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Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser #5-7
The Second Book of Lankhmar
After their legendary adventures in the northern wastes and beyond, Fafhrd, the giant barbarian warrior, and the Gray Mouser, master thief, novice wizard and expert swordsman, are back home in Lankhmar again, and looking for an easy time. But Lankhmar is under attack from a strange horde of invaders, including a two-headed dragon and an army of miniature wanderers ...Once those threats are seen off, a quest to the farthest reaches of Nehwon is in prospect. And then, in the last book of their adventures, Fafhrd goes sailing through the clouds, and the Mouser takes to the seas, before we finally bid a fond, if sad, farewell to Lankhmar. THE SECOND BOOK OF LANKHMAR includes the last three volumes of the hugely enjoyable series.
695 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2001
About the author
Fritz Leiber
1,147 books969 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 - 27 of 27 reviews
June 16, 2018
Las espadas de Lankhmar (3/5): un comienzo prometedor a bordo de un barco, con bastante humor y situaciones de pura fantasía. Y tras llegar a la ciudad la fantasía no para, pues un ejército de ratas (de ratas tal como las conocemos) armadas, quiere hacerse con el poder. Me ha recordado mucho a Gotreh y Felix, son una copia de los de Leiber.
Espadas y magia glacial (3/5): metemos un poquito de juego de los dioses que se aburren y putean a los guerreros como si fuese un juego de mesa. La Muerte está deseando de acabar con ellos y ellos viajan a islas como si nada pasase. Demasiado me recuerda a Mundo Disco.
El caballero y la sota de espadas (2/5): una narración extremadamente pesada, por momentos ponía el piloto automático y tan solo leía. Se excede en pensamientos y explicaciones. De poco me he enterado de esta historia.
No sé si la valoración es injusta, pero en un futuro lo sabré pues creo que lo releeré a pesar de lo poco que me ha gustado. Casi nada de espada y brujería he visto, está a años luz de lo palomitero de Conan y lo venden como tal. Pero algo me dice que es debido a que no era mi momento para este libro. He notado mucha pesadez en la prosa y exceso de explicaciones, se va mucho por senderos que nada tiene que ver con la aventura y es casi más filosófico.
Espadas y magia glacial (3/5): metemos un poquito de juego de los dioses que se aburren y putean a los guerreros como si fuese un juego de mesa. La Muerte está deseando de acabar con ellos y ellos viajan a islas como si nada pasase. Demasiado me recuerda a Mundo Disco.
El caballero y la sota de espadas (2/5): una narración extremadamente pesada, por momentos ponía el piloto automático y tan solo leía. Se excede en pensamientos y explicaciones. De poco me he enterado de esta historia.
No sé si la valoración es injusta, pero en un futuro lo sabré pues creo que lo releeré a pesar de lo poco que me ha gustado. Casi nada de espada y brujería he visto, está a años luz de lo palomitero de Conan y lo venden como tal. Pero algo me dice que es debido a que no era mi momento para este libro. He notado mucha pesadez en la prosa y exceso de explicaciones, se va mucho por senderos que nada tiene que ver con la aventura y es casi más filosófico.
December 19, 2021
One reasonably good novel and two weaker collections of novellas make up this second omnibus volume.
May 31, 2019
So you've been through the first omnibus featuring that wackily mismatched pair of rascally rogues and after watching the quality climb slowly but surely as you reached the end maybe you wondered to yourself "Can he keep it up?" And the answer, perhaps not that unexpectedly, is "kind of?"
Actually one of the reasons its not totally surprising that the quality remains a bit inconsistent is that the last three remaining blocks of stories were written over a twenty year period, the end of which saw the author in his seventies and perhaps getting a bit . . . indulgent in the things that a seventy year old man maybe starts to miss when he reaches that age. But we'll get to that in due time.
Anyone worried that he might have peaked with the last volumes "The Lords of Quarmall" will be relieved to find out that the hot streak continued with their all around best novel length story: "The Swords of Lankhmar". Starting innocently enough as the boys try to guard some grain fleets out of the city that are being attacked, they deal with weird passengers and some funky trained rats before the mission seems to resolve itself and everyone moves on. Except in a nice example of building a story from small blocks, the real thrust of things doesn't start until they get back to Lankhmar and find that its slowly being taken over by rats. The city is losing but the people offering their help are probably the ones who are causing the problem. Unfortunately no one believes our heroes, who have to scramble around to find a solution before the official food of the city becomes cheese and garbage.
This one's fun because he keeps up the action throughout the story. Having an entire novel to play with gives Leiber a chance to keep upping the threat and give the subplots space to breathe, like in a long sequence where the Grey Mouser has to infiltrate a rat headquarters, including impersonating a rat and trying to influence rat politics. As with most of the stories that aren't action all the time the Mouser comes out as the more interesting character since he has to be constantly clever. Fafhrd mostly wanders about being the muscle and waiting until the plot gives him a chance to make his move. The solution may come a bit too easily considering all we've been through to get there but given all that Leiber has thrown into the mix (in two hundred pages!) it’s a small complaint.
