Swords and Deviltry

The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser

By: Fritz Leiber

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Neil Gaiman (introduction)

Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Neil Gaiman Presents: the first book in Fritz Leiber's classic sword-and-sorcery series, which includes the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novella, Ill Met in Lankhmar.

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.

The late Fritz Leiber's tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser launched the sword-and-sorcery genre, and were the inspiration for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction by Neil Gaiman.

Epic edge: download more tales of Lankhmar.

©1995 The Estate of Fritz Leiber (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"It's, like all of Fritz Leiber's fiction, delightful and, like all of the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories, a wonderful place to go." (Neil Gaiman)
"Fritz Leiber's tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are virtually a genre unto themselves. Urbane, idiosyncratic, comic, erotic and human, spiked with believable action and the eerie creations of a master fantasist!" (William Gibson)

Not just for men!

I must confess that I had some preconceived notions about Fritz Leiber???s work. Because he???s credited with coining the phrase ???Sword & Sorcery,??? and because I never hear women talking about his stories, I imagined that they appealed mainly to men who like to read stuff that has warrior babes on the covers.

But when I saw this on audio (finally), I decided to give it a try because it's classic fantasy literature.
So, I put Swords and Deviltry on my MP3 player and pressed play. Within two minutes, I was completely enthralled. The first part of the novel (which is really a compilation of short stories) tells the tale of Fafhrd???s liberation from the taboos, close-mindedness, and ???icy morality??? of his mother and clan (and the girl he got pregnant) in the northern wastes. He yearns for civilization, and finally gets a chance to ???escape this stupid snow world and its man-chaining women??? with a beautiful showgirl.

The second section introduces us to Mouse, who is apprenticed to the white magician Glavas Rho, but who feels the pull of the black arts ??? ???the magic which stemmed from death and hate and pain and decay, which dealt in poisons and night-shrieks, which trickled down from the black spaces between the stars...??? A murder and a betrayal force Mouse over the brink and he restyles himself as The Gray Mouser.

I was engrossed in the tales of both of these young men, so when the audiobook reader (the excellent Jonathan Davis) finally said ???Chapter 4: Ill Met in Lankhmar,??? I felt a thrill of delight! Of course I???m familiar with the name of this Nebula (1970) and Hugo (1971) award-winning novella, and I knew I???d be reading it in Swords and Deviltry, but for the first time the name had real significance for me and I couldn???t wait to witness the meeting of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. And it was, as promised, a lot of fun.

Classic Fantasy

Written long before Fantasy had become a genre, these aew classic fantasy stories. While these stories have been placed in internal chronological order, it is important to realize that these were stories written, not as an epic fantasy like LOTR or Game of Thrones, but as short stories, more akin to the Conan stories. Soem are long on style and short on plot, but they bring you into the minds and the world of these two intriguing characters. Marvelously read, I look forward to reading the second installment.

Good Chatacters, Dissapointing Ending

I had no trouble finishing this over a weekend. It seemed like a great alternative to Conan. These two are even able to keep steady girlfriends. All up until a Dissapointing trope at the end.

Engaging story

This book opens up a world of possibilities. I cannot wait to hear where the adventures go!

Perfect Story, Perfectly Read

I normally don't much enjoy novels in audio book form, but this was perfect. The story is fun and dark and magical, and the reading accentuates it perfectly.

Will always love this story.

I read this story in high school for class and loved it. Now hearing it read was a whole new wonderful experience.

great writing and wonderful acting

it has great writing and wonderful acting. this may be truly the best of appendix N

Great Storytelling

I really enjoyed this story and will probably go through the entire series :) The story starts of honed to a sharp edge without a wasted word and I enjoyed the way the way the asthetic of the storytelling was interwoven with the setting in the cold dark North. Then the storyline and action picked up as the setting moved onto the hot and humid southern regions, this is classic storytelling at it's best :)

great syfy fantasy

What made the experience of listening to Swords and Deviltry the most enjoyable?

The story itself was really great. I wanted it to keep going.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters were compelling, The storyline was a good mix of futurism and Arthurian-like fantasy. I liked the combination of action and weird almost-romanticism. The two main characters are people you really want to follow into the next book.

What does Jonathan Davis and Neil Gaiman (introduction) bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Neil Gaiman gave a perspective and history to the story you might not have otherwise known and Jonathan Davis has the perfect voice for this type of story, much like John Hurt in the "merlin" TV series.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! Like all good books, it was hard to put down.

Slow Start, Awesome Finish

I've always heard about but never tried this classic. I admit I struggled through the first couple chapters, but once the dashing duo got together the rest went by too quickly. Can't wait to continue the series. Superb writing and narration, this isn't hack and slash but great literature.