In the long-ago and faraway world of Nehwon, a world of sorcery and barbarism and wonders untold, two unlikely souls find their fates entwined, their
lives and exploits becoming the stuff of legend: towering, skald-trained swordsman Fafhrd of the icy north, and the clever little magic-dabbling thief
called the Gray Mouser.
This collection contains the first four tales in the adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser: Induction: A vignette of the meeting between the two soon-to-be heroes. The Snow Women: On the verge of manhood, Fafhrd grows restless with the backward, custom-bound ways of his northern kinsman, enamored with the
distant allure of civilization - and with Vlana, an exotic woman traveling with a troupe of entertainers. The Unholy Grail: A white wizard's apprentice, Mouse, returns from an initiation quest to find his master's home burned by the cruel lord of the
land, turning to black magic for revenge. Ill Met in Lankhmar: In the great "city of cities" at the heart of Nehwon, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser meet when both cross wits and blades with
the all-powerful Thieves Guild... a challenge that brings tragic consequences to themselves and their loved ones.
Review
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are classic heroes in the sword and sorcery genre; indeed, Fritz Leiber is credited with coining the term "sword and sorcery". As
a fantasy reader and would-be writer, I figured I ought to explore them, and a recent sale on the e-book edition gave me that chance. Though not the first ones
penned in the series, these short stories are the first, chronologically, in the characters' lives, the "origin" tales. Leiber writes with imagination, adventure,
and the odd touch of humor, crafting an archetypical world built on tropes - though some of the tropes I'm familiar with possibly originated with Leiber, such as
the now-ubiquitous Thieves Guild. It was the author's intention to write more human characters than those that existed at the time in the genre, such as Conan, and
in this he succeeded; though still larger than life, both Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser have very human weaknesses and failings, making them more relatable and
approachable. The genre's sexism shines through, particularly in The Snow Women with the emasculating, fickle northern ladies and their ice sorcery (and the
way in which female characters and their whims and weaknesses lie at the heart of much of the tragedy in all the tales), and here and there the age of the works is
also evident. Of the four tales, the last one, the award-winning Ill Met in Lankhmar, is clearly the best, while the first is more of an incomplete prologue -
indeed, I'm not quite sure why it was included, save to whet readers' appetites for the other three stories. Overall, though, this collection holds up fairly well;
enough for me to forgive the sexism and a few other issues to rate a solid good (largely on the back of the final story). I don't know if I'll follow the series
further, though I'm more likely to read more of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser than such stiff, broodingly inhuman figures as Conan.
In Nehwon, realm of strange magic and dark secrets, countless gods and unnumbered devils, lost secrets and found dangers, two heroes lived a legend that
would tower over all others: the tall , brash Northern swordsman and skald Fafhrd, and the slight, cunning thief and magic-dabbler the Gray Mouser. Here,
their adventures continue in ten more tales that take them from the great sprawling metropolis of Lankhmar to the unseen Bleak Shores, from the forgotten
crypts beneath the Thieves Guild to the tower of a banished god, even as far as the throne room of Death itself.
Review
These stories, like those in the first volume, are the stuff classic sword-and-sorcery fantasy is made of: swordfights, thefts, lost treasures, strange and
cunning traps, and the obligatory wine and women at the Silver Eel tavern on the side. They're not particularly socially progressive, particularly with regards
to women, but such were the times these stories were written in, and the state of the genre they represented. The tales are still entertaining for what they are,
grand adventures brimming with imagination and some sly tongue-in-cheek pokes at the genre's grandiose nature. Fafhrd and the Mouser remain larger-than-life
archetypes who are nevertheless more human (and thus more interesting to spend one's time with) than some classic fantasy characters. This volume introduces the
recurring figures of Sheelba of the Eyeless Face and Ningauble the Seven-Eyed, archmages to whom the Gray Mouser and Fafhrd are compelled to swear fealty
respectively, who sometimes pit the two heroes against each other in their ongoing magical rivalry. A few of the stories seemed a little short, but none of them
stand out as particularly weak. Indeed, overall, I found them a little stronger than the origin stories in the first volume. They remain decent examples of classic
sword and sorcery, worth reading today by anyone interested in fantasy's roots or just looking for some old-school Conanesque adventure.
From a malevolent mist prowling the streets of Lankhmar to a mysterious rendezvous on the floor of the wild sea, from the mythic lands of Nehwon to ancient
classical Earth, northern swordsman Fafhrd and his little thief companion the Gray Mouser write new chapters in their ongoing legend.
Review
Like previous installments, Leiber weaves tales of wild imagination and grand adventure, the stuff on which sword and sorcery fantasy was built, all overlaid
with more than a little humor, both between the characters and in an overall sense of winking at the grandiose nature of the subgenre. (It also, like a lot of
classic sword and sorcery, has broad swathes of sexism and some racism worked into its DNA, which do not age particularly well.) Unlike the last two collections,
though, these - with one exception - aren't really standalones, but become a somewhat drawn out single tale that meanders here and there and everywhere, even
bringing the heroes to a fantastical version of Earth's own ancient history as the characters (despite themselves) take further steps on the road from ordinary
adventurers to immortalized archetypes of song and story. It really doesn't help when this particular tale grinds in the sexism and objectification of women.
There's still a sense of fun, particularly in their ill-fated adventure on Lankhmar's fiercely competitive Street of the Gods, but the characters are just plain
more enjoyable in shorter adventurers (and smaller doses) than in longer works - especially longer works with as thin a backbone as the one they clamber along in
this outing.
