Swords and Deviltry

Highly entertaining and surprisingly so—I wasn’t expecting much (I should have known better given the fame of the series) but Leiber delivers a rollicking tale to introduce two archetypes of the fantasy genre: Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, and their city of Lankhmar. The characters are lovely, both the mains and their circles, and the story hit harder than it had any right. Leiber writes in a faux-formal medieval style which suits the story perfectly, and draws the world with a sharp eye and loving care.