Book Review: Swords Against Death by Fritz Leiber
Fafhrd is a tall barbarian from the Northern lands; the Grey Mouser is a relatively short and sneaky fellow who doesn’t know exactly where he was born, but has always lived in cities. They’re best friends, seeking treasure and adventure both in the fabled city of Lankhmar and the greater world of Nehwon. This volume is the second set of their tales.
Fritz Leiber began writing the tales of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser in 1940, bouncing around their timeline as he came up with ideas for stories. In the late 1960s, he began rearranging the stories in order of internal chronology for paperback publication, creating new tales to fill in gaps. (But keeping space open for yet more stories if he thought of them.)
“The Circle Curse” picks up after the death of our heroes’ first true loves. They leave Lankhmar, swearing never to return. But some years later, having traveled the wide world, they do in fact return. This is more of a prose poem than a story, and has early cameos by Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face, who the heroes officially meet later.
“The Jewels in the Forest” is actually the first Fafhrd and Grey Mouser story to be written, under the title of “Two Sought Adventure.” They follow an inscription written in an old book that promises a great treasure to those foolish enough to seek for it. As far as they know, that treasure has never been found, though they soon learn they’re not the first to visit the tower where it’s kept. Clearly there is danger here, as evidenced by the corpses, but nothing can be seen of it. Nifty gimmick, and a good introduction to the characters.
“Thieves’ House” has our adventurous pair infiltrating the lair of Lankhmar’s Thieves’ Guild, who they have bad blood with. The Guild probably should have left them alone after the last time, but decided to trick them into helping retrieve the jeweled skull Ohmphal, relic of the master thief Ohmphal and former head of the Guild. Greed is a heck of a drug, and Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser turn out to be the least of the Guild’s worries.
“The Bleak Shore” has Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser geased to sail to the farthest shore, beyond the Outer Sea, to face their doom. Most of the story is told by Ourph the Mingol, their last surviving sworn slave, who made it back without them, before we learn the heroes’ true fate. There’s more fatalism than humor in this tale.
“The Howling Tower” is set on the long return voyage. There’s a mysterious tower in the middle of nowhere that seems to howl, and towards which Fafhrd is beckoned. Its inhabitant fears death, and with good reason, but foul methods.
“The Sunken Land” has Fafhrd dragooned into the crew of a Viking-style raiding party searching for Simorgya, an Atlantis-like city beneath the waves. They find it, but Fafhrd realizes this was no happy accident.
“The Seven Black Priests” is set in the icy mountains near Fafhrd’s homeland, but the priests are originally from Klesh, Nehwon’s equivalent of Africa. They’re guarding a jewel which is the eye of an idol, and the priests start the fight so our protagonists don’t feel any qualms about stealing the eye. The priests will hunt the blasphemers unto death, but the eye itself may be the true danger. An especially tense chase/combat scene on a glacier.
“Claws from the Night” has our pair finally back in Lankhmar, which is undergoing a plague of thieving birds. Birds that learn as they go, and are especially wicked towards pretty women. Turns out that abandoned temple was abandoned for a compelling reason! Has one of the more striking female villains in the series.
“The Price of Pain-Ease” formally introduces Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face, two powerful and enigmatic wizards, and rivals. Each of them hires one of our heroes on the promise of finally mending his broken heart, provided that hero brings the wizard the Mask of Death. The catch? There’s only one Mask of Death and two wizards hiring two heroes. How are Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser going to get out of this one?
The story starts with a more humorous heist that displays our protagonists’ different personalities, but towards the end provides the inspiration for this volume’s title. Mind, using a sword on Death works about as well as you would expect.
“Bazaar of the Bizarre” rounds out the volume with one of the best titles ever. A new shop has opened in the Plaza of Dark Delights, offering wares never before seen in Nehwon. Ningauble and Sheelba recognize it as the vanguard of an eldritch invasion, but cannot attack it directly. Thus they call on our heroes. This time it’s the Grey Mouser that falls victim to enchantment, and Fafhrd who must come to the rescue. Among the delights of this story are disturbingly attractive giant spiders.
These are fun stories that combine a world of wondrous fantasy creations with humor and a touch of bitter regret. Our protagonists are pretty likable, though they steal and kill on a regular basis. (They keep our sympathy by mostly robbing people who are worse than them, and only killing folks who tried to kill them first.) There are clever story gimmicks and twists. It’s easy to see why they were a heavy influence on early Dungeons and Dragons campaigns and sourcebooks.
There are some points where thematic echoes become a touch monotonous; you may want to space out your reading of the volumes.
There’s a bit of fantasy racism and sexism, though not as pervasive as in other works of the time period.
Overall, essential reading for fans of heroic fantasy and D&D.
