Leiber, Fritz Books

Lankhmar Book 1: Swords And Deviltry

Fritz Leiber

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A Note On Kindle Edition 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

To those purchasing this on Kindle. I found a bit of a flaw in the coding that only allows you to properly view the text on the 3rd setting of your font size. I usually read on 2 or 1 so when I opened this book I was a bit miffed that the first sentence of every page was sliced horizontally in half. After a few experimental changes in font size I discovered the only one that allowed proper viewing was 3. If you can't see the third font size in comfort and need a higher setting then this may not be for you. There was another flaw as well that I couldn't repair. For every "chapter" number that appeared in the text....the bolded number was superimposed OVER the text. While I could read around this flaw some may find it a bit annoying at the beginning of each new chapter.

Now as for the story itself...great quick read for anyone who enjoys classic magical fantasy with heroic characters and questionable villains.

One other note...seems Mr. Lieber seems to hate all of his females. Ok that may be a bit rough...however thre is not a single noteworthy female in this entire book. Even the dead ones are horrible. The first women you are introduced to are savage jealous spiteful witches, the next character is a promiscuous stripper with a need for using men to take her revenge, then there's the princess who is so meek and spineless without an ounce of redeeming qualities, and her dead mother who was a ruthless brutal masocist. Perhaps his view of women improves later in the series and for the most part I started to find it terribly amusing whenever a new female was introduced into the story as I couldn't wait to see what was wrong with her!
But ya know what...it didn't really bother that much just something I noticed and thought I'd share. I still really liked the story...viscious wenches and all.

Editorial Review:

One of the most influential and critically acclaimed fantasy writers of all time, Fritz Leiber pioneered the sword-and-sorcery genre! In the ancient city of Lankhmar, two men forge a friendship in battle. The red-haired barbarian Fafhrd left the snowy reaches of Nehwon looking for a new life while the Gray Mouser, apprentice magician, fled after finding his master dead. These bawdy brothers-in-arms cement a friendship that leads them through the wilds of Nehwon facing thieves, wizards, princesses and the depths of their desires and fears. Superb writing and brilliant, believable characterizations highlight the first entry in Leiber's seminal series.

Lankhmar Book 2: Swords Against Death (The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser) (Bk. 2)

Fritz Leiber

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Fairly repetitive stuff... 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I bought book one and enjoyed it greatly. Book 2 seems to be a smattering of individual stories rather than a continuous storyline, which is ok if that's what you are planning on. It's simple, swords and magic Fantasy with no great epic cause to support nor any great moral issues to debate.

The stories are still quite good, but when compared with some of the other work on the market, this volume pales in comparison and doesn't deserve more than 3 stars. It's good, but not something that you are going to put aside Erikson or Wurts to make time for.

Editorial Review:

In the second installment of this rousing series, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser journey from the ancient city of Lankhmar, searching for a little adventure and debauchery to ease their broken hearts. When a stranger challenges them to find and fight Death on the Bleak Shore, they battle demonic birds, living mountains, and evil monks on the way to their heroic fate. Fritz Leiber's witty prose, lively plots and superb characterizations stand the test of time.

50 Short Science Fiction Tales

Robert A. Heinlein, Fritz Leiber, John D. MacDonald, C. M. Kornbluth, Theodore Sturgeon, A. E. Van Vogt, Robert Sheckley, Jack Finney

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

titles 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Includes 2 poems at ends so 52 titles.
Ballade of an Artificial Satellite - Poul Anderson
The Fun They Had - Isaac Asimov
Men are Different - Alan Bloch
The Ambassadors - Anthony Boucher
The Weapon - Frederic Brown
Random Sample - T.P. Caravan
Oscar - Cleve Cartmill
The Mist - Peter Cartur
Teething Ring - James Causey
The Haunted Space Suit - Arthur C Clarke
Stair Trick - Mildred Clingerman
Unwelcome Tenant - Roger Dee
The Mathematicians - Arthur Feldman
The Third Level - Jack Finney
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful! - Stuart Friedman
The Figure - Edward Grendon
The Rag Thing - David Grinnell
The Good Provider - Marion Gross
Columbus Was a Dope - Robert A Heinlein
Texas Week - Albert Hernhuter
Hilda - HB Hickey
The Choice - W Hilton-Young
Not With a Bang - Damon Knight
The Alter at Midnight - CM Cornbluth
A Bad Day for Sales - Frits Leiber
Who's Cribbing? - Jack Lewis
Spectator Sport - John D MacDonald
The Cricket Ball - Avro Monhattan
Double-Take - Winston K Marks
Prolog - John P McKnight
The Available Data on the Worp Reaction - Lion Miller
Narapoia - Alan Nelson
Tiger by the Tail - Alan E Nourse
Counter Charm - Peter Phillips
The Fly - Arthur Porges
The Business, As Usual - Mack Reynolds
Two Weeks in August - Frank M Robinson
See? - Edward G Robles, Jr.
Appointment at Noon - Eric Frank Russell
We Don't Want Any Trouble - James H Schmitz
Built Down Logically - Howard Schoenfeld
An Egg a Month from All Over - Idris Seabright
The Perfect Woman - Robert Sheckley
The Hunters - Walt Sheldon
The Martian and the Magician - Evelyn E Smith
Barney - Will Stanton
Talent - Theodore Sturgeon
Project Hush - William Tenn
The Great Judge - AE Van Vogt
Emergency Landing - Ralph Williams
Obviously Suicide - S Fowler Wright
Six Haiku - Karen Anderson