Unfortunately, that one pretty much marks the peak. Although the rest have moments there's nothing as consistently excellent for its length as "The Swords of Lankhmar".
"Swords and Ice Magic" is the next collection and it starts out promisingly enough with Death getting tired of our heroes still being alive and trying to find ways to kill them. It’s a theme that runs through most of the stories, most of which are pretty short but don't quite stick. Leiber's good at what he does but these characters don't seem well suited to the dense bursts that short stories require, especially since in a lot of the short ones they spend a good amount of time talking about ladies, which is fair but after a while becomes a string where almost every single character who isn't a god fails the guy version of the Bechdel Test (the women fail it too so at least he's consistent).
We get some goofy stuff with the gods in the aptly named "Under the Thumb of the Gods", and some lost at sea stuff with "Trapped in the Sea Stars" but the stories don't really start to catch fire until they visit Rime Isle in the last two tales. Getting the chance to stretch out again, he separates them for "The Frost Monstreme" as the two of them have to collect different crews and head for Rime Isle to head off an invasion. Again, keeping them apart shows their differing approaches to solving problems, although it runs the risk of including way too many characters especially when everyone starts to get back together.
It leads directly into "Rime Isle" which has an intriguing premise . . . the gods Loki and Odin from all our world land on Rime Isle and their presences starts to cause all kinds of problems. Fafhrd, the Grey Mouser, their lady friends Cif and Afreyt (one of the more amusing things in the late stories is how very little the women seem impressed with their lovers) and basically everyone from the last story. Oh, and the invasion everyone is worried about is still threatening to happen. It makes for a mix that could in theory be breakneck and bracing, as magic and swords intermingle and everyone tries to keep a bad situation from getting worse . . . but it never seems to work out that way. The plots just kind of jumble together, especially when Leiber starts adding in magical artifacts. The goals of the gods never seem that clear and when all the meandering plots finally collide its not even clear what's happening, how our heroes got to that point or how it all adds together. Its notable for giving us a permanent change in Fafhrd and the Rime Isle setting is fascinating (good thing, because we spend the rest of the series here) but this time the length works against it, allowing Leiber to spray the plot all over the place and then not bringing it back into focus for the end.
Then, finally, we get to the "The Knight and Knave of Swords", otherwise known as "The Retirement Years". Basically one long story with four movements, the first two showcase our heroes getting used to their new homes (with the first story "Sea Magic" featuring Fafhrd getting used to his new life change). Already things are starting to get different, with "The Mer She" displaying a notable increase in the level of bondage on the part of the Mouser (in an otherwise interesting story as he has to puzzle through another mystery on his ship). "The Curse of the Smalls and the Stars" winds up being pretty funny as the boys are indeed cursed to make things easier for assassins and the results are unexpectedly hilarious as things don't quite work out how they should.
But its "The Mouser Goes Below" that finally wraps the whole saga up and its . . . not what I expected. Anyone thinking that we're going to get a more reflective, elegiac last look at our heroes will be pretty surprised as a story that starts out more or less normally gradually eases its way into full on kink. As they hang out with their ladies and try to determine the origins of a girl named Princess Fingers (yet THAT isn't the kinky part!), someone attempts to make one last stab at killing them, with the Grey Mouser getting dragged underneath the earth to have his own separate and surreal adventure while the rest of the cast tries to dig him out. And while for a moment it seems like we're going to get Leiber's version of Moorcock's "The English Assassin" (the one where Jerry Cornelius hangs out comatose in a coffin while the rest of the plot happily goes on without him), its mostly a scenario that gives Leiber an excuse to launch into several extended scenes where he can apparently let loose with all the stuff he felt he wasn't allowed to do earlier.
And it’s a doozy. The Mouser stumbles into a scene featuring a character from "The Swords of Lankhmar" that swiftly creeps into voyeuristic "Blue Velvet" levels of weird before pretty much everyone is sexually assaulted in different ways. Meanwhile, Fafhrd encounters his own travails as he's forced to get naked in the clouds and let sky nymphs have their way with him until he's rendered insensible. And only then is the plot allowed is the plot allowed to come to a close. Its an extremely strange patch of the novel, especially as the Mouser's has absolutely nothing to do with the plot (a later episode featuring different characters that dials down the S&M at least gives him a clue in how to resolve all this even if it never explains how he's in a position to find out) and Fafhrd's even less so, although you can at least make a tentative claim he's searching for a solution for his friend.
And then it just sort of ends. Its in a place where you can't imagine they'll adventure again but the feel isn't so much "The Last Story" as it’s the last of the stories. Regardless it’s a strange way to wrap things up, even if that's authentically where Leiber's head was at in that stage of his life (he'd die four years after this was published and it seems he ended his career writing about cats, which strikes me as entirely appropriate). As I said when writing about the first omnibus, the stories are basically essential if you want to see how the fantasy genre developed and while not all of these stories are absolute winners, cherry picking the good ones means you miss out on how they develop over time. So honestly the best option is to plow right through and accept the duffers as the cost of doing business . . . just like the relationship between our heroes (and maybe our actual good friends) sometimes you'll have to grit your teeth or roll your eyes but you be assured that given time they'll do something to delight you and justify your loyalty.
Actually one of the reasons its not totally surprising that the quality remains a bit inconsistent is that the last three remaining blocks of stories were written over a twenty year period, the end of which saw the author in his seventies and perhaps getting a bit . . . indulgent in the things that a seventy year old man maybe starts to miss when he reaches that age. But we'll get to that in due time.
Anyone worried that he might have peaked with the last volumes "The Lords of Quarmall" will be relieved to find out that the hot streak continued with their all around best novel length story: "The Swords of Lankhmar". Starting innocently enough as the boys try to guard some grain fleets out of the city that are being attacked, they deal with weird passengers and some funky trained rats before the mission seems to resolve itself and everyone moves on. Except in a nice example of building a story from small blocks, the real thrust of things doesn't start until they get back to Lankhmar and find that its slowly being taken over by rats. The city is losing but the people offering their help are probably the ones who are causing the problem. Unfortunately no one believes our heroes, who have to scramble around to find a solution before the official food of the city becomes cheese and garbage.
This one's fun because he keeps up the action throughout the story. Having an entire novel to play with gives Leiber a chance to keep upping the threat and give the subplots space to breathe, like in a long sequence where the Grey Mouser has to infiltrate a rat headquarters, including impersonating a rat and trying to influence rat politics. As with most of the stories that aren't action all the time the Mouser comes out as the more interesting character since he has to be constantly clever. Fafhrd mostly wanders about being the muscle and waiting until the plot gives him a chance to make his move. The solution may come a bit too easily considering all we've been through to get there but given all that Leiber has thrown into the mix (in two hundred pages!) it’s a small complaint.
Unfortunately, that one pretty much marks the peak. Although the rest have moments there's nothing as consistently excellent for its length as "The Swords of Lankhmar".
"Swords and Ice Magic" is the next collection and it starts out promisingly enough with Death getting tired of our heroes still being alive and trying to find ways to kill them. It’s a theme that runs through most of the stories, most of which are pretty short but don't quite stick. Leiber's good at what he does but these characters don't seem well suited to the dense bursts that short stories require, especially since in a lot of the short ones they spend a good amount of time talking about ladies, which is fair but after a while becomes a string where almost every single character who isn't a god fails the guy version of the Bechdel Test (the women fail it too so at least he's consistent).
We get some goofy stuff with the gods in the aptly named "Under the Thumb of the Gods", and some lost at sea stuff with "Trapped in the Sea Stars" but the stories don't really start to catch fire until they visit Rime Isle in the last two tales. Getting the chance to stretch out again, he separates them for "The Frost Monstreme" as the two of them have to collect different crews and head for Rime Isle to head off an invasion. Again, keeping them apart shows their differing approaches to solving problems, although it runs the risk of including way too many characters especially when everyone starts to get back together.
It leads directly into "Rime Isle" which has an intriguing premise . . . the gods Loki and Odin from all our world land on Rime Isle and their presences starts to cause all kinds of problems. Fafhrd, the Grey Mouser, their lady friends Cif and Afreyt (one of the more amusing things in the late stories is how very little the women seem impressed with their lovers) and basically everyone from the last story. Oh, and the invasion everyone is worried about is still threatening to happen. It makes for a mix that could in theory be breakneck and bracing, as magic and swords intermingle and everyone tries to keep a bad situation from getting worse . . . but it never seems to work out that way. The plots just kind of jumble together, especially when Leiber starts adding in magical artifacts. The goals of the gods never seem that clear and when all the meandering plots finally collide its not even clear what's happening, how our heroes got to that point or how it all adds together. Its notable for giving us a permanent change in Fafhrd and the Rime Isle setting is fascinating (good thing, because we spend the rest of the series here) but this time the length works against it, allowing Leiber to spray the plot all over the place and then not bringing it back into focus for the end.
Then, finally, we get to the "The Knight and Knave of Swords", otherwise known as "The Retirement Years". Basically one long story with four movements, the first two showcase our heroes getting used to their new homes (with the first story "Sea Magic" featuring Fafhrd getting used to his new life change). Already things are starting to get different, with "The Mer She" displaying a notable increase in the level of bondage on the part of the Mouser (in an otherwise interesting story as he has to puzzle through another mystery on his ship). "The Curse of the Smalls and the Stars" winds up being pretty funny as the boys are indeed cursed to make things easier for assassins and the results are unexpectedly hilarious as things don't quite work out how they should.
