Customer Reviews

First Book of Lankhmar (Fantasy Masterworks 18)

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The first four stories in the series featuring the swashbuckling thieves Fafhrd and The Gray Mouser. Fafhrd is a big and strong sword slashing Conanesque barbarian from the Cold Waste, and The Gray Mouser, a more refined city dweller of good manner, who is more of a fencer, thief and amateur magician. Together they form a bond of friendship which takes them into the realms of adventure that fueled the role playing world of Dungeons & Dragons as much as J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, Raymond E. Feist and Poul Anderson. The heroes' main focus is the city of Lankhmar, filled with opportunity and opponents to last a lifetime. If you've read and enjoyed these other authors, Fritz Leiber will not disappoint your craving for high fantasy adventure in an alternate world.

The series of adventures contained in this collection (the first of a two-book compendium for the series that was once seven, then four, collections) must rank among the best fantasy tales ever written, and the two heroes are prototypes for the archetypes we see everywhere else. More fun, more human and more literate than Conan and his ilk, these two are a joy to follow around the vast world of Nehwon, and of course, the classic city of Lankhmar itself. If you want any sense of perspective on fantasy literature, you must read this.