Nitpickers' Guide to Robert Asprin's Myth-series
Contributors

Sarang Gupta (sarang@sarangworld.com) (initial work, anything not otherwise marked, {sg} where possible confusion exists) 


Yuri M. Kogut (kogut@iastate.edu) (indicated by '{yk}' or full name) 


Cindy Wells (wells@aries.scs.uiuc.eu) ('{cw}' or full name) 


Valerie Kramer (funzone@harborside.com) ('{vk}' or full name) 


Patrik J (d94-pja@nada.kth.se) ('{pj}' or full name) 


Katherine Bunting (buntin_k@cc.denison.edu) ('{kb}' or full name) 


Scott Ashley (scotta@mainelink.net) ('{sa}' or full name) 


Ian B. (idbrod@mail.wm.edu) ('{ib}' or full name) 


James A. Whitney (jwhitn1@uic.edu) ('{jw}' or full name) 


Charles B. Whitney (Charles.B.Whitney-1@tc.umn.edu) ('{cw2}' or full name) 


Sean Sinclair (sean@sun.sws.uiuc.edu) ('{ss}' or full name) 


Robert Cook (cook@sos.net) ('{rc}' or full name) 


Matt Nelson (mnelson@ns.poweramp.net) ('{mn}' or full name) 


Wei-Hwa Huang (whuang@ugcs.caltech.edu) ('{wh}' or full name) 


Thor Antrim (torgo@tidepool.com) ('{ta}' or full name) 


MB (Qwert5555@aol.com) ('{mb}') 

General Nitpicks


NOTE: This section includes nitpicks that transcend one book and also nitpicks submitted by others when I haven't a chance to look up page numbers and place them in the proper section. 


Tanda might be short for "Tananda", but it can also be parsed into "T and A", short for "tits and ass", often used to describe pictures of attractive, scantily-clad (or completely unclad) women; it's possible this is just a coincidence. 


The Incredible Shrinking Aahz: Aahz shrinks as the series goes on (will add more on this later). {ib} also notes that Aahz's face changes completely between the paperback cover of "Another Fine Myth" where he looks demonic and "Myth Conceptions" and "Myth Directions" where he looks almost human; also, as {rc} points out, Aahz towers over Skeeve and Tanda on the cover of "Another Fine Myth", but has shrunk considerably on the cover of the next two books (of course, Skeeve is growing also, but the change shouldn't be that signifigant). {wh} points out that in his very first description, Aahz is shorter than Skeeve, which doesn't agree well with future descriptions. Similarly, though Tanda is described as having a "luscious mane of green hair", on some covers, she wears it in a ponytail. 


Money (this entire section quoted directly from Yuri M. Kogut (kogut@iastate.edu) with only minor changes): 


The most inconsistent subject in these stories is money value. You remember Skeeve's first salary, 300 gold. And how he hired mercenaries for 1 gold and they thought it high? And Skeeve ends with much more than 10 million! Their fees weren't all that high, too. In the episode with stealing from factory [M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link], 0.5% of the decrease in stolen amount which is maximum 12% of a total of a medium 7-digit is only 2,500. If we assume only 10% of sales was Deveel's profit (unbelievably low for a Deveel), the figure becomes 25,000. And they charged less. They might've got up to a million for keeping Mob out of the Bazaar but converting that to 10 million plus even with Bunny's skills is incredible. Of course, we can assume 1000% inflation but there's not a hint of that (Perv doesn't have high inflation, either, only high prices). 


{kb} notices that Tanda's brother's name is spelled both Chumly and Chumley. Similarly, Skeeve's apprentice's name is spelled Maasha and Massha. I {sg} noted the same thing in Mythnomers and Impervections, where Skeeve's cabbie's name is alternately spelled Edvick and Edvik, but hadn't noticed the others. {ib} notices that 'magik' is sometimes spelled 'magic', another running mythprint, while {cw2} points out that both Skeeve's king ('Rodrick' vs 'Roderick') and kingdom ('Possiltum' vs 'Possletum') also have multiple spellings, along with Brockhurt's partner ('Higgens' vs 'Higgins')! Thanks, {kb}, {ib}, and {cw2}! 


In Myth Inc. In Action, Guido refers again to his MBA, and mentions the "high class broads ... executive types" (not an exact quote) at Abdul's Sushi and Bait Shop; considering that Guido is a native of Klah, and that Klah is so pre-industrial as to not have electricity nor corporations (all shops are one-man storefronts), how could it have not only executives, but also business schools?! (Thanks to {cw2} for this section) 


{ib} notes: Skeeve refers to the "all-too-frequent down-elevator feeling in the pit of my stomach"; how does Skeeve know what an elevator is? Even if Deva has them (unlikely since Skeeve makes no mention of tall buildings on Deva), he would probably think of them as some unusual contraption, much as he does the float on Jahk or to Aahz's references to "bite the bullet" and "we drop back ten and punt". 