But its "The Mouser Goes Below" that finally wraps the whole saga up and its . . . not what I expected. Anyone thinking that we're going to get a more reflective, elegiac last look at our heroes will be pretty surprised as a story that starts out more or less normally gradually eases its way into full on kink. As they hang out with their ladies and try to determine the origins of a girl named Princess Fingers (yet THAT isn't the kinky part!), someone attempts to make one last stab at killing them, with the Grey Mouser getting dragged underneath the earth to have his own separate and surreal adventure while the rest of the cast tries to dig him out. And while for a moment it seems like we're going to get Leiber's version of Moorcock's "The English Assassin" (the one where Jerry Cornelius hangs out comatose in a coffin while the rest of the plot happily goes on without him), its mostly a scenario that gives Leiber an excuse to launch into several extended scenes where he can apparently let loose with all the stuff he felt he wasn't allowed to do earlier.
And it’s a doozy. The Mouser stumbles into a scene featuring a character from "The Swords of Lankhmar" that swiftly creeps into voyeuristic "Blue Velvet" levels of weird before pretty much everyone is sexually assaulted in different ways. Meanwhile, Fafhrd encounters his own travails as he's forced to get naked in the clouds and let sky nymphs have their way with him until he's rendered insensible. And only then is the plot allowed is the plot allowed to come to a close. Its an extremely strange patch of the novel, especially as the Mouser's has absolutely nothing to do with the plot (a later episode featuring different characters that dials down the S&M at least gives him a clue in how to resolve all this even if it never explains how he's in a position to find out) and Fafhrd's even less so, although you can at least make a tentative claim he's searching for a solution for his friend.
And then it just sort of ends. Its in a place where you can't imagine they'll adventure again but the feel isn't so much "The Last Story" as it’s the last of the stories. Regardless it’s a strange way to wrap things up, even if that's authentically where Leiber's head was at in that stage of his life (he'd die four years after this was published and it seems he ended his career writing about cats, which strikes me as entirely appropriate). As I said when writing about the first omnibus, the stories are basically essential if you want to see how the fantasy genre developed and while not all of these stories are absolute winners, cherry picking the good ones means you miss out on how they develop over time. So honestly the best option is to plow right through and accept the duffers as the cost of doing business . . . just like the relationship between our heroes (and maybe our actual good friends) sometimes you'll have to grit your teeth or roll your eyes but you be assured that given time they'll do something to delight you and justify your loyalty.
July 2, 2014
3 / 5
The Second Book of Lankhmar is, as the title suggests, the second omnibus tome with the adventures of Fafhrd and Gray Mouser, written by Fritz Leiber. It continues, in a way, from where the first book of Lankhmar ends, though the stories are as always self-contained and there's usually no need to read the previous ones. In this one, Leiber appears grown and changed as an author, being (mostly) in much better control of his pen and abilities and show-casing improved literary skills especially with descriptive passages. Sadly though, story-wise, things are not so smooth. Many stories are not so interesting, with the adventurous duo getting into silly troubles that are hardly entertaining. Pacing is bad as Leiber ofter appears content to describe in minute detail environs and circumstances that are not vital to the main plot. Another annoying thing that appears more and more as the books and stories progress is that everything appears to happen in double. It's like reading the same thing twice per page, one for the Gray Mouser and once again for Fafhrd. The erotic elements are also much more prominent and common in this second book, a thing that was a minor negative for me but may and could appeal to other readers.
All in all, this is not a bad book. If you liked the first book of Lankhmar then you should also read this one. It's just not as good as the first one.
3 / 5
The Second Book of Lankhmar is, as the title suggests, the second omnibus tome with the adventures of Fafhrd and Gray Mouser, written by Fritz Leiber. It continues, in a way, from where the first book of Lankhmar ends, though the stories are as always self-contained and there's usually no need to read the previous ones. In this one, Leiber appears grown and changed as an author, being (mostly) in much better control of his pen and abilities and show-casing improved literary skills especially with descriptive passages. Sadly though, story-wise, things are not so smooth. Many stories are not so interesting, with the adventurous duo getting into silly troubles that are hardly entertaining. Pacing is bad as Leiber ofter appears content to describe in minute detail environs and circumstances that are not vital to the main plot. Another annoying thing that appears more and more as the books and stories progress is that everything appears to happen in double. It's like reading the same thing twice per page, one for the Gray Mouser and once again for Fafhrd. The erotic elements are also much more prominent and common in this second book, a thing that was a minor negative for me but may and could appeal to other readers.
All in all, this is not a bad book. If you liked the first book of Lankhmar then you should also read this one. It's just not as good as the first one.
3 / 5
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February 22, 2020Algo menos agradable que el primer tomo a medida que se hace patente que Lieber envejece y se enfrenta a menos censura. Sus personajes pasan de bribones románticos que arrastran una tragedia sentimental a la que no quieren hacer frente (dándole un nuevo sentido a sus aventuras como método de evasión) a ser sólo un vehículo de las fantasías sexuales de su autor, lo que hace de los últimos capítulos algo más tedioso de lo normal, en especial cuando se obsesiona por relacionar todos los relatos anteriores de aventuras individuales en universo donde colisionan.
