Reviews

Swords in the Mist by Fritz Leiber

nlord's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

guyro's review against another edition

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5.0

fab

rbixby's review against another edition

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5.0

This is the master class in fantasy.

I first became aware of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser when I cracked open a copy of Deities and Demigods for the first time as a teenager. Sitting against the lockers between classes freshman year of high school, I flipped through that book reverently. I remember coming back to the chapter on Nehwon over and over again because, come on! Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser! Nigauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face! Perfectly clever names for heroes you wanted to hang with at the local tavern. I cursed and celebrated Leiber for naming his characters in ways I never seemed to be able to as a 15 year old rolling up yet another fighter for the next gaming session. Bob, I'm looking at you.

Then I found the first three collections in paperback at the local B. Dalton's (remember them!) and immediately read the first one and then, for some unknown reason, sat on the other two for forty some odd years, until I saw the rest in Powell's a few years ago and bought those fuckers on the spot.

Then I sat on them for another couple of years as I worked through my ever growing To Read pile. Dunno, I think I was in a noir and sci fi mood at the time and was reading a lot of True Crime pulps, The Expanse and Culture novels. I cracked Swords Against Death late last year and was better for it. Recently, I tried reading the first book of the Circle of Light, but had to stop because of the constant flowery language. (I think Abercrombie broke me.) To cleanse my palate, I grabbed Swords in the Mist and DID NOT regret my decision.

As I said at the beginning, these stories are the Master Class in fantasy. I'm the DM for my gaming group right now and I've been using this book as a textbook on how to set up and run interesting encounters. I have pages of notes for ideas to use.

Thank you, Fahfrd and the Grey Mouser, for being your cynical, competent, selves. Thank you, Mr. Leiber for writing down their adventures for me to enjoy and make my games all that much better.

bookish_kristina's review against another edition

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On this episode of ‘What’s Going On With That Cover?’

Sure, the octopus is scary, but He-Man needs to watch out, his loincloth is creeping up on him from behind.

cwebb's review against another edition

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5.0

Fafhrd und der Gray Mouser machen einen Abstecher auf die Erde. Und unterhalten weiterhin fantastisch.

ronpayne's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

brendan_h's review against another edition

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5.0

Fantastic, if not quite as good as "Swords Against Death".

jorgefernandez's review against another edition

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3.0

Me ha proporcionado menos diversión que los dos primeros volúmenes, quizá por sus desiguales relatos, pero cuenta con momentos muy disfrutables.

secretlyadoombot's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

iridja's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious

4.25