{ib} also points out the fundamental inconsistency in the series; Garkin uses joke powder to rob Aahz of his powers; for several years now, Skeeve and Aahz have been unable to find an antidote (even though they found someone who sells it, since Aahz used it against Isstvan). Unless we assume Garkin meant to keep Aahz powerless (unlikely), even a search of Garkin's hut should've turned up an antidote; and it's frankly amazing that the Bazaar at Deva where you can find anything imaginable, doesn't have an andidote either. Another possible solution to the Joke Powder Inconsistency (also from {ib}: Aahz says he'll get someone to remove the spell on Perv if Skeeve would send him back there (ha, ha, ha). You'd think he would have taken care of this when he ran off in _Myth-Nomers & Impervections_. In some sense, this is the 'basic untruth' for this series-- all fiction has one underlying premise, and for the Myth-series, this is it; however, after 10 books, Asprin might want to finally address this issue! 


In Sweet Mythtery of Life, Bunny(?) claims to have heard "through the rumor mill" Skeeve was drunk during a fight on Perv, as recounted in Mythnomers and Impervections. {cw2} notes this information is unusually accruate, considering the only one who knew Skeeve was drunk was Kalvin, an invisible djinn that no one else could see (he was sober by the time RJ showed up). Although it's possible that Skeeve told Edvick about the incident, it's hard to believe that Edvick would spread this news and that it could reach Deva(?) so quickly. 


In Mythnomers and Impervections, the Pervish police mention they have "conflicting reports" (both actualyl true) about Skeeve being a member of the Mob versus Skeeve keeping the Mob out of Deva. It's surprising the well-informed Devan Merchant's Council hasn't heard these same reports and/or not acted on them! (thanks to {cw2} for this section) 


{cw2} points out that Badaxe introduces Maasha to Skeeve (disguised as King Rodrick) as the court magician of Ta-hoe, although she's actually the court magician of Veygus. Maasha used to be the court magician of Veygus, but that was before she and Badaxe (and for that matter, before she and Skeeve) met. 


In M.Y.T.H. Inc. in Action, Guido said he was unaware that Frumple was unwelcome on Deva (page 170). He was told flat out by the Deveel that his name "is Frumple, or it used to be back when I was welcome in...Deva" (page 104). {ib} 


When Aahz and Skeeve are running from the angry mob in Another Fine Myth, Aahz is willing to use the fire ring to scorch their pursuers. However, he never suggests that Skeeve create a ward (which he learned how to do earlier) to either protect them or harm the mob. Of course, Aahz may not have been thinking completely clearly at the time! {mb} 



Another Fine Myth (page numbers from Ace paperback)


General: Aahz & Skeeve have no trouble communicating, except for units of time. Why would Pervects have mastered the language of "a backwater dimension" like Klah when they require translator pendants elsewhere? (It's understandable why the Deveels have mastered it.) He can't be translating magically, since he's blocked with Joke Powder. {ib}
Aahz begins dressing in Skeeve's extra clothes at the start of chapter 4. On the cover, he is walking with (Skeeve and) Tananda and Gleep, who don't join the party until ch 18 & 17 respectively. Yet Aahz is only wearing underwear on the cover!! Oops! {ib}
Another solution to Isstvan--while at the Bazaar, by a GUN. Since lasers, guided missiles, and heat-seaking, armor-piercing quarrels have all been mentioned, it's reasonable to assume that guns exist, too. (Bargain with the Deevels for a silencer!) 


page 13: After learning that Skeeve is Garkin's apprentice, Aahz offers to shake Skeeve's hand. However, we later learn that Aahz never shakes apprentice's hands. Of course, Garkin is dead, so Skeeve is technically Garkin's former apprentice, which might make it all right. 


page 15: Aahz is mystified by the double-sided assasssin's cloak on p 15, yet on p 34, he says his knowledge of how assassins worked came from having "[gone] with one for a while...[a] lovely lass who couldn't keep her mouth shut, even in bed." (1) Might this be Tananda? (2) Having "went with one," he should have known about the cloaks, even if he didn't use one himself. {ib} 


page 16: Aahz understands Skeeve's pronunciation of "devil" to mean "Deveel", but can't understand "Isstvan" to mean "Isstvan". 


