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The Jewels in the Forest
A classic tale featuring two of the most-memorable characters in sword and sorcery, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.
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About the author
Fritz Leiber
1,341 books1,065 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 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 18, 2017
And so it began.
in 1939 Fritz Leiber began his long journey with two of the most interesting fantasy heroes in all the long and … fantastic history of the genre. From medieval folklore to the horrific tales of the 1800s to Jules Verne, L. Frank Baum, Edgar Rice Burroughs and –
H.P. Lovecraft.
Leiber, a very young writer in 1936 (26 years old) began a correspondence with the creator of Cthulhu that lasted until the older writer’s untimely and unfathomable death. While it is undeniable that Lovecraft has influenced a legion of artists since his death, he directly influenced several writers during his lifetime and Leiber (and Conan the Barbarian creator Robert E. Howard) may be at the top of the class. Much of Leiber’s early work was in the horror genre and it was a style he would return to often and that would also influence his fantasy writing.
It was Leiber after all (and Michael Moorcock) in the 60s who first coined the phrase sword and sorcery. This sub-genre would go on to fuel the imaginations of millions since and would lead to the creation of Dungeons and Dragons. It was in the Dungeons and Dragons tome Deities & Demigods: Cyclopedia of Gods and Heroes from Myth and Legend that I first came into contact with Leiber’s work and I was always intrigued but it would be decades later that I first began to read about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.
In the 1939 edition of Unknown readers were first introduced to the characters who would mean so much to the genre in a story at the time called “Two Sought Adventure” which not only introduced the heroes but also demonstrated Leiber’s talent for writing – light and mischievous (almost but not quite breaking the fourth wall) but also action packed, innovative and fast moving. To me his writing is reminiscent of some of Jack Vance’s best.
Later retitled The Jewels in the Forest this would remain one of Leiber’s best adventures with Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser and a must read for Leiber fans and sword and sorcery readers.
in 1939 Fritz Leiber began his long journey with two of the most interesting fantasy heroes in all the long and … fantastic history of the genre. From medieval folklore to the horrific tales of the 1800s to Jules Verne, L. Frank Baum, Edgar Rice Burroughs and –
H.P. Lovecraft.
Leiber, a very young writer in 1936 (26 years old) began a correspondence with the creator of Cthulhu that lasted until the older writer’s untimely and unfathomable death. While it is undeniable that Lovecraft has influenced a legion of artists since his death, he directly influenced several writers during his lifetime and Leiber (and Conan the Barbarian creator Robert E. Howard) may be at the top of the class. Much of Leiber’s early work was in the horror genre and it was a style he would return to often and that would also influence his fantasy writing.
It was Leiber after all (and Michael Moorcock) in the 60s who first coined the phrase sword and sorcery. This sub-genre would go on to fuel the imaginations of millions since and would lead to the creation of Dungeons and Dragons. It was in the Dungeons and Dragons tome Deities & Demigods: Cyclopedia of Gods and Heroes from Myth and Legend that I first came into contact with Leiber’s work and I was always intrigued but it would be decades later that I first began to read about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.
In the 1939 edition of Unknown readers were first introduced to the characters who would mean so much to the genre in a story at the time called “Two Sought Adventure” which not only introduced the heroes but also demonstrated Leiber’s talent for writing – light and mischievous (almost but not quite breaking the fourth wall) but also action packed, innovative and fast moving. To me his writing is reminiscent of some of Jack Vance’s best.
Later retitled The Jewels in the Forest this would remain one of Leiber’s best adventures with Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser and a must read for Leiber fans and sword and sorcery readers.
September 30, 2024
something something, the exploration of tone/style/suspension of disbelief in fantasy, fun easy read, yadda yadda. supposedly two of the most famous characters in all of fantasy, i guess? but who's saying that??
January 24, 2025
A short story I read for my fantasy lit class, so it doesn't really count as a book. Since I enjoyed it, I'm going to log it though so shush.
November 9, 2021
The original Fafhrd and Gray Mouser tale. The Conan ancestry is obvious but the friendship dynamic proves a refreshing alternative to the extrahuman hardness of our Cimmerian. I am in for more tales of the swashbuckling twosome.
August 25, 2024
18. I don’t think that I had a real clue on what was going on.
October 15, 2024
They hate when you serve big strong man and lithe quick killer duo
December 3, 2022
wowww this was so good, absolutely blew me away. a short sword-and-sorcery about the corrupting draw of wealth. somewhat reminiscent of lord of the rings in its descriptions of landscape/setting, it was beautiful to read and really draws the reader in. wonderful prose, tone matched the action perfectly throughout, and ofc some slightly cheesy names but what can you do w fantasy.
at first i settled in for a slow delicious read, savoring the writing, but the suspense rlly kicked in and i frantically read the last few pages. fantastic pacing, did an excellent job at keeping me hooked all the way until the brilliant ending. it was absolutely amazing, i could not figure out what was going on and the reveal was super cool.
i appreciated the nuanced depictions of the heroes experiencing emotion and exhaustion after battle, legitimately being terrified in the face of danger, and exercising rationality (sometimes. lol.)
there was some.. pretty classist commentary on how peasants lack imagination and are stupid, but it wasn't a huge part of the story.
at first i settled in for a slow delicious read, savoring the writing, but the suspense rlly kicked in and i frantically read the last few pages. fantastic pacing, did an excellent job at keeping me hooked all the way until the brilliant ending. it was absolutely amazing, i could not figure out what was going on and the reveal was super cool.
i appreciated the nuanced depictions of the heroes experiencing emotion and exhaustion after battle, legitimately being terrified in the face of danger, and exercising rationality (sometimes. lol.)
there was some.. pretty classist commentary on how peasants lack imagination and are stupid, but it wasn't a huge part of the story.
April 24, 2017
This story was first published in 1939 as "Two Sought Adventure," it was an interesting introduction to Fritz Lieber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories. I enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews