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devinb333's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-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? No
3.25
bums's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Finished Swords Against Death, the second Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser book/collection. Very fun, and I think Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser might be my new favourite sword and sorcery protagonists (Sorry Elric and Moonglum). I love the way they almost bumble their way through their adventures half the time, it's very fun to read, and those adventures felt very varied. Dark Gods, ancient ruins, multiversal madness, thieves' guild shenanigans, and deals with wordy wizards; they go through a lot over the stories.
The pace is fast as well, which I really appreciated. As much as I enjoy something like ASOIAF or Farseer/Liveship where chapters are spent traveling places with long introspection, sometimes I just want "and so Fafhrd and the Mouser adventured over many miles, cutting their way through the deep jungles of Klesh, evading pursuit across the great Mingol Steppe, and creeping fearfully past the City of Ghouls. But, in time, they reach the Shadowlands, where the ghosts which had plagued them for so many months lay, waiting."
The aspect that has aged very poorly is the way women are treated. They're all, without fail, evil and manipulative harpies who often cannot get over how hot the mcs are. It's aged worse than Conan and Elric have, and they're not good things to have aged worse than in that area. At least in the Conan stories some female characters had 1. some agency and 2. weren't universally evil/wildly attracted to Conan. It's probably on par with early (1960s/70s) Elric before Michael Moorcock learned how to write decent female characters in the late 1970s/early 80s, after taking the crazy step of talking to women and listening to their criticism. Anyway, apart from that they're very fun adventures stories, would highly recommend.
The pace is fast as well, which I really appreciated. As much as I enjoy something like ASOIAF or Farseer/Liveship where chapters are spent traveling places with long introspection, sometimes I just want "and so Fafhrd and the Mouser adventured over many miles, cutting their way through the deep jungles of Klesh, evading pursuit across the great Mingol Steppe, and creeping fearfully past the City of Ghouls. But, in time, they reach the Shadowlands, where the ghosts which had plagued them for so many months lay, waiting."
The aspect that has aged very poorly is the way women are treated. They're all, without fail, evil and manipulative harpies who often cannot get over how hot the mcs are. It's aged worse than Conan and Elric have, and they're not good things to have aged worse than in that area. At least in the Conan stories some female characters had 1. some agency and 2. weren't universally evil/wildly attracted to Conan. It's probably on par with early (1960s/70s) Elric before Michael Moorcock learned how to write decent female characters in the late 1970s/early 80s, after taking the crazy step of talking to women and listening to their criticism. Anyway, apart from that they're very fun adventures stories, would highly recommend.
mschlat's review against another edition
2.0
The last two stories ("The Price of Pain-Ease" and "Bazaar of the Bizarre") were diverting, but many of the stories in this collection weren't so much about Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser as they were about puzzles involving the duo. There's a treasure or an enemy or a supernatural incursion, and the pair need to solve the puzzle (somewhat cleverly) while still ending up with almost nothing to their name. After a while, it just got a bit tiresome.
readerxxx's review against another edition
3.0
Leiber's books are classic works of fantasy. Reading them brings to mind many hours spent as a teenager playing Dungeons and Dragons in my friend Joe's spooky house. Whenever I start a fafhred and grey mouser book I start with excitement but end in disappointment. The stories are trite and without depth. The situations are contrived and the sequence of events too unbelievable for me to believe that they occurred even in a fantasy novel.
I read them for the memories of my youth than I do for the stories themselves. That said, I do recognize that when I read them as a youth, I enjoyed them, so much more because I had not been jaded through the reading of thousands of really good books after it.
Leiber paved the way for many really good fantasy writers after him so for that his works remain classics.
I read them for the memories of my youth than I do for the stories themselves. That said, I do recognize that when I read them as a youth, I enjoyed them, so much more because I had not been jaded through the reading of thousands of really good books after it.
Leiber paved the way for many really good fantasy writers after him so for that his works remain classics.
bhaines's review against another edition
Fun adventures. What kind of names are Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.
ashleylm's review against another edition
5.0
I'm just enthralled with these series of stories (and I gather one of the books is an actual novel, not a collection--what riches await!) Considering their age, I find them incredibly modern (or timeless, I suppose, in the same way that I can read Jane Austen perfectly well, but there are books from 50 years ago that seem dated and unreadable).
The plots and circumstances seem fresh and inventive, which is especially remarkable considering other authors have had ample time to steal from them. It seems like some works yield flagrant imitators (e.g. Harry Potter) and others don't so much. It also helps that I'm reading something I don't love nearly so much at the same time (Three Hearts and Three Lions) which has uninteresting characters, uninteresting situations, and (worse) is a portal fantasy, which despite my love for Alice, Oz, and Narnia, seems a bit juvenile.
If you haven't tried the Lankhmar books, please, go for it. The first two stories in the first book seem the least likely to draw you in, in my opinion, but almost anything else should give you a sense of the fun to be had, and this volume is especially strong. I'm beating myself up (figuratively, not literally) for having waited so long to read these, when the Internet made it easy enough to acquire the volumes some 20 years ago ... and yet I waited. I'm a fool!
P.S. "Bazaar of the Bizarre" would have been one of my favourite Buffy episodes, had it been a Buffy episode and not a Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser story. If you like the tone of Buffy (humorous, exciting, suspenseful, all at once) you will appreciate these greatly.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
The plots and circumstances seem fresh and inventive, which is especially remarkable considering other authors have had ample time to steal from them. It seems like some works yield flagrant imitators (e.g. Harry Potter) and others don't so much. It also helps that I'm reading something I don't love nearly so much at the same time (Three Hearts and Three Lions) which has uninteresting characters, uninteresting situations, and (worse) is a portal fantasy, which despite my love for Alice, Oz, and Narnia, seems a bit juvenile.
If you haven't tried the Lankhmar books, please, go for it. The first two stories in the first book seem the least likely to draw you in, in my opinion, but almost anything else should give you a sense of the fun to be had, and this volume is especially strong. I'm beating myself up (figuratively, not literally) for having waited so long to read these, when the Internet made it easy enough to acquire the volumes some 20 years ago ... and yet I waited. I'm a fool!
P.S. "Bazaar of the Bizarre" would have been one of my favourite Buffy episodes, had it been a Buffy episode and not a Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser story. If you like the tone of Buffy (humorous, exciting, suspenseful, all at once) you will appreciate these greatly.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
secretlyadoombot's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
freder1ck's review against another edition
3.0
Folks have been recommending to me since I played D&D in high school. A collection of short stories, loosely tied together with a certain amount of repetition in terms of plot: i.e., beautiful treasure beckons and it wants to kill me. The best stories are set in the city of Lankhmar. Thieves' House, Claws from the Night, Bazaar of the Bizarre. The House of Pain-Ease is a kind of a hybrid which is a bit more explicit about its Petrarchan death/desire paradox. Glad to have read it, but won't be reading more.
cafedetinta's review against another edition
4.0
Muy entretenida, llena de aventuras y divertida. Con ganas de más entregas!
Reseña completa: https://cafedetinta.com/2019/07/09/espadas-contra-la-muerte-de-fritz-leiber/
Reseña completa: https://cafedetinta.com/2019/07/09/espadas-contra-la-muerte-de-fritz-leiber/