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Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser #5
The Swords of Lankhmar
Fafhrd was a huge, full-bearded barbarian from the Northlands. His weapon--a broadsword. The Gray Mouser was a small, nimble man dressed all in gray. He carried both rapier and dirk. In Lankhmar they were considered brawlers, cutpurses, rogues. and the best fighting-men in all of Nehwon. For which reason Overlord Glipkerio Kistomerces hired them to guard an important shipment to a neighboring monarch. For once, in their lifetimes of adventuring, our heroes looked forward to an easy time--until the mingols, a two-headed dragon, and an army of miniature warriors appeared to make things interesting.
310 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
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2309 people want to read
About the author
Fritz Leiber
1,335 books1,053 followersFritz Reuter Leiber Jr. was one of the more interesting of the young writers who came into HP Lovecraft's orbit, and some of his best early short fiction is horror rather than sf or fantasy. He found his mature voice early in the first of the sword-and-sorcery adventures featuring the large sensitive barbarian Fafhrd and the small street-smart-ish Gray Mouser; he returned to this series at various points in his career, using it sometimes for farce and sometimes for gloomy mood pieces--The Swords of Lankhmar is perhaps the best single volume of their adventures. Leiber's science fiction includes the planet-smashing The Wanderer in which a large cast mostly survive flood, fire, and the sexual attentions of feline aliens, and the satirical A Spectre is Haunting Texas in which a gangling, exo-skeleton-clad actor from the Moon leads a revolution and finds his true love. Leiber's late short fiction, and the fine horror novel Our Lady of Darkness, combine autobiographical issues like his struggle with depression and alcoholism with meditations on the emotional content of the fantastic genres. Leiber's capacity for endless self-reinvention and productive self-examination kept him, until his death, one of the most modern of his sf generation.
Used These Alternate Names: Maurice Breçon, Fric Lajber, Fritz Leiber, Jr., Fritz R. Leiber, Fritz Leiber Jun., Фриц Лейбер, F. Lieber, フリッツ・ライバー
Used These Alternate Names: Maurice Breçon, Fric Lajber, Fritz Leiber, Jr., Fritz R. Leiber, Fritz Leiber Jun., Фриц Лейбер, F. Lieber, フリッツ・ライバー
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 167 reviews
March 13, 2020
This is a superb fantasy novel, featuring sword fights, magic potions, ancient gods awake and wrathful, super-intelligent rats, a time-traveler riding a sea serpent, a whistle for summoning mystic war cats, transparent but still attractive lady ghouls whose bones gleam provocatively in the moonlight, lovely femme fatales and (of course) deluded males, nudity, copious drinking, overt sadism involving whips and chains, and just a hint of masochism for good measure.
In other words: a thoroughly enjoyable journey to the land of Lankhmar.
September 3, 2013
Note, Sept. 3, 2013: I corrected a minor typo here just now.
In creating the barbarian soldier of fortune Fafhrd and his partner, the short-statured swordsman known only by his nickname the Gray Mouser, and the fantasy world of Nehwon that they inhabit, Leiber was influenced by his sword-and-sorcery sub-genre predecessors, notably Robert E. Howard and E. R. Eddison. But he also wanted (according to his preface for this novel) to create "fantasy heroes closer to true human stature" than the likes of Conan. He also approached their stories with a sense of humor that's usually lacking in the work of the first generation of writers in this tradition --this isn't "humorous fantasy" as such, and people and animals can die violent and sometimes very unpleasant deaths in it, but it does have a comic leavening at times that ably relieves the tension.
Concerning his pairs' moral qualities, Leiber also wrote that they "are rogues through and through, though each has in him a lot of humanity and at least a diamond chip of the spirit of true adventure. They drink, they feast, they wench, they brawl, they steal, they gamble, and surely they hire out their swords to powers that are only a shade better, if that, than the villains.... yet I don't think they're touched with evil as [two Eddison antiheroes:], rather they're rouges in a decadent world where you have to be a rogue to survive...." They're also brave, loyal to each other, and honorable in their own way; they don't rob the poor or bully the weak, and at various times Leiber shows one or the other of them rescuing an innocent at risk to himself, showing kindness and consideration, or being willing to forgive a wrong suffered. The author depicts (and implicitly condemns) genuine evil very clearly in his sadistic, power-mad, treacherous villains; and when the chips are down, this is the sort of evil that Fafhrd and the Mouser instinctively line up against.
As a prose stylist, Leiber is the equal of any writer that I've read; his descriptions and narration are full of sensory appeal and telling details that ably limn a scene or a character, create a mood, or evoke the reader's emotions. In this novel, he created what has to be one of the most original premises the fantasy genre has ever known; and he develops it, and the other details of his fantasy world, with a richly exuberant imagination. IMO, on the strength of this work alone, he shows himself worthy to stand in the very first rank of sword-and- sorcery authors.
In creating the barbarian soldier of fortune Fafhrd and his partner, the short-statured swordsman known only by his nickname the Gray Mouser, and the fantasy world of Nehwon that they inhabit, Leiber was influenced by his sword-and-sorcery sub-genre predecessors, notably Robert E. Howard and E. R. Eddison. But he also wanted (according to his preface for this novel) to create "fantasy heroes closer to true human stature" than the likes of Conan. He also approached their stories with a sense of humor that's usually lacking in the work of the first generation of writers in this tradition --this isn't "humorous fantasy" as such, and people and animals can die violent and sometimes very unpleasant deaths in it, but it does have a comic leavening at times that ably relieves the tension.
Concerning his pairs' moral qualities, Leiber also wrote that they "are rogues through and through, though each has in him a lot of humanity and at least a diamond chip of the spirit of true adventure. They drink, they feast, they wench, they brawl, they steal, they gamble, and surely they hire out their swords to powers that are only a shade better, if that, than the villains.... yet I don't think they're touched with evil as [two Eddison antiheroes:], rather they're rouges in a decadent world where you have to be a rogue to survive...." They're also brave, loyal to each other, and honorable in their own way; they don't rob the poor or bully the weak, and at various times Leiber shows one or the other of them rescuing an innocent at risk to himself, showing kindness and consideration, or being willing to forgive a wrong suffered. The author depicts (and implicitly condemns) genuine evil very clearly in his sadistic, power-mad, treacherous villains; and when the chips are down, this is the sort of evil that Fafhrd and the Mouser instinctively line up against.
As a prose stylist, Leiber is the equal of any writer that I've read; his descriptions and narration are full of sensory appeal and telling details that ably limn a scene or a character, create a mood, or evoke the reader's emotions. In this novel, he created what has to be one of the most original premises the fantasy genre has ever known; and he develops it, and the other details of his fantasy world, with a richly exuberant imagination. IMO, on the strength of this work alone, he shows himself worthy to stand in the very first rank of sword-and- sorcery authors.
