What do you think?
Rate this book
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser #4-6
Swords' Masters
Swords' Masters the Fourth,Fifth and Sixth Books of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
536 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
198 people are currently reading
371 people want to read
About the author
Fritz Leiber
1,335 books1,057 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
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 14, 2023
I was confused at parts through this volume buti enjoyed the ride and the destination.
June 25, 2020
Not quite as good as the first collection, but still grand, fun fantasy that gets pretty damn weird in parts. The best story was the middle novel which centered around an massive invasion of Lankhmar by rats. In this one the Gray Mouser gets shrunk down to the size of a mouse so that he can go under-cover, and this provides a great amount of both tension and humor. The final book was probably the weakest, with a lot of Fafhrd and Gray Mouser both fretting about past encounters, although the final consequences for Fafhrd were much harsher than I remembered.
July 29, 2008
This actually collects three Fafhrd and Gray Mouser novels, "Swords against Wizardry," "The Swords of Lankhmar," and "Swords and Ice Magic." They are good reading, with very nice prose and with elements of high fantasy mixed in with the sword and sorcery.
Leiber has been known to say that he created Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser as more realistic characters than Conan the Cimmerian. This collection certainly shows that this is not the case. Robert E. Howard's Conan is far more realistic than these two characters. Their adventures are in many ways far more outlandish than anything Howard wrote.
Still, they are fun reads.
Leiber has been known to say that he created Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser as more realistic characters than Conan the Cimmerian. This collection certainly shows that this is not the case. Robert E. Howard's Conan is far more realistic than these two characters. Their adventures are in many ways far more outlandish than anything Howard wrote.
Still, they are fun reads.
March 26, 2025
It's quite alright to indulge in reading for pure entertainment, in case you were waiting for my permission. But if you want to get a dose of swords and sorcery, you may as well go for some written by the author who coined the term. For that, Leiber is your man. Newhon, the world of Fafhrd and The Grey Mouser where these stories take place is intricately and engrossingly imagined, and their adventures are a cut well above the majority of the greasy kids' stuff which comprises the genre.
Our two anti-heroes are true rogues, serving only themselves in any undertaking in which they engage. Their appetites are earthy, so again, this isn't generally stuff for kids. Leiber is a real writer so no puerile chatter or cheap gimmicks are used to move the plots. If you enjoy this volume, you're in luck! There are around half a dozen Swords titles in the series full of Fafhrd and The Grey Mouser tales.
Our two anti-heroes are true rogues, serving only themselves in any undertaking in which they engage. Their appetites are earthy, so again, this isn't generally stuff for kids. Leiber is a real writer so no puerile chatter or cheap gimmicks are used to move the plots. If you enjoy this volume, you're in luck! There are around half a dozen Swords titles in the series full of Fafhrd and The Grey Mouser tales.
May 20, 2019
Upon a re-reading, these are still great adventure stories, although the language tends to the Shakespearean. The treatment of women and non-white races is cringingly poor. The adventures themselves are good tales that balance wit and action and throw in a dollop of outright weirdness from time to time. Would be worthy of a reboot with more modern attitudes.
June 6, 2021
Like sword and sorcery without all the issues of Robert E. Howard?
Then go track down this collection of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser novels. Truly, Leiber was a master of the genre (and really just a master in whatever genre he wrote, go check out Our Lady of Darkness).
Then go track down this collection of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser novels. Truly, Leiber was a master of the genre (and really just a master in whatever genre he wrote, go check out Our Lady of Darkness).
May 26, 2024
Fafhrd & Gray Mouser are pals in a bromance, sometimes heroes, sometimes rogues, fighting and thieving their way through the imaginary world of Lankhmar. Fritz Lieber did almost as much for the sword-and-sorcery genre as Burroughs and Howard. A must-read if that's your cup of tea.
November 3, 2019
This is the hardcover version form the book club in 1990.
