Swords in the Mist (1968)

The next stop in my project of re-reading the whole of Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser books is Swords in the Mist, the third volume, which contains one lengthy early novella, three mid-period stories from the fifties and sixties, and two bridge vignettes Leiber wrote for this volume to bring his stories into some kind of continuity.

This collection contains what might very well be my favourite story in the series, “Lean Times in Lankhmar”. It probably is also the most satirical, even more so than “Bazaar of the Bizarre”, the barbs this time chiefly aimed at religion. Not only does that story have almost none of the usual Fantasy trappings, it also finds Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser working separately, even against each other, and seeing how their friendship persists and makes itself felt even when they are at cross-purposes with each other, is just one of the many delights this story provides the reader. The satire itself is rather mild, although I suppose your mileage may vary if you happen to be a deeply religious person – Leiber is unambiguously poking some fun at institutionalized religion here, the way a religion does become an institution, the role money plays in that, and the way belief can spring from the most unlikely of sources. If your are not offended by it, it is a very funny story indeed, and definitely confirms Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser as a major source for Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.

That story alone might have made Swords in the Mist one of the best volumes in the series – if it was not for what must surely be one of the most blatant “What the hell was the author thinking?” moments of WTF-ery in all of Fantasy literature. I am, of course, referring the novella “Adept’s Gambit” (which takes up about half of this volume) and the vignette leading up to it, “The Wrong Branch”. There, Leiber transports his heroes for absolutely no good reason that I was able to conceive of from Nehwon to our Earth. The story could just as have well taken place in Nehwon with just the change of a few names, instead we get an elaborate setup that is full of holes and inconsistencies (do they remember their previous lives or not? Leiber actually claims both in different places) and just does make any sense. The result is that the reader gets thrown off completely and spends the time they should be enjoying the novella with scratching their head wondering where that came from and what the hell Leiber was thinking. You can probably tell by now that I was majorly annoyed at this sudden, unmotivated shift, and it seems almost as if Leiber was somewhat embarrassed by it himself, at least he does not even attempt to explain how Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser got back to Nehwon, but just opens up the next volume in the series with them being back in their familiar world.

As for “The Adept’s Gambit” itself, it is an okay story, not one of the best in the series but not one of the worst either, with some lovely touches (like the curse that gets put on Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, transforming their lovers into pigs or snails), some padding (the chapters that tell the backstory do drag a bit) but overall a decent fun factor. Despite an excellent first half, Swords in the Mist does not quite live up to the previous volume, though - or indeed to the next one.

This third volume of Lanhmar's noted larcenists features a collection of reprinted tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, in which the dynamic duo take up religion, poke fun at society (both ours and theirs), and find themselves manifested in ancient Greece.

Leiber was a master at crafting these golden age fantasy tales, and the team of Fafhrd and Mouser belong on the shelves of any fantasy aficionado. ( )

More greatness in the Swords series. In this volume Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser find themselves at odds during a profitless spell in Lankhmar, at the bottom of the sea and in the real city of Tyre shortly after the time of Alexander the Great. This last story 'The Adept's Gambit' is a tour-de-force of Lieber's subtlety and sophistication, traits not normally associated with Sword and Sorcery. ( )

Fritz Lieber's Lankhmar series involving Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser is the origin of a great deal of Dungeons and Dragon material. Arguably the archetype fantasy role-playing series. ( )

Another Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser collection. The best story in this book is most definitely 'Lean Times in Lankhmar'. The pair are a bit grumpy with each other, and are fed up with the usual run of things.

They decide to indulge in a bit of religion, and end up working for some priests and gods of complete and utter meaningless. Some very funny satire here.

Swords in the Mist : 01 The Cloud of Hate - Fritz Leiber
Swords in the Mist : 02 Lean Times in Lankhmar - Fritz Leiber
Swords in the Mist : 03 Their Mistress, the Sea - Fritz Leiber
Swords in the Mist : 04 When the Sea-King's Away - Fritz Leiber
Swords in the Mist : 05 The Wrong Branch - Fritz Leiber
Swords in the Mist : 06 Adept's Gambit - Fritz Leiber

Spendthrift boys discourse, draw when threatened, and are somewhat disturbed by sword-fighting smog.

4 out of 5

Falling out extortion racket godliness fun.

5 out of 5

Sailing from sickness to serenity.

3 out of 5

Fafhrd being overly enamored with aquachicks is a problem. So is a monster squid.

4 out of 5

Cursed and out of booze, Ningauble lends a hand.

4 out of 5

Tyre
Ningauble
The Woman Who Came
The Lost City
Anra Devadoris
The Mountain
Ahura Devadoris
The Old Man Without A Beard
The Castle Called Mist

Female lack.

3 out of 5

Want wizard fix female lack, without horrible journey.

3 out of 5

Find fancy items.

3 out of 5

Tart triangle.

3 out of 5

Serious swordstuff.

3.5 out of 5

Demon demesne geology

3.5 out of 5

Sleeping around, scarily.

3.5 out of 5

Magic man

3 out of 5

Twin fate and home

4 out of 5

3.5 out of 5

http://superprose.blogspot.com/2006/12/lankhmar-3-swords-in-mist.html ( )