October 6, 2019
SPOILERS INCLUDED
Fritz Leiber may not have invented the sword and sorcery genre but he did name it. He also created two of the most iconic characters in the genre, Fafhred and the Gray Mouser, and put them into a well received series of dangerous and sometimes outrageous adventures. The Swords of Lankhmar is one of those which is both dangerous and outrageous. If you are squeamish about disease carrying vermin, namely rats, this may be too much for you. SPOILERS: Giant rats, regular size rats, intelligent language and weapon using rats, rat-human hybrids, bizarre romantic and implied sexual situations, regular size and tiny humans, transparent ghouls, idiot rulers (of course that isn't really bizarre), magic, lower case gods who protect a city and people they don't like, rats attacking ships, rats attempting to conquer Lankhmar and enslave humans and I'm sure I left something out about this smorgasbord of an adventure. Just noticed that I left out the time/dimensional traveler and the dragons/sea serpents.
Fritz Leiber may not have invented the sword and sorcery genre but he did name it. He also created two of the most iconic characters in the genre, Fafhred and the Gray Mouser, and put them into a well received series of dangerous and sometimes outrageous adventures. The Swords of Lankhmar is one of those which is both dangerous and outrageous. If you are squeamish about disease carrying vermin, namely rats, this may be too much for you. SPOILERS: Giant rats, regular size rats, intelligent language and weapon using rats, rat-human hybrids, bizarre romantic and implied sexual situations, regular size and tiny humans, transparent ghouls, idiot rulers (of course that isn't really bizarre), magic, lower case gods who protect a city and people they don't like, rats attacking ships, rats attempting to conquer Lankhmar and enslave humans and I'm sure I left something out about this smorgasbord of an adventure. Just noticed that I left out the time/dimensional traveler and the dragons/sea serpents.
September 22, 2010
When I first started reading Leiber, my expectations were pretty low. He is often praised along with the other 'giants', but the fantasy genre is awash with unwarranted praise: the barely-differentiated is lauded as revolutionary, and many of its 'giants' are giant only in disappointment. But Leiber surprised me. Throughout the Lankhmar series, he has shown a lively, stylized voice, an eye for character and suspense, and an evocative sense of wonder.
Unfortunately, he begins to fall off his pace in this volume. He is fearless in his approach, which is great when he's on top of his game, but when he errs, causes him to stumble incautiously. Likewise, his light, laughing tone can be asset or flaw, dependent on how solid the pacing is beneath it.
Early on, we get an uncharacteristically wild choice, almost a non sequitur, which never ties back into the plot. The entire structure is unusual for the series, eschewing loosely-connected episodes for a more linear novel. The length and focus on one single story doesn't mesh well with Leiber's lilting style, and his imaginative, sometimes lovely asides are sadly absent.
I've seen the same thing happen before, from Mignola to Poe: the change from short and vibrant stories to long, sustained plot arcs is not easy to manage. Leiber doesn't really update his style to match the new length, which leaves us with a long, overly-involved short story.
The reason for greater length in writing is to add more depth, allowing the story to unfold gradually. Previously, these Lankhmar collections have achieved depth by the wild variance of the stories. Though all are loosely connected in an overarching plot, each one presents an opportunity for Leiber to play with tone, setting, character, and purpose in a different way. This makes sense, because they were written at different times--sometimes decades apart--at different points in Leiber's career.
This untethered, multihued style of world-building is very Howardian, and Howard used it deliberately to let his world unfold naturally, through many tales, only vaguely connected, filling some areas in with great detail, and leaving others as half-heard mysteries. Unlike the straightforward, encyclopedic style of most doorstop fantasies (appendices included, thank you J.R.R.), we learn about the worlds of Howard and Leiber like students of history, which makes sense, because it was a voracious study of detached pieces of history lent whimsy to both authors' creations.
It's a pity that he abandons this organic system for something so linear, especially as his struggles with pacing undermine his wit. With a less varied tale, he has less to play with, and starts to resemble his later imitators, like Pratchett, writing a fairly simple, amusing story with a few high points, but numerous low points where humor is not adequately supported by insight.
There are also some problems with sexual politics here, which is all the more disappointing because of Leiber's previously good track record with women who were both independent and unique. It's not a complete reversal, but Leiber's focus grows considerably more one-sided, and consequently, his women lose dimension.
This is amplified by the rather silly fetishism which continually crops up throughout the book, yet the sexuality is rarely either humorous, realistic, or enticing enough to overcome its superfluity. I'd heard that a previous Leiber fantasy story had been censored for overt sexuality, and I was disappointed to hear it, but reading this book, perhaps it was for the best. Sexuality shouldn't be edited out, but awkward writing should.
Overall, it's not a bad book. even though it isn't Leiber's best, it's still solid, with good high points, and fun to read. Unfortunately, his later works grow even more stilted, sexually awkward, and drawn out. This one, at least, has a rising plot and some amusing twists, which cannot be said of the books that close out the series.
My List of Suggested Fantasy Books
Unfortunately, he begins to fall off his pace in this volume. He is fearless in his approach, which is great when he's on top of his game, but when he errs, causes him to stumble incautiously. Likewise, his light, laughing tone can be asset or flaw, dependent on how solid the pacing is beneath it.
Early on, we get an uncharacteristically wild choice, almost a non sequitur, which never ties back into the plot. The entire structure is unusual for the series, eschewing loosely-connected episodes for a more linear novel. The length and focus on one single story doesn't mesh well with Leiber's lilting style, and his imaginative, sometimes lovely asides are sadly absent.
I've seen the same thing happen before, from Mignola to Poe: the change from short and vibrant stories to long, sustained plot arcs is not easy to manage. Leiber doesn't really update his style to match the new length, which leaves us with a long, overly-involved short story.
The reason for greater length in writing is to add more depth, allowing the story to unfold gradually. Previously, these Lankhmar collections have achieved depth by the wild variance of the stories. Though all are loosely connected in an overarching plot, each one presents an opportunity for Leiber to play with tone, setting, character, and purpose in a different way. This makes sense, because they were written at different times--sometimes decades apart--at different points in Leiber's career.
This untethered, multihued style of world-building is very Howardian, and Howard used it deliberately to let his world unfold naturally, through many tales, only vaguely connected, filling some areas in with great detail, and leaving others as half-heard mysteries. Unlike the straightforward, encyclopedic style of most doorstop fantasies (appendices included, thank you J.R.R.), we learn about the worlds of Howard and Leiber like students of history, which makes sense, because it was a voracious study of detached pieces of history lent whimsy to both authors' creations.
It's a pity that he abandons this organic system for something so linear, especially as his struggles with pacing undermine his wit. With a less varied tale, he has less to play with, and starts to resemble his later imitators, like Pratchett, writing a fairly simple, amusing story with a few high points, but numerous low points where humor is not adequately supported by insight.
There are also some problems with sexual politics here, which is all the more disappointing because of Leiber's previously good track record with women who were both independent and unique. It's not a complete reversal, but Leiber's focus grows considerably more one-sided, and consequently, his women lose dimension.
