Robert Asprin

[thatdarncat]

Has anyone read the Timescout series? Any reviews? thoughts? non-spoilerish if possible, otherwise use the spoiler tags please.

I've read his Myth books and the Phules' company series, really enjoyed both. I haven't been able to find more than one of the Timescout series, and as I don't think it's the first one, I haven't read it yet

 

[Henry]

I've not read any of his Timscout series, though I've read ALL of his Myth series that I'm aware of. The third Phule's company book quite sucked, if truth be told, but that was due to the dual authorship I think more than anything. The plot of the first few chapters was denouemented and rearranged in mid-book, and they picked up on the failed carnival venture. In a nutshell, it was nowhere near the fun of the first two books.

The Myth series became fantasy Legend among my friends, due to the insane plots, the terrible puns (The Sen-Sen Ante Kid? Tanda? Skeeve?) and the really dynamic characters (Tanda and Chumley being my favorites after Aahz and Skeeve.)

Any word on what Asprin is working on now? (Besides settling an enormous tax debt, that is?)

 

[jasper]

The first two are okay with number one introducing the campaign world and having the old hero come out of retirement to save the day.
Two is better it focus on a lost timer (person from past who have stumbled on to the station) who is an up timer (oresent day person) and his difficulties at station and the past trips he takes.

Three and four are bad remake of the Jack the Ripper book which could have been a tight third book. After the fourth book I quit looking for the series and now just pick up his myth books which are the ones he does well with.

 

[Hypersmurf]

... the terrible puns (Tanda? Skeeve?)...

Okay, now I'm feeling hooribly stupid, but... can you elucidate?

I can't find the puns in those two names...

-Hyp.

 

[thatdarncat]

Okay, now I'm feeling hooribly stupid, but... can you elucidate?

I can't find the puns in those two names...

Hrmmmm I can't either?

 

[Henry]

Okay, now I'm feeling hooribly stupid, but... can you elucidate?

I can't find the puns in those two names...

-Hyp.

Okay, but you're gonna feel really bad...

Tanda, also known as Tananda as her full name, is a female troll, right? She is a Trollop, as female trolls in that setting are known. Curvaceous body, green hair, big... you know.

Tanda, broken down, is "T and A" - which I shouldn't have to go further on.

"Skeeve" is a little stranger:

skeeve adj 1. a gross, creepy, etc. person. ("He is such a skeeve.") gross person insults (list of)
skeeve (one) out v 1. to sicken; GROSS OUT. ("That guy really skeeves me out.") Submitted by Tom DeZego, Richmond, VA, USA, 23-02-1998. sicken
skeevy adj 1. gross, creepy; ICKY, etc. Term was common in Brooklyn, NY, USA in the 1950s and 1960s. ("He's so skeevy.") Submitted by Tom DeZego, Richmond, VA, USA, 23-02-1998. gross

It's perfectly in keeping with the weird humor of Aspirin, that Skeeve, the constant butt of jokes, has to go through life with a name that means "sleazy or disgusting". Then again, there is another slang term called "skeez", meaning to lie to someone, which Skeeve and Aahz did constantly; Aspirin could have meant to use "skeez" and got confused...

 

[Henry]

Just thinking back over some of the other puns from that series...

The world of Jahk, and their Big Game
Massha, Skeeve's "full-figured" apprentice
Aahz "It's PervECT, not Pervert!" from the dimension of Perv

I'm probably missing two or three...hundred.

My friends and I still tried to come up with the rules for Dragon Poker for several years - but we stopped when we saw Magic the Gathering, realizing the holy grail had been found.

 

[Psychotic Dreamer]

Ahhh, MYTH. That is a universe I'd love to roleplay in. Even if I could never match the level of puny-ness of the books.