Return to Lankhmar

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser #5-6

by Fritz Leiber

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are on the trail of mischief and mayhem once again in the third volume of White Wolf's four volume series. Includes The Swords of Lankhmar and Swords and Ice Magice.

Genres: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Short Stories, Classics, Anthologies

494 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1991

About the author

Fritz 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

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

And so on to the third of the collected Swords books - reading these books does feel like I am picking up the literary equivalent of a Russian doll - you have this omnibus contains - two books, which in turn turn contain a series of short stories.

I am not going to go through each story plus my no spoilers rule sort of kicks in about now anyway. However what I can say that after so many adventures (after all if you look at each story as a new adventure / quest / trial - then they have been very busy indeed).

However its not just the fantastic adventures of the characters which make them so important (and the establishing of the sword and sorcery genre) but also how the reading community has taken them to heart.

Now I will digress here a little - on reading about the books (come on you know me I love to know what a book got written as well as what was in it) I did not realise how far and wide these two characters Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser had got. Yes I had seen references to comics and graphic novels but table top gaming and the rise of fighting fantasy stories.

And that is not all - these omnibus editions each have new celebrity (endorsements?) introductions all of whom seem to get in some reference to how they were influenced by these adventures. Each cover has quotes from some of the master of high fantasy, high praise in deed, or just acknowledging one of their peers as they rightly should.

[Ella O.N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to like this, since it's the legendary Fritz Leiber, after all! An S&S founding father, AND the creator of the legendary duo, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. I was expecting rollicking fun, witty repartee, and some good old-fashioned action.

Instead, I got half-naked sexy teenage girls, sexy serving maids getting gratuitously chained up and whipped, and all sorts of other things that were probably loads of fun for the nerdy, sexually repressed young men of the 1960s, 70s, and onwards. I can't even say that the writing or the plots of these stories were impressive enough to detract from the abysmal treatment women and girls got. I get the sense that Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser were supposed to be charming and dashing, but I read through this book very quickly and with a very disgusted grimace. They genuinely read like they should be on a watchlist. I was not charmed, I was not impressed, and two stars is being generous.

And, if men can look back on this with nostalgia that isn't tempered by concern and introspection...I don't know what to say. My copy of this book has an introduction by Neil Gaiman that is highly disappointing. He's one of my favorite authors and I thought he always treated his women characters in a respectful manner. So the fact that doesn't say anything about the rape culture that pervades this book kind of sickens me. No, he just nicely reminisces about reading it as a schoolboy and liking the beautiful women. I'm pissed.

[Jared Millet · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I am tired, Gray Mouser, of these little brushes with Death," Fafhrd the Northerner said, lifting his dinted, livid goblet and taking a measured sup of sweet ferment of grape laced with bitter brandy.

"Want a big one?" his comrade scoffed, drinking likewise.

Fafhrd considered that...

(from "The Frost Monstreme")

Two books in one, so:

SWORDS OF LANKHMAR The only actual novel in the Fafhrd & Gray Mouser series, in which the city of Lankhmar is threatened by invasion from an overwhelming army - its own rats! The Mouser may have the power to save the city, but he'll only bother if he can impress the Overlord while doing so.

SWORDS AND ICE MAGIC The stories here fall into two groups: First, a series of bouts with Death, who comes across as a beurocratic Wile E. Coyote in his attempts to snuff out the two heroes. Second, an extended "Icelandic" saga in which Fafhrd & Mouser thwart the ambitions of an evil wizard, a barbarian horde, and the gods Odin and Loki, all in such an irreverent way as to make Tolkien spin in his grave.

If there were any justice in the world, Lieber would be a lot more well-known and well-read than he is. Highly, highly recommended.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is for the whole Lankhmar series. What can you say about the guy who coined the phrase "Sword and Sorcery". Besides, Fafhrd and Grey Mouser are two of the most legendary characters in literature.

[Eralp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating... stories of Lankhmar, stories of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser draw you into the their world.

[RunningRed NightBringer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Third volume in White Wolf's collection of the Leiber's stories of the greatest duo in fantasy literature.
The majority of the volume includes the novel The Swords of Lankhmar, a novel length story that starts with Fafhrd and Gray Mouser being hired to guide ships of grain crossing the sea and uncovering a rat-based conspiracy against the city of Lankhmar.
There's additional stories where they flee from Death, try to sail around the world and face a montage of past lovers.
The final story has them hired to captain crews of men to defend a northern island against raiders but must contend with old gods, old feuds and grouchy councilmen.

As with the prior volumes, the stories are excellent. Full of high and low magic, sword fights and bizarre weird shit. Even if the duo are separated, their stories intertwine and the bash brothers are reunited in the end.

My only slight problem is that Fritz sometimes leans heavily on florid descriptions and using a thesaurus to pick synonyms you've never heard before. A couple of times I've read a passage, had no idea what was being said and had to go back and reread it. The prose goes from purple right to ultraviolet.

But it is a minor nitpick. The stories are amazing and it's a damn crime we haven't gotten a decent film or tv adaptation of their adventures.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sword and sorcery adventures of Fafhrd and Gray Mouser continue. This book reprints the Swords of Lankhmar, which is the only novel length Fafhrd and Gray Mouser adventure Leiber wrote. It features the two facing off against a giant rat problem in Lankhmar. Other highlights include "The Frost Monstreme" where Fafhrd and Gray Mouser are hired to recruit like minded adventurers and travel to an island to defend it against a pending invasion. As is typical, the two get in way over their heads. This story leads in to "Rime Isle" picks up where "Frost Monstreme" ends, with Fafhrd and Gray Mouser now needing to defend the island. The stories are a lot of fun, and well worth checking out if you enjoy fantasy.

[The Damsel in the Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories are so inventive and different from modern fantasy I can't help but enjoy them. The writing style is slightly old-fashioned and full of phrases and compound words that I've never seen before and it really kept me engaged when the action didn't. Some of the stories aren't as good as others, but it's a delight nonetheless.

Favorites:
The Swords of Lankhmar (the creativity of the rat world is great)
Under the Thumbs of the Gods
Trapped in the Sea of Stars
Rime Isle

[Merlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spannende Kurzgeschichtensammlung, die sich leider in einigen Passagen etwas zieht. Herrlich selbstironisch und mit viel Witz, man merkt hier schon sehr die Grundlage für viele später kommende Werke, wie von Terry Pratchett und Neil Gaiman.

[Toby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still cool short stories about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, though it felt kinda slow in the middle. The story at the end picks it up again, but all in all not as good as the other two.
Now the fourth collection is waiting (Farewell to Lankhmar), but I'll take a break from them and read Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

[Kat Hooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've reviewed these separately at FanLit: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/fant...

[Tom Tancredi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing collection of stories, although Rime Island is by far the best long-form novelette by Fritz Leiber in the FatGM universe so far. Collection 3 out of 4 are done! Can't wait to get to the final one....