This is amplified by the rather silly fetishism which continually crops up throughout the book, yet the sexuality is rarely either humorous, realistic, or enticing enough to overcome its superfluity. I'd heard that a previous Leiber fantasy story had been censored for overt sexuality, and I was disappointed to hear it, but reading this book, perhaps it was for the best. Sexuality shouldn't be edited out, but awkward writing should.
Overall, it's not a bad book. even though it isn't Leiber's best, it's still solid, with good high points, and fun to read. Unfortunately, his later works grow even more stilted, sexually awkward, and drawn out. This one, at least, has a rising plot and some amusing twists, which cannot be said of the books that close out the series.
My List of Suggested Fantasy Books
January 25, 2025
Although fifth in the chronological sequence of Fafhrd and Gray Mouser books, The Swords of Lankhmar was one of the earliest Leiber wrote. It shows. Neither his prose nor his heroes are as clever as in his later work. While Fafhrd and Gray Mouser have often had a weak spot for women, this story takes it to a ridiculous and annoying extreme. Not only are they completely controlled by their glands, but it overwhelms all of their acquired street smarts and survival instincts in a way I didn’t find at all believable.
Swords of Lankhmar is the only novel length book in the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser series. It’s full of fun set pieces, wizardry, and a surprising amount of mildly kinky sex, so it’s not a total bust. But I was more annoyed than amused by this one. Two and a half stars rounded up.
Swords of Lankhmar is the only novel length book in the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser series. It’s full of fun set pieces, wizardry, and a surprising amount of mildly kinky sex, so it’s not a total bust. But I was more annoyed than amused by this one. Two and a half stars rounded up.
March 5, 2020
This is the first of these tales to drop the short story format altogether and spend the entire book telling a single long tale - much like a cartoon series being expanded into a movie. But where such movies (at least all the good ones) would take all the advantage out of the vastly expanded length to tell stories of higher scope, more complex and epic struggles, genuine drama and character growth, all the things that a single half-hour episode could never accomplish... The Swords of Lankhmar, regrettably, does not accomplish this. It's more like just a single regular episode, inexplicably stretched into five times the length that was requited. It plods along and takes a long time to pick up, and even once it does, it's not that much more special or impressive or interesting as the shorts were. The main characters, too, remain fairly static, when by now you'd have expected - hoped - to see them come into some realization that would have changed them a little. Quite the missed opportunity if anything.
Still, though, the prose remains compelling, the setting fantastic and interesting, and once the story finally does pick up - sometime after the midway point - it picks up well. Ultimately I did not regret reading it.
If you've liked to follow Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser's adventures up until this point, you'll come to like this episode as well... so long as you make it through the boring bits.
Still, though, the prose remains compelling, the setting fantastic and interesting, and once the story finally does pick up - sometime after the midway point - it picks up well. Ultimately I did not regret reading it.
If you've liked to follow Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser's adventures up until this point, you'll come to like this episode as well... so long as you make it through the boring bits.
February 23, 2022
Kind of waffled on whether this one was actually a 3 or a 4; ultimately, Leiber's prose pushed it to the higher mark.
This is, I believe, the only actually full-length Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser novel -- all of the other volumes are collections of short stories. And even this one includes a section that was originally published as a standalone novella.
It was written relatively late in Leiber's career (1968) and takes place relatively late in F&GM's careers. As events begin, Our Heroes are given a commission by Glipkerio Kistomerces, the unnaturally tall, thin and twitchy Overlord of Lankhmar, to accompany a fleet of grain ships to the Eight Cities, together with the delightful Hisvet, her equally delightful maid Frix, and her rather less delightful father Hisvin. And their troupe of highly-trained white rats. Adventures naturally ensue on the high seas and on land, and our heroes go their separate ways for a time, Mouser returning more directly to the City of the Black Togas, which finds itself under siege by increasingly obstreperous rats, and Fafhrd taking the long way round, including a stop through Ghoul country. (Ghouls, on Newhon, being a race of humans whose flesh is more or less entirely transparent, but whose beautiful, white, shining bones are visible. Which, although it's not dwelt upon, must make Fafhrd's amatory encounters with the ghoul woman Kreeshkra, rather remarkable and/or unsettling.)
And, naturally enough, our heroes rejoin forces at the end, just when things appear at their worst, and more-or-less appropriate desserts are meted out to those who deserve them.
And this book was ... not altogether satisfying, primarily because for so much of it Fafhrd & Gray Mouser were off separately doing their own things. (And Mouser, it must be said, gets the lion's share of attention.) And the book is also weirdly horny, not always in a good way. (Particularly in the relationship between Mouser, Hisvet and Frix; and also in some random, throwaway asides.)
Still, it has Leiber's ever-elegant, ever-witty prose, and that in and of itself is no bad thing.
This is, I believe, the only actually full-length Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser novel -- all of the other volumes are collections of short stories. And even this one includes a section that was originally published as a standalone novella.
It was written relatively late in Leiber's career (1968) and takes place relatively late in F&GM's careers. As events begin, Our Heroes are given a commission by Glipkerio Kistomerces, the unnaturally tall, thin and twitchy Overlord of Lankhmar, to accompany a fleet of grain ships to the Eight Cities, together with the delightful Hisvet, her equally delightful maid Frix, and her rather less delightful father Hisvin. And their troupe of highly-trained white rats. Adventures naturally ensue on the high seas and on land, and our heroes go their separate ways for a time, Mouser returning more directly to the City of the Black Togas, which finds itself under siege by increasingly obstreperous rats, and Fafhrd taking the long way round, including a stop through Ghoul country. (Ghouls, on Newhon, being a race of humans whose flesh is more or less entirely transparent, but whose beautiful, white, shining bones are visible. Which, although it's not dwelt upon, must make Fafhrd's amatory encounters with the ghoul woman Kreeshkra, rather remarkable and/or unsettling.)
And, naturally enough, our heroes rejoin forces at the end, just when things appear at their worst, and more-or-less appropriate desserts are meted out to those who deserve them.
And this book was ... not altogether satisfying, primarily because for so much of it Fafhrd & Gray Mouser were off separately doing their own things. (And Mouser, it must be said, gets the lion's share of attention.) And the book is also weirdly horny, not always in a good way. (Particularly in the relationship between Mouser, Hisvet and Frix; and also in some random, throwaway asides.)
Still, it has Leiber's ever-elegant, ever-witty prose, and that in and of itself is no bad thing.
