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Adept's Gambit: Tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
The third in a series about the barbarian Fafhrd and his thieving and wizardly companion the Gray Mouser.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1947
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 12, 2014
Having read this book a long long time ago I must have been too young to appreciate just how good the writing in this book is. Leiber is a genius.
The dialog interplay with the main characters is sheer brilliance.
The clever wordplay aside this edition of book is first class and the book contains a nice stamping on the front cover of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser's faces.
I believe I first read this story as part of a book called "Swords In The Mist" published by Ace Books in 1968, however this is stated to be an earlier version of the story and contains references to H. P. Lovecraft's mythos. This is the original appearance of Fritz Leiber's most famous characters and originally appeared in the Arkham House collection called "Night's Black Agents".
For decades, it was believed that this version was lost. But the manuscript has recently surfaced, and it is now being published for the first time
The plot revolves around a problem our two hero's have with women. Whenever Fafhrd gets amorous with a woman she turns into a pig, and when the Mouser embraces a female she turns into a snail. To try to resolve this issue our hero's venture to see Ningauble of the seven eyes (sometimes six), who Fafhrd's is a patron of.
The book is a rollicking good fun read, and a well crafted production.
As an afterword the book contains the complete text of H. P. Lovecraft’s letter commenting on the story, and is itself about 30 pages.
The dialog interplay with the main characters is sheer brilliance.
The clever wordplay aside this edition of book is first class and the book contains a nice stamping on the front cover of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser's faces.
I believe I first read this story as part of a book called "Swords In The Mist" published by Ace Books in 1968, however this is stated to be an earlier version of the story and contains references to H. P. Lovecraft's mythos. This is the original appearance of Fritz Leiber's most famous characters and originally appeared in the Arkham House collection called "Night's Black Agents".
For decades, it was believed that this version was lost. But the manuscript has recently surfaced, and it is now being published for the first time
The plot revolves around a problem our two hero's have with women. Whenever Fafhrd gets amorous with a woman she turns into a pig, and when the Mouser embraces a female she turns into a snail. To try to resolve this issue our hero's venture to see Ningauble of the seven eyes (sometimes six), who Fafhrd's is a patron of.
The book is a rollicking good fun read, and a well crafted production.
As an afterword the book contains the complete text of H. P. Lovecraft’s letter commenting on the story, and is itself about 30 pages.
July 23, 2016
I purchased this book on a whim, and shortly thereafter wondered if I had not made a bit of a mistake. For years I've owned the first paperback of Leiber's Lankhmar tales published by Dark Horse, but at every attempt to read it, found myself unable to get past the florid language. It was the inclusion of Lovecraft's critique and the fact that this is edited and notated by S.T. Joshi (who I am at times a mawkish fan boy of) that drove me to spend forty-five dollars on such a small tome. I am glad to say that my purchase is not one I regret.
For some odd reason Leiber's florid language was not a stumbling block for me when I sat down to read this story, as it had been previously. At first it was rough going, but I quickly fell into a comfortable rhythm. The only reason I can think of for this being so much easier to engage with than my old paperback is that this story jumps right into the relationship and lives of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, whereas the Dark Horse volume begins with a slow and methodical origin of each character, eventually leading up to their meeting. Also, while the draft of Adept's Gambit found here is the earliest known manuscript and lacking a great deal of polish, the quality of storytelling, humor, action, tension and horror is undeniably high. If I have any quibbles with the story it's that the climax is a bit too drawn out for my taste and the villain's dialogue and motivation feels a bit flat.
This book ends with a reprinting of Lovecraft's critique of the story. Having never read any of Lovecraft's correspondence despite the multitude of collections available, I found his thoughts and feelings deeply interesting. In this short letter he displays a kindness, humor, knowledge, pedantry, insight, and humanity that I have not discerned in such a direct fashion, my knowledge of his person being previously obtained only through the filter of his fiction.
I cannot recommend this book enough to the Lovecraft and/or Leiber fans out there. I am now determined to read more of Leiber's output and would also like to pick up a copy of Fritz Leiber and H.P. Lovecraft: Writers of the Dark.
For some odd reason Leiber's florid language was not a stumbling block for me when I sat down to read this story, as it had been previously. At first it was rough going, but I quickly fell into a comfortable rhythm. The only reason I can think of for this being so much easier to engage with than my old paperback is that this story jumps right into the relationship and lives of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, whereas the Dark Horse volume begins with a slow and methodical origin of each character, eventually leading up to their meeting. Also, while the draft of Adept's Gambit found here is the earliest known manuscript and lacking a great deal of polish, the quality of storytelling, humor, action, tension and horror is undeniably high. If I have any quibbles with the story it's that the climax is a bit too drawn out for my taste and the villain's dialogue and motivation feels a bit flat.
This book ends with a reprinting of Lovecraft's critique of the story. Having never read any of Lovecraft's correspondence despite the multitude of collections available, I found his thoughts and feelings deeply interesting. In this short letter he displays a kindness, humor, knowledge, pedantry, insight, and humanity that I have not discerned in such a direct fashion, my knowledge of his person being previously obtained only through the filter of his fiction.
I cannot recommend this book enough to the Lovecraft and/or Leiber fans out there. I am now determined to read more of Leiber's output and would also like to pick up a copy of Fritz Leiber and H.P. Lovecraft: Writers of the Dark.
January 18, 2015
Still holds up after all these years. Lieber has an adult voice in a field often filled with adolescent fantasy. His series with the northern viking like Fahfrd and his wily, agile, clever smaller companion the grey mouser still is one of the best.
August 1, 2019
It's a pretty decent story about two men attempting to lift a curse from themselves, and the various adventures and misadventures they encounter along the way.
April 4, 2017
I read this back in the early 70s and still own my original SFBC edition. It is one of my favorite stories ever.
August 8, 2019
Solid storytelling and the setting and characters are quite refreshing for someone that's spent too long in a high-fantasy setting. The plot stays moving and is quite entertaining but somehow also manages to trudge in places. Overall an A+ story but not one I'd necessarily recommend to just anyone.
April 10, 2015
A tough read. It's interesting to see early Leiber, but it's definitely an early work. The best part is reading HP Lovecraft's notes and suggestions to Leiber.
April 26, 2017
First published in 1947. This was actually the first Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser story written sometime in 1936, but was rejected by Weird Tales. Unlike the other Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories I've read to date this one is not set in Nehwon and is more of a fantasy story set in a historical content; but in the last part of the story the two adventurers talk about heading to the City of Lankhmar. Lankhmar in later stories is the main city in the fantasy world of Nehwon.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews