Sunday, January 15, 2017

February's Puppy of the Month Book: Swords against Death, by Fritz Leiber

The loss of your first true love and being cursed by their ghosts. Of a gigantic treasure trove rumored to be unguarded but surrounded by unknown dangers. Of thieves and stealing houses. Of the Mingol horde, sunken lands, seven black priests, and the mysterious wizards Sheelba of the Eyeless Face and Ningauble of the Seven Eyes, and how to become their servants. All of that and a lot of treasure, jewels, and adventure is what we will find in February thanks to Swords against Death, by Fritz Leiber, a classic of the sword & sorcery genre. 

This Appendix N classic, a template for what years later would become D&D, is the second collection of short stories about the adventures of Fafhrd and Gray Mouser, but it includes some of the earliest written stories about them.

You can buy the kindle version here at Amazon, but if you can get your hands on the First Book of Lankhmar, from the Fantasy Masterworks collection, that's also an excellent option (it includes the first four books, Swords against Deviltry, Death, Mist, and Wizardry.) 

Welcome to Lankhmar.


5 comments:

  1. Interesting. Why the second in the series instead of the first?

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  2. Well, it's a collection of short stories, thematically arranged and with a good continuity. They are also the first ones that were written and that represent that D&D and adventure spirit better. I asked around and I was told the second one would be a better choice. It was a bit of a 50/50 choice, really.

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  3. Excellent choice! I've wanted to reread Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser for some time.

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  4. Absolutely love this book. I've read it about three times in as many months. Well, 'read,' it was an audiobook, but still. Amazing work of fantasy, completely fun, and they do actually steal a whole house!

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  5. Great! Have loved the books since the 70s, and I like the older stories better than the more modern ones. Looking forward to it.

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