Lean Times in Lankhmar (Lankhmar Series) [Mass Market Paperback]

Fritz Leiber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 1999

Back to back they stand, eyeing their foes over the gleam of sharpened steel ...They are the two greatest heroes ever to walk the world of Nehwon: Fafhrd, the giant barbarian warrior from the Cold Waste; and the Gray Mouser, novice wizard, master thief and unparalleled swordsman. From the moment of their fateful meeting, the legendary duo have adventured and misadventured across Nehwon, from the caves of the inner earth to the waves of the outer sea -- but most of all through the alleys and catacombs of fog-shrouded Lankhmar, greatest of Nehwon's cities. Their lives are chronicled in four books, of which this is the second.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

SALES POINTS* New and definitive editions of the most influential of all modern fantasy series * 'Most fantasy writers today are continually being compared to J.R.R. Tolkien. This has no bearing on reality. Most of us, if asked, admit that Fritz Leiber is our spiritual father, and for the most part we're sweating to keep up, let alone overtake him' -- Raymond E. Feist * 'The publication of these volumes should do much to help remind readers of fantasy of their debt to a writer who is, in my opinion, still the greatest of us all' -- M

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 407 pages
• Publisher: Millennium Paperbacks (August 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857988167
• ISBN-13: 978-1857988161
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,683,759 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Adept's Gambit an underappreciated center piece, April 7, 2000

By 

Michael Sullivan (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fritz Leiber's Lean Times in Lankhmar (Lankhmar Series, No 2) (Hardcover)

The story Adept's Gambit is one of the most moody pieces intheFafhrd and the Gray Mouser series. It contains a Lovecraftianhorror/mystery, a comical opening (in true F&GM style) and a thrilling climax. It is the element of luck that plays such a refreshing part in Leiber's stories concerning the two heroes. He can give them heroic qualities galore but he keeps them grounded in semi-reality by never giving them ridiculous Conan-like abilities. Lean Times in Lankhmar is, for my money, the funniest thing Leiber ever wrote and possibly his best piece of narrative in the whole series. I'm think it's quite a feat to write a story that both mocks and celebrates religion and throws in some adventuring fun to boot.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stronger Collection of Stories than "Ill Met in Lankhmar", October 28, 1999

By 

Elyon (Mesilla, New Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fritz Leiber's Lean Times in Lankhmar (Lankhmar Series, No 2) (Hardcover)

Except for "Adept's Gambit," a very early story by Leiber, all of the tales here are among the best short stories I have read in fantasy fiction. While Leiber's style of writing at time leans towards being a trifle florid, he nonetheless offers some of the most richly phrased descriptive narrative and inventive characters and settings one could find, and I think one would be hard-pressed to call any of his work tiring or lacking imaginative interest. These stories belong on the shelf of any serious fantasy reader, so I am sad to see they've gone out of print.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, but patchy, given the current layout., June 21, 1999

By 

S Smyth (Belfast, Co Antrim United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fritz Leiber's Lean Times in Lankhmar (Lankhmar Series, No 2) (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed the Cloud of Hate - Lean Times..., and Stardock - The two best thieves... - and The Lords of Quarmall sections, of this second book of the series, more than the Adept's Gambit - and associated parts. All of it was good, but the lastly mentioned - mid section - was rather contrived and inconsistent in style, the thirty year gap in the creation of some of the linking parts not helping. Maybe if they had been placed more strategically they would have worked better in the overall scheme. Anyhow, the more appealing sections are important, since elements from them are used extensively as future references within the last two books of the series, Return to Lankhmar, and Farewell to Lankhmar. So these must be read.