April 13, 2020
Spouse and I continue to be in disagreement. I assert that Fafherd and the Grey Mouser are better than Conan. Spouse disagrees.
Fafherd and the Grey Mouser ARE better than Conan.
Fafherd and the Grey Mouser ARE better than Conan.
May 8, 2019
This is the second collected volume of Fritz Leiber's adventures of the sword and sorcery dynamic duo "Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. Fafhrd is a fierce yet honorable barbarian from the far North. The Grey Mouser is a scoundrel thief/magician from somewhere to the far South. Together, they journey across the world of Nehwon, taking part in all sorts of adventures. This volume collects the three novels "Swords Against Wizardry," "Swords of Lankhmar," and "Swords and Ice Magic."
In the first novel in question, Fafhrd and the Mouser journey high up into the formidable mountains of Fafhrd's homeland, to the tallest peak of them all; Stardock, in a race to obtain a legendary treasure, and later end up in an underground world ruled by shadowy sorcerous overlords.
In "Swords of Lankhmar," undoubtedly the strongest of these collected novels, our two heroes uncover a sinister plot to overthrow the city of Lankhmar by a power-mad sorcerer, his narcissistic daughter, and an army of super-intelligent mutant rats.
Finally, in "Swords and Ice Magic," the two are called to the mysterious Rime Isle to stand against an inhuman ice mage of immense power and a horde of Mingol barbarians threatening to rape and pillage the island's people and treasures.
Outside of "Swords of Lankhmar," I found the other two novels within this collection to be quite disappointing and lackluster, especially at their conclusions. I'll keep reading Lieber's "Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser" out of pure curiosity though, as I am now reading "A Knight and Knave of Swords," and am going to finish up with Robin Wayne Bailey's pastiche of "Swords Against the Shadowland." But honestly, I'm not getting my hopes up, as the aforementioned book is turning out to be quite a letdown as well so far. Suffice it to say, I believe Fritz Leiber is not turning out to be my cup of tea when it comes to the sword and sorcery genre. He lacks the muscle, grit, and power that abound in other authors of the genre.
I give "Swords' Masters" by Fritz Leiber a 2.5 out of 5.
In the first novel in question, Fafhrd and the Mouser journey high up into the formidable mountains of Fafhrd's homeland, to the tallest peak of them all; Stardock, in a race to obtain a legendary treasure, and later end up in an underground world ruled by shadowy sorcerous overlords.
In "Swords of Lankhmar," undoubtedly the strongest of these collected novels, our two heroes uncover a sinister plot to overthrow the city of Lankhmar by a power-mad sorcerer, his narcissistic daughter, and an army of super-intelligent mutant rats.
Finally, in "Swords and Ice Magic," the two are called to the mysterious Rime Isle to stand against an inhuman ice mage of immense power and a horde of Mingol barbarians threatening to rape and pillage the island's people and treasures.
Outside of "Swords of Lankhmar," I found the other two novels within this collection to be quite disappointing and lackluster, especially at their conclusions. I'll keep reading Lieber's "Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser" out of pure curiosity though, as I am now reading "A Knight and Knave of Swords," and am going to finish up with Robin Wayne Bailey's pastiche of "Swords Against the Shadowland." But honestly, I'm not getting my hopes up, as the aforementioned book is turning out to be quite a letdown as well so far. Suffice it to say, I believe Fritz Leiber is not turning out to be my cup of tea when it comes to the sword and sorcery genre. He lacks the muscle, grit, and power that abound in other authors of the genre.
I give "Swords' Masters" by Fritz Leiber a 2.5 out of 5.
January 16, 2025
Dopo circa un anno proseguo la mia lettura della saga di Lankhmar con
The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser: Volume Two
, e inizio ribadendo quanto già indicato per il primo omnibus: la Open Road Media ha fatto un lavoro indecente e vende a un prezzo esagerato degli ebook mal impaginati, con refusi di battitura onnipresenti e punteggiature tutte sballate che disturbano il dizionario digitale degli e-reader, al punto che c'è da chiedersi se questi ebook non siano il risultato della scansione di una stampa cartacea e conversione automatica del file immagine in html (e ciò è, per i non iniziati, il modo peggiore di fabbricare un ebook). Io avevo comprato la serie in blocco durante un saldo, ma ribadisco il mio invito: boicottate questa edizione spazzatura e comprate la serie in un cartaceo di seconda mano.
