Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar stories

[The Wanderer]

After so many years that these stories are still so much fun, I can't recommend them enough

 

[j d worthington]

After so many years that these stories are still so much fun, I can't recommend them enough

That's it? That's all you've got to say? (Sorry. I couldn't resist.)

Yes, the Fafhrd & Gray Mouser stories are so very, very neat... and so beautifully written... and so variegated in tone, from the slapstick of "Bazaar of the Bizarre" to the eerie menace of "The Snow Women" or "The Howling Tower", to the tragic with "Ill Met in Lankhmar".... Yes, these are unique among sword-and-sorcery or heroic fantasy....

Incidentally, Leiber wrote a bit about the origins of these in an essay in The Spell of Conan, I think it was (Ace Books, 1979, ed. by De Camp). Makes for very interesting reading....

 

[Ian Whates]

Couldn't pass this thread by without saying something.

These are simply some of the best and most delightful fantasy tales ever written. Intelligent, well crafted, full of beautiful touches and images, really exciting and at times incredibly funny.

I remember being both thrilled and saddened when, years after most of the stories first appeared, Leiber produced Knight and Knave of Swords -- the novel that was so clearly his fond farewell to the two characters. Sad, because I knew then that I would never read anything new about them again (at least, not from Leiber's pen, and I wouldn't want to read them written by any other). That same feeling also made me (very selfishly) all the sadder when the great man passed away.

Totally unique in both tone and style, although so many fantasy writers owe a huge debt to Leiber for Fafhrd and the Mouser -- even Pratchett's Ankh-Morph is generally thought to be inspired by Lankhmar....

Credit to Gollancz for reissuing all the stories in two large volumes as part of their "Fantasy Masterworks" series here in the UK, making them readily available again.

Can't recommend these stories highly enough to any lover of fantasy who hasn't dicovered them yet. Truly wonderful stuff.

 

[The Ace]

Yeah, absolutely brilliant.

 

[Bikewer]

Another vote for me. My wife just bought me the complete set in two volumes, and I'm re-reading them for the umpteenth time since my first exposure way back in the 60s.
Not only are Fafherd and the Gray Mouser a pair of the very best characters in fantasy, but Lieber's quirky prose is an absolute delight. He invents words that shouldn't be worlds and makes them work.
Right up there with my all-time favorites.

 

[j d worthington]

Lieber's quirky prose is an absolute delight. He invents words that shouldn't be worlds and makes them work.

That's what happens when you grow up with two parents who are Shakespeareans....

 

[DeepThought]

Just started the first collection of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories; The First Book of Lankhmar (Fantasty Masterworks edition), Fritz Leiber. Finished the The Snow Women, whole heartedly agree with you guys; they are great and I'm immensely enjoying them. But In all honesty I was expecting more of some crimson fun in the vein Robert E. Howard's Conan when I initially started, but it turns out that Leiber is refreshingly different from REH...Which is quite cool if you consider the fact that both of them are among the select few of the authors credited to creating the Sword & Sorcery genre.

A quick question, I don't have the complete second collection (The Second Book of Lankhmar) which collects the sub-collections:

The Swords of Lankhmar
Swords and Ice Magic
The Knight and Knave of Swords

I've got the latter pair of collections but not the former novel. Will I be missing out a lot if I skip The Swords of Lankhmar and jump to the latter two? because I don't think I can get it anytime soon...nor do I have the self control/patience to read something else after dipping into this first great collection.

Cheers, DeepThought

 

[Ian Whates]

Will I be missing out a lot if I skip The Swords of Lankhmar and jump to the latter two?
Cheers, DeepThought

Well, DT, you'll be missing out on a great fun story which I'd recommened you make a point of tracking down and reading at some point, but not reading it certainly won't detract from your enjoyment of the latter two volumes.

Swords and Ice Magic is a typically wonderful collection, the equal of any of the previous books, while the much later written Knight and Knave is very much our heroes in their twilight years -- one last stab at adventuring before they take up the pipe and slippers for good, but it's still well worth reading.

I know I didn't read the stories in anything like the correct order when I initially read them (in fact, I'm pretty certain I read Swords of Lankhmar first, after stumbling across one previous story in an old L. Sprague de Camp anthology) but I still love them to bits!

 

[DeepThought]

Thanks Ian, much appreciated. I'll definitely track down that stand-alone volume. But in the meantime, will just read through without it, since it won't hinder my enjoyment/understanding of the future tales.

Cheers, DeepThought

 

[j d worthington]

Well... I'd have to disagree with Ian on that, as Swords of Lankhmar introduces us to Hisvet and her father, for one thing, as well as various other characters that reappear in some of the later tales. It won't interfere too much, but you will miss out on some connections and motivations now and again. This is the nature of the later tales, which were penned (more or less) in order, whereas the earlier stories were anything but. The last two volumes were written after the then-existing series had been collected into five volumes, the last of which was Swords of Lankhmar. After that point, the internal referencing became much more extensive, and the relationship between the stories much tighter....

Besides, as Ian says, it really is a wonderful little (?) adventure on its own....

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

I have re-read them more than any other series,absolutely wonderful delightful books.

 

[GOLLUM]

I have the Maserwork editions of these and they're one of my favourite S&S series of all time.

 

[Rothgar]

I have both masterworks volumes too, though I've only read the first one so far. All the stories are great, my personal favorite is The Snow Women. It was brilliant.

 

[DeepThought]

Well... I'd have to disagree with Ian on that, as Swords of Lankhmar introduces us to Hisvet and her father, for one thing, as well as various other characters that reappear in some of the later tales. It won't interfere too much, but you will miss out on some connections and motivations now and again. This is the nature of the later tales, which were penned (more or less) in order, whereas the earlier stories were anything but. The last two volumes were written after the then-existing series had been collected into five volumes, the last of which was Swords of Lankhmar. After that point, the internal referencing became much more extensive, and the relationship between the stories much tighter....

Besides, as Ian says, it really is a wonderful little (?) adventure on its own....

Thanks for that info JD. Ahh now you've really piqued my curiosity in that elusive volume. I'll read up to Swords Against Wizardry (two-thirds of the way through the first collection already) and hold my breadth till I can get a hold of Swords of Lankhmar before continuing with the rest of the stories. Besides, I've just got a copy of Joe Abercrombie's The Last Argument of Kings, that'll probably fill the void during the hiatus.

Cheers, DeepThought

 

[nomadman]

I loved the earlier stories, but wasn't too wild on the later ones. Too cutesy. Saying that, I liked the Rime Isle stuff, which many say is his weakest work. Not sure if it was S&S though.

 

[j d worthington]

I loved the earlier stories, but wasn't too wild on the later ones. Too cutesy. Saying that, I liked the Rime Isle stuff, which many say is his weakest work. Not sure if it was S&S though.

Curious... I quite like the Rime Isle sequence (including "The Frost Monstreme") myself; never heard of it as his weakest point before. Learn something new every day, eh?

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

As well as having the Gregg Editions and the two Whispers ones I was lucky enough to find The Leiber Chronicles-Fifty years of Fritz Leiber Edt by Martin Greenberg and published by dark Harvest superb artwork by Bob Eggleton.


tried to post a scan but all I got was a little x

 

[Ian Whates]

Curious... I quite like the Rime Isle sequence (including "The Frost Monstreme") myself; never heard of it as his weakest point before. Learn something new every day, eh?

I'm with you, j.d. I've always thought the series to be uniformly excellent. Certainly I have favourites among the many tales ("Ill Met in Lankhmar", "Lean Times in Lankhmar", "Bazaar of the Bizarre" etc), but have never considered any of the stories to be in any way weak, and feel that those in Swords and Ice Magic, including "The Frost Monstreme" and "Rime Isle", hold their own with any in the series.

 

[BigBadBob141]

Just read my way through an omnibus of the 1st four books.
Can get a bit heavy at times but all in all a very good the read.
Really enjoyed "Bazaar Of The Bizarre", good thing he didn't buy the girl in a cage, would have had a bit of a shock when he opened it!

 

[Extollager]

...feel that those in Swords and Ice Magic, including "The Frost Monstreme" and "Rime Isle", hold their own with any in the series.

I read those stories more or less when they came out and was among those who found them weak, for what that might be worth. But by then I was losing interest in the whole genre of S&S to a degree.