page 30: Skeeve notes that "I was taller than [Aahz]" when finding clothing for him; the cover illustration shows Aahz towering over Skeeve. Similarly, the Aahz on the cover looks nothing like the Aahz on other covers, and bears little resemblance to his description in the book. 


page 50: Skeeve tells Quigley, "Garkin's no demon". Actually, Garkin is a dimension-traveller and thus a demon. However, this is not really a nitpick, since Quigley doesn't know what a demon is, and Skeeve certainly wouldn't clarify it for him! {wh} disagrees, quoting Aahz, "look kid, if you were in my dimension, you'd be a demon. I'm in yours, so I'm a demon". This suggests that dimension travellers must be on another dimension to be considered a demon. (in M.Y.T.H. Inc. in Action (?), Frumple accuses Guido/Nunzio and cohorts of being demons; however, he might've suspected they were in disguise). 


page 51: "Alfans De Clario" is a reference to something, but I don't know what. 


page 77: The Illumanati won't allow me to explain the "Gnomes of Zoorik" reference on this page. {ta} 


page 90: Aahz refers to "Abdul the Rug Dealer", which sounds a bit like "drug dealer". This might be a coincidence, although Aahz could have also said 'rug merchant' or 'rug seller'. 


page 93: Skeeve refers to Aahz's capacity for alcohol as "astounding in an era noted for heavy drinkers". Is Skeeve really such a fan of history that he knows which eras are noted for which traits? 


page 123: Skeeve says he was upset over being "hung". He means "hanged", of course. 


page 127: Frumple may've been banned from Deva for fraud, as shown by his willingness to break his agreement with Aahz (he agreed to restore Aahz's powers in exchange for a service). Deveels may drive hard bargains and fulfill them deviously, but they do not simply dishonor contracts; in Mything Persons, Hayner (of the Devan Chamber of Commerce) affirms that fraud is a serious offense on Deva. 


page 133: I skipped nitpivcking the typo's, but this is a gem. Over one million copies, and still no proofreader... "A small ripple of applause rippled through the audience" (133). {ib} 


page 139: Skeeve gains an advantage over the dragon keeper when the keeper mistakes Skeeve for someone else; this scene is confusing because it's unclear if the keeper is acting (knowing that he has no recourse) or actually has confused Skeeve for someone else. 


page 145: The Devan shopkeeper mentions "a new ordinance we passed" (about making Pervish restaurants move). Later, in Hit or Myth, Skeeve tells Shaister that Deva has no laws (Skeeve also learns about another Devan law in Mything Persons, but that incident occurs after Hit or Myth). 


page 176: Skeeve thinks, "I wondered for a moment where demons slept, if they slept at all". By now, Skeeve knows 'demon' is just short for dimension-traveller, and that Aahz and Tanda are both demons-- he shouldn't be confused about demonic sleeping habits! 


page 200: Aahz allows Skeeve one night of celebration, stating "bright and early tommorow, we start working in earnest". You'd think a night of celebration would at least include waking late the next day. 



Myth Conceptions (page numbers from Ace paperback)


page 44: Skeeve refers to Aahz's disguise as 'the "disreputable character" disguise'. At all other times in the book, however, it's 'the "dubious character" disguise.' 


page 49: Skeeve is worried about his new job taking on an army before the salary negotiations. Couldn't he just get Aahz to demand an unrealistically high salary and back out of it? This isn't particularly ethical, but I'm surprised the possibility isn't mentioned. 


page 55: Badaxe refuses to help Skeeve on the grounds that it would show "magik is more effective than military force in [defense]." Actually, it would show that magic and military combined are effective. Then again, Badaxe's thinking might not be that clear <G>. 


page 64: Grimble threatens Skeeve with death if he "should ... fail in [his] defense of Possiltum". Unless Grimble knew of Skeeve's plan to "take the money and run", wouldn't he assume failure would mean death anyway, since he expects Skeeve to fight to the death? 


page 106: Ajax calls Brockhurst a "Pinko." This was a nickname for a Communist sympathizer (who wasn't Communist himself) during the Red Scare/McCarthy Era.{ib} ({wh} notes that of course this is probably just because Brochhurst has pink skin). 


