Thieves' House: Tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser

by Fritz Leiber, Mike Mignola (Illustrator), Sherilyn van Valkenburgh (Illustrator)

This collection contains ten stories in the "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser" series, seven originally collected in Swords Against Death, two originally collected in Swords in the Mist, plus "Bazaar of the Bizarre", as follows, with dates of original publication:

Thieves' House * Unknown, February 1943
The Bleak Shore * Unknown, November 1940
The Howling Tower * Unknown, June 1941
The Sunken Land * Unknown, February 1942
The Seven Black Priests * Other Worlds, May 1953
Claws from the Night ["Dark Vengeance"] * Suspense, November 1951
The Price of Pain-Ease * ss Swords Against Death, Ace, 1970
Bazaar of the Bizarre * Fantastic, August 1963
The Cloud of Hate * Fantastic, May 1963
Lean Times in Lankhmar * Fantastic, November 1959

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories, Classics

288 pages, Paperback

First published December 26, 2001

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

[Anibal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second volume of Fritz Leiber’s short stories, published by White Wolf, is a true treasure. Unlike the first volume, this installment is free from technical glitches. Once again, we follow the magnificent adventures and journeys of two of the most easily recognizable sword and sorcery heroes.

They include magnificent stories such as “Thieves’ House,” “Claws from the Night,” or “Lean Times in Lankhmar” (true masterpieces) alongside other very good tales that explore diverse facets of our heroes’ personalities or clarify different aspects of Nehwon’s geography, myths, creatures, etc., which you simply can’t afford to miss: “The Bleak Shore,” “The Howling Tower,” “The Sunken Land,” “The Seven Black Priests,” “The Price of Pain-Ease,” “Bazaar of the Bizarre,” and “Cloud of Hate.”

Separating each short story, you’ll find original black and white art by the master Mike Mignola. The cover art is also by the same artist.

[D.L. Morrese · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going back and rereading this, I see inspirations for later books by other authors, especially Terry Pratchett's Disworld tales set in Ankh-Morpork. The setting, a gritty city with guilds and magic, is quite similar, although Leiber's characters lack the charm of Pratchett's. This book is more a collection of short stories or scenes that follow the exploits of the two main characters. There is no overarching plot. The writing is good, though, and there is some cynical (and enjoyable) social commentary.

[Stuart Rimmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those familiar with the 'Swords...' series, there is nothing new in here. The stories featured also appear in 'Swords in the Mist' and 'Swords against Death'. However, it is great stuff, and this book is nicely packaged with art work both inside and out from Mike Mignola. Nice.

[Owen Curtsinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun! Apparently this is from Mignola's 'early days.' I guess most everything he does must be good. I haven't read any of the original novels, but after reading a little bit of Robert E Howard, I think I would much rather read Mignola's interpretation than read the pulpy originals.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff - while I don't think Leiber is quite the master that Howard is.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful artwork, and some of my old favorite stories.