November 10, 2017
Oh man, I can't stress enough that I had more fun reading this than I have with anything in a long time, except maybe for some of the other Lankhmar stuff, like the classic "Lean Times in Lankhmar", which everyone with a taste for satire and mockery of religion should definitely read. This is the one and only Lankhmar novel (the rest are of course all short stories) and starts with the two rogues already in some serious trouble as they return to the grimy and beloved city of Lankhmar to find all their creditors and many enemies amassed to put an end to them at last. The feebly sadistic duke of the city rescues them, though, to send them on a mission with a ship carrying some precious cargo to a foreign land .. cargo which includes an alluring seductress and twelve incredibly clever rats. What he doesn't tell them of course is that all other ships sent on this mission have been lost! The fun starts right at the outset with the Mouser deflecting magic bolts with a metal rod and the two of them sparring about women and bar tabs as they try to figure out how the hell they'll get out of this one. Then it's a crazy sea voyage, our heroes get separated in the most hilarious circumstance and there's trekking, ghouls, swordfights, and the coolest wizards ever, Sheelba of the Eyeless Face and Ningauble of the Seven eyes, who don't really like each other but seem to be temporarily in truce to help out their two prodigies and to save Lankhmar from a danger that slowly makes its presence known. In the end it's a pitch battle between intelligent rats with swords, some riding on unwilling humans, thirteen fearsome war cats, dire skeleton gods, and ghouls, with the Mouser mouse-sized (he still thinks he's the cleverest thing in the universe) and Fafhrd breathlessly chopping off heads everywhere. There are also quite a number of naked wenches in this one! Crazy, in the best possible way. Of course, those wishing to journey to Nehwon should start with the beginning and make their way chronologically with these characters....trust me, this is the way to have the most fun with them as they grow up and gain adventuresome experience.
having just re-read this, I thought I'd update the old review somewhat. By this point logic and order have basically gone out the window and Leiber is just bouncing along happily throwing everything at us. I'll admit that not everything here makes a lot of esensewithout some pretty wild coincidences. I think though that this shouldn't bother you too much. I don't know why the hell a German guy shows up during the first quarter, saves the day and banters with our heroes for a while before disappearing, never to return to the narrative. But it's kind of cool and shows how another story could have developed from the crazy guy and his "Monster Museum". It was never written, but one can still imagine it, perhaps as an untold consequence of the events herein. I don't know how to explain Fafhrd just happening to win the tin whistle that'd summon the War Cats except to say it was divine, or wizardly, providnece. It really doesn't matter though. Yeah, despite great writing, you do have to turn your brain off a bit for this stuff, but it's so sweet that on this re-read, I found myself growing sad as I got to the end. I wanted it to continue. I just had a wail of a time reading aloud the antics of the horrendously decadent Duke Glipkerio, his filthy palace mistress and the duplicitous Hisvin and his dangerously seductive daughter.
And of course, the Mouser's just fabulous in this one. Fafhrd seems to get the short end by comparison, I'm afraid; if any part of this book could have been expanded, it was Fafhrd's gaming and carousing and journeying. Maybe it wouldn't have tied in all that tightly to the main plot, which rrevolves around Lankhmar and it's Rat Problem, but Leiber is just so casual about it all by this point anyway, I'd still have welcomed the extra material.
Oh, and that duke really is such a loathsome character with all his love of female torture and complete impotence in the face of his peoples' plight, but I gotta admit I did kind of almost feel sorry for him by the end there. And I just loved the way Hisvin tried to present the rat takeover as something good and desirable. What a politician!
And the book has a sea voyage. I think I have a weakness for sea voyages. So yes, good, bombastic fun, once again.
having just re-read this, I thought I'd update the old review somewhat. By this point logic and order have basically gone out the window and Leiber is just bouncing along happily throwing everything at us. I'll admit that not everything here makes a lot of esensewithout some pretty wild coincidences. I think though that this shouldn't bother you too much. I don't know why the hell a German guy shows up during the first quarter, saves the day and banters with our heroes for a while before disappearing, never to return to the narrative. But it's kind of cool and shows how another story could have developed from the crazy guy and his "Monster Museum". It was never written, but one can still imagine it, perhaps as an untold consequence of the events herein. I don't know how to explain Fafhrd just happening to win the tin whistle that'd summon the War Cats except to say it was divine, or wizardly, providnece. It really doesn't matter though. Yeah, despite great writing, you do have to turn your brain off a bit for this stuff, but it's so sweet that on this re-read, I found myself growing sad as I got to the end. I wanted it to continue. I just had a wail of a time reading aloud the antics of the horrendously decadent Duke Glipkerio, his filthy palace mistress and the duplicitous Hisvin and his dangerously seductive daughter.
And of course, the Mouser's just fabulous in this one. Fafhrd seems to get the short end by comparison, I'm afraid; if any part of this book could have been expanded, it was Fafhrd's gaming and carousing and journeying. Maybe it wouldn't have tied in all that tightly to the main plot, which rrevolves around Lankhmar and it's Rat Problem, but Leiber is just so casual about it all by this point anyway, I'd still have welcomed the extra material.
Oh, and that duke really is such a loathsome character with all his love of female torture and complete impotence in the face of his peoples' plight, but I gotta admit I did kind of almost feel sorry for him by the end there. And I just loved the way Hisvin tried to present the rat takeover as something good and desirable. What a politician!
And the book has a sea voyage. I think I have a weakness for sea voyages. So yes, good, bombastic fun, once again.
January 19, 2025
The Swords of Lankhmar, which falls fifth in the series chronologically, was one of the first published and is the only novel-length Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser story. Leiber began writing it in 1936 or '37, and when he returned to it many years later the first section, titled Scylla's Daughter, was published in Fantastic Stories magazine's May 1961 issue, which was edited by the great but sadly overlooked Cele Goldsmith. It was a finalist on the Hugo ballot for best short fiction that year, one of the first true fantasy tales nominated for what had started as a science fiction only award. He expanded the story to its current length and Ace released in 1968. Among the interesting plot points, the Grey Mouser is magically shrunken to true mouse size and runs around Lankhmar during a rat plague. Leiber spiced up the story with some unusual (for the mid-1960s) sexual content which was found uncomfortable by many. The two rogues are a charming and realistic pair of friends, which Leiber describes in his introduction as owing more to Eddison and Cabell than to Burroughs and Howard. His writing is very polished and engaging, and the series is an important part of the foundation that modern high fantasy is built upon.
May 31, 2012
Reaching the fifth installment of the ongoing saga of Fafhrd and Grey Mouser, I thought for a while that I'm approaching saturation point, or that the author is better suited to the short form rather than this attempt at a full blown novel featuring his pair of lovable scoundrels. It took a German speaking traveller between parallel universes, riding a double headed sea serpent and searching for his misplaced spaceship to get me in the right mood for tackling Swords of Lankhmar . I believe this is the least serious in the series so far, the most campy, wildly subversive of the sword and sorcery rules, and I hope it was as fun for the author to write as it was for me to read it.