Lankhmar Book 3: Swords in the Mist (Bk. 3)

Fritz Leiber

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

This one was weak. 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

All due respect to the late Fritz Leiber, but over-all, this book was weak. The first story, "Cloud of Hate" was good. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser unwittingly take-on Hate embodied in a noxious mist that turns already shady characters into rampaging serial killers. The next one, "Lean Times in Lankhmar", starts out interesting as the life-long friends go their separates ways, but goes flat. "Their Mistress, the Sea" builds-up well but the ending seemed to be missing something. The rest of the book brings Farhrd and Gray Mouser to our world's ancient history. Which should've made for a great read, but contradictions concerning their memory (they supposedly lost all knowledge of their previous life in the world of Newhorn, but make references to it), adventures told as second-hand accounts, and a prose that seems meant to be humorous and clever, only made the story confusing and monotonous. I got the impression these stories are a satire, maybe of something going-on either in literature or in society at the time they were written, but I didn't get it.

I'm a big fan of Farfhrd and The Gray Mouser, or at least of their first two books. But if "Swords in the Mist" had been my first Lankhmar book, I don't think I'd have read any more of them. Fritz Leiber is rightfully considered one of the original masters of fantasy. His writing spans over 50 years. So it's only natural that he's produced at least a few clunkers.

Editorial Review:

Lean times in Lankhmar force brothers-in-arms Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser to part ways. Only after a joust of wits and swords do the friends join together again, stealing the ship the Black Treasurer and sailing round and through The Claws. Fighting sea kings, curses and seven-eyed wizards, the pair set out on their heroic wanderings through the wilds of Nehwon.

Lahnkmar Book 5: The Swords of Lankhmar

Fritz Leiber

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Continues the legend, but rather blandly 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The fifth book in the Lahnkmar series continues the story of Fafrd and the Grey Mouser. Somewhere along the way, the "special something" that made me start buying this series has been lost. I thought that the first two volumes were really well done, but somewhere between the third and the fourth books, the characters lost their uniqueness. This book feels like standard "dungeon crawling" fare. In fact, as far as I can tell, the overall story arc is not advanced one whit by this entry. Completists will want this book, but people who are just casual Lahnkmar fans can miss this book and not feel like they missed anything.

J.Ja

Editorial Review:

A plague of rats overrun Lankhmar, the capitol city and glittering gem of the land of Nehwon. Commissioned to guard a ship of grain from the cursed rodents, brother-in-arms Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser soon discover the plague has progressed to a fatal point. Mustering the strength of sorcery, they descend into the depths of Lankhmar and rise to battle in order to save the soul of the ill-fated city.

Lankhmar Volume 4: Swords Against Wizardry

Fritz Leiber

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Editorial Review:

Sent by a witch on a foolhardy journey, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser return to the icy reaches of the north in search of dubious treasure. There, they are seduced by the glittering attractions of an ice woman, who brings them with her to her shadowy lair. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser-brothers in arms-are overwhelmed by intimations of power and rise to become the overlords of Quarmall, a dangerous region of lies, magic, and swords.

Lankhmar Book 6: Swords and Ice Magic (Lankhmar)

Fritz Leiber

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

A significant improvement! 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Swords and Ice Magic is a HUGE improvement over its predecessor. It was good to see Leiber get back on track instead of putting together standard "run around the dungeon" fare. I am looking forwards to the next installment now, instead of feeling like I was reading only to be a completist.

Editorial Review:

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser have traveled the width and breadth of the land of Nehwon in search of adventure and fortune. Now lost at sea, their ship drawn out on the Great Equatorial Current, their journey brings them to Rime Isle, a tragic island populated by vagabonds and wanderers. The island is also home to a race of gods, schemers, and manipulators that plague the humans for their amusement. Will Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser be able to escape the island, or be trapped forever as pawns of the gods?

Dark Ladies: 'Conjure Wife' and 'Our Lady of Darkness'

Fritz Leiber

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Two seminal horror classics for the price of one 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Fritz Leiber's Dark Ladies collects his two best novels: Conjure Wife (1943) and Our Lady of Darkness (1978).

In Conjure wife, Professor Norman Saylor's career is going well and things just seem to be getting better. When he discovers that his wife, Tansy, is in fact a witch (not a mean one, but a witch nonetheless), his career and life will plummet in a downward spiral. Upon confronting her with the situation, she tells him that she was doing it for him, to protect him from the other professors' wives that also happened to be conjurors. After destroying all the charms she had to protect him, Norman soon wishes he'd listened to his wife.

