Science Fiction Books
Lankhmar Book 1: Swords And Deviltry
RRP: $12.95
Our Price: $10.36
You Save: $ 2.59 ( 20% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Dark Horse
Author: Fritz Leiber
Publisher: Dark Horse
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $10.36
You Save: $ 2.59 ( 20% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Dark Horse
Author: Fritz Leiber
Publisher: Dark Horse
Average Customer Rating:
Experimental feature: Order Lankhmar Book 1: Swords And Deviltry from the UK, Canada, Germany or France by clicking an appropriate flag below.
Some items available at Amazon.com are not available in all countries.
Some items available at Amazon.com are not available in all countries.
Lankhmar Book 1: Swords And Deviltry Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781595820792
ISBN: 1595820795
Label: Dark Horse
Manufacturer: Dark Horse
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 160
Publication Date: 2007-01-10
Publisher: Dark Horse
Studio: Dark Horse
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781595820792
ISBN: 1595820795
Label: Dark Horse
Manufacturer: Dark Horse
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 160
Publication Date: 2007-01-10
Publisher: Dark Horse
Studio: Dark Horse
Editorial Review of Lankhmar Book 1: Swords And Deviltry
One of the most influential and critically acclaimed fantasy writers of all time, Fritz Leiber pioneered the sword-and-sorcery genre! In the ancient city of Lankhmar, two men forge a friendship in battle. The red-haired barbarian Fafhrd left the snowy reaches of Nehwon looking for a new life while the Gray Mouser, apprentice magician, fled after finding his master dead. These bawdy brothers-in-arms cement a friendship that leads them through the wilds of Nehwon facing thieves, wizards, princesses and the depths of their desires and fears. Superb writing and brilliant, believable characterizations highlight the first entry in Leiber's seminal series.
Customer Reviews of Lankhmar Book 1: Swords And Deviltry
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Interesting adventure, whose heroes egos seal their fate
Review: I noticed that the only one-star reviewer for this book, didn't finish it. Having finished it, I can tell you this is a fun adventure. While I do agree the role of the women is minimized in this story, I do keep in mind that these are the tales of Fahfrd and Gray Mouser (and he really is referred to as Gray Mouser, Mouse, and Mouser in the book). What's most interesting about the heroes, is that they are tragically flawed in that they let their testosterone get in the way of good judgement. But you'll just have to figure that out for yourself. I don't understand why the newly published DH edition costs so much, especially considering how thin each of these books are. If you really want more bang for your buck, get a decent used copy of the Three of Swords book club in hardcover. Or this fine paperback. What I really like about these stories, is that trouble doesn't find them...they walk right into it.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Lankhmar ... the city of the black toga
Review: I guess some people just don't recognize quality. To see that someone has actually compared the award winning Ill Met in Lankhmar with a thieves world series book ... well, there you go.
Great, collossal, archetypal, characters. Dense writing that conveys more in 200 pages than an Eddings or Jordan could do in 1000. A supreme mind (Leiber) writing at the peak of his talents.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A decent introduction to the series
Review: This book is my first direct exposure to Leiber and his two most well known characters (that I'm aware of, anyway). I came away with mixed feelings. This book is essentially an introduction to Fafhrd and Grey Mouser, and an explanation of how they met. While I think the first tale does sufficiently well to introduce the character of Fafhrd, the second is very brief and doesn't really provide much of an introduction to Grey Mouser. The last of the three stories where they come together doesn't really add much either, though obviously all three do offer the potential to lay the groundwork for further development in later stories.
I always find it interesting to read writing which was not produced in my lifetime and experience the difference in language. Leiber is definitely a writer who uses dense verbiage. You absolutely must be focused on the reading or you could get tripped up. The book isn't long, but nor would I call it a fast read for just that reason.
Overall, while not blown away, I was definitely entertained enough to be willing to progress with these two characters and see where their adventures take them.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Simple, fun Fantasy without trying to be an Epic.
Review: Every now and then it's nice to get a book that's simple, straightforward and fun. Too often authors are so caught up in setting the stage for book after book that they fail to deliver something enjoyable for it's own-sake. Not the case with Lankhmar,
To begin with the author does a good job of introducing our main character of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. They are both interesting and yet very different. The story of how they come to meet is comprised of their disparate adventures.
This is not difficult Fantasy, but easy to read, light and fun Fantasy that you can meander through without worrying too much about what's happening. It's just a nice escape into a fairly well depicted world.
I look forward to the next book in the series.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Note On Kindle Edition
Review: To those purchasing this on Kindle. I found a bit of a flaw in the coding that only allows you to properly view the text on the 3rd setting of your font size. I usually read on 2 or 1 so when I opened this book I was a bit miffed that the first sentence of every page was sliced horizontally in half. After a few experimental changes in font size I discovered the only one that allowed proper viewing was 3. If you can't see the third font size in comfort and need a higher setting then this may not be for you. There was another flaw as well that I couldn't repair. For every "chapter" number that appeared in the text....the bolded number was superimposed OVER the text. While I could read around this flaw some may find it a bit annoying at the beginning of each new chapter.
