Robert Asprin
Encyclopedia
Robert Lynn Asprin was an American science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 and fantasy author and active fan
Science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or "fandom" of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy and in contact with one another based upon that interest...

, best known for his humorous MythAdventures
MythAdventures
MythAdventures or Myth Adventures is a fantasy series by Robert Lynn Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye. After twelve novels by Asprin, published 1978 to 2002, he and Nye continued the series with seven more books...

and Phule's Company
Phule's Company (series)
Phule's Company is a series of comic military science fiction novels by Robert Asprin, beginning with Phule's Company and ending with Phule's Errand....

series.

Background

Robert Asprin was born in St. Johns
St. Johns, Michigan
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,485 people, 2,994 households, and 1,999 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,909.1 per square mile . There were 3,148 housing units at an average density of 802.9 per square mile...

, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, and attended the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 at Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...

, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 from 1964 through 1965. From 1965 through 1966 he served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

. He was married (twice) and had two children. He was active in science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or "fandom" of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy and in contact with one another based upon that interest...

 and in the early years of the Society for Creative Anachronism
Society for Creative Anachronism
The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century...

 under the name "Yang the Nauseating", and co-founded the Great Dark Horde
Great Dark Horde
The Great Dark Horde is an independent "household" within the Society for Creative Anachronism — a historical reenactment group founded with the aim of studying and recreating pre-17th century Western European cultures and their histories...

 in 1971. He was also an influential member of the Dorsai Irregulars. In 1976, he was nominated for the Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...

 for Best Dramatic Presentation
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...

 for The Capture
The Capture
The Capture - Guardians of Ga'Hoole*Animorphs Book 6: The Capture, a novel by K.A. Applegate*The Capture , a 1950 film starring Lew Ayres and Teresa Wright...

, a cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...

 slide show written by Asprin and drawn by Phil Foglio
Phil Foglio
Philip "Phil" Foglio is an American cartoonist and comic book artist best known for his humorous science fiction and fantasy work.-Early life and career:...

.

Early writing

Asprin's first novel, The Cold Cash War
The Cold Cash War
The Cold Cash War is a 1977 science fiction novel by Robert Asprin. Based on an earlier short story of the same title, it is set in a dystopian future. In this future, corporations, referred to as Zaibatsu, have moved some aspects of their competition from the economic to the military.The action...

, an expansion of an earlier short story of the same title, was published in 1977.

Over the next few years, he created and edited (with his then-wife, Lynn Abbey
Lynn Abbey
Lynn Abbey is an American computer programmer and author.-Background:Born in Peekskill, New York, Abbey was daughter of Ronald Lionel and Doris Lorraine . She attended the University of Rochester, where she began as an astrophysics major. She earned a A.B...

) the Thieves' World series of shared world anthologies, credited as the first project of its type. Soon after the series hit its stride, many of the authors produced novels and stories outside the anthologies, beginning with Beyond Sanctuary by Janet Morris
Janet Morris
Janet Ellen Morris is an American author of fiction and nonfiction, best known for her fantasy and science fiction and her authorship of a nonlethal weapons concept for the U.S. military.-Writing:...

, the first "authorized" Thieves World novel, published in 1985. Janet Morris and Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Chris Morris may refer to:* Chris Morris , gay rights activist* Chris Morris , American football player for the Detroit Lions...

 went on to produce two more authorized Thieves' World "Beyond" novels and a series of related novels about their immortalized character, Tempus
Tempus
Tempus is a Latin word meaning time and a Finnish, Swedish and German word meaning grammatical tense. It may also refer to:*Tempus Publishing, a UK publishing company*Tempus Sport, a British motorsport team...

, and the Sacred Band of Stepsons
The Sacred Band of Stepsons
The Sacred Band of Stepsons is a fictional ancient cavalry unit created by Janet Morris and based on the historical Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite strike force of paired lovers and friends that flourished during the fourth century BCE in ancient Greece, where sexuality was a behavior, not an...

. A series of graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...

s followed in the mid-1980s, and several other authors, including Andrew J. Offutt
Andrew J. Offutt
Andrew Jefferson Offutt is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He has written as Andrew J. Offutt, A. J. Offutt, and Andy Offutt. His normal byline, andrew j. offutt, has all his name in lower-case letters.-Life and family:Offutt has been married for over 50 years to Jodie McCabe...

 and David Drake
David Drake
David Drake is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now one of the premier authors of the military science fiction subgenre.-Biography:...

, published novels about their characters. In 2002, Lynn Abbey resurrected the series with the novel Sanctuary.