March 7, 2018
Wow, I couldn't put it down. The word that comes to mind after reading this compendium of Fahfard and the Grey Mouser books is "endearing". Somehow, though no one would ever call these two rogues nice guys, they work their way into your heart. Another interesting point is that while I wouldn't call these two heroes, I wouldn't call them anti-heroes either. They really do walk this fine line between being good, but not too good, and bad but not too bad.
January 2, 2012
The first Book of Lankhmar was pretty decent. Nothing stellar, bland - yes, uninteresting at parts - yes, uninspired - mostly, but certainly readable. This one was very hard for me to get through, however.
There are several reasons for this. First and foremost, there is a major problem with logic and the seams that hold the whole thing together. During the course of a single story, different things happen, but some of them don't really have any connection to the plot, and are just there as filler. Some events have no weight or bearing on anything that happens or on the characters, and yet the author pays a lot of attention to them. The plot points are only vaugely connected, and some plot lines start deus ex machina, and end the same way - suddenly and with little explanation. It's all a jumbled mess.
Secondly, by this time, the duality of the whole series became untolerable for me. Whatever happens to Fafhrd, you can be sure something will happen to the Mouser as well. They will, of course, both have a woman to sex up. In one story, they both learn that they have children. In another, they are both hit with a somewhat similar curse. It makes the whole plot very predictable, and just adds to the general mediocre-ness of the thing.
Thirdly, Lankhmar is an awful attempt at creating a fantasy world. It's largely painfully generic, uninspired, and has only a handful of ideas which are worth mentioning - with some others being just laughable and non-fitting at all.
Leiber is called the father of sword&sorcery and is often compared to Robert E. Howard, and the Swords stories compared to the Conan stories. Well, I just want to say, that comparing one to the other is like comparing a chaotically painted piece of cardboard sprinkled with some random spices, and having yourself the best burger and fries in your life. Yes, the latter is still burger and fries, but at least it has a taste, and it's pretty damn good!
I can't recommend this book to anyone apart from die-hard fantasy fans who want to see how you shouldn't write fantasy. If you absolutely HAVE TO read a Fafhrd/Gray Mouser story, pick something from the First Book of Lankhmar.
This gets Two stars and not One only because it had some merit, and the first story (the one with the rats) was somewhat decent, if tiresome at times. The other two though, especially the last one, were on the scale from weak to terrible, never going any higher than "Barely alright".
There are several reasons for this. First and foremost, there is a major problem with logic and the seams that hold the whole thing together. During the course of a single story, different things happen, but some of them don't really have any connection to the plot, and are just there as filler. Some events have no weight or bearing on anything that happens or on the characters, and yet the author pays a lot of attention to them. The plot points are only vaugely connected, and some plot lines start deus ex machina, and end the same way - suddenly and with little explanation. It's all a jumbled mess.
Secondly, by this time, the duality of the whole series became untolerable for me. Whatever happens to Fafhrd, you can be sure something will happen to the Mouser as well. They will, of course, both have a woman to sex up. In one story, they both learn that they have children. In another, they are both hit with a somewhat similar curse. It makes the whole plot very predictable, and just adds to the general mediocre-ness of the thing.
Thirdly, Lankhmar is an awful attempt at creating a fantasy world. It's largely painfully generic, uninspired, and has only a handful of ideas which are worth mentioning - with some others being just laughable and non-fitting at all.
Leiber is called the father of sword&sorcery and is often compared to Robert E. Howard, and the Swords stories compared to the Conan stories. Well, I just want to say, that comparing one to the other is like comparing a chaotically painted piece of cardboard sprinkled with some random spices, and having yourself the best burger and fries in your life. Yes, the latter is still burger and fries, but at least it has a taste, and it's pretty damn good!
I can't recommend this book to anyone apart from die-hard fantasy fans who want to see how you shouldn't write fantasy. If you absolutely HAVE TO read a Fafhrd/Gray Mouser story, pick something from the First Book of Lankhmar.
This gets Two stars and not One only because it had some merit, and the first story (the one with the rats) was somewhat decent, if tiresome at times. The other two though, especially the last one, were on the scale from weak to terrible, never going any higher than "Barely alright".
October 25, 2011
Ho, Fafhrd tall! Hist, Mouser small!
Why leave you the city Of marvelous parts?
It were a great pity To wear out your hearts
And wear out the soles of your feet,
Treading all earth, Foregoing all mirth,
Before you once more Lankhmar greet.
Now return, now return, now!
Swords Against Death is the second collection of stories about Fafhrd, the big northern barbarian, and The Gray Mouser, the small thief from the slums. For the past three years, the two have grown so close that they are now (as Neil Gaiman suggests in his introduction to the audio version) like two halves of the same person. They’ve been traveling the world together... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Why leave you the city Of marvelous parts?
