The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser: Swords and Deviltry, Swords Against Death, and Swords in the Mist

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser #1-3

by Fritz Leiber

The Hugo and Nebula Award–winning series of swords and sorcery, featuring two unorthodox heroes, from a Grand Master of Science Fiction and Fantasy.
 
Many decades before George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, Grand Master Fritz Leiber ruled the sword-and-sorcery universe. These three short story collections chronicle the unconventional adventures of Leiber’s endearing barbarian Fafhrd and former wizard’s apprentice, the Gray Mouser.
 
Swords and Deviltry: Fafhrd, a handsome barbarian of the Steppes, is seduced by a beautiful prostitute and her equally intoxicating city, while the Gray Mouser, a slum rat wizard-in-training, is tempted by the dark arts. The two men meet on a night of multiple thieveries and an enduring partnership is born.
 
Swords Against Death: Rogue swordsmen and devoted companions Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser pursue ill-gotten fortunes within the confines of Lankhmar. They cross paths with two wizards, Sheelba of the Eyeless Face and Ningauble of the Seven Eyes, and a most violent clash ensues. Eventually, following further adventures, the two antiheroes end up as indentured swordsman servants to their former foes.
 
Swords in the Mist: A cloud of concentrated hatred and lean times in Lankhmar compels Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser to temporarily depart the most corrupt metropolis in all of Nehwon as they seek adventure in the realm of the Sea-King—and on a different world entirely.
 
This must-read collection of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser short stories features multiple Hugo and Nebula Award–nominated tales, and includes the acclaimed novella Ill Met in Lankhmar.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Sword and Sorcery, Science Fiction Fantasy, Classics, Speculative Fiction, Adventure

642 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1989

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

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The never-ending re-read
Book 1 - Swords And Deviltry:
- The Snow Women: Fafhrd, young skald in training, is torn between duty to his pregnant wife to be and his desire to see the world in the company of an actress visiting the Cold Wastes...

And here we are again after ten years on the shelf, the first tale in Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar series. Was my love for the series misplaced? It was not.

While it's not a magical as later tales in the series The Snow Women does a good job of setting the tone. There were so many details I'd forgotten since my last reading, like Fafhrd alluding to a chance meeting with his future partner, The Gray Mouser. Another thing I didn't remember? How misogynist the tale seems at times. Still, pretty damn entertaining and a lot funnier than I remembered.

- The Unholy Grail:
A wizard is killed by the duke's men and his young apprentice, Mouse, seeks vengeance. But the duke's young daughter is his lover...

The Gray Mouser's origin is told here, closing the book on his past as a wizard's apprentice and sending him on the path to roguedom and his partnerhsip with Fafhrd. It's much darker than the first story and does a good job of establishing Mouser's personality for the rest of the series.

- Ill Met in Lankhmar:
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser form their partnership after robbing members of the thieves guild. However, their reverie is short lived...

This is the story where the hetero life partnership of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser is forged and also nicely illustrates why I like the duo so much. They don't go up against the thieves guild because of a grand quest, they go up against them because they're very drunk and their girlfriends tell them to do it. I do not find that hard to relate to in the least. The shit storm of violence at the end of Ill Met in Lankhmar is the best part of Swords Against Deviltry.

Book 2 - Swords Against Death:
- The Circle Curse:
Fahfrd and the Gray Mouser leave Lankhmar behind and explore Nehwon in an effort to forget about the deaths of their lovers.

This isn't as much of a story as it is explaining how the dynamic duo returned to Lankhmar after the disasterous end of Ill Met in Lankhmar. It does feature the pair's first meetings with Sheelba of the Eyeless Face and Ningauble of the Seven Eyes.

- The Jewels in the Forest:
Fahfrd and the Gray Mouser follow a treasure map to a deserted tower in the forest. The tower is not as empty as it seems, however.

This is a fairly typical tale of the pair. The guardian of the tower winds up being pretty cool.

- Thieves' House:
After being double-crossed by Fissif, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser enter the Thieves' house to retrieve a bejeweled skull.

I found the Mouser's antics in this one hilarious. I couldn't help picturing him doing the generic Monty Python old lady voice while impersonating a witch.

- The Bleak Shore: Fahfrd and the Gray Mouser are cursed and sail farther west than anyone ever attempted, to find their doom...

This was a fairly average tale until the fight at the end.

- The Howling Tower: As they travel back to Lankhmar, Fafhrd is bewitched by a strange tower and it's up to the Mouser to save him.

While not phenomenal, it does a good job showing the depth of the Fafhrd/Gray Mouser friendship.

- The Sunken Land: On the voyage back to Lankhmar, Fafhrd finds a ring inside a fish that is also a key. What will it unlock?

