So I am actually reading this year, although as usual I’m off to a slow start. I decided to visit a local used book store and rummage through some old Science Fiction and Fantasy paperbacks. Found some stuff I read way back in high school, right at the beginning of the Dungeons and Dragons gaming explosion. Never could find a good cohort for a creative, extended campaign.
I’ve finished Conan the Buccaneer and Swords and Deviltry. Amazing contrast. Conan the Buccaneer is paper thin on plotting and characterization and has no literary aspirations whatsoever. L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter were clearly cashing in on the name Robert E. Howard had established. More power to ‘em! I’d almost accuse my teen self of poor taste, but I didn’t know any better.
Swords and Deviltry is a collection of carefully crafted short stories being the introduction of the characters of Fafhrd, The Gray Mouser, and their ill fated joining together. While none of the three tales is particularly complex, Fritz Leiber put some effort into developing Fafhrd, The Gray Mouser, and the world of Newhon. Fafhrd and The Gray Mouser are clearly fantasy archetypes but Leiber doesn’t deny them subtleties and nuance. Swords and Deviltry is also filled with creative use of language and wordplay. Accessible and action packed enough for a naive’ teenager Swords and Deviltry still has something to offer for the wiser mature adult.
Although whoever came up with the cover for the first run of Swords and Deviltry just flat out missed the mark. WTF?!