- Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are two seminal
sword-and-sorcery heroes created byFritz Leiber (1910–1992) and loosely modelled upon himself and his friendHarry Otto Fischer (1910-1986). They are the protagonists of what are probably Leiber's best-known stories.One of Leiber's original motives was to have a couple of
fantasy heroes closer to true human stature than the likes of Howard'sConan the Barbarian or Burroughs'sTarzan . Fafhrd is a tall (seven feet) northernbarbarian ; Mouser is a small, mercurial thief, once known as Mouse and a former wizard's apprentice. Both are rogues, existing within a decadent world where to be so is a requirement of survival. 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.etting
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 is 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 andSheelba 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 in 1964. 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 toClark Ashton Smith as toRobert E. Howard . Fact|date=February 2007The 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 aNebula award and aHugo 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 was continuted by
Robin Wayne Bailey in "Swords Against the Shadowland" (novel 1998).* 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".* A sex scene from "The Swords of Lankhmar", cut by editor
Don Wollheim ("Good Heaven, Fritz, we're a family publisher...") was published inFantasy Newsletter #49 (July 1982) [Fantasy Newsletter, July 1982, p. 5-7] .Omnibus editions
Several omnibus editions have also been published:
* Science Fiction Book Club: "The Three of Swords" (1989; books 1–3) and "Swords' Masters" (1989; books 4–6).
* White Wolf: "Ill Met In Lankhmar" (1995; books 1 and 2, with a new introduction by
Michael Moorcock and Fritz Leiber's "Fafhrd and Me"), "Lean Times in Lankhmar" (1996; books 3 and 4, with a new introduction byKarl Edward Wagner ), "Return to Lankhmar" (1997; books 5 and 6, with a new introduction byNeil Gaiman ), and "Farewell to Lankhmar" (1998; book 7; the hardcover edition curiously omits the final seven chapters of "The Curse of the Smalls and the Stars")* Orion/Millennium's
Fantasy Masterworks : "The First Book of Lankhmar" (2001; books 1–4) and "The Second Book of Lankhmar" (2001; books 5–7).Comics adaptations
In 1972, Fafhrd and the Mouser began their comics career, appearing in "
Wonder Woman " #202 alongside the title character andCatwoman in a story scripted by award-winning SF writerSamuel 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 byHoward Chaykin ,Walt Simonson andJim 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 1991,
Epic Comics published a four-issue comic book adaptation of seven of the stories: "Ill Met in Lankhmar" (issue 1), "The Circle Curse" and "The Howling Tower" (issue 2), "The Price of Pain Ease" and "Bazaar of the Bizarre" (issue 3), and "Lean Times in Lankhmar" and "When the Sea King's Away" (issue 4). The comics were scripted by Howard Chaykin, who had drawn several issues of the earlier DC title, and pencilled byMike Mignola , whose "Hellboy " comic book often has a similar feel to Leiber's work. Hellboy himself shares some personality traits with Fafhrd. Mignola also did the jacket covers and interior art for the White Wolf collection. This series was collected byDark Horse Comics in a trade paperback collection published in March 2007.cite web
url=http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6403916.html
title=Graphic Novels
author=Cornog, Martha; Raiteri, Steve
date=2007-01-15
accessdate=August 06|accessyear=2007
publisher=Library Journal ]Games
:"See also: Lankhmar in games"In 1937, Leiber and his college friend
Harry Otto Fischer created a complexwargame set within the world of Nehwon, which Fischer had helped to create. Later, they created a simplified board game entitled simply "Lankhmar" which was released by TSR in 1976. This is a rare case of a gameadaptation written by the creators of the stories on which the game is based.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 were not 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.
Weapons of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Fafhrd commonly uses a
longsword which he names Graywand. He also carries apoignard named Heartseeker and a short hand-axe which has never been named. The Mouser also fights with a pair of weapons: arapier called Scalpel and adirk called Cat's Claw. The latter is balanced for throwing. As the pair are often divested of their property, these are names they apply to any of their appropriate weapons and not names of specific ones.References in other works
In
Terry Pratchett 's "The Colour of Magic ", Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are parodied as Bravd and the Weasel. AlthoughAnkh-Morpork bears more than a passing resemblance to Lankhmar, Pratchett has been quoted as not intending a direct takeoff.cite web
url=http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/the-colour-of-magic.html
title=The Annotated Pratchett File |author=Lindley, Robin
accessdate=August 06|accessyear=2007
author=Breebaart, Leo; Kew, Mike
publisher=Unseen University] Some of the features of similarity (e.g. a Thieves' Guild, and a general air of degeneracy) may instead be common tropes offantasy literature , although it could be argued, especially in the case of the Thieves' Guild, that many of the tropes in question originated with Leiber.References
External links
* [http://www.id-8.co.uk/lankhmar Lankhmar - The Fritz Leiber Home Page]
* [http://www.scrollsoflankhmar.com Charles Fewlass's "The Scrolls of Lankhmar"]
* [http://www.gamebooks.org/show_item.php?id=1832 Dragonsword of Lankhmar at Demian's Gamebook Page]
*
* [http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2007/05/17/fafhrd-and-the-gray-mouser-by-chaykin-mignola-and-williamson/ Review of Chaykin and Mignola’s "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser" adaptation] at "The Daily Cross Hatch", from May 17, 2007
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