Swords and Deviltry (1970)

Swords and Deviltry is the first volume of Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories, a series that in its own way has probably been every bit as influential as The Lord of the Rings. With the difference, though, that this influence was not primarily literary – while Tolkien’s magnum opus spawned countless High Fantasy novels that imitated or emulated it, reworked it or pitted themselves against it, Low Fantasy authors looking for literary inspiration for the most part turned towards Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories as their model. But what Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, their world of Nehwon and particularly its largest city Lankhmar were a huge influence on, is fantasy roleplay gaming, in particular Dungeons & Dragons (and everything in turn influenced by D&D, like a large part of Fantasy movies – leading to the slightly bizarre situation that the Conan movies owe at least as much, if not more, to Leiber as to Howard).

It is not so much the setting where that influence is noticeable (there are neither elves nor dwarves in Leiber’s world), but it is the adventuring mindset – everyone who ever got together with friends for a round of D&D will immediately be familar with the banter between the two protagonists here, recognise their unabashed mercenary proclivities and feel right at home in the way many of these stories resemble a traditional dungeon crawl.

This volume is the first one in the series and contains a brief “Induction”, followed by three novellas, an origin story for each of our heroes plus the tale of how they first met. As such, it is undoubtedly the place to start reading the series, even though it is one of the weaker offerings – neither Fafhrd nor the Gray Mouser are as fun on their own as they are together, and while I would not say that “The Snow Women” and “The Unholy Grail” are bad stories (quite far from it, actually) they are missing that incomparable magic that springs to life and invigorates the narrative the moment they join forces during a robbery in Lankhmar (a robbery, almost needless to say, that they perform, not one that they are a victim of). What was slightly-above-standard Sword & Sorcery fare before from then onwards is transformed into something unique and uniquely spirited by the (not always harmonious) friendship between the hulking Northern barbarian and the slight Southern apprentice mage.

That joy in and elation through Fafhrd’s and the Gray Mouser’s friendship is also noticeable in Leiber’s writing – while the first two stories, “The Snow Women” in particular, are mostly remarkable for Leiber’s habit (almost something of a tick) to adverbize and adjectivize every word he can lay his hands on, leading to some epically awkward formulations like “He slitheringly walked toward it across the bediamonded snow crust” (I am still uncertain whether he meant that sentence to be taken seriously or not), in “Ill Met in Lankhmar” there is a new quality to the language, in particular the dialogues that Leiber pushes way over the top with obvious relish, making his youthful protagonists talk in an overdone archaic idiom that would fit Ye Olde High Fantasy Knight but is totally and comically out of place for aspiring teenage rogues and is played out by Leiber to considerable effect.

It is not all fun and laughter, though - as it turns out, there is a strong horror element to these stories as well (like in most, if not all, early Sword & Sorcery – Lovecraft, even though I am not sure whether there is even a single sword in any of this stories, should be considered as one of the founding fathers of the genre), and Leiber does not flinch back from tragedy, either, ending the collection on a rather melancholy note. But as good as “Ill Met in Lankhmar” is (and it is good indeed), overall this collection is mostly a promise of things to come, things that get a lot better than this.

Meet Fafhrd, a barbarian from the cold north, and the Gray Mouser, an apprentice wizard and journeyman thief. In this first volume containing the collected shorter fiction of this well-known Swords and Sorcery duo, we see the backstory on our two heroes, including Fafhrd's past, before he left the Cold Wastes, the Cold Clan, and his betrothed, Mara, to join the adventures of the members of the Show, especially Vlana, his current infatuation.

Likewise, we meet the Gray Mouser, once the Gray Mouse, apprenticed to a wizard, but finding his heart set more on stealing than casting spells.

And to top off this volume of origins, we get the origin story: "Ill Met in Lankhmar," in which Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser meet, and realize that they have much in common, including a joy of pilfering, especially from thieves. In a moment of drunkenness, the two decided to rob the Thieves Guild to mixed results.

Part comedy, part tragedy, part satire, and part biography, Leiber paints a wonderful portrait of two guys doing their best in Lankhmar.

Recommended for all fans of Sword and Sorcery. ( )

It's Sword & Sorcery &/or Heroic fantasy mixed with some satire & horror elements, the latter reminiscent of Lovecraft to my eye. Leiber started off with this series I believe & worked on it most of his career, so the collection of short stories (all? One novel?) varies a lot in the mood, but the quality is always there. I'm only giving this one 3 stars, but it might be worthy of more. I didn't like this quite as much as some of the other ones, probably because the characters weren't as well developed.

The two main characters are the barbarian Fafhrd and the small, city-wise thief, the Gray Mouser. Neither does well without the other & together they still manage to get into & usually out of a lot of trouble. Imperfect, reluctant heroes with questionable morals, but generally good natures.

I have & have read the entire series a couple of times. The last time I read any of the books was at least a few years ago, though. If you like Howard's Conan, you might not like this as well - the heroes aren't as heroic. If you like Wagner's Kane, you're probably in for a treat. Overall, I'd give the series 4 stars, at least 3.5. ( )

One of the best sword and sorcery style novels. Similar in theme to the Conan novels, though it features two heroes, both thieves, and its own particular flavor. Really a collection of short stories and a novella, which won the Nebula award. ( )

Fritz Leiber is a key figure in the field of swords and sorcery literature. The true master of the genre may be Robert Howard, but it was Leiber who gave it the name in 1961. Leiber's most important legacy is the adventures of Fafhrd and Gray Mouser, two unlikely heroes struggling in the city of Lankhmar. Leiber wrote the first story of the two in 1939 and his last major work in 1991 finally wrapped it up.

This collection shows the origins fo the couple. Snow Women tells how Fafhrd left his home in the far north, fighting against other warriors of his tribe and the ice-cold magic of the northern women, to flee to southern civilization of Lankhmar. In The Unholy Grail Mouse, the apprentice of a hedge wizard, becomes the Gray Mouser and escapes to Lankhmar after some dabbling in the black arts. Finally, the award-winning Ill Met in Lankhmar describes how the two meet and how their career of thievery and killing begins in the city of Lankhmar.

This is no high literature, but what's wrong with good entertainment? Leiber's stories are entertaining, and especially the last one is a wonderful story of swords and sorcery, full of fantasy cliches (excused, because Leiber came up with quite a few of those, I believe) and action. The stories are funny, too, as Leiber doesn't take his writing too seriously.

Considering the influence these stories have had in other writers, I'd say reading Leiber is a must for anybody who likes sword and sorcery stories and this collection is definitely the best place to start, it's a good introduction to Fafhrd and Gray Mouser. (Review based on the Finnish translation.)

(Review of Swords and Deviltry in Mikko reads) ( )