A sunken land that rises, a lost band of Northmen, and our beloved duo caught in the mix. What's not to like?

- The Seven Black Priests: Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser steal the diamond eye of an idol and have to contend with the priests responsible for guarding it.

Classic Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, although they certainly fall victim to their fair share of mind control.

- Claws from the Night:
- The Prince of Pain-Ease:
- Bazaar of the Bizarre:

Book 3 - Swords In the Mist:
- The Cloud of Hate:
- Lean Times in Lankhmar:
- Their Mistress, The Sea:
- When the Sea-King's Away:
- The Wrong Branch:
- Adept's Gambit:

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Sword and sorcery” is for nerds of my generation such a ubiquitous concept that we seem to think it’s been around forever. The conceits of the genre are instantly recognizable, from the brash and impetuous young hero turned deadly swordsman to the wizened old wizard dispensing arcane advice. Of course this popularity is due in part to the efforts of the man who coined the term, and coincidentally left some of the most indelible examples of the type, in the forms of the head-strong barbarian Fafhrd and the street-wise Gray Mouser.

This volume contains the first three of Fritz Leiber’s Lankhmar books, themselves each a collection of short stories or novellas. And no sooner has Leiber announced his intentions by setting up the now time-honored tropes of the genre, he immediately goes about subverting them. Everyone knows that an essential accoutrement for every aspiring young hero, as both foil and companion, is a love interest. So it is that young Fafhrd leaves the cold wastes of his Northern homeland in the company of the urbane yet deadly actress Vlana, while simultaneously the Mouser is overthrowing Duke Janarrl with the help of his shy but capable daughter Ivrian. When the two erstwhile heroes meet one dark night in the seedy metropolis of Lankhmar, and their lady friends likewise hit it off, this is the start of a whirlwind of romance and adventures for the happy foursome, right? Yeah, not so much. The two girls are brusquely tossed aside in a manner that, after the intervening decades of authors not nearly so bold, is actually refreshing.

Leiber writes with the same cavalier attitude he has imbued his heroes with: Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are not driven by an honorable nobility or by some epic quest on which hangs the fate of the world, but rather by boredom and petty greed (their most involved adventure in this collection is precipitated by our heroes’ need to rid themselves of a curse which polymorphs their paramours into animals). Consequently, these stories lack the grandeur of Tolkienesque high fantasy, but the breadth of Leiber’s imaginings serves as a passable substitute for depth. The heroes’ wanderings span the whole scope of their fantastic world and beyond; their adventures fraught with duels of sword and wit, chases, thieveries, torrid affairs. Almost everything here is some sort of stereotype, though this is partly because Leiber was chief among those creating the stereotypes, and for that reason the familiarity never gets stale. Sure, I could have used more character development, more plot intricacies, but hey, sometimes you drink champagne, and sometimes you drink Bud Light. Actually, no, there’s never a reason to drink Bud Light, but you get where I’m going with this. Leiber’s audacious tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are worth reading just because of the place they hold in genre history; the fact that these yarns are so enjoyable should seal the deal completely. If you’re a young(ish) fan of sword and sorcery, pick this one up and have some fun exploring your roots.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 stars. This review is for the first book of this trilogy, Swords and Deviltry. This novel collects the first of the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories. The first two stories, The Snow Women and the Unholy Grail introduce us to Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser individually. The real magic is when the two meet for the first time in Ill Met In Lankhmar which is a superb story in the classic sword and sorcery meets buddy book genre. A lot of fun and a quick read.

[Baal Of · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read these books sometime in late high-school or early college, and I decided to revisit them to see if they held up to my memory, and well, yes they did. Incredibly fun, tongue-in-cheek, packed with absurdist humor, and main characters who are rogues not heroes. Crazily creative stories, for example one which starts with the pair stealing an entire (small) house - fucking brilliant. There are legitimate criticisms that can be leveled against these books, but for male-centered escapism they are about as good as it gets, and way better than Conan or anything by H. Rider Haggard, which opinion I know has a risk of getting me some flak, but I don't care.

[Ivan Lanìa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una premessa: a questo giro sono obbligato a separare la recensione del testo in sé e per sé dalla recensione del prodotto editoriale.

In termini di qualità editoriale, questa edizione Open Road Media di The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser: Volume One è uno 0/5 passabile denuncia: i tre volumi singoli sono stati letteralmente copincollati uno dietro l'altro senza neanche rimuovere le copertine individuali, ma solo aggiungendo come "copertina" complessiva un orrendo volantino pubblicitario; le copertine individuali stesse sono dozzinali; in apertura e chiusura dell'omnibus ci sono ulteriori volantini pubblicitari mal disegnati, roba che neanche in un tascabile economico da edicola; i segni di punteggiatura nei testi hanno un sacco di spaziature sbagliate, che per di più inteferiscono con le funzioni di dizionario degli e-reader (auguri a cercare una certa parola se il software la seleziona assieme a quella successiva per colpa di un trattino posizionato male); chi ha compilato l'indice è stato/a così imbecille e noncurante da sbagliare i titoli di due racconti e trasformare The Bleak Shore ("La spiagga desolata") in The Bleak Store ("Il negozio desolato") e The Price of Pain-ease ("Il prezzo della quiete") in The Prince of Pain-ease ("Il principe della quiete") – e tutto questo viene a costare una somma esagerata per un'edizione digitale. A quanto ho potuto verificare, Open Road Media ha ottenuto l'esclusiva completa sulle opere di Leiber, pertanto fatevi un favore: boicottate questo e-book spazzatura e comprate la serie in un'edizione cartacea di seconda mano.

Passando alla recensione dei testi veri e propri, do un 3/5 ben meritato. Sono approdato alla saga di Fafhrd e dell'Acchiappatopi Grigio dopo anni di recupero archeologico dei classici dello sword & sorcery e, per quanto mi riguarda, il magnum opus di Leiber dà la birra sia a tutta la produzione fantasy meno che eccellente di Robert Howard sia al Michael Moorcock giovane della saga di Elric (che, siamo sinceri, è l'unico Moorcock che i più leggano): le 20 novelle contenute in questo omnibus battono la concorrenza per varietà di situazioni fantastiche, per finezza retorica (non ho mai usato così spesso il dizionario bilingue) e soprattutto per l'umorismo caustico che pervade molte trame senza mai scadere nel puerile né nel pomposo (cosa tremendamente rara nel fantasy commerciale). Andando più nello specifico:
1. Sword against Deviltry ci propone una veloce introduzione al mondo secondario di Nehwon, le origin stories di Fafhrd e dell'Acchiappatopi, secondo me un filo troppo contorte ed elaborate, e il primo incontro del duo, una gran bella combinazione di buddy comedy e thriller con un pregevole tocco tragico.
2. Swords against Death raccoglie le otto novelle composte per prime dal giovane Leiber e altre due aggiunte a posteriori per ottimizzare la trama orizzontale. Secondo me qui si sente tanto che la serie è stata iniziata in medias res e dotata a posteriori di un antefatto: in questi racconti la psiche dei due protagonisti è leggermente più sempliciotta rispetto a quanto mostrato nel primo volume (che a rigori è un prequel) e le situazioni risentono molto del modello howardiano, con cacce al tesoro, città perdute e malvagi stregoni – ma grazie al cielo niente donnine nude per attirare i lettori allupati. I veri picchi di qualità sono i pezzi ambientati nella metropoli di Lankhmar, con le sue fazioni sociopolitiche, i suoi costumi eccentrici e le sue architetture labirintiche – ora capisco perché la serie è chiamata anche "saga di Lankhmar", trattando la città come una coprotagonista.
3. Sword in the Mist include un dittico di buoni pezzi lankhmariani (in particolare "Lean times in Lankhamr" è un capolavoro di commedia), un dittico più howardiano ma comunque con un tocco sardonico, e un'altro ancora di fantasy storico davvero davvero gustoso; si sente che Leiber stava ormai sviluppando un gusto suo specifico, che spero sbocci appieno nei successivi volumi.

Questo detto, ci tengo a ribadire che (almeno in questa prima fase di composizione) Fafhrd & Gray Mouser è una serie di racconti d'avventura di largo consumo: sicuramente è più sofisticata degli altri classici del suo genere, ma resta entro il suo genere e non si spinge verso quella complessità d'intreccio raggiunta da opere posteriori (penso al mio beneamato The Birthgrave di Tanith Lee). Va comunque rimarcato che quelle opere posteriori si poggiano sull'esempio di Leiber e che i suoi brani non sono invecchiati più di tanto: leggerli uno al giorno a scopo archeologico è piuttosto gradevole.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was put off by the first book but glad I stuck with it as the later books are much better. It's easy to see why this duo are famous in fantasy circles.

[Brian Maicke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantasy classic that doesn't get as much exposure as it should. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are the non-epic cousins of most main stream fantasy. They go out on adventures but usually with goals no higher than to make some cash, have some fun or drink some liquor. There are no epic fights against great evil. The fate of the world doesn't hang in the balance of their adventures, but all the same it makes for good reading.

My only minor gripe is that I did not care much for the origin stories that start the book. You really don't get a good feel for Fafhrd and Mouser until you see them in action together. The first two stories, where they act singly didn't work as well for me.

For those looking for the modern descendants of Fafhrd and Mouser should look at The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.

[David Boston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic fantasy

This is a classic set of books by a well known master of early modern fantasy fiction. The stories are almost all very good, the world was well considered and the characters have depth. The reasons I don't give it a 5 star rating are as follows: The books are actually a collection of short stories (I prefer a solid novel myself), the language is of an old style and takes a while to get used to, and the adventure into Earth was not one I cared for.

I would recommend this book to those who like Tolkien or Moorcock. Just give the book a few pages before judging the style as distasteful. It will be worth it.

[Ron · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful unlikeable protagonists. I like a good rogue story but when your characters make Conan look like a saint, you’re going too far.

Historically important for its role in fantasy & influencing D&D. Had to put it down about 1/2 through.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

i have known about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser since i began playing D&D in the early 1980s. they always sounded intriguing and they were obviously influential but i never got around to reading them until now.

i have to say that i wish i would have read them years ago. good stuff, this. like a gritty, back-water version of LotR told from the POV of peripheral characters who really have no bearing on the main plot but nevertheless live in the same world.

like LotR, this is a tale to be read out loud ‘round a fire or a heavy table in a candlelit pavilion. the language is easy to read yet archaic in feel, not at all unlike that found in Harry Potter, and the story conveyed in each paragraph is dense. harkening more than a bit to Michael Moorecock’s Elric series, the two protagonists seem like aspects of the same warrior- and Leiber says as much at the outset. they compliment one another in ways even they do not understand. Fafhrd tall and matter of fact and yet constantly wondering about what else while the Mouser is a bit more urbane and slick, coming off more like a con-artist than anything else. but both aspire to the acting arts and it serves them well when they need it, disguising themselves and playing roles to entertain for money but also to obtain otherwise secret or guarded information. thieves, rogues, and swordsmen seeking adventure. no noble causes for them although they are inherently and usually on the side of the Good and the Underprivileged.

it reads like a D&D campaign mixed with a healthy dose of mythology and Twilight Zone. it is very easy to see the influence it had on RPG development and later fantasy works like Martin’s the Song of Ice and Fire.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are absolutely terrific characters. A brilliant reply to Conan-- whom I also like-- they are funny where he is serious, clueless and errant where Conan would be unshakable and solemn. They are still great swordsmen, adventurers, thieves. They are also fools, who are at their best when filling in for each other's inadequacies. They can't do too well without quarreling, they can't win a great treasure without losing it.

But they do climb the tallest mountain in the world, and save both the city of Lankhmar and the world of Nehwon numerous times. They are heroes, fairly decent people except for the stealing, capable of amazing deeds. More to the point, they are incredibly entertaining.

Also, I love their hilarious mystical sponsors, the utterly alien Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face. Alien wizards whose faces and bodies are never clearly seen, Ningauble is flamboyant where Sheelba is circumspect. Much like the Mouser and his giant barbarian comrade, they are often unwilling allies and rivals. Their main skills seem to be in manipulating the two mortals, though the results frequently make no one happy.

Read these books. They will make you smile.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volume One contains three collections of stories (short stories, novelettes, and novellas) originally published in magazines as early as 1939 or in collections through 1970. Although the stories were written by Fritz Leiber, he credits his friend Harry Fischer with having created the protagonist characters Fafhrd, a 7-foot northern Cold Wastes barbarian, and Gray Mouser, a small enigmatic wizard in grey garb, both of whom are skilled swordsmen. The stories sometimes feature one protagonist or the other rather than both as a duo.

1. Swords and Deviltry. An introductory "vignette" and 3 novellas. These are the origin stories for Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser as well as the story of their first meeting. I found these stories hard to read. Much about these stories seems dated: a slow-paced plot, very formal dialogue, and a surfeit of too long sentences. The worldbuilding is detailed and descriptive. Unfortunately it didn't hold my attention very well, probably because of the unusual stilted prose style. The collection starts out with Snow Women which for me was a complete turnoff because of its sexist themes. The final story was Ill Met in Lankhmar which won the Hugo and Nebula awards but I wasn't happy with the ending on this one, too depressing.

2. Swords Against Death. A collection of ten stories: 5 novelettes and 5 short stories. After the deaths of their lovers, Fafhrd and Mouser leave Lankhmar, vowing never to return. As they leave the city, they have a brief encounter with Sheelba of the Eyeless Face, and a few years later with Ningauble of the Seven Eyes. Overall, these stories are random chronicles of adventures and skirmishes by Fafhrd and Mouser where they vanquish their opponents in one way or another.

The worldbuilding is extensive and the descriptions elaborate but often seem "over the top" and excessive. Many of the plots are quite outlandish and serve mainly as backdrops and settings for the ubiquitous swordfights and battles with supernatural elements in every story. One of the better stories is The Sunken Land, an adventure involving an Atlantis-like mythical land called Simorgya.

