M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link/Myth-Nomers and Impervections 2-In-1 (Myth 2-In-1) [Mass Market Paperback]

The Myth series of books chronicle the adventures of an apprentice mage called Skeeve and his mentor who is a Pervect called Aahz. In the six books up till this point, the plot lines were pretty straightforward and the characters developed slowly while there were lots of laughs and impossible situations. This was and is a great fun series to read when you are looking for mindless, trivial, and funny reading material.

The series started changing with the previous book and this compendium of two volumes continues the change. There is an author;s introduction in which he describes what he is trying to achieve with the books and clueing us in about the difference between a Myth book (focuses on Skeeve) and the M.Y.T.H. books (focus on the other characters). Throughout the next set of books, the author is planning on having his characters develop and grow - so he says.

The first book "M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link" is actually a collection of short stories in which we see different situations from the point of view of the various characters that have attached themselves to Skeeve. So, for instance, we learn that Tananda's temper has been known the get the best of her, with rather disasterous results. We also see Guido in a new role as a union organizer(?) and find out that Gleep is significantly more intelligent than we suspected until now. While the storylines hew to he original charter of the Myth series and are entertainingly written in different styles to showcase the talents of each of the other characters, the whole concept does not work out too well. The sections of text that attempt to tie everything together are just not that good and the end result for me was the feeling of a random collection of stories.

In the second book Skeeve deals with the apparent dissatisfaction of Aahz that causes Aahz to return to Perv. The first two thirds of the book are great and are a wonderful throwback to what makes this series so much fun to read. Manhattan is Perv and the slight exaggerations between the NYC reality and the Perv model only make it funnier (at one point in the story, Skeeve is stopped by the police because he is not rude enough!).

Unfortunately, in the last third of the book, the author turns the story into an analytical exercize in Skeeve's growing up as a person. There are lots of achingly dull passages dealing with Skeeve's feelings and his analysis of what and why things have changed in the relations between him and his friends. We are introduced to Aahz's mother and a cousin, but these are very small and unimportant and appear as merely decorations to the interminable self-ruminations. I kept wondering if there was a strong autobiographical element in this section of the book. I know that the author suffered through some difficult personal times and it probably bled through his writing.

I hope the future books moved away from this format as a continuation of these types of books will severely degrade the series.

Let me say first of all, please do not judge this series by the first book in this 2 part collection. The Myth novels are truly great, witty, light hearted, and entertaining. They are truly enjoyable to read. One of the best things in the series was the amazing cast of characters that added so well to the author's humours and spoofs. With this being said, for the sake of your enjoyment, start with the 2 books in 1 feature of the Myth series, Another Fine Myth/Myth Conceptions.

M.Y.T.H Inc Link
***
The book starts off solid and takes a little different of a turn from the rest of the series. In truth it is a collection of short stories cleverly weaved together, like in the sense of some of Ray Bradbury's short story collection(but not so masterful, creepy, or deep) and is told from the view points of various members of the crew. This is interesting, and gives a deeper look into the people we've come to know and love, but its the last part of the book that makes this book a pebble in a collection of diamonds. The author here tries to go into how the stress of running the buisness, and this has shocking changed the lovable, caring person we have come to love and is known as Skeeve. Now this is a side of Skeeve that is painful to see, and there are some dull passages relating to this side of him.

Myth-Nomers and Impervections
*****
A wonderful spoof on metropolis areas like New York, this tale is much truer to the greatness that is the Myth series. Funny and entertaining, this book you're going to enjoy.

With this being said, buy the whole series, and then judge it. Don't be surprised when you find yourself reading it again soon after you finished it though.

This series is a societal satire on american life and i really enjoyed the series back when i was 15.
If you enjoyed Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglass Adams you should enjoy this entire series.