Reviews

The Swords of Lankhmar by Fritz Leiber

zeroiv's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

iridja's review

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adventurous funny

4.0

spinnerroweok's review against another edition

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3.0

I haven't read this since I was a teenager. I don't think I got half of this book back then. Anyway, it's always fun to follow a Fahfrd and the Gray Mouser tale. If you like old-timey fantasy that is closer to Conan than Lord of the Rings, I recommend.

ashleylm's review

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5.0

Unusually inventive--hard to believe this is a product of decades long past, rather than the latest outing from a Matthew Hughes or Scott Lynch. I have been reading in internal chronological order, and this, the only true novel, is a fitting climax to the series (of course, there are more stories to go--may they provide equally fitting denouement).

I was the tiniest bit worried that Leiber might not be able to maintain a novel's length worth of interest, especially since some of his novelette-sized tales dragged a bit. But the author of Conjure Wife (one of my favourites) has risen to the occasion and I feel a bit silly for doubting him.

The protagonists are male, but the prominent female characters are scarcely helpless maidens--in fact, I've rarely seen such a diversity of female characters, though each is (to borrow an anime term) a bit fan-service, two of them being prominently naked at all times. That's the only aspect of this that carries a hint of the times with it--otherwise this is a fresh, entertaining romp of a novel.

(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!

luana420's review

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4.0

The only full-length novel of our boys Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser!

There's not really much of a reason for this to warrant being novel-sized. It's good fun, and certainly among the better F&G stories, but it's not unlike The Simpsons Movie where you're left wondering why this couldn't have been a normal sized episode. Despite that, I'd certainly recommend it as a starter point for someone who wants to get into the characters as it's fairly representative of the Lankhmar vibez and of pretty consistent quality throughout. There's better individual short stories ("Lean Times in Lankhmar" is as yet unsurpassed) but the quality/style of prose can be a bit inconsistent as the short stories are ordered in internal chronology which means that a tale from 1939 can be followed by one from 1964 followed by one from 1952 which can be a bit of tonal whiplash.

This one also has a good bit of bawdiness (and a surprising amount of BDSM shit) without ever fully tipping into unpleasantness like previous collections had. Being skeezy is definitely part of the Lankhmar vibes. Lololol @ Fafhrd deciding he should "come back in two years" after saving a 12 year old girl who afterwards gave him a saucy look. Bruh are you sure "two" is the number you need to add to that? 1968 a different time mang

I think the Caligula-esque whimpering Overlord of Lankhmar and his propensity for seeing serving girls whipped by his tank-like kitchen matron made things click for me in terms of what the F&GM stories really are. I had read someone compare a previous short story with an OG Trek episode, which is close, but they really are garish late 60s/early 70s Technicolor Amicus productions with blaring faux-John Barry scores and heaving bosoms of Page 3 girls splashed with way-too-scarlet fake blood.

Also big lol at the villains' plan being "a society where everyone is Ratatouille" and that is not a metaphor

angrywombat's review against another edition

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2.0

I wasn't overly impressed by this outing of the adventuring duo. Infact most of the time it was only following one or the other - the pair were only together at the beginning and end of this story while the rest had them each carried away by events in the book.

I didn't like this, as some of my favorite moments in the series has been the interaction between the pair.

Anyway, this is a fairly standard tale, with a mystery growing about a rat invasion. A lot of the action was actually fairly inventive - but a lot of the things that showed up felt a little pointless and not quite in character for the series (I'm looking at the inter-dimensional traveler from Germany, riding a hydra, looking for his UFO...).

But I think I prefer my stories of Lankhmar to be shorter without trying to pad out the narrative. This was an OK read, but I wouldn't advise it for anyone except fans of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser.

doowopapocalypse's review against another edition

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2.0

This is-would be-a decent plot, but I can't shake the idea that Leiber feels he's too clever to write "just" a fantasy novel and ruins the book with a weird encounter with a German and extended musings on what it would be like to sleep with a female rat

cwebb's review against another edition

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5.0

Fafhrd und der Gray Mouser sind zurück in Lankhmar - die Stadt wird von Ratten bedroht. Wie bei Warhammer die Skaven: ich liebe sie! Die Geschichte ist ausnehmend witzig.

Den sechsten Teil der Serie muss ich mir ein wenig aufheben...

jgkeely's review against another edition

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3.0

When I first started reading Leiber, my expectations were pretty low. He is often praised along with the other 'giants', but the fantasy genre is awash with unwarranted praise: the barely-differentiated is lauded as revolutionary, and many of its 'giants' are giant only in disappointment. But Leiber surprised me. Throughout the Lankhmar series, he has shown a lively, stylized voice, an eye for character and suspense, and an evocative sense of wonder.

Unfortunately, he begins to fall off his pace in this volume. He is fearless in his approach, which is great when he's on top of his game, but when he errs, causes him to stumble incautiously. Likewise, his light, laughing tone can be asset or flaw, dependent on how solid the pacing is beneath it.

Early on, we get an uncharacteristically wild choice, almost a non sequitur, which never ties back into the plot. The entire structure is unusual for the series, eschewing loosely-connected episodes for a more linear novel. The length and focus on one single story doesn't mesh well with Leiber's lilting style, and his imaginative, sometimes lovely asides are sadly absent.

I've seen the same thing happen before, from Mignola to Poe: the change from short and vibrant stories to long, sustained plot arcs is not easy to manage. Leiber doesn't really update his style to match the new length, which leaves us with a long, overly-involved short story.

The reason for greater length in writing is to add more depth, allowing the story to unfold gradually. Previously, these Lankhmar collections have achieved depth by the wild variance of the stories. Though all are loosely connected in an overarching plot, each one presents an opportunity for Leiber to play with tone, setting, character, and purpose in a different way. This makes sense, because they were written at different times--sometimes decades apart--at different points in Leiber's career.

This untethered, multihued style of world-building is very Howardian, and Howard used it deliberately to let his world unfold naturally, through many tales, only vaguely connected, filling some areas in with great detail, and leaving others as half-heard mysteries. Unlike the straightforward, encyclopedic style of most doorstop fantasies (appendices included, thank you J.R.R.), we learn about the worlds of Howard and Leiber like students of history, which makes sense, because it was a voracious study of detached pieces of history lent whimsy to both authors' creations.

It's a pity that he abandons this organic system for something so linear, especially as his struggles with pacing undermine his wit. With a less varied tale, he has less to play with, and starts to resemble his later imitators, like Pratchett, writing a fairly simple, amusing story with a few high points, but numerous low points where humor is not adequately supported by insight.

There are also some problems with sexual politics here, which is all the more disappointing because of Leiber's previously good track record with women who were both independent and unique. It's not a complete reversal, but Leiber's focus grows considerably more one-sided, and consequently, his women lose dimension.

This is amplified by the rather silly fetishism which continually crops up throughout the book, yet the sexuality is rarely either humorous, realistic, or enticing enough to overcome its superfluity. I'd heard that a previous Leiber fantasy story had been censored for overt sexuality, and I was disappointed to hear it, but reading this book, perhaps it was for the best. Sexuality shouldn't be edited out, but awkward writing should.

Overall, it's not a bad book. even though it isn't Leiber's best, it's still solid, with good high points, and fun to read. Unfortunately, his later works grow even more stilted, sexually awkward, and drawn out. This one, at least, has a rising plot and some amusing twists, which cannot be said of the books that close out the series.

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