3. Swords in the Mist. A collection of six stories: three short stories, two novelettes, and one novella.

This is a series of short adventures in which Fafhrd and Mouser confront (and usually defeat) evil and nefarious supernatural villains. The stories begin with a couple of stories about temples and religions in Lankhmar. These are followed by several seafaring adventures and finish with the longer novella, the earliest work in the collection.

The prose and dialogue continues in an exaggerated descriptive but archaic style which makes for slow reading. In particular the ending novella Adept's Gambit is so excessively wordy and rambling that it's a burden to follow the storyline. My favorite stories in the collection are Lean Times in Lankhmar where Fafhrd becomes a devoted worshipper at a local temple but Mouser is hired to steal the temple's treasure, and When the Sea-King's Away where the duo are lured to the undersea kingdom by beautiful sea-maidens.

These stories have their fans but I'm not one of them.

Swords in the Mist stories:

* The Cloud of Hate. A mysterious fog originating in the Temple of Hate infiltrates Lankhmar and infects citizens with hate.
* Lean Times in Lankhmar. Fafhrd and Mouser have a falling out, following which Mouser is hired as an enforcer by a local crook Pulg. Fafhrd breaks his sword and becomes an ascetic worshipper in the local temple of Issek of the Jug. However when Fafhrd's chosen religion comes into conflict with the Mouser's gang, trouble ensues.
* Their Mistress, the Sea. The duo escape Lankhmar on Mouser's sloop Black Treasurer and try their hands at being pirates but aren't very successful. Not much else happens.
* When the Sea-King's Away. Fafhrd and Mouser descend into the ocean depths to the Sea-King's domain through a portal opened by the sea maidens where they succumb to their seductions and must overcome drowned undead sailors, ferocious sea creatures, and tsunamis.
* The Wrong Branch. Mouser and Fafhrd journey through many worlds and times and dimensions through "secret doors far inside the mazy caverns of Ningauble of the Seven Eyes". They are compelled to seek out Ningauble to escape the Sea-King's curse and consequently pass through a cavern portal into the lands of ancient Greece.
* Adept's Gambit. Realizing that sorcery is turning the women they love to sows and snails, the duo seek out the sorcerer Ningauble for protection. Ningauble advises them that they must succeed with a scavenger hunt involving five Herculean tasks in order to defeat the magician who has cursed them. On this quest they meet a woman named Ahura who tells them a strange tale about her family (particularly her twin brother Anra) and a mysterious beardless man who becomes their tutor but causes them to exchange bodies. Fafhrd and Gray Mouser must travel with Ahura north to a Mist-shrouded fortress on a mountain and break all the spells therein.

Note: In the kindle ebook, the stories end at 86%. The rest is stories from the next book in the series Swords Against Wizardry.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of three collections of shorter works, all focused on Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser.

Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber. I've been meaning to re-read this sword-and-sorcery series for a while. Swords and Deviltry is where I had to start, for that is where we meet Fafhrd, " a barbarian from the Cold Waste north even of the Eight Cities and the Trollstep Mountains," and the Grey Mouser, a magician's journeyman turned rogue. Leiber says it best: "As the twain eyed each other challengingly through the murky fog lit indirectly by distant torches, they were already dimly aware that they were two long-sundered, matching fragments of a greater hero and that each had found a comrade who would outlast a thousand quests and a lifetime—or a hundred lifetimes—of adventuring."

The book is really three long short stories. "The Snow Women" introduces us to Fafhrd and Vlana, "The Unholy Grail" introduces Mouser and Ivrian, and "Ill-Met in Lankhmar" which brings the two couples together. The last novella won both a Nebula and a Hugo, deservedly so.

Reading this book meant reminding myself that the tropes in this book were new when it was written. Both Ivrian and Vlana had decent roles in their introductory stories, albeit stereotypical ones in part. But both transcended the stereotypes and I felt hope for them both in the third story, even knowing that Fafhrd and Grey Mouser were destined to be comrades in adventure.

I fell in love with this book once again.

++

Swords Against Death is the second volume in this collection of the first three Fafhrd and Grey Mouser books. They are among the earliest of the "buddy" sword-and-sorcery tales and swash buckle with the best of them still. The book is really a connection of short stories/novellas written between 1939 and 1963, with a couple of connecting stories thrown in. My favorites are "The Seven Black Priests" and "Bazaar of the Bizarre," mostly because in spite of the heroes' overconfidence (or because of it?), things still work out.

+++

Swords in the Mist is the third compilation of short stories/novellas. There is sword and sorcery, but some stories are touched by a darker fantasy, bordering on horror.

The Cloud of Hate was the one that sent chills down my back. The idea that enough people can create a palpable hate rings too true. Lean Times in Lankhmar had me shaking my head, wondering how Fafhrd and Grey Mouser would bet out of this one! The Adept's Gambit was one that I found interesting. Ningauble's messages had me snickering throughout.