It were a great pity To wear out your hearts
And wear out the soles of your feet,
Treading all earth, Foregoing all mirth,
Before you once more Lankhmar greet.
Now return, now return, now!
Swords Against Death is the second collection of stories about Fafhrd, the big northern barbarian, and The Gray Mouser, the small thief from the slums. For the past three years, the two have grown so close that they are now (as Neil Gaiman suggests in his introduction to the audio version) like two halves of the same person. They’ve been traveling the world together... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
December 5, 2018
Printed in the “Fantasy Masterworks” series, this is volume two of the collected Lankhmar stories. It contains the following books: The Swords of Lankhmar (first published as a novel in 1968 with part publication in 1961), Swords and Ice Magic (first published as collected stories in 1977) and The Knight and the Knave of Swords (first published as collected stories in 1988).
Lankhmar is the only novel in the entire series and it is a very enjoyable read (score 4/5). I had read this novel independently a long time before this particular omnibus.
Ice Magic is a collection of short stories and one novelette, Rime Isle, published between 1973 and 1977. Fun, but increasingly a self-parody, especially Rime Isle where my interest wavered completely (score 2/5).
Lankhmar is the only novel in the entire series and it is a very enjoyable read (score 4/5). I had read this novel independently a long time before this particular omnibus.
Ice Magic is a collection of short stories and one novelette, Rime Isle, published between 1973 and 1977. Fun, but increasingly a self-parody, especially Rime Isle where my interest wavered completely (score 2/5).
July 24, 2018
While I always love Lieber's writing, my rating on this book Vs the first collection suffered due to the author's overdependance on sexuality in his tales, some of which dipped strongly into pornography, as well as a slower, more domestic pacing. For sheer joyful adventure and classic fantasy, stick with the first volume. This volume is for die hard fans only, imo.
January 13, 2019
Fafhrd y el Ratonero Gris son historia de la Fantasía. No solo por el impacto que supusieron desde su aparición, estableciéndose como el estandarte indiscutible de un subgénero (el de la espada y brujería propiamente dicha, la que inspiró los juegos de rol, frente a la alta fantasía de Tolkien, la barbarie de Howard o la anti-fantasía de Moorcock); sino también porque sus aventuras reflejan la evolución que se vivía fuera, en la sociedad que los producía y los consumía.
En un momento en el que la censura había ido relajándose, Las Espadas de Lankhmar se atreve ya con el sexo explícito, y se pregunta cómo sería el erotismo en un mundo el que conviven distintas especies, naturales o mágicas. Los protagonistas se prendan de una mujer del reino de los gules, con la piel transparente y los huesos permanentemente al descubierto, o de la hija de un hechicero, tan involucrada en la infestación de ratas que asola Lankhmar, que siempre está flotando la sospecha de si tendrá nueve pechos como los roedores de los que supuestamente desciende. Las Espadas de Lankhmar es la primera novela larga de Fafhrd y el Ratonero, y atesora algunas de las escenas más memorables del dúo. ★★★★★
Espadas y magia glacial vuelve a la división en relatos cortos, de forma un tanto engañosa, porque el último relato ocupa la mitad del volumen y es una continuación directa del anterior. Tras algunas escaramuzas contra el mismísimo Muerte, Leiber se pone a jugar con la idea del multiverso e introduce elementos de nuestra cultura en el mundo de Newhon. Fafhrd y el Ratonero se las verán contra los dioses nórdicos Loki y Odín, en un viaje en el que se han convertido en capitanes de un puñado de réplicas suyas (doce bárbaros del norte, doce ladrones del sur). Nuestros héroes est��n madurando y asumiendo responsabilidades... pero pierden algo de frescura por el camino. ★★★
En un momento en el que la censura había ido relajándose, Las Espadas de Lankhmar se atreve ya con el sexo explícito, y se pregunta cómo sería el erotismo en un mundo el que conviven distintas especies, naturales o mágicas. Los protagonistas se prendan de una mujer del reino de los gules, con la piel transparente y los huesos permanentemente al descubierto, o de la hija de un hechicero, tan involucrada en la infestación de ratas que asola Lankhmar, que siempre está flotando la sospecha de si tendrá nueve pechos como los roedores de los que supuestamente desciende. Las Espadas de Lankhmar es la primera novela larga de Fafhrd y el Ratonero, y atesora algunas de las escenas más memorables del dúo. ★★★★★
Espadas y magia glacial vuelve a la división en relatos cortos, de forma un tanto engañosa, porque el último relato ocupa la mitad del volumen y es una continuación directa del anterior. Tras algunas escaramuzas contra el mismísimo Muerte, Leiber se pone a jugar con la idea del multiverso e introduce elementos de nuestra cultura en el mundo de Newhon. Fafhrd y el Ratonero se las verán contra los dioses nórdicos Loki y Odín, en un viaje en el que se han convertido en capitanes de un puñado de réplicas suyas (doce bárbaros del norte, doce ladrones del sur). Nuestros héroes est��n madurando y asumiendo responsabilidades... pero pierden algo de frescura por el camino. ★★★
August 1, 2018
Excelente libro de fantasía heroica, de los clásicos del género, aquellos que trascienden a las luchas de espadas y los malos muy malos. Cargado de ironía, he leído más de un capítulo con una sonrisa de oreja a oreja.