In 1978, Asprin began the "MythAdventures
MythAdventures
MythAdventures or Myth Adventures is a fantasy series by Robert Lynn Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye. After twelve novels by Asprin, published 1978 to 2002, he and Nye continued the series with seven more books...

" series, chronicling the comic adventures of Skeeve and Aahz, with the book Another Fine Myth
Another Fine Myth
Another Fine Myth is a 1978 novel by Robert Lynn Asprin, and is the first book in the Myth Adventures series.-Plot synopsis:Skeeve, a magician's apprentice and wannabe thief from the dimension Klah, tries to learn the basics of magic from Master Magician Garkin for several months but to no...

. Originally illustrated by Frank Kelly Freas
Frank Kelly Freas
Frank Kelly Freas , called the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists", was a science fiction and fantasy artist with a career spanning more than 50 years.-Early life, education, and personal life:...

, and later by Phil Foglio
Phil Foglio
Philip "Phil" Foglio is an American cartoonist and comic book artist best known for his humorous science fiction and fantasy work.-Early life and career:...

, the highly pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...

-driven books follow a "demon" magician who has lost his powers and his inexperienced human apprentice as they travel through a variety of worlds in pursuit of finding their place in life, though under the guise of seeking wealth and glory. Some of the early "Myth" novels were later adapted as comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

s by Foglio
Phil Foglio
Philip "Phil" Foglio is an American cartoonist and comic book artist best known for his humorous science fiction and fantasy work.-Early life and career:...

 and others. The Myth books have passed through three publishing companies over the years: Donning Starblaze
The Donning Company
The Donning Company is a specialty book publisher based in Virginia Beach. It was first established in the mid-1970s to publish a pictorial history of the founders' hometown. Its imprints included Starblaze Graphics.In 1985, Donning became a wholly owned subsidiary of Walsworth Publishing Company...

, Meisha Merlin and, as of 2008, Wildside Press
Wildside Press
Wildside Press is an independent publishing company located in Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1989 by John Gregory and Kim Betancourt. While the press was originally conceived as a publisher of speculative fiction in both trade and limited editions, it has broadened out somewhat since then, both...

.

In the 1990s, Asprin's "Phule" novels followed the humorous science-fiction exploits of a rag-tag company of the "Space Legion" and its wealthy and iconoclastic leader, Willard Phule.

Hiatus in writing career

Due to a series of personal and financial problems, Asprin stopped writing in the 1990s. He had two books on The New York Times Best Seller list which piqued the interest of fans and the IRS
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...

. Unfortunately this came right at the time of an almost seven year writing drought. He eventually negotiated an agreement with the IRS, that encouraged him to return to writing, and, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he wrote several novels in collaboration with authors Peter Heck
Peter Heck
Peter Jewell Heck is an American science fiction and mystery author. His books include the "Mark Twain Mysteries"—historical whodunits featuring the famous author as a detective—and four books in the "Phule's Company" series, in collaboration with Robert Asprin, best described as...

, Jody Lynn Nye
Jody Lynn Nye
Jody Lynn Nye is an American science fiction writer. She has frequently collaborated as a co-author or the author of a sequel....

, and Linda Evans
Linda Evans (author)
Linda Evans is an American science fiction writer from Archer, Florida. She is an author of nine novels and four anthologies, as well as of several other co-authored novels. In 1996 her published novels had sold more than 100,000 copies.-Early life:...

. These novels included continuations of the "Myth" series and the "Phule" series as well as works in new series.

Later work

One of Asprin’s last projects was NO Quarter, originally co-authored with Eric Del Carlo, and later edited by Teresa Patterson. It is a dark fantasy/suspense/ murder mystery novel set in the author's beloved New Orleans French Quarter. Although the novel's fantasy elements (voodoo and black magic, tarot readings and precognition, ghosts and mysticism) are secondary to the brutal murder that is the focus of the plot, it is set in the same milieu as Asprin's Griffen McCandles novels (Dragons series), Dragons Luck and Dragons Wild. The two protagonists of NO Quarter, Maestro and Bone, also appear as minor characters in the Dragons novels. Maestro, the mysterious pool shark and fencing master in NO Quarter, is a highly fictionalized but recognizable self-portrait of the author. NO Quarter was published November 2009 by DarkStar Books http://www.darkstarbooks.net.

Asprin's ofttimes co-author, Jody Lynn Nye
Jody Lynn Nye
Jody Lynn Nye is an American science fiction writer. She has frequently collaborated as a co-author or the author of a sequel....

, has completed one further Griffen McCandles novel, Dragons Deal, and may continue the Myth Adventures series. Dragons Deal is slated to be published by Ace in December 2010.