++

If you enjoy classic sword and sorcery, then you'll probably love this collection, too. I strongly recommend it to people who like the genre.

[Freesia Perricone · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a series written almost a century ago this held up surprisingly well. So often books from that time, though you may forgive the author for some dated attitudes and assumptions, are uncomfortable. That came up very rarely and in very small doses. For instance, there were some races in the world of Nehwon that seemed like caricatures of racial stereotypes from our world, bordering on racist, but not only were they very minor, each one was ultimately subverted -- it turns out every race in Nehwon has good and bad people, smart and dumb people, loyal and mercenary people, etc. Women are too often sex objects, though they also regularly turn the tables on men in doing so, at least.

I was also hesitant because everyone made a big deal of how 'dark' Lankhmar was. That is not my cup of tea. And I can see what they're getting at: compared to, say, the cities of Middle-earth, Lankhmar is a den of thieves, most of its people corrupt in one way or another, or at least self-serving. It even has cultists. But while the city is grimy and unpleasant, the storytelling isn't. And while Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are sometimes treasure-hungry and mercenary, they themselves are never wallowing in grimdark, nor is the story; it's simply a backdrop. It didn't bother me at all.

The writing is impressive with a rich vocabulary and a lot of words chosen that were very evocative. I made heavy use of Kindle's built-in dictionary -- though I could always infer what the sentence said, it was nice to be able to get the subtler details of the words so quickly.

It is, of course, largely a series of disconnected, or only slightly connected, stories, and it does not end on any kind of satisfying ending. And there is a long stretch in the middle where the stories are very same-same. In particular, time and again, either Fafhrd or the Grey Mouser or both get caught up in some kind of mind control, and/or the end of the story features them simply running away while multiple way-too-powerful adversaries are too busy duking it out with one another to worry about them. So many interesting things get brought up and never returned to (I was astonished that Fafhrd's entire, lengthy, backstory, and the people in it, didn't come up again, though perhaps in later writings they do). Few of the stories actually reached a humdinger conclusion that was satisfying, in fact. And the world of Nehwon, though studded with details, never comes together in that way some fantasy worlds do.

Ultimately, a worthwhile read, and not weighed down too much by its history, though this is certainly not going to stick with me the way Tolkien does, or even the way something like Thomas Covenant or the Elric books did.

[Jim Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

1 star, I put a book down. 2 stars, I wouldn't read again and won't pick up a sequel. 3 stars, I won't read again, but maybe the sequel would move forward. 4 stars, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to a friend. 5 stars, I'll reread it, recommend it, and try to get my son to experience some of the joy this book gave to me.

Ok, first and foremost, Fritz Leiber's Fahrd and the Gray Mouser sit in a rarefied place in the second half of the twentieth century's literary products. First, it is good fantasy, still entertaining, and the language is still enjoyable, if dated to the writing style of the times - in contrast to one of the other great Sci-Fi and Fantasy writers of the 20th century, Robert Heinlein, whose prose is so aged due to its chauvinism and patronizing attitudes that it wouldn't be out of place if there were a geek character reading books on Mad Men. Secondly, it is a series of short stories, easily consumable in chunks, and not requiring a strict timeline in reading. Lastly, it is distinctive in that the characters are archetypal rogues that give guidance to other writers and also to the newly emerging group of fans, the gamers of pen and paper sort of the 70s and 80s. In fact, it is one of two set of fictional characters added to the original TSR D&D 2nd Edition supplement Deities and Demigods, the other being the characters from Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone. And that series of books is no longer in print or available, except as graphical novels, in digital format.

So, of the large set of Sci-Fi and Fantasy from my youth and young adult days that I want to share with my son, this is one of the most significant. They are serious but humorous at the same time, and give the sense of high adventure without falling into the "epic story that is the most important set of events ever to occur in this period of history in this world" category (see another author...J.R.R Tolkien, or J.K. Rowling for reference).

I really consider it fortunate to have found these in digital format and at a great price-point as I've been busy looking at used bookstores for other works I consider in this set....Chalker's Rainbow Bridge and Dancing Gods, Aprin's Thieves World, Moorcock's Elric.

[Clay Kallam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fritz Leiber started writing about Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser in the 1940s, and this collection of all of the short stories includes some written in the late '60s, so in many ways it's not surprising the stories vary wildly in structure and execution -- but it's still disappointing to read the lesser efforts. After all, I remember reading them many decades ago and enjoying them, but I have to wonder if I just happened to stumble across the good ones or if it was just a different time.

In any event, the two characters -- as is made pretty clear in the first story -- were based on two of Leiber's cats, who were then transformed into human "rogues," who wandered a world much like the Hellenistic times after the death of Alexander the Great. This world, however, is filled with magic, demons, gods and goddesses who are intimately involved with all of the various adventures chronicled in the book.