El estilo de escritura, con sus frases kilométricas, su vocabulario excelso y sus acertadas comparaciones y metáforas, ayuda a crear un ambiente especial. No son los protagonistas héroes al uso, sino pícaros que deshacen entuertos por pura suerte o por jugar bien sus cartas.
Especialmente buena es la primera historia, "Las espadas de Lankhmar" con la amenaza de una plaga de ratas con características humanas y su sugerente y traicionara ama Hisvin. En esta historia hay numerosas imágenes muy potentes, como también en la siguiente. Por ejemplo, merece mención especial la escena de Muerte eligiendo a sus víctimas.
Habría dado cinco estrellas a este estupendo libro si no fuera por la última historia, la más larga, pues se me hizo tediosa por momentos (si bien es cierto que hay una escena lésbica y sadomasoquista de lo más sugerente).
En resumen, un libro imprescindible para amantes del género y muy recomendable para quien quiera disfrutar de literatura de calidad.
El estilo de escritura, con sus frases kilométricas, su vocabulario excelso y sus acertadas comparaciones y metáforas, ayuda a crear un ambiente especial. No son los protagonistas héroes al uso, sino pícaros que deshacen entuertos por pura suerte o por jugar bien sus cartas.
Especialmente buena es la primera historia, "Las espadas de Lankhmar" con la amenaza de una plaga de ratas con características humanas y su sugerente y traicionara ama Hisvin. En esta historia hay numerosas imágenes muy potentes, como también en la siguiente. Por ejemplo, merece mención especial la escena de Muerte eligiendo a sus víctimas.
Habría dado cinco estrellas a este estupendo libro si no fuera por la última historia, la más larga, pues se me hizo tediosa por momentos (si bien es cierto que hay una escena lésbica y sadomasoquista de lo más sugerente).
En resumen, un libro imprescindible para amantes del género y muy recomendable para quien quiera disfrutar de literatura de calidad.
Want to read
February 17, 2023The Swords of Lankhmar (1968) • novel
Swords and Ice Magic (1977) • collection
The Sadness of the Executioner (1973) • short storyThe Knight and Knave of Swords (1988) • collection
Beauty and the Beasts (1974) • short story
Trapped in the Shadowland (1973) • short story
The Bait (1973) • short story
Under the Thumbs of the Gods (1975) • short story
Trapped in the Sea of Stars (1975) • short story
The Frost Monstreme (1976) • novelette
Rime Isle (1977) • novella
Sea Magic (1977) • short story
The Mer She (1978) • novelette
The Curse of the Smalls and the Stars (1983) • novella
The Mouser Goes Below (1988) • novella
March 21, 2021
La primera historia sobre las ratas es magnífica, pero en cuanto los héroes llegan a la Isla de la Escarcha, todo se vuelve aburrido. Confieso que "El caballero y la sota de espadas" he acabado leyéndolo por encima porque se me iba el santo al cielo y no era capaz de prestarle atención. El fetichismo pedófilo no ayuda a avivar el interés, más bien lo contrario.
June 19, 2021
Alas, significantly weaker entrees in the canon by an older Leiber. They just don't measure up to the earlier Leiber stories of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, which were riotously creative with a wicked sense of humor. Sardonic, no less: Leiber's favorite word.
A weak 3 stars for this and a strong 4 stars for the First Book of Lankhmar. My recommendation: just read the first on and leave it there.
A weak 3 stars for this and a strong 4 stars for the First Book of Lankhmar. My recommendation: just read the first on and leave it there.
March 7, 2022
While the fun, wit and surprising adventures continue as in the First book of Lankhmar, as the book continues more and more the book indulges in what can only be described as straight up kinky eroticism, making it a difficult read.
June 29, 2023
Some of the short stories in the first book are nothing short of fantastic. It would seem all the duds were saved for this second one. Leiber grows much too fond of wry callbacks and narrative symmetry with age. Don't read this, it's a waste of time.
June 19, 2023
Dos personajes muy divertidos
June 9, 2024
Apesar da escrita ser antiquada e floreada as personagens e histórias e infindas amantes que Fafhrd e Grey Mouser arranjam , são fascinantes e levam a ler até ao fim .