page 130: Skeeve says he recalls Aahz getting the best of Brockhurst the last time those two squared off for a bargaining session. This was in Myth Conceptions, when Aahz not only explained away taking most of the loot before Brockhurst and Higgins had arrived at Garkins' hut, but ALSO got them to give up the additional loot they had taken. (thanks to Cindy Wells (wells@aries.scs.uiuc.eu) for refreshing my memory on this one) 


page 131: "Queen of the May" is a reference to the Old English holiday, May Day, traditionally celebrated on May 1st of each year. During the festival, which usually consisted of music and gaming, participants would vote and elect a "Queen of the May"-- sort of like a 'Prom Queen'-- a girl or young woman who was the most beautiful, or the best dancer, etc. Aahz's reference: he is implying that it is as unlikely that the soldier in question was 'officer material' that Aahz is Prom Queen of an 18th-century English festival! (thanks to {kb} for explaining this!) 


page 139: Skeeve would not know the cliche "call the shots" to mean "make decisions." (Book 1--Aahz: Time to bite the bullet and play the cards we're dealt. You do know what cards are, don't you? Skeeve: Of course. What's a bullet?) 


page 180: Tanda comments she didn't know a disguise spell worked. As a magician, even if she didn't know the spell, you would think she'd be at least familiar with it and how it worked! 

{vk} notes: 'Tananda is an assassin, not a magician. She explains somewhere that she has picked up "a few tricks" by hanging around magicians. This explains her erratic knowledge of magic.' 


page 180: Tanda corrects "a whole pack of demons" to "Perverts". But since Perverts are demons, she was also right the first time. 


page 181: Skeeve comments you can't kill demons by hanging them because their neck muscles are too strong. Demon is just short for "dimension-traveller"; Skeeve meant to say Perverts can't be killed in that way. 

{vk} points out I meant to say "Pervects" not "Perverts". Wouldn't want to offend any green, scaly demons with sharp teeth now! 



Myth Directions


General: {sg} has not nitpicked this book yet; all comments are from other nitpickers. Thanks to {ib} for a great start to this section!
Tananda sent Skeeve in to get the trophy right after the group of Vey-gans went in to steal it. Even though she didn't know the trophy was stolen, she should have realized the Vey-gans triggered the Nightengale floor--the same one she had just explained to Skeeve. She DESERVED to get hit on the head for that oversight! {ib}
Time flows at different rates in different dimensions, a point made later in the series. Apparently Jahk subscribes to "Klah Standard Time;" the Demons allow 30 days for preparations and arrive *right* before the start of the Big Game.{ib}
Skeeve was surprised about the crossbowmen present to enforce the rules, claiming never to have been informed of how the rules were enforced. He was. The Geek said "Players can't use edged weapons on each other. Offenders will be shot down on the spot" (page 138), to which Skeeve replied "sensible rule" as he "swallowed hard." {ib}
How did Skeeve manage to hear Quigley's "catchy phrases" of demon repulsion above the din of the stadium? {ib} 
Gleep's "forked tongue" always resembles a human's on the covers of books 3-5, the only times it is shown. {ib} 


page 4: Aahz fought the 200 Year War against a magician named Diz-Ne. Shall we assume no relation to Walt Disney? {ib} 


page 45: When Skeeve D-Hopped out of the trophy building to return home, he experienced "the now familiar rush of darkness", yet when he D-Hopped out of Frumple's hut in book 1, the walls "dissolved in a kaleidescope of color" (page 128). {ib} 


page 117: Skeeve notes that Maasha "swallowed [Aahz's indignant protest] hook, line, and sinker." On page 54 he doesn't even recognize that Griffin is fishing--"holding one end of a short stick [with] a string that ran from the stick's other end to the pond." This is stretching it a little bit. {ib} 


page 144: Skeeve discovers a way to teleport via the D-Hopper on p144. I assume that's how he gets Gleep out of the bedroom at the end of the story.{ib} 


page 145: "To the casual observer, [Big Julie] might seem nothing more than a spindly old man basking in the sun". Did he get old quickly! {ib} 

Hit or Myth (Ace paperback)


page 14: Rodrick tells Skeeve that he had a vacation in mind when he hired Skeeve for the position of court magician. Aside from the fact kings can't take vacations, I distinctly remember that Skeeve was hired to fight a war! (Yuri M. Kogut (kogut@iastate.edu) points out that though Skeeve was hired to fight a war, Rodrick might have had other duties in mind for him also) 


page 15: Skeeve says his magic once got him "hung". He means "hanged" of course. 


page 18: Skeeve refers to Gleep as a "twenty-foot long blue dragon". The cover illustration, however, shows Gleep as green, not blue. Also, on page 134 of another Fine Myth, Gleep is established as being green with blue eyes (maybe he's changing color?). Thanks to {wh} for reconciling my two nitpicks on this issue. 


page 22: Skeeve gets 1000 gold from Grimble in exchange for a promise that he will never receive money from the Chancellor again. He DOES, in Sweet Mythtery, as a "consultant." {ib} 


page 27: Maasha laments her looks, saying no man would have her. However, since Maasha is a native of Jahk, where everyone is skinny or fat, it seems unlikely she couldn't find someone who would appreciate her looks. 


page 77: The Mob representatives, including Don Bruce, seem to know very little about magik or dimension-hopping. Despite this, Don Bruce can magically appear wherever needed. This suggests the Mob knows *something* about magik, in which case one wonders why the need Skeeve to gain access to Deva. 

