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The Black Gondolier

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It is said that the greatness of a writer lies in his/her breadth and vision. If this is true, then Fritz Leiber has proven himself one of the greatest fantasists to grace 20th century fiction. The stories in this volume represent a precisely chosen set of pieces that demonstrate this fact. Leiber shows skill in science fiction (Spider Mansion), suspense (The Phantom Slayer), horror (The Thirteenth Step), and those genres that lie in between (The Dead Man). His ability to transcend and simultaneously perfect genre is paralleled only by Bradbury. This ability contributes directly to his strongest attribute, his vision of what he wants to do with a story. Many current (and to be honest, past) writers in fantasy literature have made the mistake of putting genre before story (e.g., a writer who ONLY writes science fiction). This tendency of putting genre before story is perhaps the greatest fault in all of fantasy literature. This tendency is absent in Leiber. For Leiber, story is paramount, genre is secondary (if even a consideration at all). Even in his early, semi-Lovecraftian pieces, such as The Dreams of Albert Moreland, story never becomes secondary. Leiber has a vision he wishes to present. Though it must be admitted that his vision never approaches (at least in this selection of stories) the magnitude of a Lovecraft, it must also be admitted that very few writers ever do approach that magnitude (with certain notable exceptions such as Ligotti). Yet, Leiber never sacrifices that vision and this refusal to sacrifice that vision results in some truly outstanding pieces of weird fiction. It must be admitted that sometimes that vision is flawed and so the story as a result is flawed as in the case of The Creature From Cleveland Depths. But on the whole, that vision is usually highly effective or even years ahead of its time. For example, in Lie Still, Snow White, Leiber presents a story that predates the "erotic horror" genre by decades and surpasses all but one or two stories that genre has produced up to the present. Had genre been a consideration for Leiber, that story might never have seen the light of day. John Pelan has truly done a service by giving us such a clear display of the literary powers of one of weird fictions greatest practitioners.

Fritz's other stories from Mouser Series to the Horror novellas' of "Our lady of Darkness" and "Conjures Wife", are better known, but these short stories entertain too.
From the prescient title story "The Black Gondolier" to the classic Gothic Horror of decay, and science gone wrong, of "Spider Mansion". Come into Leiber's mind and enjoy the 'dark' side of science fiction horror. 90% of the 18 stories are worth reading and re-reading.