ISBN: 1-59222-009-6 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
A humorous, frquently funny fnatasy that suffers from a transparent plot and periodic flashes of earnestness.
Reviewed by David on December 27, 2003
Genre: Fantasy (Humor, Multiple Worlds, Magic)
Synopsis: Skeeve has gotten to be famous as Skeeve the Magnificent. But in reality, he's been very fortunate in his friends. Many of the tough jobs he tackled, he could not have done by himself. In reality, his magical skills remain weak—more appropriate to the apprientice he was when his master got killed and young, scared Skeeve acquired his mentor Aahz and the coterie of friends and allies.
Skeeve has retreated to his original world of Klahd to study magic. Unfortunately, a truly desperate man tracked down his refuge and demanded help. Will Skeeve forsake his study and help? For that matter, can he help without his team, and prove that he can accomplish things on his own?
Universe: Myth
Full review: For those familiar with the series, the characters and humor of the book will be very familiar. For the new readers, much of its charm will be evident without knowing the history, although the plot of past books may enhance some of the jokes.
And jokes here are plenty: many, many puns, but also humor based on the situations and misunderstandings. The humor is skilled: despite the many books in the series, some of the jokes retain their amusement value.
On the other hand, the plot is rather thin, relying on some transparent misunderstandings. For that matter, the plot in many of these books is relatively weak, serving at least partly as a basis for the copious jokes. In addition, while the main character is changing in these books, it's happening at a glacial pace; and the rest of the characters seem frozen in time.
The lack of a strong plot, weak character development, and periodic episodes of rather painful earnestness make this book more suitable for a juvenile audience, or someone looking for light, undemanding diversion.
Incidentally, the internal drawings in the book are well done, and help visualize the characters.
Overall: 5.5; Plot: 4.5; Characters: 5.5; Style: 5.5; World-building: 4.5; Originality: 6;
Copyright date 2003, Meisha Merlin Publishing (MM), September 2003, Trade paperback, 419 pages
ISBN: 1-59222-009-6 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com