{vk} suggests: "Possibly Don Bruce's magical abilities include teleportation (travel from one part of the world to another) but not dimension travel (travel from one world to another.)" 


page 92: Why is Maasha sipping wine with Grimble? I thought it was Badaxe she was after! 


page 92: Why does Maasha call Tanda a "slut"? While the description might fit, how would Maasha know from her brief acquaintence with Tanda, and, further, why would Maasha be angry with Tanda??? 


page 101: Skeeve doesn't worry about keeping Grimble's bribe because, "I had faith in his ability to hide anything in his stacks of numbered sheets". However, earlier, Maasha convinced Skeeve to say by telling him Grimble would be accused of treason if he left... wouldn't it have been more convenient for Skeeve if he'd had this faith earlier? <G> 


page 104: When talking to Tanda and Chumley, Skeeve says the wedding rings he gave to Rodrick and Hemlock "aren't spelled." While it's true they don't link the couples lives, the rings are spelled to never come off! 


page 112: Aahz is out of character-- after he negotiates with the Deveels and gets everything he wants, he's satisifed. I would have expected him to kick himself for not asking for more money-- Aahz seems to subscribe to the "it's not a good deal unless the other guy bleeds" theory of negotiation. In this case, however, he doesn't mind that the Deveels seem happy to pay his amount. 


page 115: Skeeve points out that "renting a place while we're on assignment isn't an unreasonable expense". True, but it's probably more expensive to rent Gus's place of business than to rent an office or a hotel. Renting is ok, but the rental rate might be unacceptably high. Then again, the Deveels may not go over expense accounts that carefully (and if you believe that, I have this "enchanted sword" for sale...) 


page 135: Guido and Nunzio mention the "Hutt brothers" and "Darwin". This seems to be a reference to something, but I can't figure out what. 


page 147: Skeeve says he "stand[s] to collect fifty gold pieces" by betting on the favored red team. If the odds were running 200-1 in their favor, Skeeve must have bet something like 10,000 gold pieces-- that's a pretty sizeable bet for anyone! {jw} notes that Skeeve's bet may have been a side bet, and not strictly win-lose. 


page 148: The Mob didn't tell Skeeve about their plan to fix the fight; Skeeve should've feigned a little anger-- after all, he stood to lose 10,000 gold pieces had the fix gone through. 


page 149: Shaister tells Guido and Nunzio to beat up on all four wrestlers. But, the white wrestlers followed instructions! Shaister should only have the red wrestlers beaten up. 



Myth Alliances (page numbers from the hardback combo, sorry; someone please covert these!)
Myth-ing Persons 


page 5: "Aliman left" is also a square-dancing call. {ib} thinks the square-dancing call might be "alimand left". 


page 26: Skeeve notes that all dimensions seem to be on the same sun-up, sun-down schedule, and mentions Chumley's argument about all dimensions being realities off the same base. However, when Skeeve spends a week in Perv looking for Aahz (in "Mythnomers and Impervections"), three weeks pass in Klah (in "M.Y.T.H. Inc. in Action"), and Maasha comments that time doesn't pass at the same rate for all dimensions, seemingly contradicting Skeeve's statement here. 


page 37: "the balloon would go up"-- their cover would be blown, they wouldn't be able to fake it anymore... (thanks to {kb} for explaining this reference). 


page 38: Skeeve sees TV for the first time [in ref to another nitpick only] 


page 39: Vilhelm's friend, Darwin, has the same name as one of the Hutt brothers. Asprin also uses the proper name "Kay"-- a refrence? 


page 40: Massha says "If I had anything that could do disguises, would I walk around like this?" Apparently she doesn't know about the disguise mirrors used in _Another Fine Myth_ (by Frumple) and _Myth-inc in Action_ (by Frumple and Tananda). {ib} 


page 40: The hot dog vendor on screen 97B is none other than Isstvan; in Myth Conceptions (p 102) Brockhurst says, "Don't worry about him... We left him working concession stands on the Isle of Coney" 


page 42: W.C. Fields said "Say anything that you like about me except that I drink water" (thanks to Patrik J (d94-pja@nada.kth.se) for this quote) 


page 46: I thought "Woof Writers" was a pun on "Rough Riders", Theodore Roosevelt's company during the Spanish-American War (thanks to {sa} for telling me which war!), but {mn} straightened me out! Richard and Wendy Pini are creators of the ElfQuest series, which features a tribe of elves called the "Wolfriders". As Asprin has worked with the Pini's before, "Woof Writers" is much more likely a pun on "Wolfriders". 