The first part of the novel, dealing with a sea voyage where Fafhrd and Grey Mouser sell their swords as protection to a transport of grain, feels like it was written initially as a stand-alone novella, and the author decided to later expand it with a full blown rat invasion of the city of Lankhmar. Another episode, featuring only Fafhrd waking up after a night of debauchery with an unexpected bed partner, also reads like a bridge piece that was cut and pasted from somewhere else. I didn't mind, as it parodies a passage from a noir novel in which a detective tries to make sense of the room around him without using his eyes. (can't remember title or author)
After the less impressive debut, the action really picks up in the second half, in one outrageously wicked episode after another. Jacqueline Carey could probably take notes from Glipkerio Kistomerces - Overlord of Lankhmar - and his kitchen staff dominatrix Samanda. Leather manacles, silvered chains, fully shaved bodies and exotic whips feature quite prominently in the scenes involving this duo. Even here, Leiber manages to insert the humorous note, like a wink! wink! nudge! nudge! to the reader about the folly of taking these things too seriously.
The amoral Fafhrd and Mouser are as usual chasing the female population of Nehwon rather indiscriminately, and single handedly pushing feminism back a decade or two. However, this time they may have bitten more than they can safely chew: the Grey Mouser is played like a fiddle by a coy Demoiselle (Leiber choice of title, not mine) while Fafhrd discovers the irresistible appeal of - wait for it!!! - bones :
Fafhrd, stretched out in a grassy hilltop hollow lit by moonlight and campfire, was conversing with a long-limbed recumbent skeleton named Kreeshkra, but whom he now mostly addressed by the pet name Bonny Bones. It was a moderately strange sight, yet one to touch the hearts of imaginative lovers and enemies of racial discrimination in all the many universes.
Adding to the general air of horror carnival, the obscure wizards, Seelba of the Eyeless Face and Ningauble of the Seven Eyes, are more aggravating than helping their nominal champions. Still, their intervention will give Leiber the opportunity to write my favorite passage from the book,
I'm not going to talk about the final confrontations, other than to mention two things I've learned from Swords of Lankhmar :
- Never blow a strange whistle. It might summon things far worse even than savage mastiffs or the police.
- When you want to get rid of rats from your house, recite this phrase backwards three times rapidly Rats live on no evil star
Until my next Leiber lecture, I bid you good journey with the words of Glipkerio Kistomerces :
World, adieu! Nehwon farewell! I go to seek a happier universe!
October 23, 2014
I recently re-read for the Pulp Fiction group. Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser are certainly 2 of the most entertaining of all sword & sorcery heroes. Their faults are legion, but their hearts are usually in the right place, unless of course there's money or sex to be had. Then they make horrendous mistakes, scramble frantically to extricate themselves from their current mess & swagger off, chalking it all up to experience. Of course, they promptly get into another mess shortly after that, but they're skillful, lucky & obviously watched over closely by the gods of chance & luck.
Leiber's writing is wonderful. He turns a phrase & description in a wonderfully entertaining manner. He's built a fun, odd world full of magic & barbaric deception. He has wonderfully decadent cities & rulers, too. His magic users are unfathomable & horrors abound through out. That many of his situations & creatures are exaggerated, sometimes to the point of comedy, is all to the good. His stories are not the grim, blood soaked sagas of Howard or Wagner, but lighter & a lot more fun.
Leiber's writing is wonderful. He turns a phrase & description in a wonderfully entertaining manner. He's built a fun, odd world full of magic & barbaric deception. He has wonderfully decadent cities & rulers, too. His magic users are unfathomable & horrors abound through out. That many of his situations & creatures are exaggerated, sometimes to the point of comedy, is all to the good. His stories are not the grim, blood soaked sagas of Howard or Wagner, but lighter & a lot more fun.
January 12, 2015
"A plague of rats overrun Lankhmar, the capitol city and glittering gem of the land of Nehwon. Commissioned to guard a ship of grain from the cursed rodents, brother-in-arms Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser soon discover the plague has progressed to a fatal point. Mustering the strength of sorcery, they descend into the depths of Lankhmar and rise to battle in order to save the soul of the ill-fated city."
This is certainly not the strongest of Fritz Lieber’s series about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, but not a complete stinker. It would seem in this book that he took the Pied Piper of Hamelin story and reworked it for his two familiar rogues.
Fafhrd and the Mouser get themselves into trouble, as they often do, by returning to Lankhmar broke and attempting to regroup. They are hired to accompany a marine shipment of grain and are lead astray when they think with their little heads, not with their big heads! Women have always been a weak spot for these two, but they seem particularly blind in this pursuit in Swords of Lankhmar. I was actually a bit offended on their behalf—neither Fafhrd nor the Mouser is a great intellect, but they are usually street-smart and highly concerned with their own welfare. Lieber makes them irresponsibly distracted in this adventure, not really a fair treatment.
Often Lieber’s use of language redeems these novels for me, but I found this version almost devoid of the wonderful vocabulary that I love and instead it is very focused on the tricks of magic spells. For instance, there is an Alice in Wonderland sequence, complete with potions that increase or decrease size, where the Mouser is plunged into the Rat World. There is also a strange fixation on hair—a ruler who abhors it and orders all his servants completely shaved, the fur of the rats, and an unusual number of comments on the hairiness of Fafhrd’s chest. A man/beast distinction, perhaps, with Fafhrd on the edge between the two?
Not as enjoyable as the previous books, but I’m still glad that I read it.
This is certainly not the strongest of Fritz Lieber’s series about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, but not a complete stinker. It would seem in this book that he took the Pied Piper of Hamelin story and reworked it for his two familiar rogues.
Fafhrd and the Mouser get themselves into trouble, as they often do, by returning to Lankhmar broke and attempting to regroup. They are hired to accompany a marine shipment of grain and are lead astray when they think with their little heads, not with their big heads! Women have always been a weak spot for these two, but they seem particularly blind in this pursuit in Swords of Lankhmar. I was actually a bit offended on their behalf—neither Fafhrd nor the Mouser is a great intellect, but they are usually street-smart and highly concerned with their own welfare. Lieber makes them irresponsibly distracted in this adventure, not really a fair treatment.
Often Lieber’s use of language redeems these novels for me, but I found this version almost devoid of the wonderful vocabulary that I love and instead it is very focused on the tricks of magic spells. For instance, there is an Alice in Wonderland sequence, complete with potions that increase or decrease size, where the Mouser is plunged into the Rat World. There is also a strange fixation on hair—a ruler who abhors it and orders all his servants completely shaved, the fur of the rats, and an unusual number of comments on the hairiness of Fafhrd’s chest. A man/beast distinction, perhaps, with Fafhrd on the edge between the two?
Not as enjoyable as the previous books, but I’m still glad that I read it.
November 27, 2025
The Swords of Lankhmar is a completed story not like other six books in the series which are short stories collections, It's a standalone story about the duo who were facing the crisis of the Incursion of the mutant rats, that forced both heroes seeking for saving city Lankhmar from the mutant rats. I think this is why this book's tile is The Swords of Lankhmar, the duo are the swords of Lankhmar who have saved Lankhmar from Rats.