Passando alla recensione dei testi, sarebbe un 3.5/5 ma concedo l'arrotondamento a 4/5. Le speranze che avevo espresso recensendo The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Volume One: Swords and Deviltry, Swords Against Death, and Swords in the Mist si sono realizzate e in questa seconda fase del ciclo Fritz Leiber spicca il volo, abbandona le convenzioni narrative howardiane (che chiaramente gli stanno strette) e raggiunge delle vette degnissime di qualità letteraria, quella felice combinazione fra situazioni fantasmagoriche e prosa affabulatoria che rende valido un feuilleton. Andando più nello specifico:
4. Swords against Wizardry si apre con un dittico di novelle a tema alpinistico che francamente mi hanno preso poco (ma a me non piace l'alpinismo) pur presentando delle gustose scene di quella magia fiabesca che Leiber tanto ama; si prosegue poi con un racconto breve di raccordo ricco di sarcasmo; si conclude con lo spettacolare "The Lords of Quarmall", un piccolo capolavoro di thriller politico che mette in scena le mosse e contromosse di tanti contendenti entro un microcosmo suggestivo, oliato come un orologio svizzero e trasudante atmosfera – se un giorno mi metterò a elencare i miei racconti brevi preferiti, questo andrà sul podio.
5. The Swords of Lankhmar itera sulla struttura di "The Lords of Quarmall" e mette in scena un thriller di scala ancora più ampia costruito su un crescendo di fantasmagorie, fra viaggiatori dimensionali in sella a serpenti marini, delitti nei gabinetti pubblici e pozioni magiche di rimpicciolimento che rispettano la legge di Lavoisier (sic!). Forse l'intreccio non sarà il più articolato che il genere abbia mai visto, ma la voce narrante sorniona e la costruzione calibratissima di sottotrame parallele lo rendono un romanzo egregio; francamente lo antepongo senza esitare a Thunderball : Operazione tuono.
6. Swords and Ice Magic è al tempo stesso il pezzo forte e il pezzo debole della raccolta: la sua prima metà è una sequenza di quattro racconti comico-esistenziali sul duello perpetuo fra la Morte e i due protagonisti (sic!) che oscillano fra il gustosamente maestoso e il banalmente sconcio (non livello Howard ma quasi), il quinto testo è un pezzo comico-esistenziale di qualità assai superiore che mette in moto l'evoluzione piscologica di Fafhrd e l'Acchiappatopi, segue un pezzo marinaresco un po' insipido (tranne che per i lettori astronomi di mestiere), si chiude con il dittico delle avventure marinaresche sull'Isola di Brina, che oscilla anch'esso fra valida fantasmagoria e lungaggini un po' inerti (sì oggi mi piace la parola "fantasmagoria").
Tirando le somme, il ciclo di Fafhrd & Gray Mouser si riconferma come un esempio sapiente e rifinito di narrativa avventurosa per l'intrattenimento, con guizzi di acume e profondità emotiva che lo elevano sopra la media del genere; non sempre è impeccabile e di sicuro non appaga un animo sentimentale come sa fare Ursula K. Le Guin in The Tombs of Atuan, però nel suo ambito è materiale pregiato.
Passando alla recensione dei testi, sarebbe un 3.5/5 ma concedo l'arrotondamento a 4/5. Le speranze che avevo espresso recensendo The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Volume One: Swords and Deviltry, Swords Against Death, and Swords in the Mist si sono realizzate e in questa seconda fase del ciclo Fritz Leiber spicca il volo, abbandona le convenzioni narrative howardiane (che chiaramente gli stanno strette) e raggiunge delle vette degnissime di qualità letteraria, quella felice combinazione fra situazioni fantasmagoriche e prosa affabulatoria che rende valido un feuilleton. Andando più nello specifico:
4. Swords against Wizardry si apre con un dittico di novelle a tema alpinistico che francamente mi hanno preso poco (ma a me non piace l'alpinismo) pur presentando delle gustose scene di quella magia fiabesca che Leiber tanto ama; si prosegue poi con un racconto breve di raccordo ricco di sarcasmo; si conclude con lo spettacolare "The Lords of Quarmall", un piccolo capolavoro di thriller politico che mette in scena le mosse e contromosse di tanti contendenti entro un microcosmo suggestivo, oliato come un orologio svizzero e trasudante atmosfera – se un giorno mi metterò a elencare i miei racconti brevi preferiti, questo andrà sul podio.
5. The Swords of Lankhmar itera sulla struttura di "The Lords of Quarmall" e mette in scena un thriller di scala ancora più ampia costruito su un crescendo di fantasmagorie, fra viaggiatori dimensionali in sella a serpenti marini, delitti nei gabinetti pubblici e pozioni magiche di rimpicciolimento che rispettano la legge di Lavoisier (sic!). Forse l'intreccio non sarà il più articolato che il genere abbia mai visto, ma la voce narrante sorniona e la costruzione calibratissima di sottotrame parallele lo rendono un romanzo egregio; francamente lo antepongo senza esitare a Thunderball : Operazione tuono.
6. Swords and Ice Magic è al tempo stesso il pezzo forte e il pezzo debole della raccolta: la sua prima metà è una sequenza di quattro racconti comico-esistenziali sul duello perpetuo fra la Morte e i due protagonisti (sic!) che oscillano fra il gustosamente maestoso e il banalmente sconcio (non livello Howard ma quasi), il quinto testo è un pezzo comico-esistenziale di qualità assai superiore che mette in moto l'evoluzione piscologica di Fafhrd e l'Acchiappatopi, segue un pezzo marinaresco un po' insipido (tranne che per i lettori astronomi di mestiere), si chiude con il dittico delle avventure marinaresche sull'Isola di Brina, che oscilla anch'esso fra valida fantasmagoria e lungaggini un po' inerti (sì oggi mi piace la parola "fantasmagoria").
Tirando le somme, il ciclo di Fafhrd & Gray Mouser si riconferma come un esempio sapiente e rifinito di narrativa avventurosa per l'intrattenimento, con guizzi di acume e profondità emotiva che lo elevano sopra la media del genere; non sempre è impeccabile e di sicuro non appaga un animo sentimentale come sa fare Ursula K. Le Guin in The Tombs of Atuan, però nel suo ambito è materiale pregiato.
January 7, 2026
In this second collection of tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, the two adventurers pursue more promises of big payoffs for dangerous feats. In the first of the three books, they perform incredible exercises in mountain climbing on a nearly impossible trackless mountain in return for a rendezvous with two beautiful girls and a possible payoff of something called star-jewels, which may or may not be real things. Another episode has them split up to serve two brothers battling each other over who will succeed their father to the rulership of an unsettling country. In still another tale, they are tasked with guarding a shipment of grain from their city to some island country far away. Except that most of the passengers on the ships turn out to be rats, who return to their city of Lankhmar and almost take over the place.
In the final episodes, Fafhrd and the Mouser are initially separated again for an unsettling voyage into a foggy sea on the edge of the known world – or maybe not even that. At first, they don’t know they are competing with each other, but they quickly recognize each other’s tactics. However, this is not the most disquieting part of the trip. Somewhere on this adventure, they are treated to a view of the world of Death (kind of a minor Death), wherein they see practically all the women they have dealt with since leaving Fafhrd’s home settlement at the beginning of their travels six books earlier.
Can’t beat this pair for swords and sorcery. They are hip-deep in both in practically everything they undertake.