Now as for the story itself...great quick read for anyone who enjoys classic magical fantasy with heroic characters and questionable villains.
One other note...seems Mr. Lieber seems to hate all of his females. Ok that may be a bit rough...however thre is not a single noteworthy female in this entire book. Even the dead ones are horrible. The first women you are introduced to are savage jealous spiteful witches, the next character is a promiscuous stripper with a need for using men to take her revenge, then there's the princess who is so meek and spineless without an ounce of redeeming qualities, and her dead mother who was a ruthless brutal masocist. Perhaps his view of women improves later in the series and for the most part I started to find it terribly amusing whenever a new female was introduced into the story as I couldn't wait to see what was wrong with her!
But ya know what...it didn't really bother that much just something I noticed and thought I'd share. I still really liked the story...viscious wenches and all.
Review Summary: Interesting adventure, whose heroes egos seal their fate
Review: I noticed that the only one-star reviewer for this book, didn't finish it. Having finished it, I can tell you this is a fun adventure. While I do agree the role of the women is minimized in this story, I do keep in mind that these are the tales of Fahfrd and Gray Mouser (and he really is referred to as Gray Mouser, Mouse, and Mouser in the book). What's most interesting about the heroes, is that they are tragically flawed in that they let their testosterone get in the way of good judgement. But you'll just have to figure that out for yourself. I don't understand why the newly published DH edition costs so much, especially considering how thin each of these books are. If you really want more bang for your buck, get a decent used copy of the Three of Swords book club in hardcover. Or this fine paperback. What I really like about these stories, is that trouble doesn't find them...they walk right into it.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Lankhmar ... the city of the black toga
Review: I guess some people just don't recognize quality. To see that someone has actually compared the award winning Ill Met in Lankhmar with a thieves world series book ... well, there you go.
Great, collossal, archetypal, characters. Dense writing that conveys more in 200 pages than an Eddings or Jordan could do in 1000. A supreme mind (Leiber) writing at the peak of his talents.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A decent introduction to the series
Review: This book is my first direct exposure to Leiber and his two most well known characters (that I'm aware of, anyway). I came away with mixed feelings. This book is essentially an introduction to Fafhrd and Grey Mouser, and an explanation of how they met. While I think the first tale does sufficiently well to introduce the character of Fafhrd, the second is very brief and doesn't really provide much of an introduction to Grey Mouser. The last of the three stories where they come together doesn't really add much either, though obviously all three do offer the potential to lay the groundwork for further development in later stories.
I always find it interesting to read writing which was not produced in my lifetime and experience the difference in language. Leiber is definitely a writer who uses dense verbiage. You absolutely must be focused on the reading or you could get tripped up. The book isn't long, but nor would I call it a fast read for just that reason.
Overall, while not blown away, I was definitely entertained enough to be willing to progress with these two characters and see where their adventures take them.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Simple, fun Fantasy without trying to be an Epic.
Review: Every now and then it's nice to get a book that's simple, straightforward and fun. Too often authors are so caught up in setting the stage for book after book that they fail to deliver something enjoyable for it's own-sake. Not the case with Lankhmar,
To begin with the author does a good job of introducing our main character of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. They are both interesting and yet very different. The story of how they come to meet is comprised of their disparate adventures.
This is not difficult Fantasy, but easy to read, light and fun Fantasy that you can meander through without worrying too much about what's happening. It's just a nice escape into a fairly well depicted world.
I look forward to the next book in the series.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Note On Kindle Edition
Review: To those purchasing this on Kindle. I found a bit of a flaw in the coding that only allows you to properly view the text on the 3rd setting of your font size. I usually read on 2 or 1 so when I opened this book I was a bit miffed that the first sentence of every page was sliced horizontally in half. After a few experimental changes in font size I discovered the only one that allowed proper viewing was 3. If you can't see the third font size in comfort and need a higher setting then this may not be for you. There was another flaw as well that I couldn't repair. For every "chapter" number that appeared in the text....the bolded number was superimposed OVER the text. While I could read around this flaw some may find it a bit annoying at the beginning of each new chapter.
Now as for the story itself...great quick read for anyone who enjoys classic magical fantasy with heroic characters and questionable villains.
One other note...seems Mr. Lieber seems to hate all of his females. Ok that may be a bit rough...however thre is not a single noteworthy female in this entire book. Even the dead ones are horrible. The first women you are introduced to are savage jealous spiteful witches, the next character is a promiscuous stripper with a need for using men to take her revenge, then there's the princess who is so meek and spineless without an ounce of redeeming qualities, and her dead mother who was a ruthless brutal masocist. Perhaps his view of women improves later in the series and for the most part I started to find it terribly amusing whenever a new female was introduced into the story as I couldn't wait to see what was wrong with her!
But ya know what...it didn't really bother that much just something I noticed and thought I'd share. I still really liked the story...viscious wenches and all.