"The Three of Swords" threads together the various stories into a coherent timeline, even though the order in which they were written were different, but can't really overcome weaknesses in plot (the heroes are always lucky and always benefit from fortuitous coincidences) in some of the stories, and a natural repetitiveness in description and narrative.

But what makes "The Three of Swords" worth reading is a two-fold vision: 1) Of a world like ours that does contain the magic and wonder we often wish it contained, plus the classic structure of a society with thieves' guilds, rascally "heroes" who can lie, cheat, steal and fight with the best of them; and 2) Of a time when such stories were exciting and cutting-edge, and how they differ from the gigantic action movies that have taken their place.

One thing I would have done differently, that would have made "The Three of Swords" more fun, would have been to not read it all at once. It's a book, and a vision, best savored in small bites rather than a long session at the table.

[Lora Shouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Volume 1 is a box set of the first three books of the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series. This duo is the ultimate pair of sword and sorcery adventurers. They are not originally from our world, but the two really dangerous sorcerers to whom they become sort of enthralled send them to this world at one point where they appear to land in Greco-Roman times. Then they go back to where they came from.

Fafhrd is originally, in his own world, a barbarian from the far north. In his tribe, the women are the powerful sorceresses and maintain tight control over their men. Fafhrd doesn’t like this much and takes the first opportunity to escape with Vlana, who he knows as a traveling performer in some sort of theater troupe. But she has a darker history with the Thieves’ Guild of Lankhmar, the capital of the nearby country. This Thieves’ Guild doesn’t admit women, and Vlana has a score to settle with them. She plans to use Fafhrd to do it.

The Gray Mouser is from a whole different part of the world. He has been apprenticed to a sorcerer or wizard or something. But on returning from a quest meant to advance him another grade in his wizardly studies, he finds his master brutally murdered. After considerable conflict, he leaves the area with the girl who had studied under the sorcerer together with him. They too head for Lankhmar.

The two of them battle some of the most arcane magic users in all the fantasy multiverse. Early on they battle the Thieves’ Guild of Lanhkmar and win. But while they are gone, the Guild’s magic destroys their girlfriends. It takes them a while to recover. But they don’t stop adventuring.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Newhon, a fantasy realm reminiscent of that of Conan the Barbarian, these short stories follow the two adventurers as they search for treasure and the next great adventure. Fafhrd is a northern barbarian turned thief and adventurer, while the Grey Mouser was an apprentice wizard turned sell-sword after the death of his master. Both suffer the loss of their loved one early on which actually binds the two men together in a mission of revenge.

In general the stories are entertaining and the structure of the world is reminiscent of the Conan the Barbarian tales by Robert E Howard. There is more unknown about the world and the various gods and demons that populate then there is known which allows different characters in the stories to move in and out of the narrative.

One significant problem I had with the story was an abrupt shift from the fantasy world to a world more closely related to our Earth. I found that this change did nothing to help the story or advance the characters. The two later return to Newhon but it just seemed disruptive to the flow of the short stories.

[Patrick Stirling · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book in this collection (Swords and Deviltry) was published in 1970; it's a collection of 3 novellas, published earlier in SF magazines in the late 50's and 60's. So it's writing from an earlier time - think of Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, AC Clarke etc. There were many great SF writers back then, and my parents loved them so I grew up on them! I've been meaning to read this for a while and found the ebook in the library. It's what I call "ripping yarn" writing - fast paced, adventurous, page turning, and in this case swords and sorcery. If you like that style, this is for you! There's never much doubt that Our Heroes will prevail - of course we know that as there's a whole series of stories about them. So it's more about the journey and their escapades than any destination. I read Swords and Deviltry, enjoyed it, but perhaps not enough to keep reading. This is the first I've read of Lieber's, so I don't know whether it's typical of his style. It's written in quite flowery, almost antique prose, a bit Shakespearean actually. Fun but takes some getting into.

[J.W. Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fritz Leiber is the author who is known for coining the term “sword and sorcery” for the type of subgenre of fantasy fiction that applied to such and is known for writing the series of tales and novels about an adventurous duo of characters every bit as important to the sword and sorcery genre as Conan the Cimmerian; Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. Fafhrd is a hulking, heroic, noble barbarian from the Cold Wastes of the North and lives by honor and the thrill of battle. The Grey Mouser is a cunning rogue, master thief, and grey magician that straddles the line between dark and light magic. Both of them end up meeting in the seedy, wicked city of Lankhmar in the world of Nehwon, and embark on various adventures where they encounter and go up against monsters, sorcerers, demons, the undead, eldritch horrors, tyrants, pirates, thieves, rogues, and cutthroats.
“The Three of Swords” collection that was released by the Science Fiction Book Club close to a couple of decades ago collects the first three books of the Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series (“Swords and Deviltry,” “Swords Against Death,” and “Swords in the Mist”) and the stories found therein.
The tales within this collection are hit and miss, there are some really good stories and then there are some that are just lackluster. The ones I especially enjoyed in this volume are as follows:

“The Snow Women”- Young Fafhrd struggles against the cruel, wicked matriarchy of witches that rule his tribe, and discovers the love of his life among a traveling troupe of circus entertainers.

