in talking with other folks who've read the series, there's not a lot of love for the M.Y.T.H. Inc. books. The best that can be said of this one is that it sets up the events for the next one.
Back when I first read this book, I was buying the books individually as they were released (the first six having been collected in two volumes for the Science Fiction Book Club). This was the first book in the series I read that included Phil Foglio's illustrations, and since then, his portrayal of the characters has been how I see them in my head.
M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link is the first book where Asprin wrote outside of Skeeve's point of view, and it was also the first book in the series that disappointed me. Skeeve was always the heart of the gang, and it made sense that he would narrate the stories. While it was nice to see him from his co-workers' eyes, it didn't have the same kind of narrative impact to read stories that didn't feature him. Sure, the crew deserved stories of their own, but I always felt like the approach to the stories here felt less interesting, and disjointed. That feeling holds true in my re-read, as well.
As I mentioned in my last review, Skeeve is the heart of the group, the one who holds them all together, and the stories are just more interesting when told from his perspective. He portrays his own exploits honestly, even when he comes across as cold and arrogant, so there's not much sense in having the other characters fill in when he's not around. Skeeve doesn't feature in the four stories that comprise this book, so there's not much he could have told, but the other books talk of other adventures that took place in between, so why not take the same approach here? Other than getting more insight into Gleep, I didn't see that the stories were necessary enough to feature their central characters.
In the foreword to this book, Asprin mentions that he intended to make this style a regular occurrence, but it looks like he only kept it going for three books. I'm not sure if it was in response to the general opinion of non-Skeeve books, but from what I've read in other reviews and in talking with other folks who've read the series, there's not a lot of love for the M.Y.T.H. Inc. books. The best that can be said of this one is that it sets up the events for the next one.
just_fighting_censorship's review
2.0
Very unsatisfying.
This book is more episodic with the structure focused around Skeeve being the president of MYTH INC and assigning jobs to other characters. We then see those characters carry out their missions with narration that is from their perspective.
The most interesting story featrure Tananda with narration from Chumley, at least in this story we enter into a mysterious dimension. The only other story that was really worth a read was narrated by Gleep, Skeeve's pet dragon who we learn is very intellegent just unable to speak.
The rest of the book is really just filler giving the reader the feeling that this book is just setting the stage for the next one.
This book is more episodic with the structure focused around Skeeve being the president of MYTH INC and assigning jobs to other characters. We then see those characters carry out their missions with narration that is from their perspective.
The most interesting story featrure Tananda with narration from Chumley, at least in this story we enter into a mysterious dimension. The only other story that was really worth a read was narrated by Gleep, Skeeve's pet dragon who we learn is very intellegent just unable to speak.
The rest of the book is really just filler giving the reader the feeling that this book is just setting the stage for the next one.
arrogantpiano's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
tregina's review
2.0
Moving onto other POVs was a good move for the series, but breaking it into several separate stories left it unsatisfying for me. And I'm a broken record, but it's still terrible with women; in this case, I've noted the gross and unnecessary catfighting.