Myth-Taken Identity

Myth Adventures #15

by Robert Lynn Asprin, Jody Lynn Nye

Someone—or something—masquerading as Skeeve the Magnificent is racking up hundreds of thousands of gold pieces of debt. It's up to Aahz the Pervect (not pervert!) to find the myth-creant and put an end to the shopping spree.

Genres: Fantasy, Humor, Fiction, Comedy, Magic, Science Fiction Fantasy, Science Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2005

About the author

Robert (Lynn) Asprin was born in 1946. While he wrote some stand alone novels such as The Cold Cash War, Tambu, and The Bug Wars and also the Duncan & Mallory Illustrated stories, Bob is best known for his series fantasy, such as the Myth Adventures of Aahz and Skeeve, the Phule's Company novels, and the Time Scout novels written with Linda Evans. He also edited the groundbreaking Thieves' World anthology series with Lynn Abbey. Other collaborations include License Invoked (set in the French Quarter of New Orleans) and several Myth Adventures novels, all written with Jody Lynn Nye.

Bob's final solo work was a contemporary fantasy series called Dragons, again set in New Orleans.

Bob passed away suddenly on May 22, 2008. He is survived by his daughter and son, his mother and his sister.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this isn't the cream of the crop for the humorous fantasy series, it DOES have some cute moments. Mall Rats take on a whole new significance. So do identity thieves.

It's definitely lite fun that rides the past of the series and does it fair justice, but honestly, it's more fan-service than anything serious. Good for what it is.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I miss the funny quotes. "
R. Asprin

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've lost track of what number book this is in the Myth Adventure series (number 15 apparently). I'm not sure that the co-writer thing is working too well. Much of the humour seems to have disappeared, the plots seem a bit forced and predictable (rather than spinning off at a tangent), and there now seems to be an awful lot of repetition. Also there are certain inconsistencies from the original series, which I have noticed creeping in.
Having read the previous books in the series, I shall persevere.
This book is mainly from Aahz's point of view, and starts will a bill collector knocking on the doors of MYTH Inc's HQ in the bazaar on Deva. It seems as though someone is masquerading as Skeeve, and running up big debts, and Aahz vows to get to the bottom of things, aided by Chumley and Maasha. We get to meet some characters from Aahz's past, which made a nice change.
A cautionary tale of credit card debt, identity theft and consumerism. Not as good as the original series I am sad to report.

[Wolfkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to give it a solid five. It's not as punny as some of the earlier myth books and the magic is ... toned down. But it more than makes up by having solid characters rather than placeholders in which to insert puns. That's the major change in the myth series from it's early roots to it's later days. Just reread this for maybe the 4th time since I found out there were more myth books than I imagined. I liked the early books which were more situational. I much prefer the books in which everyone is working at Myth Inc together. After Skeeve's retirement and everyone splitting up the books seem soaked in bittersweetness. But you get over that and it's still a great book.

[Solitairerose · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series isn't what it used to be, but it's been going for over 20 years, so you have to expect that. Asprin's writing style is submerged in this two author novel, so the pacing can be a bit slow at times

This novel relies on puns and jokes around shopping malls, suffers from a bit of a lull in the middle, but works as light fantasy reading for a quiet afternoon. There's nothing new here, but it's a nice visit with character who have been built up over t5he last 15 books.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

AN enjoyable cautionary tale of consumerism and credit card debt

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again there was some good stuff here but it got stretched out to feel much longer than I am accustomed to with these Myth Adventures- perhaps this is a function of the books now being co-written, or perhaps there wasn't as much of a market for slim 200 page novels in the mid-2000s as back in the series' heyday? At any rate nearly 10 hours of narration in Aahz's cantankerous voice (even for scenes where Aahz wasn't even present!) was more than enough for this listener.

[Strawberry Witch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one gets such a high rating just bc of the characterization. We learn more tidbits about Aahz and his backstory than we did in the first thirteen books combined. I’m guessing that’s bc Aahz is Nye’s favorite character, and it’s clear she’s pretty much taken over at this point. Asprin’s name is still on the cover but, as one reviewer pointed out, his chapter quotes are missing (I actually didn’t miss them at all), plus there’s many references to different types of clothing and styles, and I’d been noticing that Asprin didn’t seem to know what clothes were. Everyone was always wearing “tunics” with the exception of the women, who wore short skirts and thigh high boots.

The actual plot is pretty dumb. Skeeve’s credit card was apparently stolen on Limbo at some point, and these bill collectors show up at Aahz’s place looking for Skeeve. Wouldn’t they contact his bank first? Anyway, Aahz checks around to make sure Skeeve’s still pouting in his inn on Klah with his “administrative assistant,” and then grabs Massha and Chumley and heads to the Mall, where Skeeve supposedly spent $300,000 in gold. (Chumley is still purple and has tusks which I could swear is new. Didn’t he used to be orange??) They meet up with a little rat terrier type thing named Eskina who tells them she’s hunting Rattila, a janitor from her world…er, dimension…who stole a card their magicians were working on to…concentrate power? Or something? I wasn’t clear on that. It’s just a way for them to make “jokes” about the Master Card. They tried really, really hard to make that joke funny but it never was. They did a play on LOTR with there being a chant to activate the master card: “one card to rule the mall, one card to charge it; one card to something and in the darkness lodge it…” and just…”lodge it?” That doesn’t even make sense. I feel like Nye hasn’t been to a mall since like 1986. Anyway there’s a store in the mall called the Volcano, so you see where this is going.

We’re introduced to a myriad of new characters (bc anyone who reads the 15th book in a series is of course there for new characters and not the ones they already love and want to see more of), including the Djinneli brothers, who I think are supposed to be Italian, and then the Flibbers, who talk-a like-a Mario and-a I’m not-a sure what-a the pointa was?? A four armed woman floats in who’s a star on the “crystal ball network,” which is somewhat of a new anachronism that I’m not crazy about; there’s a sexy barista with tentacles; and it’s heavily implied that Aahz slept with both of them at some point, which was a fun insight into his character.

The plot goes back and forth to the antagonists POV, which is somehow even more obnoxious than it was in the last book. Also, nobody stopped to think that these mall rats are actual rats and therefore do rat things like live in basements? Oh, so apparently the way it works is that the mall rats steal your credit card, then use the power of the Master Card to shapeshift into that person. I mean, I guess that makes sense. So Aahz runs around chasing a Skeeve clone and getting sad every time he looks into his big blue eyes. They have about a million chances to catch him but keep fucking it up. Then one of the mall rats casually chats to Massha about how she likes blue jewelry and that’s now enough to shapeshift into her? And there’s 8 Skeeve’s running around? So I guess you…don’t need a card now? What? None of this makes any sense as I’m typing it out. Also, Rattila is trying to gain power by draining the cards of powerful magicians and that’s why he favors Skeeve’s card so much, but Skeeve sucks as a magician. He knows like, two spells. Whatever. Anyway Aahz beats him up and gets a new chair and they all live happily ever after.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like Myth Alliances, this novel veers from the usual Myth Adventures formula by including first-person and third-person narration. In addition, it tells the first-person part of the story from Aahz's point of view, but it doesn't feel like the Aahz from Asprin's solo novels. I guess it makes sense -- we only see Aahz how Skeeve sees him, but now we get to see what's going on with him without seeing him through someone else's perspective.

Myth-taken Identity feels less pointless than Myth Alliances, but it doesn't make the story any more exciting. Much of the book is about Aahz, Massha, and the rest of their team looking for the people who are using Skeeve's credit card to stop them ruining his reputation. There's a lot of running around and going in circles, without much plot development happening. I felt like a lot of the story could have been cut without interfering with the plot, but by and large, the story is a big improvement over Myth Alliances, even if it's not as much fun as the original books.

Aahz doesn't feel like Aahz here. I think the authors are trying to give us insight into how he feels about Skeeve, but it feels insincere. It's not that I don't think Aahz cares, but the authors seem to work too hard to show us how much he cares, ignoring the fact that Aahz covers up his emotion with a lot of blister. Maybe it's unavoidable, given that he's telling the story, but it fails to feel like a Myth Adventures novel because Aahz doesn't feel right.

On the other hand, we get more insight into Massha, which is a relief. Massha was a developed character in the solo Asprin novels, but I always felt like her appearance and her weight were what Asprin wanted to focus most on. Here, we get someone who's more body-positive, and I can't help but feel like that's Nye's input into the story. Asprin always made Massha smart, but he seemed to have a hard time overlooking her physical appearance; I think a woman's input into the character is valuable, and helps make the story and the character better.

Even though this is an improvement over Myth Alliances, I still don't see this half of the series as necessary reading. It still lacks the charm, fun, and wit of the original books, but since I've committed this far to them, I'm going to see them through to the end. I'll let you know if anything changes.