“Ill-Met in Lankhmar”- Where the two heroes, Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser finally meet in the dark city of Lankhmar for the first time, and must challenge the wickedness of the Thieves’ Guild and a maniacal wizard.

“The Jewels in the Forest”-Our two heroes discover a foreboding ancient temple in a forest in the wilds of Nehwon and go to explore the untold horrors that lurk within.

“Thieves House”- The heroic duo pit themselves against the villainy of the Thieves Guild of Lankmar once again.

“The Bleak Shore”- Otherworldly horror awaits the adventurers on a mysterious foreign shore.

“The Sunken Land”- Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are transported to Simorgya, the fabled land of Nehwon that sunk beneath the waves long ago.

“The Seven Black Priests”-Our heroes encounter a deadly cult dedicated to a darksome primordial god when they steal a priceless cursed artifact.

“Bazaar of the Bizarre” -The duo encounters strange interdimensional traders and collectors in the city of Lankhmar who are not what they seem.

“The Cloud of Hate” -A manifestation of hell-spawned hatred summoned forth from a diabolical cult infests Lankmar.

While I enjoyed some of the tales within this collection, I wish there were more of the kind that I enjoyed in here. Some of them were a letdown. This collection falls somewhere in the middle for me. It’s not terrible by any means, but it’s not as great as the works other sword and sorcery authors such as Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Michael Moorcock, Karl Edward Wagner and David Gemmell. Hopefully, I’ll find more engaging stories in the follow-up collection to this one that I’m currently reading; “Swords’ Masters.”

I give “The Three of Swords” by Fritz Leiber a 3.5 out of 5.

[Robert J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb Classic Sword and Sorcery Tales

Fritz Leiber’s tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser do not disappoint. I first read them as a teenager (many decades ago) and found them just as entertaining upon revisiting the antiheroes in the ancient city of Lankhmar. This is a pioneering work which arguably was key in formulating an important subgenre in modern speculative fiction. At the end of his life the licensing fees from Dungeons and Dragons allowed Leiber to live a comfortable retirement.

[William Richard Noyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not the usual sword and sorcery

Head and shoulders above the usual work of this genre. The characters of the protagonists are well drawn. The plots of the stories are not the usual hackneyed situations. The language is almost poetic. Recommended to fantasy fans looking for something out of the ordinary.

[Jsrott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Sword and Sorcery stories told with wit and style. In terms of racial and gender equality they're definitely a product of their times- not as bad as the Conan stories, but still filled with a lot of "second class" stature. Even so, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are two of the most iconic heroes of the genre and for good reason.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all have books we've read and reread. This series is one I've revisited multiple times. I loved it when I first read it as a teenager. I return to it for that nostalgia. I'm not sure if I would automatically recommend it to anyone, but if you love classic sword and sorcery type stories, you'll love this series.

[D.L. Morrese · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up as a Kindle freebie to reread during the COVID-19 outbreak. The setting is a bit like Discworld's Ankh-Morpork but without the charm, and the characters are flat and uninteresting. It's not as good as I remember it being when I read it as a kid. Either it didn't age well or I didn't.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darkening to an earlier age

Oh but these stories are reminiscent of my earliest days reading swordcand sorcery books. Leiber was one of the first, and returning to the two scaliwags was refreshing.
For anyone who has considered reading this genre or who has read Conan and other similar books, you will likely find these of great interest.

[Joelendil · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s really not a whole lot to say about this. It’s fairly standard antihero swords and sorcery featuring a northern barbarian (basically a less broody, less rapey Conan) and a thief/swordsman who dabbles in magic (though we seldom see him use any). It’s entertaining enough but nothing special.

[Genna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books and decided to reread them recently. These are, I think, the pinnacle of Swords and Sorcery. I like them more than Conan (Spouse disagrees). It's better to have two warrior/thieves than just one gloomy barbarian.

[Pete Ffrench · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read these years ago in paperback and they are just as good now as they were then. The characters and settings are so vivid and the imagination that went into them is still captivating. I would say they they deserve their status as classics.

[The Poor Person's Book Reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the switch was made from Episodic adventures to longer story mode I was a little worried, but it all came together and had a crazy unexpected ending, can’t wait to start the second half of the adventure