Death and aftermath

Asprin died of a myocardial infarction at home in his bed on May 22, 2008,. A Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...

 novel and his reading glasses were found next to him. He was to have been the Guest of Honor at Marcon
Marcon (convention)
Marcon is a full-spectrum fantasy and science fiction convention based in Columbus, Ohio, normally held over the Memorial Day weekend. It is now operated by the Columbus-based Science Oriented Literature, Art, and Education Foundation, a non-profit educational corporation.Marcon offers a dozen...

 that weekend.

In 2008, his heirs donated his archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...

.

Myth Adventures series

  • Another Fine Myth
    Another Fine Myth
    Another Fine Myth is a 1978 novel by Robert Lynn Asprin, and is the first book in the Myth Adventures series.-Plot synopsis:Skeeve, a magician's apprentice and wannabe thief from the dimension Klah, tries to learn the basics of magic from Master Magician Garkin for several months but to no...

    (1978)
  • Myth Conceptions (1980)
  • Myth Directions
    Myth Directions
    Myth Directions is a 1982 novel by Robert Asprin, part of the MythAdventures series.-Plot synopsis:Tanda wanted to get Aahz a birthday present, so she decides to rope Skeeve in to help find her a unique present for Skeeve's mentor...

    (1982)
  • Hit or Myth (1983)
  • Myth-ing Persons (1984)
  • Little Myth Marker (1985)
  • M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link (1986)
  • Myth-Nomers and Im-Pervections (1987)
  • M.Y.T.H. Inc. in Action (1990)
  • Sweet Myth-tery of Life (1993)
  • Myth-Ion Improbable (2001) chronologically set between Myth Directions and Hit or Myth
  • Something M.Y.T.H. Inc. (2002)
  • Myth-told Tales (2003) with Jody Lynn Nye
    Jody Lynn Nye
    Jody Lynn Nye is an American science fiction writer. She has frequently collaborated as a co-author or the author of a sequel....

  • Myth Alliances (2003) with Jody Lynn Nye
  • Myth-taken Identity (2004) with Jody Lynn Nye
  • Class Dis-Mythed (2005) with Jody Lynn Nye
  • Myth-Gotten Gains (2006) with Jody Lynn Nye
  • Myth-Chief (2008) with Jody Lynn Nye
  • Myth-Fortunes (2008) with Jody Lynn Nye

Omnibus editions

  • MYTH Adventures (1984)
  • Myth Adventures One (1985)
  • Myth Alliances (Myth-ing Persons, Little Myth Marker, M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link) (1986)
  • The MYTH-ing Omnibus (1992)
  • The Second MYTH-ing Omnibus (1992)
  • M.Y.T.H. Inc. in Action / Sweet Myth-Tery of Life (2002)
  • M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link / Myth-Nomers and Im-Pervections (2002)
  • Myth Adventures Three (2002)
  • Myth-ing Persons / Little Myth Marker (2002)
  • Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures Volume One (Books 1-6) (July 2006)
  • Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures Volume Two (Books 7-12) (January 2007)

Duncan and Mallory series

  • Duncan and Mallory (1986) with Mel White
  • The Bar None Ranch (1987) with Mel White
  • The Raiders (1988) with Mel White

Phule's Company series

  • Phule's Company
    Phule's Company
    Phule's Company is a comic military science fiction novel written by Robert Asprin and originally published in 1990. The book follows the comedic events as Willard J. Phule, the rich son of a millionaire arms manufacturer, reforms a group of misfits in the Space Legion, a fictional organization...

    (1990)
  • Phule's Paradise
    Phule's Paradise
    Phule's Paradise is the second novel of the comic military science fiction Phule's Company series by Robert Asprin. The book, first published by Ace Books in February 1992, follows Willard J. Phule and his misfit company as they defend a casino on a space station against the local organized crime...

    (1992)
  • A Phule and His Money (1999) with Peter J. Heck
    Peter Heck
    Peter Jewell Heck is an American science fiction and mystery author. His books include the "Mark Twain Mysteries"—historical whodunits featuring the famous author as a detective—and four books in the "Phule's Company" series, in collaboration with Robert Asprin, best described as...

  • Phule Me Twice (2000) with Peter J. Heck
  • No Phule Like an Old Phule (2004) with Peter J. Heck
  • Phule's Errand (2006) with Peter J. Heck

Time Scout series

  • Time Scout (1995) with Linda Evans
    Linda Evans (author)
    Linda Evans is an American science fiction writer from Archer, Florida. She is an author of nine novels and four anthologies, as well as of several other co-authored novels. In 1996 her published novels had sold more than 100,000 copies.-Early life:...