page 47: Guido claims to be allergic to "furry things". However, fur allergies are not caused by fur, but rather by the saliva and feces animals mix into their fur while grooming. Since the Woof Writers are humanoid, this would suggest that their fur would be clean, and thus non-allergy-inducing. Then again, we don't know that much about the hygienic habits of werewolves <G>. 


page 48: The name "Pahkipsee" is a reference to "Poughkeepsie", a 'small bedroom community' in New York State. {vk} 


page 52: A 'tank top' is a sleeveless shirt having one 1" (approx.) strap over each shoulder and a rounded neckline in front and back. (Thanks to {vk} for this; I might be the only person in the known dimensions who didn't know this, but I thought it might be useful to others) 


page 59: Idnew and Drachir are "Wendi" and "Richard" reversed, a reference to Richard and Wendy Pini (see the comment for page 46 above). Interestingly, Asprin used the non-conventional spelling of "Wendy", perhaps because Ydnew might sound offensive (Yid-new) to people of the Jewish faith? Sharp-eyed {ss} points out that Drachir is actually "Rihcard" backwards, not "Richard", so it's only an approximate reversal. {cw2} notes this is another inconsistent spelling... it's sometimes "Drachir" and sometimes "Drahcir". 


page 61: Drachir warns that "someone's liable to shove a gramaphone under [his wife's cocked head]". This is a reference to RCA's corporate symbol, a puppy cocking its head curiously at an old-fashioned record-player (gramaphone). 


page 62: Drachir "rise[s] to all fours with his ears back". Perhaps Drachir rose on his hind legs or stood up; however, Drachir can't RISE to ALL fours; at the very least, one of his limbs must still touch the floor! 


page 73: Guido confuses acrophobia (fear of heights) with arachnophobia (fear of spiders). Skeeve lets that one go. 


page 91: The name "Pepe Le Garou A." is a common name for a vampire or werewolf in French (thanks to Yuri M. Kogut (kogut@iastate.edu) for noting this from a footnote in a Russian edition). {rc} notes that "Le Garou" is French for werewolf or shapeshifter (lynthrocapy?), but the rest of the name might be a reference to cartoon character Pepe Le Pew. Although the young werewolf doesn't smell, he does make amorous advances towards Maasha, and talks a lot like Pepe Le Pew, supporting this theory. 


page 102: What does Homeric mean? Considering how little Skeeve knows about our Earth, how does he know about Homer? 


page 115: Asprin uses quite a few proper names here: Vilhelm, Kirby, Paul, Richard, Adele, and Scott. Are these references? 

Little Myth Marker 


General: After tthe card game witht the Kid, Aahz was worried about financing Markie's damage to the Bazaar merchants. Yet on 65-66, Chumley said he had figured out a way to charge the cost back to the Mob. [Probably "protection damages!"] {ib} [Note by {sg}: Aahz probably wanted to get the money back twice!] 


page 215: While playing Dragon poker against Aahz, Chumley, and Tanda, Skeeve remarks, "I was suddenly very glad I didn't have to face any one of them in a real life-and-death situation". This is an unusual thing to think, since Skeeve has faced not one, not two, but *all three* of them in a life-and-death situation. When Skeeve first met Aahz, Aahz pretended to be a demon out of control, and then was about to leave Skeeve to fend for himself, even though Skeeve was the target of assassins. When Tanda first met Skeeve, she posed as the 'bait' for a group of criminals who were going to kill Skeeve while searching him for loot. And when Chumley first met Skeeve, he threatened to eat him!!! 


page 217: Skeeve wonders "if our parents had ever had shopping trips cut short by a cranky child". Whose parents? Skeeve's? the reader's? This 'our' seems out of place. 