Fafhrd was looking for the help from cats, and his story is sequences of finding cats to eliminate the rats in Lankhmar. He had encountered Ghouls in the city of Ghouls and met one of his beloved girls, who is a ghouls. I must say that Fafhrd has an extraordinary taste on his ideal girl. But for the sake of this story line, we know more mysterious of the world Nehwon, Ghouls's cultures and appearances; their skin are semi-transparent, If I recall correctly; and Ghouls eat corpses to maintain their bodies's function, they seems to be like zombies which nowadays readers are familiar with.
On the other hand, mouser was on his quest of subterranean infiltration, which is to deceit those intelligent-outsider rats as being one of their members to obtain their military maneuvers. It's a very humorous story line, Fritz Leiber already has considered what would happen if Mouser is shrunk! I love this kind of spy-like story, after Mouser Infiltrated the rats's underground headquarter in Lankhnar, he has discovered a tremendously terrifying secret that which is those intruded rats are half-human! Moreover, the story implies something unpleasant for some specific readers, so that if you do not like animal-breedings you may skip this book.
In summary, this is a fast-pace, Adrenalin adventure, both heroes are shinning in this book and have more fun with them when you are reading it. Fritz Leiber Is a ailurophile that he loves cats; I can see the point at it, when reading The Swords of Lankhmar.
Fafhrd was looking for the help from cats, and his story is sequences of finding cats to eliminate the rats in Lankhmar. He had encountered Ghouls in the city of Ghouls and met one of his beloved girls, who is a ghouls. I must say that Fafhrd has an extraordinary taste on his ideal girl. But for the sake of this story line, we know more mysterious of the world Nehwon, Ghouls's cultures and appearances; their skin are semi-transparent, If I recall correctly; and Ghouls eat corpses to maintain their bodies's function, they seems to be like zombies which nowadays readers are familiar with.
On the other hand, mouser was on his quest of subterranean infiltration, which is to deceit those intelligent-outsider rats as being one of their members to obtain their military maneuvers. It's a very humorous story line, Fritz Leiber already has considered what would happen if Mouser is shrunk! I love this kind of spy-like story, after Mouser Infiltrated the rats's underground headquarter in Lankhnar, he has discovered a tremendously terrifying secret that which is those intruded rats are half-human! Moreover, the story implies something unpleasant for some specific readers, so that if you do not like animal-breedings you may skip this book.
In summary, this is a fast-pace, Adrenalin adventure, both heroes are shinning in this book and have more fun with them when you are reading it. Fritz Leiber Is a ailurophile that he loves cats; I can see the point at it, when reading The Swords of Lankhmar.
February 6, 2013
This is the first volume where the reader gets to truly savor the outré, decadent delights of Lankhmar, a city that is wealthy and metropolitan more or less in spite of itself, and this alone is worth the price of admission for the novel.
This type of setting has been done more extensively elsewhere (see New Crobuzon), but I'm curious: was this the first? What came before Lankhmar?
This type of setting has been done more extensively elsewhere (see New Crobuzon), but I'm curious: was this the first? What came before Lankhmar?
November 15, 2020
¡Cómo he disfrutado con la relectura de esta novela, el súmmum de la espada y brujería! Además es una historia ideal para introducirse en Lankhmar: prescinde un poco del bagaje de todos los cuentos anteriores para centrarse en las nuevas peripecias de sus dos protagonistas, gran parte de sus páginas separados y amenazados por todo tipo de peligros. La nueva traducción mejora la anterior de Martínez Roca y le da aire fresco a esta desacomplejada novela de aventuras.
July 17, 2021
I remember this as being Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser’s greatest tale. It’s a full length novel instead of the typical collection of long short stories and it’s full of action straight through, proving once again that the two heroes are both truly puissant warriors and very very stupid when it comes to women.
The plot is one of the best. The rats are taking over Lankhmar and because the Overlord is truly stupid and gullible, it’s going to be up to Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser to save the day. The problem? A partially human rat (it’s not really clear that she’s a wererat or anything) is very beautiful, and the two heroes continually take her side even though they know she’s a bad guy who has actually tried to kill them. Evidently, one smile and they are re-hooked. It got a little annoying, but it didn’t actually surprise me that much. Besides, if they had acted intelligently, the whole story would have been over by the end of chapter three.
That being said, we do have some great scenes in this novel. The opening chapter is the piece of Fafhrd and Gray Mouser bravado that I remember best of all of their books, and Gray Mouser getting himself shrunk down to rat size is really funny. If you’re going to try this series, this is the book I’d most recommend.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
The plot is one of the best. The rats are taking over Lankhmar and because the Overlord is truly stupid and gullible, it’s going to be up to Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser to save the day. The problem? A partially human rat (it’s not really clear that she’s a wererat or anything) is very beautiful, and the two heroes continually take her side even though they know she’s a bad guy who has actually tried to kill them. Evidently, one smile and they are re-hooked. It got a little annoying, but it didn’t actually surprise me that much. Besides, if they had acted intelligently, the whole story would have been over by the end of chapter three.
That being said, we do have some great scenes in this novel. The opening chapter is the piece of Fafhrd and Gray Mouser bravado that I remember best of all of their books, and Gray Mouser getting himself shrunk down to rat size is really funny. If you’re going to try this series, this is the book I’d most recommend.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
May 26, 2015
Really 3.5 stars. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser in their first full-length novel take on a horde of civilized rats bent on taking over Lankhmar. I did enjoy it quite a bit, but the heroes were really missing the obvious in the beginning and the middle had slow parts, and the end with the whistle was just a little bit too lucky. I really liked the juxtopositions of how sometimes being small has its fighting advantages, and sometimes being large does.
June 26, 2020
Como el propio Leiber dice en el prólogo, Fafhrd y el Ratonero son truhanes, aventureros, bebedores, tragaldabas, putañeros, pendencieros, ladrones, jugadores y solo actuan con un ápice más de nobleza que los villanos. Y yo digo, además, que son tremendamente divertidos y adictivos. La incursión del Ratonero en Lankhmar de Abajo es una fantástica maravilla.
Solo quedan dos para terminar el ciclo, en unas semanas volveré a Lankhmar.
Solo quedan dos para terminar el ciclo, en unas semanas volveré a Lankhmar.
November 5, 2021
A decent precursor to Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld. (With a few indecent bits thrown in for good measure.)
December 23, 2014
Meh.
The Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser books are a fun way to waste some time if I'm in a particular mood.
They're pretty formulaic. In each one, our two heroes go on an adventure, get into trouble due to lust, greed, or often both, then spend the rest of the story trying to frantically work their way out of trouble again.
But whereas the other books are anthologies of slightly connected but mostly separate short stories, this particular one is a full length novel. And where the short stories are a great length to be able to laugh at them for a bit in between heavier books or even between chapters of a really long and dense book, a full novel just seems way too long for this formula.
I think (I hope) that this is the only novel in this series, which means I should enjoy the last two anthologies more than this one.
The Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser books are a fun way to waste some time if I'm in a particular mood.
They're pretty formulaic. In each one, our two heroes go on an adventure, get into trouble due to lust, greed, or often both, then spend the rest of the story trying to frantically work their way out of trouble again.
But whereas the other books are anthologies of slightly connected but mostly separate short stories, this particular one is a full length novel. And where the short stories are a great length to be able to laugh at them for a bit in between heavier books or even between chapters of a really long and dense book, a full novel just seems way too long for this formula.
I think (I hope) that this is the only novel in this series, which means I should enjoy the last two anthologies more than this one.
October 28, 2023
Paradigma de la fantasía épica, aquella más simple, socarrona, de múltiples aventuras ante enemigos formidables, que sin drama, ni lirismo, mantiene el interés gracias a su acción incansable de heroísmo delincuente, con dosis de humor, sensualidad y sangre. Tuve mis dudas si funcionaría en formato novela, pero por suerte me equivoqué ya que en ningún momento decae el ritmo y Leiber regala varias imágenes fantásticas para el recuerdo.
Sobre todo de ratas.
Sobre todo de ratas.
November 20, 2011
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
I never get tired of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser — I adore those two rogues! In The Swords of Lankhmar (a full novel rather than the usual story collection), the boys have been hired as guards for a fleet of grain shipments because several ships have recently disappeared. Aboard the ship they meet a couple of enchanting women who are escorting a troupe of performing rats across the sea. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser soon discover that these are not ordinary women, and those are not ordinary rats.
Back in Lankhmar they find that the city is dealing with rats, too. The rodents have become belligerent and troublesome. The Mouser begins to suspect that there might be a connection between those two ladies and Lankhmar’s troubles. With the help of his magical patron, the Mouser goes underground to spy on the rat army.
The Swords of Lankhmar is an expansion of Leiber’s novella Scylla’s Daughter (1961, Fantastic Stories of Imagination) which was nominated for a Hugo Award. The Swords of Lankhmar has everything fans have learned to expect from one of Fritz Leiber’s LANKHMAR series. It’s strange, creative, fast-paced, and fun. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are a couple of the best characters in all of fantasy fiction — if you haven’t read any of their adventures, you’re really missing out.
Let me again recommend the audio version of this series which has been produced by Audible Frontiers — Jonathan Davis’s performance is so entertaining!
I never get tired of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser — I adore those two rogues! In The Swords of Lankhmar (a full novel rather than the usual story collection), the boys have been hired as guards for a fleet of grain shipments because several ships have recently disappeared. Aboard the ship they meet a couple of enchanting women who are escorting a troupe of performing rats across the sea. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser soon discover that these are not ordinary women, and those are not ordinary rats.
Back in Lankhmar they find that the city is dealing with rats, too. The rodents have become belligerent and troublesome. The Mouser begins to suspect that there might be a connection between those two ladies and Lankhmar’s troubles. With the help of his magical patron, the Mouser goes underground to spy on the rat army.
The Swords of Lankhmar is an expansion of Leiber’s novella Scylla’s Daughter (1961, Fantastic Stories of Imagination) which was nominated for a Hugo Award. The Swords of Lankhmar has everything fans have learned to expect from one of Fritz Leiber’s LANKHMAR series. It’s strange, creative, fast-paced, and fun. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are a couple of the best characters in all of fantasy fiction — if you haven’t read any of their adventures, you’re really missing out.
Let me again recommend the audio version of this series which has been produced by Audible Frontiers — Jonathan Davis’s performance is so entertaining!
July 23, 2024
This is probably my favorite work of Leiber's so far. I'm not sure what all is in the compiled Masterwork version, but I opted to collect each book and read them in chronological order (not publishing date). This means I read the pairs origin stories in “Swords Against Death” prior to the first shorts they appeared in 12 years previously. And, probably to be expected, Leiber’s writing had improved quite a bit in those 12 years. This book was also written 2 years prior to “Swords Against Death” as well, but this novel definitely had the more polished writing that experience brought. The point of all of this to say, I really liked “Swords Against Death”, and I think this novel is on par.
Additionally, this is a full novel, not a series of collected shorts. And that makes this one something special.
I really enjoyed the story. Leiber gets much deeper into some of bizarre antics! I saw influences for Brandon Sanderson, Neil Gaiman, and even Micheal Moorcock. The story is funny at times, the fights are well written, and Leiber moves the plot along nicely to keep the reader engaged.
All and all, a good read.
Additionally, this is a full novel, not a series of collected shorts. And that makes this one something special.
I really enjoyed the story. Leiber gets much deeper into some of bizarre antics! I saw influences for Brandon Sanderson, Neil Gaiman, and even Micheal Moorcock. The story is funny at times, the fights are well written, and Leiber moves the plot along nicely to keep the reader engaged.
All and all, a good read.
January 21, 2024
Según indica el prólogo esta es la única novela de la saga (las demás son colecciones de relatos) y la verdad es que se nota una continuidad en la trama que aunque las demás también tienen, aquí, al ser todo el libro una sola historia, se aprecia más.
Esta nueva aventura es bastante original (los enemigos sobre todo) y está bien relacionada con el resto de historias anteriores, presenta algunas situaciones secundarias que quedan un poco sin explicación, pero en general todos los argumentos se cierran satisfactoriamente. Un libro muy entretenido.
Esta nueva aventura es bastante original (los enemigos sobre todo) y está bien relacionada con el resto de historias anteriores, presenta algunas situaciones secundarias que quedan un poco sin explicación, pero en general todos los argumentos se cierran satisfactoriamente. Un libro muy entretenido.
May 20, 2022
Leiber is a legend. A very odd tale, heavy on the sexual stuff and weird.
January 17, 2015
http://panopticonitalia.blogspot.it/2...
Swords of Lankhmar is the fifth book, and the only novel in the saga of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (second in Italy, because the first four are contained in The World Nehwon), written by Fritz Leiber and published in 1976 by the North.
In this adventure the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are hired by Glipkerio Kistomerces, lord of Lankhmar, to escort a fleet of ships laden with grain that will be offered to Movarl of Eight City, as compensation for hold off Mingol. However, the danger does not come from Lankhmar warriors of the steppes, but from their underground, as a race of giant rats living inside of them and has hatched a plan to seize power over the city of Black Toga.
In this book, Fritz Leiber implement all his skills of great
narrator, providing a history of sword and sorcery unusual and compelling in which there are brute force and duels to the death to lord, but intelligence and a good dose of irony. This does not induce you to think that there are scenes of pure daring and clash with cold: our in this adventure will have the opportunity to show off their skills of skilled swordsmen.
The world building is dotted with care by Leiber: it seems to have really lived these adventures with Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Particularly valuable are the reconstructions of the underground city of Lankhmar.
The magic is present but is used sparingly. The author presents a series of fantastic creatures that are different from those typically found in the classic works of fantasy (ogres, fairies, elves, goblins, etc ...), staging ghoul, ratmen warriors, women-air, and sea snakes divinity skeletal two heads.
The psychological profiles of the characters are complex and real dialogues and hilarious. How not to appreciate the difficult and troubled love affair between Fafhrd and his girlfriend ghoul, or that between Mouser and his woman-rat; and the strange relationship between Glipkerio torturer and his court.