  • Wagers of Sin (1995) with Linda Evans
  • Ripping Time (2000) with Linda Evans
  • The House that Jack Built (2000) with Linda Evans

Cold Cash series

  • The Cold Cash War
    The Cold Cash War
    The Cold Cash War is a 1977 science fiction novel by Robert Asprin. Based on an earlier short story of the same title, it is set in a dystopian future. In this future, corporations, referred to as Zaibatsu, have moved some aspects of their competition from the economic to the military.The action...

    (1977)
  • Cold Cash Warrior (1989) with Bill Fawcett

Wartorn series

  • Resurrection (2004) with Eric Del Carlo
  • Obliteration (2006) with Eric Del Carlo

Griffen McCandles (Dragons) series

  • Dragons Wild (April 2008), ISBN 0-4410-1470-4
  • Dragons Luck (April 2009), ISBN 0-4410-1680-4
  • Dragons Deal (December 2010)(with Jody Lynn Nye ), ISBN 978-0-441-01926-7

Other Novels

  • Tambu (1979)
  • The Bug Wars
    The Bug Wars
    The Bug Wars is a 1979 science fiction novel by Robert Asprin.Asprin credits the song "Reminder" by Buck Coulson as his inspiration for the novel. The lyrics of the song are printed at the beginning of the book.-Plot summary:...

    (1979)
  • Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe (1979) with George Takei
    George Takei
    George Hosato Takei Altman is an American actor, author, social activist and former civil politician. He is best known for his role in the television series Star Trek and its film spinoffs, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the...

  • Catwoman (1992) with Lynn Abbey
    Lynn Abbey
    Lynn Abbey is an American computer programmer and author.-Background:Born in Peekskill, New York, Abbey was daughter of Ronald Lionel and Doris Lorraine . She attended the University of Rochester, where she began as an astrophysics major. She earned a A.B...

  • For King and Country (July 2002) with Linda Evans
    Linda Evans
    Linda Evans is an American actress. She is known primarily for her roles on television, and rose to fame playing Audra Barkley in the 1960s Western TV series, The Big Valley...

    , ISBN 0-7434-3539-7
  • E.Godz (March 2005) with Esther M Friesner
    Esther Friesner
    Esther Mona Friesner-Stutzman, née Friesner is an American science fiction and fantasy author best known for her humorous pieces.- Life :...

    , ISBN 0-7434-9888-7
  • NO Quarter (October 2009) with Eric Del Carlo and Teresa Patterson, ISBN 978-0-9819866-0-9
  • License Invoked (February 2001) with Jody Lynn Nye
    Jody Lynn Nye
    Jody Lynn Nye is an American science fiction writer. She has frequently collaborated as a co-author or the author of a sequel....

    , ISBN 0-671-31978-7

Selected short fiction

  • "The Ex-Khan" in Angels in Hell (1987), part of the Heroes in Hell
    Heroes in Hell
    Heroes in Hell is a series of shared world fantasy books, within the genre Bangsian fantasy, created and edited by Janet Morris and written by her, Chris Morris, C. J. Cherryh and others...

    series
  • "Two Gentlemen of the Trade" in Festival Moon (1987), part of the Merovingen Nights
    Merovingen Nights
    Merovingen Nights is a series of shared world science fiction books set in writer C. J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union universe. There are eight books in the series, a novel by Cherryh, Angel With the Sword, and seven short fiction anthologies which Cherryh edited...

    series
  • "A Harmless Excursion" in Smugglers Gold (1988), also from Merovingen Nights
  • "Mything in Dreamland" with Jody Lynn Nye in Masters of Fantasy (2004), part of the Myth series

Thieves' World series

  • Thieves' World (1979)
  • Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn (1980)
  • Shadows of Sanctuary (1981)
  • Storm Season (1982)
  • The Face of Chaos (1983)
  • Wings of Omen (1984)
  • The Dead of Winter (1985)
  • Soul of the City (1986)
  • Blood Ties (1986)
  • Aftermath (1987)
  • Uneasy Alliances (1988)
  • Stealers' Sky (1989)

Other writing

  • The Capture
    The Capture
    The Capture - Guardians of Ga'Hoole*Animorphs Book 6: The Capture, a novel by K.A. Applegate*The Capture , a 1950 film starring Lew Ayres and Teresa Wright...

    , cartoon
    Cartoon
    A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...

     slide show written by Asprin and illustrated by Phil Foglio
    Phil Foglio
    Philip "Phil" Foglio is an American cartoonist and comic book artist best known for his humorous science fiction and fantasy work.-Early life and career:...

    ; nominated for a 1976 Hugo Award
    Hugo Award
    The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...


External links

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