Conjure Wife is a great tale of witchcraft with very interesting and weird characters. Leiber's writing here isn't dated a bit (keep in mind that this novel was written over 60 years ago!). Norman's wife, Tansy, is a good witch and as the story progresses, it becomes obvious that she only did what she did with the best intentions. Everybody's a suspect in this one; and when the bewildering climax comes, you'll be left in awe at Leiber's skills for pulling a one-two punch at you.

Our Lady of Darkness has a very eerie premise: A horror writer, Franz Westen, happens to peer outside his apartment window with his binoculars and sees a lanky figure dancing atop a hill, waving at him a few miles from where he lives. Curious, Franz decides to walk over to the hill and find out more about this strange character. Once there, by looking through his binoculars in the distance, he sees the same figure--this time waving at him from his apartment window! Franz will embark on a search for answers to find out who--or what--this bizarre figure is.

What a uniquely creepy idea; I was hooked with the four-line synopsis alone! Leiber's writing has matured considerably since Conjure Wife, 35 years earlier, and it shows. His skill at reeling you in and leaving you hanging on his every word is astonishing. At first, you're wondering why he's going off in the direction he chose to go, thinking he's losing his momentum, but as the story unfolds, you'll see that he's planned every detail with the meticulousness of a master storyteller. With references to Aleister Crowley and a multitude of mentions of the great H.P. Lovecraft, this tale of Dark Fantasy is a true classic.

Overall, you can't miss with this book. These two short novels are a fast and suspenseful read. The book is worth its price for Our Lady of Darkness alone. If you like enthralling stories, tales of witchcraft or clever Dark Fantasy; then you've come to the right place.

Editorial Review:

Filmed twice, as Weird Woman (1944) and Burn Witch Burn (1961), this tale of secret witchcraft on a modern college campus has endured. Our Lady of Darkness, Fritz Leibers dark love song to San Francisco, is one of the greatest works of modern urban fantasy.

Ill Met In Lankhmar - Tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Volume 1

Fritz Leiber

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Classic Swords & Sorcery 4 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

This book is the earliest adventures of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, their early lives, how they met and adventures. The novellas are rich in detail of the surroundings and show that the world of Nehwon is well-developed. Fafhrd and The Grey Mouser's interactions are realistic (except perhaps for the high-flown language) and kept me turning pages eagerly. Lots of hack'n'slash as well as intellectual puzzles, a few moments of hair-raising suspense and some definite sizzle. Classic swords & sorcery with very little mumbo-jumbo and no complicated explanations.

Most Underappreciated Work of Fantasy 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Poor Fritz Leiber. He has never truly received the credit he deserves for fostering the fantasy genre. Along with the old Conan stories and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, this is amongst the most influential works of fantasy fiction.

Fascinating worldbuilding, intrigue and exciting characters abound in these tales, all told with Leiber's exceptional artistic skills. Not only are the plots and personalities compelling, but Leiber has a magical rhythm to his storytelling and descriptions. This is one of the few stories that is on my "reread" list.

Pick this up and you'll love the stories--and when you look at the copyright date of these tales, you'll come to appreciate just how much Leiber has affected the fantasy authors that have come since.

Editorial Review:

They are the two greatest heroes ever to walk the World of Nehwon: Fafhrd, the giant barbarian warrior from the Cold Waste; and the Gray Mouser, novice wizard, master thief, and swordsman unparalleled. In this one volume, fantasy legend Fritz Leiber takes readers through the first two books of the classic sword-and-sorcery saga: Swords and Deviltry and Swords Against Death. "Solid entertainment."--Kirkus Reviews.

Gather, Darkness!

Fritz Leiber

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Witchcraft was far more than it seemed.... 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 10 people found this review helpful.

After the Great War that ended the first Atomic Age the Priesthood rebuilt the world. But the priests of the Hierarchy weren't really priests, at least not in the old timeless sense. In fact, the first thing a young initiate was taught was that the Great God did not exist- it was just a false idol and technological trick used to control the commoners. For the priests were really composed of all the privileged classes of the old age- the scientists, engineers, managers, doctors, and psychologists. They had banded together to rule the world by fear and superstition. They used the technology that they controlled to force and frighten the common people into serfdom and slavery. Indeed, they had used the Dark Ages as their inspiration and pattern in social organization, costumes, architecture- they even allowed witches to exist and operate as a means to help terrorize the masses. Unfortunately for the priests of the Hierarchy, the Witchcraft was far more than it seemed....

It is absolutely incredible that this tight little novel was written in 1943. Just the use of the term "Atomic Age" two years before Hiroshima is remarkable. Then combine that with the fact that Leiber accurately describes atomic power, genetic engineering, cloning, holograms, scientific brainwashing, psychological warfare, and mutually impenetrable force beams that sound exactly like light sabers. This novel was far ahead of its time and holds up as a gripping read even today. In fact, the oppressive elitism that it describes is more plausible today than it would have been in the freer decade of the 40's.

Editorial Review:

"Gather, Darkness!" (originally serialized in "Astounding Science Fiction" in 1943) remains of of Fritz Leiber's classic novels, a tale of the world 360 years after a nuclear holocaust, when priests rule using trickery and techology -- and of Armon Jarles,