Well gentlemen, I tell you that, with Swords of Lankhmar, Fritz Leiber gave us work not only essential but also unsurpassed insight and originality. All who love the sword and sorcery should have read the cycle of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser!
Swords of Lankhmar is the fifth book, and the only novel in the saga of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (second in Italy, because the first four are contained in The World Nehwon), written by Fritz Leiber and published in 1976 by the North.
In this adventure the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are hired by Glipkerio Kistomerces, lord of Lankhmar, to escort a fleet of ships laden with grain that will be offered to Movarl of Eight City, as compensation for hold off Mingol. However, the danger does not come from Lankhmar warriors of the steppes, but from their underground, as a race of giant rats living inside of them and has hatched a plan to seize power over the city of Black Toga.
In this book, Fritz Leiber implement all his skills of great
narrator, providing a history of sword and sorcery unusual and compelling in which there are brute force and duels to the death to lord, but intelligence and a good dose of irony. This does not induce you to think that there are scenes of pure daring and clash with cold: our in this adventure will have the opportunity to show off their skills of skilled swordsmen.
The world building is dotted with care by Leiber: it seems to have really lived these adventures with Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Particularly valuable are the reconstructions of the underground city of Lankhmar.
The magic is present but is used sparingly. The author presents a series of fantastic creatures that are different from those typically found in the classic works of fantasy (ogres, fairies, elves, goblins, etc ...), staging ghoul, ratmen warriors, women-air, and sea snakes divinity skeletal two heads.
The psychological profiles of the characters are complex and real dialogues and hilarious. How not to appreciate the difficult and troubled love affair between Fafhrd and his girlfriend ghoul, or that between Mouser and his woman-rat; and the strange relationship between Glipkerio torturer and his court.
Well gentlemen, I tell you that, with Swords of Lankhmar, Fritz Leiber gave us work not only essential but also unsurpassed insight and originality. All who love the sword and sorcery should have read the cycle of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser!
March 25, 2018
I never came around to enjoy this one. It started strong with witty banter between Fafhrd and Mouser and there was a tantalizing promise of a gonzo story of a time traveler riding a purple dragon, then the first third of the novel ended and Leiber wrote a nonsense tale of rats that involved Mouser in a Alice in Wonderland kind of tale.
I would only give two stars, but it had its moments of high notes, but only a few and too scarce; for instance, Fafhrd falling for a ghoul was fun.
I see two problems with this novel: one, it is a short story that Leiber stretched to novel length. There just wasn’t story enough there. Maybe he was feeling pressure from his publishers to produce a Newhon novel? Second, Fafhrd and the Mouser are not together for 2/3 of the book. They are always best served as a pair.
I read a digital version and at points the editing was lacking. I believe some line breaks were messed up. There were numerous POV changes that are typically signified by extra spaces between paragraphs. No visual cues were given the reader and I found it jarring to suddenly realize that POV had shifted with no warning.
I have read many warnings that the Fafhrd and Mouser stories fizzle near the end. I was hoping for it to be untrue. I will continue, after all I found volume 1 had moments of brilliance, volume 2 had more, volume 3 was tepid compared to the first two, but volume 4 was my favorite so far.
I would only give two stars, but it had its moments of high notes, but only a few and too scarce; for instance, Fafhrd falling for a ghoul was fun.
I see two problems with this novel: one, it is a short story that Leiber stretched to novel length. There just wasn’t story enough there. Maybe he was feeling pressure from his publishers to produce a Newhon novel? Second, Fafhrd and the Mouser are not together for 2/3 of the book. They are always best served as a pair.
I read a digital version and at points the editing was lacking. I believe some line breaks were messed up. There were numerous POV changes that are typically signified by extra spaces between paragraphs. No visual cues were given the reader and I found it jarring to suddenly realize that POV had shifted with no warning.
I have read many warnings that the Fafhrd and Mouser stories fizzle near the end. I was hoping for it to be untrue. I will continue, after all I found volume 1 had moments of brilliance, volume 2 had more, volume 3 was tepid compared to the first two, but volume 4 was my favorite so far.
October 17, 2017
A lesser tale, run too long
We're already at the point of diminishing returns in the Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories. What would be a decent novella is stretched into a mediocre novel, slowed by palace intrigues that aren't and mysterious side characters that aren't worth pondering. Still, it's pleasant enough and the world building, including the invisible-fleshed Ghouls and the rat kingdom of Lankhmar Below make for a worthwhile read.
We're already at the point of diminishing returns in the Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories. What would be a decent novella is stretched into a mediocre novel, slowed by palace intrigues that aren't and mysterious side characters that aren't worth pondering. Still, it's pleasant enough and the world building, including the invisible-fleshed Ghouls and the rat kingdom of Lankhmar Below make for a worthwhile read.
December 18, 2022
Eserciti di topi agguerriti che vogliono conquistare il mondo. Viaggiatori dimensionali tedeschi dalle armature variopinte in groppa a draghi marini. Fanciulle ghoul dalla pelle invisibile ma dalle candide ossa che sono un bijou. Antiche divinità che emergono dal passato esasperate dalla civiltà e dall'uomo moderno (dei tempi loro, s'intende). L'immaginazione di Fritz Leiber non sembra conoscere limiti anche in questo secondo volume dell'epopea di Fafhrd e il Gray Mouser, che questa volta non è scritto in forma di raccolta di racconti, ma come un'unica storia dall'inizio alla fine. Storia incentrata soprattutto sul Gray Mouser, che dovrà cercare di tener fede al proprio nome di caccia-topi, con un Fafhrd più lontano dal cuore dell'azione, pur restando risolutivo. Una splendida riconferma, dopo Il Mondo di Nehwon, che continua a saper divertire e far sognare di mondi lontani e perduti, con un piglio, un'ironia e una fantasiosità assolutamente di prim'ordine.
January 29, 2024
A truly absurd tale from Leiber. Every page is packed full of action and antics as Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser work their way into increasingly unpredictable and ridiculous circumstance. Leiber manages to craft yet another amazing story, that just keeps going with each chapter bringing a new fun and hilarious developments to the story.
On a similar level of "Bazaar of the Bizarre" and "Adept's Gambit," "The Sword of Lankhmar" is a stranger tale from Leiber, but it is this that makes it all the more enjoyable. This story has it all: from adventures across strange lands (with visitors from stranger ones), action packed displays of swords and sorcery, oddly charming romances, and to top it all off, being able to laugh along from the very first page to the last.
On a similar level of "Bazaar of the Bizarre" and "Adept's Gambit," "The Sword of Lankhmar" is a stranger tale from Leiber, but it is this that makes it all the more enjoyable. This story has it all: from adventures across strange lands (with visitors from stranger ones), action packed displays of swords and sorcery, oddly charming romances, and to top it all off, being able to laugh along from the very first page to the last.
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