The Second Book Of Lankhmar (FANTASY MASTERWORKS)

"The Second Book of Lankhmar" could also be considered the fifth, sixth and seventh books of Lankhmar, containing as it does the last three volumes of the "Swords" series, and concluding the adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser which, as you've probably worked out, were initiated in Orion's "First Book of Lankhmar". Across both "Books", the stories are presented in terms of internal chronology, rather than publication date, so the opening chunk here, 1968's novel "The Swords of Lankhmar", originally appeared before some of the stories in "The First Book". It's joined by the short story collections "Swords and Ice Magic" (1977) and "The Knight and Knave of Swords" (1988) - though the final story in the latter, "The Mouser Goes Below", is long enough, at around 180 pages, to be considered a novel, albeit one that feels more like a very over-extended novella.On the surface, Fafhrd and the Mouser look like standard sword and sorcery heroes (Leiber, incidentally, coined the term "sword and sorcery"), being lovable rogues of no fixed morality whose fortunes fluctuate as they wander the world of Nehwon and encounter various magical threats, always returning to the fleshpots of the decadent city of Lankhmar. Fafhrd is a gigantic barbarian from the frozen North, while the Mouser is a wee fella, a thief from the allegedly civilised Southern lands. So far, so generic: but from the outset (and the series commenced as far back as 1939, only three years after REH's death) things were very different. Tain't what you do, it's the way that you do it, as a wise man once said. Leiber's S&S is very different from standard genre tropes: his prose is exquisite, characterised by irony and wit, and he has a worldly wisdom rarely seen in this thud and blunder arena. The lead characters are more carefully conceived than is usual for the genre: Fafhrd, being cultured and dreamy, is not the Conan clone his size and origins might suggest, and his dreaminess frequently leads him to follow quixotic, romantic whims that rarely end well. The Mouser's swashbuckling charm is mitigated by a huge ego: he can be conceited, and frequently ends up in trouble because he underestimates the risks around him. Also, as the series progressed through the sixties and beyond, an undertone of eroticism became more and more apparent, a somewhat kinky sexuality which nevertheless seemed real compared to the Incel mood of much writing in this genre. Leiber wrote that rarest of things, sword and sorcery that grown-ups as well as adolescents could enjoy. The series was admired by the feminist SF author Joanna Russ: it's hard to see her caring for most other work in the genre.The series' strengths can be seen here, in "The Second Book": but less consistntently than in "The First Book", which is much stonger overall. "The Second Book" starts strongly, as "The Swords of Lankhmar", after a slow opening, develops into an uproarious, funny and exciting adventure which is probably the most thrilling tale in the entire sequence. Fafhrd's dreaminess leads him to fall in love with a sexy skeleton lady, while the Mouser's vanity causes him no end of problems. Best of all, the city of Lankhmar is brilliantly portrayed here, in all its corrupt splendour. The whole thing is enormous, rolllicking fun which nevertheless holds a certain sophistication. As a stand-alone, this would merit four stars, let down only by its slow start.Unfortunately, the following "Swords and Ice Magic" is probably the weakest of the seven "Swords" books. Leiber's prose and wit are as strong as ever, but most of the stories are bitty vignettes, and the one (the closing "Rime Isle") which is more substantial is, ironically, a bit too over-extended and somewhat plodding. "Ice Magic" remains readable because Leiber seemed incapable of writing a dull sentence, and the story ideas are clever, but it's not satisfying. Two stars for this one, though "Rime Isle" alone would get three."The Knight and Knave of Swords" is an improvement, but is also flawed. The stories are much more substantial than those in "Ice Magic", but all four are set far from Lankhmar, on the remote and frosty Rime Isle (which somewhat resembles Iceland on our own earth). By the time he wrote these stories, Leiber was in his sixties and seventies, and this may be reflected in what we see here - the unusual sight of fantasy heroes gaining maturity and settling down to accept responsibilities. This is a fascinating idea, but the execution disappoints, as Rime Isle is a dreary place compared to Lankhmar, and the characters seem bloodless when this far, and for so long, from their spiritual home. What Leiber's attempting here is interesting and admirable, but it doesn't quite come off. The final story, "The Mouser Goes Below", is far too long, feeliing like what should be 80-90 pages of novella stretched out to 180-page novel length. The kinky sexuality that underlies the series as a whole becomes explicit here, and it's not edifying. In one particularly over-extended and leering S&M interlude, you get the impression that the 77-year-old Leiber is trying to look like a sophisticated old roue, but in fact he just ends up looking like a creepy old perv. I'm no prude, and I love Leiber's work, across the SF, horror and fantasy genres: I confess to loving it just a bit less since reading this. Overall, it's three stars for this concluding volume.And that averages out at three for the "Second Book" as a whole, which seems about right. I'd recommend "The First Book of Lankhmar" unreservedly, but this one... well, if you love the "First Book", there's probably enough here to justify your investigating it, but beware of its flaws. And don't come near it at all if you haven't read the "First Book".

A must background-read (along with "Conan Chronicles"). Maybe a bit juvenile storyline - but explains totally the basics of all "AD&D" -characters and adventures.

Part of the fun is reading through and recognising tropes which inspired contemporary fantasy writers. The rest is following the drunk and penniless but surprisingly well rounded adventurers.

This omnibus collects the final three volumes (out of seven) of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser tales, respectively one novel (The Swords of Lankhmar)and two short story collections (Swords and Ice Magic and The Knight and Knave of Swords).The first of the three volumes, the novel, was really entertaining and up to the quality of earlier Fafhrd and Mouser stories. It had its really weird moments, though. At one point, when the protagonists are sailing the sea, they encounter (of all things) a German guy from another world riding a seadragon. Luckily, this person has a German - Lankhmarese translation dictionary with him and our heroes soon learn that the guy comes from a world called Tomorrow, where he works in a museum that displays mythical creatures. His job is to travel the worlds catching these beasts and now he's looking for a Scylla, a sea monster first encounter in the writings of an ancient fantasy writer called Homer. I kid you not.The two short story collections are more uneven, with most stories uneventful and boring. People say Leiber's later stories really showed a decrease in quality, with an increased emphasis on sex and weirdness. I agree to a certain point, but my main complaint was that the later stories just weren't so interesting anymore.Overall though, the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser tales are really entertaining (especially the early ones) and classics of the sword & sorcery genre. If you like s & s tales, filled with humour and written in lofty, alliterative prose, be sure to check them out. I would recommend you read them in chronological order, though, as there are often references to earlier events. It is also interesting to recognize the influence these stories have had on more recent fantasy writers. For example, Terry Pratchett's humourous writing style (especially in his earliest Discworld novels) clearly shows Leiber's influence. Feist also comes to mind, whose academy of magic in his Midkemia books, Stardock, is named after a mountain in Newhon (Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser's world).

I first read this book, or rather the series of books which have been compiled together to make this volume, many years ago. Coming back to a cherished fantasy novel of years gone by can often be quite a painful process as the book hasn't aged as well as you have. But this is not true of Leiber and Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. The stories are still wonderful examples of "sword and sorcery" fantasy, not as highbrow as The Lord of the Rings but nevertheless with a wicked cynical edge to them. They can be called pulp fantasy, but that is misleading as the term is so often used to denigrate. These are excellent stories.Having said that, this volume is where Leiber started to lose his edge. Starting with a rat invasion of Lankhmar, the stories go downhill, the ones following this being largely cameos of a few pages in length with only 3 reasonable length stories in the middle part of the book (the "Swords and Ice Magic" section. I remember the mixture of disappointment and sadness I felt on first reading them and realising that Leiber had lost his edge.The final section isn't much of an improvement, the action confined to Rime isle and our heroes on the verge of retirement. It is a disappointing end to a great series. ..