| Fafhrd And The Gray Mouser |
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One of Leiber's original motives was to have a couple of Fantasy heroes closer to true human stature than the likes of Howard's Conan The Barbarian or Burroughs's Tarzan . Fafhrd is a tall (seven feet) northern Barbarian ; Mouser is a small, mercurial thief, once known as Mouse and a former wizard's apprentice. Both are Rogue s through and through... but theirs is a decadent world where you have to be a rogue to survive. They spend a lot of time drinking, feasting, wenching, brawling, stealing, and gambling, and are seldom fussy about to whom they hire their swords. But they are humane and—most of all—relish true adventure. SETTING See Also: Nehwon The tales are for the most part set in the mythical world of Nehwon (although one story takes place on Earth), many of them in and around its greatest city, Lankhmar . It's described as "a world like and unlike our own". Theorists in Nehwon believe that it may be shaped like a bubble, floating in the waters of eternity. The series includes many outlandish characters. The two who most influence—and, some would say, cause the most trouble for—Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are their sorcerous advisors, Ningauble Of The Seven Eyes and Sheelba Of The Eyeless Face . These two lead the two heroes into some of their most interesting and dangerous adventures. PUBLICATION HISTORY The first story appeared in '' Unknown '' in 1939 and the last in ''The Knight and Knave of Swords'' in 1988 . Leiber wrote all the stories except for 10,000 words of ''The Lords of Quarmall'' that were penned by Harry Otto Fischer . The stories' style and tone vary considerably, but nearly all contain an often dark sense of humour, which ranges from the subtle and character-based to the Pythonesque . The earlier tales owe as much to Clark Ashton Smith as to Robert E. Howard . The stories have been collected in the Swords series: # '' Swords And Deviltry '' (collection 1970) ## "Induction" (vignette 1970, first publication) ## '' The Snow Women '' (novella 1970 '' Fantastic '') ## " The Unholy Grail " (novelette 1962 ''Fantastic'') ## '' Ill Met In Lankhmar '' (novella 1970 '' F&SF '')—telling how Fafhrd and the Mouser met, this story won both a Nebula Award and a Hugo Award # ''Swords Against Death'' (collection 1970, expanded and revised from ''Two Sought Adventure'' 1957) ## "The Circle Curse" (1970, first publication) ## "The Jewels in the Forest" (novelette 1939 '' Unknown '', as "Two Sought Adventure") ## "Thieves' House" (novelette 1943 ''Unknown'') ## "The Bleak Shore" (1940 ''Unknown'') ## "The Howling Tower" (1941 ''Unknown'') ## "The Sunken Land" (1942 ''Unknown'') ## "The Seven Black Priests" (novelette 1953 '' Other Worlds '') ## "Claws from the Night" (novelette 1951 '' Suspense '' as "Dark Vengeance") ## "The Price of Pain-Ease" (1970, first publication) ## " Bazaar Of The Bizarre " (novelette 1963 ''Fantastic'') # ''Swords in the Mist'' (collection 1968) ## "The Cloud of Hate" (1963 ''Fantastic'') ## "Lean Times in Lankhmar" (novelette 1959 ''Fantastic'') ## "Their Mistress, The Sea" (1968, first publication) ## "When the Sea-King's Away" (novelette 1960 ''Fantastic'') ## "The Wrong Branch" (1968, first publication) ## ''Adept's Gambit'' (novella 1947, in Leiber's ''Night's Black Agents'' collection) # ''Swords Against Wizardry'' (collection 1968) ## "In the Witch's Tent" (1968, first publication) ## "Stardock" (novelette 1965 ''Fantastic'') ## "The Two Best Thieves in Lankhmar" (1968 ''Fantastic'') ## ''The Lords of Quarmall'' (novella 1964 ''Fantastic''), with Harry Otto Fischer # ''The Swords of Lankhmar'' (novel 1968—first part published as ''Scylla’s Daughter'' (novella 1961 ''Fantastic'')) # ''Swords and Ice Magic'' (collection 1977) ## "The Sadness of the Executioner" (1973, in ''Flashing Swords! #1'', ed. Lin Carter) ## "Beauty and the Beasts" (vignette 1974, in ''The Book of Fritz Leiber'') ## "Trapped in the Shadowland" (1973 ''Fantastic'') ## "The Bait" (vignette 1973 '' Whispers '') ## "Under the Thumbs of the Gods" (1975 ''Fantastic'') ## "Trapped in the Sea of Stars" (1975, in ''The Second Book of Fritz Leiber'') ## "The Frost Monstreme" (novelette 1976, in ''Flashing Swords! #3'', ed. Lin Carter) ## ''Rime Isle'' (novella 1977 '' Cosmos SF&F Magazine '') # ''The Knight and Knave of Swords'' (collection 1988) ## "Sea Magic" (1977 '' The Dragon '') ## "The Mer She" (novelette 1983, in ''Heroes and Horrors'') ## ''The Curse of the Smalls and the Stars'' (novella 1983, in ''Heroic Visions'') ## ''The Mouser Goes Below'' (novella 1988, first publication - portions first printed as "The Mouser Goes Below" (1987 ''Whispers'') and "Slack Lankhmar Afternoon Featuring Hisvet" (1988 ''Terry’s Universe'', ed. Beth Meacham)) The series has been extended by Robin Wayne Bailey :
A collection, ''Bazaar of the Bizarre'', illustrated by Stephan Peregrine , comprised Leiber's three favourite Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories: "Bazaar of the Bizarre", "The Cloud of Hate", and "Lean Times in Lankhmar". Several omnibus editions have also been published:
In 1972, Fafhrd and the Mouser began their comics career, appearing in Wonder Woman 202 alongside the title character and Catwoman in a story scripted by award-winning sf writer Samuel R. Delany . In 1973, DC Comics began an ongoing series, Sword Of Sorcery , featuring the duo. The title was written by Denny O'Neil and featured art by Howard Chaykin , Walt Simonson and Jim Starlin ; the well-received title ran only five issues. Stories included adaptations of "The Price of Pain-Ease", "Thieves' House", "The Cloud of Hate", and "The Sunken Land", as well as original stories. In 1986 Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser were featured in a 1 on 1 Adventure Gamebook set, Dragonsword of Lankhmar. One player controlled Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, who were trying to find a magical sword beneath an altar (just which one, they weren't sure) in Lankhmar. The other player controlled assassins from the local thieves' guild, who were trying to kill the famous rogues for operating in the city without permission from the guild. |
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