{vk}'s printing has "other parents", so my combined volume may have an typo. 


page 219: What could the "corps-a-corps" hand be? I can't think of any reasonable combination that's not already listed. {kb} notes that "corps - a - corps"-- literally translated, from French, means "body to body". I'm still not sure this tells us what the hand would constitute. 


page 238: Skeeve notes he's risking a quarter of million in gold so people won't have to watch "summer reruns". TV must have infiltrated Deva quickly-- in Myth-ing Persons, Skeeve was amazed to see TV's in the Dispatcher's office. Of course, Skeeve might not be talking about TV summer reruns here, although it's hard to imagine people re-playing games manually <G>. 


page 239: Sen-Sen Ante Kid is a pun on "The Cincinnati Kid", a movie about baseball. {vk} (I earlier incorrectly stated it referred to a baseball player). [one shot note on 11/9/2000: this is really a movie about a poker player-- more corrections/amplifications to the nitpickers guide coming soon] 


page 246: Skeeve's strategy against the Sen-Sen Ante Kid is invalid. There would be a 50-50 chance of winning ONLY IF Skeeve could bet the entire stake on one hand. However, if the Kid had a poor hand, he could fold earlier in the betting, and repeat this procedure until he had a good hand. Skeeve's method strongly weights the odds in favor of the Kid. 

M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link 


General: Note that my page numbers are from my compendium edition, and {ib}'s are most likely from the paperback edition. For this reason, the page numbers look inconsistent (sorry!) 


page 13: Assuming Guido attended college on Klah before or during his work with the Mob, the following statement is odd. "When I was in grad school, I used to read a lot of comics. Most particularly I was taken by the ads...for X-ray glasses and whoopie cushions". All of this on KLAH?! {ib} 


page 114: After Skeeve cast the sleep spell on Quigley, he was "snoring quietly". In Book 3, Aahz admitted it wasn't really a sleep spell...it's a magikal [sic] slowing of the body's metabolism" (82). Thus Quigley shoudn't be snoring at all, or at least not at a normal rate. {ib} 


page 155: When Skeeve was explaining "Hemlock's" finger-in-a-box to at the board meeting, he addresses the bodyguards: "remember Queen Hemlock? Back on **MY** home dimension of Klah?" Guido and Nunzio are Klahds too! {ib} 


page 269: Skeeve mentions he got "one of the local religious temples to do the carpentry", a reference to Jesus Christ, who was a carpetener. {vk} 


page 271: When Skeeve sees Bane looking at Bunny, he comment to himself, "there was something unwholesome about the attention this dude was giving her." Dude?? Has Skeeve been studying at the Guido School of Locution? 


page 295: The dimension "Rinasp" is a syllable-reversal of "Asprin", the author's name! 


page 296: {ib} notes that Arcadia is a region in ancient Greece traditionally associated with the pastoral pursuits of its inhabitants. 


page 317: There is a running joke about people forgetting Hysterium's name. Does hysterium have some special meaning that realtes to amnesia or something similar? 


page 318: Maasha's mother was called 'the "Oooh-Ahh Bird"', a joke Maasha didn't get until she was older. I still don't get it. {kb} thinks this is probably the noise Maasha's mother made when giving birth to her. {rc} notes that the (fictional) "ooh-ahh bird" lays eggs that are three times bigger than itself, and consequently makes the sound "ooh.. ooh... AHH!" (sigh of relief) when laying eggs. 


page 319: Is there an expression about turning a "white elephant" into a "gold mine"?
{kb} explains: a "white elephant" is a kind of rarity. To find a "white elephant" is a real bonus: e.g.: to find an original Monet or DaVinci painting at a yard sale for $1.50. No one recognizes what the item *REALLY* is, making it very profitable for the finder. "White Elephant" is a colloquial phrase.
{jw} disagrees: "The term "white elephant" comes from Indian (the ones in Asia, not in North America) folklore. Real white elephants exist; they are just albino elephants. Unfortunately, you can't really _do_ anything with a white elephant, because it can't really take the heat of the jungle (without pigment and all). It is, however, an elephant: it eats like an elephant, tramples things like an elephant, goes into must like an elephant (and, boy, you have to stay far far away if you value your life), and otherwise drains resources. A "white elephant" refers to a gift or a possession that is not only completely valueless, it drains money at a rate which will quickly bankrupt whoever owns it." 


page 327: Maasha tells the Geek, "the last time [the Sen-Sen Ante Kid] was in the vicinity, I got stuck baby-sitting that character assassin you fobbed off on us". Although the Geek might already know Markie is the Ax, he probably doesn't, since he tells Skeeve that someone paid him a lot of moeny to throw the game (the original game, not the one with the Sen Sen Ante Kid) his way. This suggests the Ax operates very privately, not even letting her contacts in on everything. Maasha is very casual about the way she reveals this confedential info! 


page 330: What are the "Reptile Farms"? 