In the final episodes, Fafhrd and the Mouser are initially separated again for an unsettling voyage into a foggy sea on the edge of the known world – or maybe not even that. At first, they don’t know they are competing with each other, but they quickly recognize each other’s tactics. However, this is not the most disquieting part of the trip. Somewhere on this adventure, they are treated to a view of the world of Death (kind of a minor Death), wherein they see practically all the women they have dealt with since leaving Fafhrd’s home settlement at the beginning of their travels six books earlier.
Can’t beat this pair for swords and sorcery. They are hip-deep in both in practically everything they undertake.
March 22, 2015
This is a collection of three volumes in the famous sword-and-sorcery adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser: Swords Against Wizardry, The Swords of Lankmar, and Swords and Ice Magic. The first has our heroes climbing one of the highest mountains in the world of Nehwon. The second involves a plague of rats invading the city of Lankhmar, with things being complicated somewhat because the Mouser has a thing for the leader's daughter, a sort of human-rat hybrid. It's a pretty bizarre adventure, including not only sentient rats but a German magician who travels through various worlds to find specimens for his time-and-space zoo. We also meet the current Overlord of Lankhmar, a decadent and depraved man named Glipkerio Kistomerces. Ice Magic continues the theme of travelers from our world visiting Nehwon, only in this case it's the gods Odin and Loki, determined to start a war between the icy Rime Isle and the Mingols (Nehwon's equivalent of Mongols) in order to satisfy themselves and provide more business for the personification of Death. I became interested in Leiber from reading Terry Pratchett, and I can definitely see where he got many of his ideas for the early Discworld books.
September 1, 2014
This is a collection of books 4, 5, and 6 of the saga of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. As with the first three books, these are gloriously pulpy fantasy schlock. It still isn't high art, but it's classic, and these stories have influenced many writers today.
Here are my thoughts on the individual books:
Swords against Wizardry
The usual collection of loosely-related stories. Still supremely enjoyable to read for mindless entertainment.
Swords of Lankhmar
This one was a fully-realized, coherent, book-length story. I really enjoyed the depth the author got into with this one. It was actually a step up from his usual stories.
Swords and Ice Magic
This was another collection of shorter stories that were not necessarily related, and some were by other authors. This initially put me off, but on the whole, the stories were good. Of particular note was the last story, "Rime Isle". I didn't particularly care for it because it was decidedly not the typical flavor of his previous stories. However, fans of Neil Gaiman take note: I believe this story provided Gaiman with the initial inspiration for his book "American Gods". The similarities are too glaring to be coincidence.
Here are my thoughts on the individual books:
Swords against Wizardry
The usual collection of loosely-related stories. Still supremely enjoyable to read for mindless entertainment.
Swords of Lankhmar
This one was a fully-realized, coherent, book-length story. I really enjoyed the depth the author got into with this one. It was actually a step up from his usual stories.
Swords and Ice Magic
This was another collection of shorter stories that were not necessarily related, and some were by other authors. This initially put me off, but on the whole, the stories were good. Of particular note was the last story, "Rime Isle". I didn't particularly care for it because it was decidedly not the typical flavor of his previous stories. However, fans of Neil Gaiman take note: I believe this story provided Gaiman with the initial inspiration for his book "American Gods". The similarities are too glaring to be coincidence.
May 26, 2007
Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are great heroes, and Issek of the jug ranks right up there with Made of Meat as one of the best laugh out loud stories I've ever read.
July 3, 2008
Classic Lieber compilation of short stories and novellas, again sword and sorcery but I would highly recommend.
Read
August 8, 2008Gray Mauser and Fafhrd Omnibus #4-#6: Swords Against Wizardry,The Swords of Lankhmar,Swords and Ice Magic
April 24, 2019
This was just super weird. Like, the kind of bizarre you didn't know existed and then you wish you didn't know it existed, but it's SO bizarre that you really can't forget it. Ever.
March 21, 2017
The re-read did not disappoint.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews