100 Days of Fantasy: Day 12

This is an ongoing series looking at books that have influenced one fantasy author.

Another Fine Myth
by Robert Lynn Asprin

The novel Another Fine Myth hit book store shelves in 1978, but I didn't discover it until a few years later when I was about 11 or 12. I picked up the novel initially because I was familiar with the author, Robert Lynn Asprin, though his work as the editor of the Thieves' World series of short story collections. I was a big fan of Thieves' World and the Sword and Sorcery tales found within the series, so I figured Apsrin would be as good a writer as he was editor.

I was right, too. He was a solid writer.

But I was in for a big surprise with Another Fine Myth. It wasn't Sword and Sorcery, at least not straight-up, old-fashioned, knock-down-the-door-and-kill-the-bad-guys Sword and Sorcery. Another Fine Myth was fantasy, yes, but it was comedic fantasy.

Until that point in my reading experience, I had never run across funny fantasy writing. Not only was I surprised by Asprin's novel, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Another Fine Myth is a darn funny tale. Without giving anything away, the book is the store of a small-time thief named Skeeve who is trying out his hand as a wizard's apprentice. Unfortunately for Skeeve, his teacher is slain quite early in the book, chapter one. And not only is Skeeve's teacher slain, but he's slain during a conjuring spell, a spell that unleashes a demon named Aahz. Guess who becomes Skeeve's new teacher? Aahz the demon. And from there antics ensue.

If you are ever in the mood for some lighter fantasy reading that'll leave you in stitches, you need to try out the novel Another Fine Myth. It's a stand alone book, but it is followed by 18 more novels and a number of graphic novels. If you like laughing, you won't want to miss this series.

Next up: Spellsinger, by Alan Dean Foster