page 338: A busman's holiday is doing something while on holiday (vacation) that is the same as one's regular job: e.g.: a bus driver going Greyhound for vacation, or going on a bus tour of a location... (thanks to {kb} for explaining this reference) 


page 341: Aahz mentions that Quigley's letter "got forwarded to us at the Bazaar". Since Quigley's last address for Skeeve was in the royal palace of Possiltum, presumably the letter went there and then got forwarded. The Possiltum Post Office must be quite something to forward mail inter-dimensionally! 


page 341: Skeeve is out of character when he calls Quigley's place a dump. Since Aahz is worried about Skeeve, it is natural that he would see Skeeve as being short-tempered and impatient, even though Skeeve is mostly in character. However, this doesn't change Skeeve's real nature, which precludes such insults. {vk} and {kb} both disagree and say that Skeeve *has* changed during the book, and that it *was* in character for him to say that. 


page 347: Skeeve asks Aahz, "remember how I got fired from Possiltum?". Technically, Skeeve didn't get fired-- he quit. 


page 355: - A "dutch uncle" is someone who is not actually related to you, but acts as if they are: they usually show this through some kind of *FINANCIAL GENEROSITY* (thanks to {kb} for explaining this reference) 


page 356: Gleep comes off more a pompous psuedo-intellectual than as someone with real intelligence. Unless this is intentional (in which case it's a brilliant piece of writing), Asprin asks us to believe that someone uses big words and complex sentence structures is automatically intelligent. It also dulls the story considerably to realize that not only is Gleep powerful, but he is also sentient. This makes Skeeve far closer to invulnerable, and the story less enjoyable. 

{vk} disagrees: "I don't see Gleep in the terms you described. Guido, yes. Gleep no. Gleeps power and sentience may make Skeeve invulnerable but only to the extent of Gleeps interest and good will. Gleep may have other ideas. Actually, it makes Skeeve more of a pawn or experiment of Gleep - a rather scarey proposition." 


page 358: Gleep refers to himself as "easily the oldest of those who affiliate themsleves with Skeeve". From the preceding text, Gleep seems to be several centuries old. Granted this is old, but Aahz is also several centuries old (he once had a 200-year standoff with a magician named Diz-nee, and his nephew, Rupert, graduated from his apprenticeship after 300 years). Therefore, Gleep may be the oldest, but is not "easily the oldest". 


page 367: Comic books are sold for 3 or 4 for a silver. This fact allows us to approximate how our money compares to Deva's. If we assume comics sell for 25-33 cents, a silver is $1. Using the standard 30:1 gold:silver price ratio, a gold piece is worth $30, our money. While this is an exceedingly imprecise calculation, it does give us some idea of how well off Skeeve is. (also see general nitpicks section) 

Sweet Myth-tery of Life (page numbers from trade paperback)

page 6: Number two in Aahz's condensed list of troubles: "...Grimble was threatening to have you killed or worse when you returned to the palace". Actually, that was Badaxe. Grimble made the same threat should Skeeve FAIL to stop the approaching armies. {ib} [page number from Ace paperback?] 


page 60: Vic claims to share Skeeve's low opinion of Luanna. However, in Myth-ing Persons, he said Luanna was "sweet". [need to add section about Luanna somewhere] 


page 60: Skeeve says Vic can "travel the dimension [sic] without mechanical aid" because of one of his "Limbo-born talents". Aside from the typo, this also means that Vic could've escaped from Deva (in Myth-ing Persons) without going through Skeeve's house. Of course, Vic might not have wanted to desert his partner. {ib} adds: In book 5, when he was introduced, he had NO magic, couldn't fully turn into a bat, and soared instead of flew. At the Bazaar, he became a magician, but that doesn't automatically confer dimension-travelling ability, since Skeeve can't D-hop either. Also, Cassandra can D-hop, but doesn't seem to have any further magical abilities past the default bunch of Limbo-born talents. 


page 68: It's a good thing that no one ever actually charged anything to Skeeve's credit card. Since he was kicked off Perv, there's a good chance that his Pervish credit card is no longer valid. 


page 71: Skeeve admits to Cassandra that "my dimension travelling skills aren't all they could be". This is fine for a fledgling magician, but, after Cassandra learns her date is Skeeve, she should be retrospectively surprised-- how can the dimensions' greatest magician have poor dimension-travelling skills? 


page 75: Cassandra seizes Skeeve's credit card and "gaped at it in open awe". However, later, she's surprised to learn that Skeeve is Skeeve. If the credit card looks anything like Foglio's illustration in Mythnomers and Impervections, it would've been hard to miss Skeeve's name, as it takes up almost the entire card! 


page 124: Foglio's illustration is printed backwards, as evinced by his reversed signature (bottom edge, middle).