November 17, 2008
This omnibus, collecting the last three of Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser books (THE SWORDS OF LANKHMAR, SWORDS AND ICE MAGIC, and THE KNIGHT AND KNAVE OF SWORDS), finds its author approaching, in the time-honored tradition of aging SF authors, full-blown dirty-old-man-mode (at least Heinlein was able to attribute his latter-years satyriasis on a brain tumor). True, Leiber's duo of heroes, unlike, say, those of Tolkien, exhibited active libidos from the start, but here one can chart a sort of crescendo of kink, starting with the relatively chaste, but nudity- and sex-filled nonetheless, THE SWORDS OF LANKHMAR (1968), but escalating rapidly in the last two books, as Leiber explicitly indulges the Mouser's ephebophilia and sadism ("The Mer She", from THE KNIGHT AND KNAVE OF SWORDS, for example finds the Gray One repeatedly binding an adolescent stowaway to his shipboard bunk), and both heroes develop a Tourrette's-like tendency to drop c-bombs (and other misogynistic interjections) in casual conversation.
But even a priapic Leiber could write rings around most authors (indeed, the penis mightier than the sword), and this collection is filled to overflowing with the wild romance, strange adventure, perilous plotting, memorable characters (Kreeshkra, the ghoul-girl from THE SWORDS OF LANKHMAR, being particularly fun), and clever banter that have been hallmarks of Leiber's Lankhmar tales since 1939's "Two Sought Adventure."
"But one certainly cannot fault the little darlings for their occasional itch for each other, since their taste is so exactly like my own." -Mouser
But even a priapic Leiber could write rings around most authors (indeed, the penis mightier than the sword), and this collection is filled to overflowing with the wild romance, strange adventure, perilous plotting, memorable characters (Kreeshkra, the ghoul-girl from THE SWORDS OF LANKHMAR, being particularly fun), and clever banter that have been hallmarks of Leiber's Lankhmar tales since 1939's "Two Sought Adventure."
"But one certainly cannot fault the little darlings for their occasional itch for each other, since their taste is so exactly like my own." -Mouser
October 13, 2014
Here's an actual sentence I encountered while reading this book:
A week later, the evening being unseasonably balmy and Witches Moon at first quarter near the top of the sky, a hemispherical silver goblet brimful of stars and scattering them dimmed by moonwine all over the sky as it descended toward the lips of the west, drawn down by the same goddess who had lifted it, Afreyt and Fafhrd after supping alone at her violet-tinted pale house on Salthaven's northern edge were minded to wander across the great meadow in the direction of Elvenhold, a northward slanting slim rock spire two bowshots high, chimneyed and narrowly terraced, that thrust from the rolling fields almost a league away to the west.
The earlier stories aren't exactly high art. But I'm wondering if they went through an extra round of editing compared to the later stories in this second collection. Even at their best I feel the stories in this volume could be told at least as effectively with half as many words. If you can make it through passages like this without a heavy sigh or eye roll then maybe you'll enjoy this book more than I did.
It's taken me most of 2014 to slough through these 2 collections. And while I can't say I regret reading them I've got tons of stuff waiting to be read that will be a much more rewarding investment of my time.
A week later, the evening being unseasonably balmy and Witches Moon at first quarter near the top of the sky, a hemispherical silver goblet brimful of stars and scattering them dimmed by moonwine all over the sky as it descended toward the lips of the west, drawn down by the same goddess who had lifted it, Afreyt and Fafhrd after supping alone at her violet-tinted pale house on Salthaven's northern edge were minded to wander across the great meadow in the direction of Elvenhold, a northward slanting slim rock spire two bowshots high, chimneyed and narrowly terraced, that thrust from the rolling fields almost a league away to the west.
The earlier stories aren't exactly high art. But I'm wondering if they went through an extra round of editing compared to the later stories in this second collection. Even at their best I feel the stories in this volume could be told at least as effectively with half as many words. If you can make it through passages like this without a heavy sigh or eye roll then maybe you'll enjoy this book more than I did.
It's taken me most of 2014 to slough through these 2 collections. And while I can't say I regret reading them I've got tons of stuff waiting to be read that will be a much more rewarding investment of my time.
Want to read
January 1, 2011We own this as Return to Lankhmar (Books 5-6) and The Knight and Knave of Swords (Book 7).
December 29, 2012
An omnibus edition containing Sword of Lankhmar, Swords and Ice Magic, and Knight and Knave of Swords. Writing was better than I remember, but much more ribald. I can't recall it being so risque when I read them before. Perhaps I just didn't understand the references. That's my story and I'm sticking with it anyway.
July 4, 2020
It starts out mediocre for the author's standards, and goes straight to bad as it progresses. The last part highlights all that's wrong with this volume's stories: overly long, bloated plotlines with unclear problems and unsatisfying solutions; spiced with gratuitous sexuality and kinky fetishes. Why did you have to ruin Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser for me, Leiber?
October 26, 2011
The first book collected in this volume is quite good. The subsequent ones are different from Fafhrd and the Mouser's previous adventures, and while they are still good, they are not quite as good as the previous novels.
May 26, 2007
Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are great heroes, and Issek of the jug ranks right up there with Made of Meat as one of the best laugh out loud stories I've ever read.
August 12, 2010
Perhaps not quite as good as the first collection, but still thoroughly engaging, wildly imaginative, and funny. Classic.
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