The First Book of Lankhmar

by Fritz Leiber

Book Overview

Witty, gripping and urbane, Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar books are among the best loved of all modern fantasies This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1857983270
• ISBN13: 9781857983272
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Orion Publishing Group
• Length: 762 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Oh My God

Please, reader of reviews, dismiss A. Nguyen's words. The poor lad has no idea who Fritz Leiber is, and seems to be a heathen by saying not to pay even ten bucks for this. Dont worry, god will judge him. No this is not a comic book, and I dont know why one would think so. Although, Dark Horse is gonna publish, in November I think, the first volume of comics/ graphic novels based on Leiber's Lankhmar tales.

must read

If you are a fan of the sword-and-sorcery genre of literature then the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories are a must. They are classic, enchanting, lots of fun.

A New Chance to Get the Grand Master

An abbreviated version of the old "Ill Met in Lankhmar" volume that White Wolf published several years ago, the new Tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser is still a joy to see on the shelves, and to once again have a copy to loan out.The new Lankhmar volume has five of the early Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories, beginning with "The Snow Women." This is a long, but fun, introduction to the character of Fafhrd and brings him into perspective in a lot of ways. "The Unholy Grail" is a similar, if considerably shorter, meeting with the Gray Mouser. Becoming well-rounded, and all.The third story, and the centerpiece of the whole thing, is "Ill Met in Lankhmar." This is the one where Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser become a team. Along with "Bazaar of the Bizarre," "Lean Times in Lankhmar," and "Swords of Lankhmar," this is one of the best city-based stories in the series."Ill Met" is followed by "The Circle Curse," which includes F & GM's first encounters with Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face, the wizards who are to be their somewhat regular advisors and sometime patrons.The volume finishes with "Jewels in the Forest," one of the quintessential adventure pieces for this duo. It's nothing special as plot goes, but it's a lot of fun, and if nothing else you'll be well set up for the further stories of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.This is at least a hundred pages shorter than the volume in the old White Wolf series, and sixty pages longer than the original volumes. There were a lot more of the short stories in the first White Wolf volume, going as far as the INCREDIBLE "Bazaar of the Bizarre." But that's out of print, and this one is still available. If you're a fan of lighthearted, but well-told, fantasy, do check this volume out. Fantasy fans owe this one to themselves while it's still around.

A decent introduction to a classic series

The world of Lankhmar is a well known one for fans of sword and sorcery. Leiber's work has long been recommended to to me, but I was never able to find the books, given that they are out of print. That said, I was happy to find that White Wolf has decided to publish the adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. This volume is a collection of their early adventures, and it provides a good introduction to the world of Newhon. The first two stories, which detail the origins of the two heroes, are somewhat slow, and probably not the best way to get acquainted with them. The third tale, Ill Met in Lankhmar, is a classic. It's like the original buddy cop story. Leiber's prose is fairly smooth, sometimes a bit wordy, but it's certainly much better than your typical fantasy stuff. You won't find two characters better realized that Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. I'm looking forward to reading more of their capers. Highly recommended. i would've given it 5 stars, but the first two stories are a bit weak.