[Patricia Hamill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but way longer than it needed to be.

I received this book as a gift from my husband. He was poking around on Amazon and noticed this series had more books. We'd both thought that was done with since the author (Aspirin) passed away, but apparently he wrote a few more and transitioned the series into the hands of another author (Nye) before then.

Anyhow, about the book. It's pretty much what I was expecting: a bit of fantasy, a lot of puns, and some humorous multi-dimension sleuthing. If you like that sort of thing, I think you'll like this. I'm a big fan of the Myth series, but though I liked this book, I didn't love it.

It seemed like the authors were working towards a word count, trying to stretch the story to what is more readily accepted as novel length. It didn't really work, though. About halfway through, I felt like the story should be wrapping up, but it just spun off into another approach to the problem the characters were facing. And even when the thing seemed near resolution, the final chase was drawn out to the point I had no problem setting the book down for the night.

So, overall, it's a mildly amusing story with some cute characters, lots more content than needed, and not quite the spark that Aspirin's earlier Myth stories emit. I liked it, but I couldn't say I'd drop everything to read it again.

[Elmer Foster · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have thoroughly enjoyed the M.Y.T.H. Inc series.
Alas, this installment (#15) left me feeling irritated either from the limited participation of the Myth cast or perhaps the lame setting of "The Mall", or indoor Bazaar as it was once called.

The voice, although initially Bob Aspirin's, felt canned in a sense. From every response issued by Massha sounding as if a thesaurus was used to provide new interjections, to Aahz correcting Pervert to Pervect every other interaction (and way more times than really necessary.) Different but similar. Chumley was under utilized, in my opinion. Perhaps the wrong team mate to have included. Although the better choice would not have been between team members but storyline and location overall.

Everything felt forced from the minions naming convention, to the numerous mall references to inform this lackluster plot. The new cast was barely introduced, sadly they weren't really developed but a couple would make quality additions to the crew if fleshed out and/or finished.

Not my favorite Myth-adventure. Nothing new was gained from reading about Aahz, Massha, and Chumley which is a shame.

Thanks for reading.

[Paul Riches · Rating 3 out of 5]

MYTH INC and Me



A million years back, my older brother picked up a fantasy comedy novel, one that he heard was pretty good, and in typical fashion right after he finished it, I picked it up, and then our younger brother.  Our parents loved when we did this, and then discussed and debated the books endlessly.  This kept on with this one series until years later, when the writer kinda went into more depressing territory and the books became less fun, more of a chore. 

So I stopped reading them, while my brothers kept going, and I had no clue how many books were coming out.  But a year or so back I grabbed most of the rest of the series from them and plunged back in. 

Now this was an experience. 

So what I am babbling about is The Myth Inc Series by the late author Robert Asprin, a fantasy comedy which starts off a medieval place called Klahd, which is pronounced Clod, and a young man named Skeeve who is being trained as a magician.  His master pulls a trick, and is then promptly assassinated, and suddenly Skeeve is left to deal with a green scaly demon man his master conjured up.  Turns out, he is an old friend of the wizard, and has been left powerless by the trick.  Aahz, which is pronounced Oz and is no relation, agrees to team up as Master and Apprentice with Skeeve. 

Thus begins an interesting partnership, as Skeeve and Aahz get a pet dragon, fight a war for a kingdom, join the mob but do no moblike stuff, hop from dimension to dimension, meet vampires, play dragon poker, and meet a ton of new allies who fast become friends.  We get the sexy Tanda the assassin, her brother Chumley the troll, Guido and Nunzio Skeeve’s mob bodyguards, and even more and more as the series progresses.  And we get pun filled titles like Myth Conceptions and Little Myth Marker.  By the time we reach M.Y.T.H. Inc Link, Asprin decides to switch the narrator from Skeeve to all sorts of the rest of the cast.  It is a nice switch up for the series, but could not stop the mountains of subplots spinning everywhere and how stuff had become depressing in some places. 

However one thread that was a bright spot all along was the occasional cartoon, showing scenes from the story, in the trade paperbacks by Phil Foglio, who also did the comics adaptation of the first book. 

Where I exactly left off from decades ago was my first challenge, and a reread of M.Y.T.H. Inc In Action reveals I left this one two chapters short of finishing.  The re-invasion of the kingdom has been settled, largely thanks to Guido and Nunzio joining the army and sabotaging it from the inside. 

With a whole bunch of subplots resolved, we move into my first completely new read of the series this century, Sweet Myth-tery of Life, where Skeeve has brought Aahz back from his dimension of Perv after they had a big falling out.  Now Skeeve has received a marriage proposal from Queen Hemlock and goes back to wondering about love.  Oh, and he needs to fix the kingdoms finances.  And more subplots get resolved.  But it is also gets kinda repetitive. 

Which leads to Something M.Y.T.H. Inc, where the multiple narrator shtick is back as the kingdom is in rebellion against the tyrant who raised taxes, that evil one time Court Magician Skeeve!  The Myth gang set out to quell the insurrections, who are remarkedly like Zorro and Robin Hood, and not let Skeeve know what is going on.  This one takes place at the same time as the last one.  And this one starts off really really good, then falls apart.  And all the subplots get figured out and Skeeve moves into a new place in life, so that the series can rebuild, which leads to….

Myth-Ion Improbable, a flashback tale to Skeeve and Aahz and Tanda going on a treasure hunt in a far off dimension.  It is cute at best.  And the big relaunch happens with…. 

Myth-Told Tales.  Or not.  Asprin gets an official co-writer here with Jody Lynn Nye, and the many narrators idea is back, but it is really just short stories.  It is a mixed bag, like any collection, and still like treading water until whatever the new reality is.  Methinks Asprin and Nye may not have hit it off right away, and this format was a compromise just to keep the Myth series going.  Nye has a track record as a writer before this book, and I believe a real affection for these characters, so I kinda wish Asprin would just hand the series over to her, since he seems not so into it. 

Myth Alliances is a Skeeve without Aahz book, where Skeeve and Bunny, his sexy and super smart assistant, have to free the dimension of Wuhses from a group of Perv business women who have become dictators.  Or have they?  This one starts very promising, then keeps going on and on, but still gives a pretty spectacular ending. 

This leads to the Aahz centered book Myth-Taken Identity, where he finds out someone has stolen Skeeve’s id and is wrecking his good name in the mall dimension.  No one does that to his former apprentice and good friend!  This one is just like the last one, starts off well, meanders quite abit, then finishes strong. 

It feels like Nye takes over more with Class Dis-Mythed, where Skeeve is asked by various people to teach a whole bunch of apprentices in magic.  It is a learning curve for Skeeve, and one for the students, and we get a whole bunch of cameos from other characters from the series, some being very very surprising.  Their is a secret the students are keeping through, which leads to the surprise ending chapters.  I really dig the new characters and hope they make reappearances in future books. 

So it seems like whatever Asprin and Nye got working, is really working, and Myth-Gotten Gains is proof of that.  Aahz finds a magic talking sword in a bazaar and is promised money AND getting his powers back if he helps find his family of magical objects.  Turns out they are The Golden Hoard, an ancient and all powerful group who don’t really get along.  Aahz and Tanda travel all over, find the Flute and the Purse and the Book and the Crystal Ball.  And Aahz and Tanda are completely driven crazy by the Hoard’s constant bickering and insults and attitude.  I loved these new additions and their banter read in my head like a Monty Python skit. 

This new groove moves us into Myth-Chief, where Skeeve comes back to adventuring and his Myth Inc aren’t all happy.  So eventually Skeeve and Aahz have a contest with two competing but not so competing goals, to save a kingdom from financial ruin.  Unfortunately, this one backslides to being too long, unfocused, and only one part of the ending making sense.  Their is hope, since the new dynamic of Myth n Inc is finally in place here. 

This is also the last one my brothers got, but Asprin and Nye gave us one more with Myth-Fortunes, and then suddenly Asprin passed away.  Nye continued on with Myth-Quoted and Myth-Fits.  I have no idea what happens in these volumes, or how these go generally with Nye fully in charge. 

Even with the mixed results of this catchup, I am still glad I did it.  It was nice to see how these old friends were doing, and seeing that they were in good hands with Nye.  I think Asprin would be happy.  And my brothers and I can debate this endlessly as well. 

Scoopriches 

[Lumos Ktbspa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not Asprin. This book is absolute female. Idk. And it's too long for such a story. It'd better be 70% shorter.

[Robbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm rounding up from 2.5 stars. This wasn't horrible but it wasn't a good Myth book. For one thing, I didn't recognize these characters: they may have been named Aahz, Massha, and Chumly but they really weren't what had been built up over the decades. I thought that the story felt a little too contrived, especially with the bad guys getting away so easily. I was also disappointed that there was so little scheming; that was kind of what the adventures of Aahz and Skeeve were really about: using their brains to get into and out of trouble. The writing also wasn't up to snuff: aside from being really wordy and repetitive, it didn't know when to move the plot forward or, for that matter, when to stick to it and not get sidetracked describing a nice outfit. It was also too busy: throwing in a lot of new species and characters whenever without much in the way of character or humor behind them. I think that the thing that turned me off the most, though, was the fact that so many of the characters spoke in dialect that was written unevenly and unconvincingly. I might pick up the thread with the next book at some point, but I think that it's time for me to set the Myth Adventuers aside and look into other books.

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 15 of the Myth Adventure series. This novel focuses on old friends with the central character being Aahz. This is a tell of old friends, while missing Skeeve. Hilarity ensues as well Chase down magical credit card identity theft. This is a strong, must not miss. If you love the series this will tickle that Myth Inc funny bone and leave you wanting more. Another strong add to the series and continues to be safe for all ages of readers. ​

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com

[D.L. Morrese · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an odd MYTH book in that it does not have Skeeve in it. Not the real Skeeve, anyway. Although it does have a few doppelgangers, and Aahz, and Chumley and Maasha and, well, many of the gang from the previous books. This time, they are trying to stop a gang of thieves who have been stealing merchandise and identities at a huge mall.
It remains a fun series.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best humorous fantasy series around. Others writing humorous fantasy stories today would do well to learn from Robert Lynn Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye. This series in particular is really well done with some great world building, fantastic characters and seriously funny stories. Still the king of the mountain.

[midnightbookreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantasy Mystery-Adventure
This is what Myth Alliances (book 14) wanted to do. Successfully giving a dual-perspective with the enemy. Book 13 dropped the ball in revealing everything that was occurring. This novel still kept a mystery to the plot. If you are a fan of the series then this is definitely one of its higher points.
3.5/5

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this one but there were times I was ok, get it together. It was from Aahz point of view. The idea of the all-powerful MasterCard was so funny. Especially the chant to make it work. (Think of the one ring) Overall funny, funny book.

[Wolverinefactor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This felt like a return to form but it also felt a little long in the tooth. I’m not sure I love these longer books as I enjoyed the bite size adventure of the others. I also missed having a real Skeeve here

[Nighteye · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book, the're more seious now Asprins book but there are still great stories.

[Anthony Faber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Same as the other myth books

[Rosse · Rating 1 out of 5]

Отвратительно. Ну то есть и это персонажи Асприна? Серьезно? В общем чот это было последнее.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a bit worried about this,it was my first MYTH with two authors. Needn't have, if anything it's crisper than the last few Robert wrote solo

[Tiff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this edition by Ahz and really got into the action! another great read!

[Kevin Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the earlier books, a bit long-winded and drawn out. The co-writing may have had something to do with it.

[John Barclay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty far downhill from the start of this series. WAY too repetitive and dull and just not funny.

[Ints · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mīta sērijas piecpadsmitā grāmata; šogad esmu atspēries šo sēriju pabeigt. Laika vēl ir diezgan, lai tas notiktu bez piespiešanās, un arī uz jauno grāmatas līdzautori es lieku lielas cerības.

Kādu dienu pie Āza mājas ierodas parādu piedzinēji. Izrādās, ka Skīvs ir iepircies lielveikalā ar viltotu kredītkarti, kura izrādījusies bez seguma. Veikalnieki ir nolēmuši piedzīt simtiem tūkstošu zelta gabalu lielo parādu. Āzam gribot negribot ir jāķeras klāt šīs lietas atrisināšanai. Viņam ir aizdomas, ka Skīvs nemaz nav vaininieks, bet īstais vaininieks tikai izmanto Stīva izskatu.

Skīva šajā grāmatā nav (viņu ir daudz, bet tie ir dubultnieki), viss stāstījums notiek no Āza skatu punkta. Viņš organizē komandu, kuras uzdevums ir atrast Mall dimensijā ļaundari. Šis ļaundaris taču tēlo Skīvu un maitā reputāciju. Āzam šī ir personīga lieta, un viņš uzskata, ka Skīvu te labāk iekšā nejaukt.

Grāmata ir par iepirkšanos, atlaidēm, pircēju aptaujām un kredītkartēm. Kā jau ierasts autori ir paņēmuši kādu mūsu zemes problēmu un uzpūtuši to savā stāstā neiedomājamos apjomos. Kas notiktu, ja aizpildot anketu klienta lojalitātes kartei ar tavu izpausto informāciju pietiktu, lai tevi varētu nokopēt? Un pēc tam izmantojot šo tavu kopiju izsūkt tevi sausu, gan no naudas, gan no personības. Dimensijā, kurā valda maģija tas nav nekas neiespējams. Neuzmanīgi atbildi par savu mīļāko krāsu un viss, tu jau esi zombijs, kura dzīves mērķis ir iepirkšanās. Mūsu pasaulē tas saucas personalizēts piedāvājums, no kura ir grūti atteikties.

Grāmata ir iestiepta, kādas sešdesmit lapaspuses par daudz. Apjoma dēļ Āzam nācās kāpt uz viena un tā paša grābekļa vairākas reizes. Bija jāpiever acis uz acīmredzamo, citādi viss būtu atrisinājies ļoti ātri. Otra grāmatas problēma - tā ir piecpadsmitā sērijā, un neko būtiski jaunu šajā daudzdimensiju pasaulē autori vairs nespēj ienest.

Bet labās lietas ir – Master Card – vienkārši izcils artefakts, kurš dod spēku ne tikai tiešā, bet arī pārnestā nozīmē. Neveiksminieks apkopējs, kurš grib kļūt par lielu burvi. Tik mērķtiecīgu ļauno tēlu reti gadās sastapt. Jā, viņam pietrūkst organizatora spējas un prāta, bet viņam ir skaidri mērķi. Un Victoria’s Secret patiesībā ir Masha’s Secret spinofs mūsu dimensijā.

Grāmatai lieku 6 no 10 ballēm. Lasās joprojām ātri, humoriņš vietām ir pat smieklīgs, un iepirkšanās slimība attēlota ļoti labi. Cerēšu, ka nākamās grāmatas saglabās vismaz šādu pašu līmeni. Lasīt gan ieteiktu tikai cilvēkiem, kas izlasījuši iepriekšējās.

[John Loyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Myth-taken Identity (2004) 294 pages by Robert Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye.

In this caper, Aahz, Chumley and Massha go to The Mall to investigate why a bill collector showed up at M.Y.T.H. Inc. saying that Skeeve had run up an incredibly large bill and not paid it. They find out that someone or group has been able to somehow use a person's credit card to impersonate that person.

The book introduces a couple of characters from Aahz's past (before he met Skeeve) and several more that were shopowners, mall security, Eskina a detective from Ratalan who had tracked Ratilla (the baddie) to this dimension. It turns out that Ratalan is a magic poor world and they were making an invention, a card that would soak up magic. Ratilla was a night janitor, got his hands on the card, and fled to The Mall. Where he became king over the mall-rats. The mall-rats had always been into petty theft, but now the were, with Ratilla's help, stealing big time.

There was some homage to Tolkien, the "Master-Card" was like the one ring. The rats when they used the cards that allowed them to shapechange, kind of took on the personality of the person they were victimizing. The chant to invoke the cards were similar to the rings. And at the end of the book, they said that the card was too powerful and needed to be destroyed and to do it they had to throw it into a volcano.

Aahz and crew come up with one plan, after another. Seeming to get a little closer then it falls apart, until the climax when they finally catch the crook.

I thought they needed to explaing the mechanism of the card and the people who were being copied a bit better. First it was people who used credit cards had some of their essence in the card. It wasn't clear if those people had lost their real credit card or not, and by the middle of the story, all they had to do was talk to someone for a few minutes, learn a little bit of personal information and they could create a duplicate with one of their fake cards.

The people seemed to stay in character, I had a little trouble following the logic of how this piece of magic worked. The book was good, but a step down from the first 10 or so of the series.

[Chappy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maaaan, why do they keep cutting out characters?? I understand the series has hit a Segway and we are going in new directions with plot and overall story arc but I miss everyone being together (yes it's gotten to that point) MYTH-inc took so long to form and then it just disbanded after a few books.
There are still several books 📚 to go in this series, so let's hope everyone gets back to where they are suppose to be, together kicking ass.
There is always something new to love about the series, new characters (not that they hang around for long) new dimensions to travel to, and always a new business venture to look into.
This story had a lot to enjoy; laughs, adventure and a story that lasted a lot longer than a regular myth adventure. jody lynn nye did an amazing job with Robert asprin and with the series, it's a new start for an excellent adventure full of heart, warmth and relentless energy.
So I'm happy to report that I'll still be reading this series for a few years to come, before starting to reread it ofcourse.