Robert Asprin was a science fiction writer and anthologist, best known for his Thieves World books and Myth series.
I read the first seven or eight Myth books in my youth in conjunction with the Xanth series by Piers Anthony - the two having an affinity for puns and wordplay. In one introduction, he stated that the original inspiration for the Myth Adventures series was the "Road to..." comedy movies, which star Bing Crosby and Bob Hope as wandering con-artists/adventurers. Intentionally or otherwise, the books also share many similarities with the Robert Heinlein novel Glory Road. Both works feature a relatively ordinary protagonist who joins a special cognoscenti of adventurers who seek profit and fame by traveling through a kaleidoscopic array of dimensions; in the process of this, he becomes a famous hero through exaggeration and promotion by his companions. In both stories different levels of technology are permitted for use in different worlds, e.g. firearms/heat-seeking missiles are forbidden in a dimension where swords and bows are the norm. Magic is depicted as a power of the mind and magical artifacts are controlled mechanically with dials and switches, feats of engineering rather than mysticism. And both also feature a baby dragon that speaks by making 'Geep'/'Gleep' noises.
Asprin also wrote the Phule's Company series.
Asprin also wrote the Phule's Company series.
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