New book

[aota]

Bought a new book today. Phule's Errand by Robert Asprin and Peter J. Heck. Reviews haven't been good for this one but I've usually enjoyed the books in this series. They make for nice light reads. The books also remind me of several Traveller Games I've played in.

I started wearing glasses to read. I use those cheap reading glasses you can get from just about any drug store. I use the lowest strength they have. I'll get real ones after my tax exempt insurance thing kicks in again in October. They do make it easier to read, don't have to hold the book so far away from my face anymore.

Comments

[aardy.livejournal.com]

I loved reading the first few Phule's Company books. Not too deep, but definitely fun reads. The first two would make good, fun movies.

Then Asprin fought the IRS for 10 years and apparently burned out all of his writing ability along the way; nothing he's written since starting back up again has been anywhere near as enjoyable as the original books. (And since it has ALL been co-written, you have to wonder how much of that is actually him and how much is his co-authors.)

[aota.livejournal.com]

Yeah I've had that feeling too. I still hope that he will get back what he lost. In his prime his books were a very fun read.

[aardy.livejournal.com]

The last Phule book I read (I think there've been two more since then) and the last Myth book I read (the "vol. 3.5" one) came off so much like mid-grade fanfic that I have to wonder if the "cowriting" credit is really just a case of "The co-author is doing all the heavy lifting, but it's Robert's characters and basic plot outline, so he has to be credited, too-- and he gets top billing for sales purposes, so that the series all ends up together in the bookstore."

A shame really, because in the late 70's & all through the 80's, he was one of the best non-schlocky humor SF/F writers at the time, and the tales I've heard of the stuff he used to pull at various SF cons are the stuff of legend.