Simple Stories by a Simple Man

Quote:

““Terrific!” I said, and meant it for a change.”

Setting:

Set of the fictional plane of Klahd, which is a world where magic is frowned upon and demon hunters are a common site. During the story we also visit another plane called Deva, home of the Deveels which is the home of the Bazaar, a place to find whatever you might need from any of the other planes.

Plot:

Skeeve is a magicians apprentice who is failing at his studies when his teacher is assassinated right as he summons a demon. The demon then takes Skeeve under his belt as his own apprentice and the two journey off to figure out why Skeeves first teacher was assassinated.

Writing:

Robert Lynn Asprin’s writing is nothing spectacular, however it also doesn’t pull you out of it either. Basically it isn’t going to win any awards, but if you are aware of this and are reading the story just for a good time it gets the job done.

Characters:

The characters of Skeeve, Aahz, Quigley, and Tananda are all characters you want to read more about. Are they the most three dimensional? The answer to that is no, but they are characters you can enjoy and speaking as someone who read the first three books in a row, you do get hooked.

Pros:

Quick and to the point

Fun romp

Cons:

Lackluster writing

Jokes more important than anything else

Recommendation:

I’m not going to pretend that this book or this series is a stellar must read. It has its issues sure, however I will always enjoy this series despite its flaws. When I was a kid my mother read these books to me and introduced me to the type of worlds fantasy could take us away to. Due to this I will forever love this series, and from what I have read of Robert Lynn Asprin he seems like a man who was a true fan of the very fantasy genre he wrote in. When he passed, he was found with a Terry Pratchett book as he apparently died reading it. That is a kind of passion I strive to follow suit with. If we all just allowed ourselves to enjoy stuff like he did maybe we would all be able to get along a little better as we wouldn’t be so uptight and could just enjoy what we enjoy.

Score: