The “Swords” Series
From Deviltry to Ice Magic and beyond!

The tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, written over a span of 50 years, are probably Leiber’s best known and best loved works.

The first story – “Two Sought Adventure” – appeared in Unknown in 1939 (right) and the last in The Knight and Knave of Swords in 1988.

Leiber wrote all the stories except for 10,000 words of The Lords of Quarmall that were penned by Fischer.

The stories’ style and tone vary considerably, but nearly all contain a wonderful – and often wonderfully dark – sense of humour, which ranges from the subtle and character based to the pythonesque. The earlier tales owe as much to Clark Ashton Smith as to Robert E. Howard.

“Lean Times in Lankhmar” – which stands as a wonderful mixture of farce and satire – and “Bazaar of the Bizarre” are two of the very best.

1.	Swords and Deviltry (Ace 1970)
	“Induction” (vignette) *
	The Snow Women (novella, Fantastic April 1970)
	“The Unholy Grail” (novelette, Fantastic October 1962)
	Ill Met in Lankhmar (novella, F&SF April 1970) Telling how Fafhrd and the Mouser originally met, this story won both a Nebula award and a Hugo award.

2.	Swords Against Death (collection, Ace 1970; expanded and revised from Two Sought Adventure , Gnome 1957)
	“The Circle Curse” *
	“The Jewels in the Forest” (novelette, Unknown August 1939, as “Two Sought Adventure”)
	“Thieves’ House” (novelette, Unknown February 1943)
	“The Bleak Shore” (Unknown November 1940)
	“The Howling Tower” (Unknown June 1941)
	“The Sunken Land” (Unknown February 1942)
	“The Seven Black Priests” (novelette, Other Worlds May 1953)
	“Claws from the Night” (novelette, Suspense Fall 1951, as “Dark Vengeance”)
	“The Price of Pain-Ease” *
	“Bazaar of the Bizarre” (novelette, Fantastic August 1963)

3.	Swords in the Mist (Ace 1968)
	“The Cloud of Hate” (Fantastic May 1963)
	“Lean Times in Lankhmar” (novelette, Fantastic November 1959)
	“Their Mistress, the Sea” *
	“When the Sea-King’s Away” (novelette, Fantastic May 1960)
	“The Wrong Branch” *
	Adept’s Gambit (novella, Night’s Black Agents , Arkham 1947)

4.	Swords Against Wizardry (Ace 1968)
	“In the Witch’s Tent” *
	“Stardock” (novelette, Fantastic September 1965)
	“The Two Best Thieves in Lankhmar” (1968 Fantastic August 1968)
	The Lords of Quarmall (novella, Fantastic, January 1964, with Harry Fischer)

5.	The Swords of Lankhmar (Ace 1968)
	The first part of this novel was published as Scylla’s Daughter (novella, Fantastic May 1961)

6.	Swords and Ice Magic (Ace 1977, expanded and revised from Rime Isle , [?publisher] 1977))
	“The Sadness of the Executioner” (Flashing Swords! #1, ed. Lin Carter, Dell 1973)
	“Beauty and the Beasts” (vignette, The Book of Fritz Leiber, DAW 1974)
	“Trapped in the Shadowland” (Fantastic November 1973)
	“The Bait” (vignette, Whispers December 1973)
	“Under the Thumbs of the Gods” (Fantastic April 1975)
	“Trapped in the Sea of Stars” (The Second Book of Fritz Leiber, DAW 1975)
	“The Frost Monstreme” (novelette, in Flashing Swords! #3, ed. Lin Carter, Dell 1976)
	Rime Isle (novella, Cosmos SF&F Magazine May 1977)

7.	The Knight and Knave of Swords (Morrow 1988)
	“Sea Magic” (The Dragon December 1977)
	“The Mer She” (novelette, Heroes and Horrors, Whispers Press 1978)
	The Curse of the Smalls and the Stars (novella, Heroic Visions, ed. Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Ace 1983 )
	The Mouser Goes Below (novella) *    Portions first published as: • “The Mouser Goes Below” (Whispers, October 1987); • “Slack Lankhmar Afternoon Featuring Hisvet” (Terry’s Universe, ed. Beth Meacham, Tor 1988 )

Omnibus editions

Of these, the White Wolf editions are probably the best.

	Science Fiction Book Club
	The Three of Swords (1989; books 1-3)
	Swords’ Masters (1989; books 4-6)

	White Wolf (republished in the UK by Orion/Gollancz)
	Ill Met In Lankhmar (1995; books 1 & 2, with a new introduction by Michael Moorcock and Fritz Leiber’s “Fafhrd and Me”)
	Lean Times in Lankhmar (1996; books 3 & 4, with a new introduction by Karl Edward Wagner)
	Return to Lankhmar (1997; books 5 & 6, with a new introduction by Neil Gaiman)
	Farewell to Lankhmar (1998; book 7... OK, so it’s not strictly an omnibus)
	Comics artist Mike Mignola provided the cover art for these editions. Mignola, now best known for Hellboy, also drew the 1990s comic series.

	Orion/Gollancz Fantasy Masterworks
		The First Book of Lankhmar (2001; books 1-4)
		The Second Book of Lankhmar (2001; books 5-7)

Other editions

	Bazaar of the Bizzare (Grant 1978)
	“Bazaar of the Bizarre”
	“The Cloud of Hate”
	“Lean Times in Lankhmar”
	This collection of Leiber’s three favourite Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories, showcases Stephan Peregrine’s illustrations.

	White Wolf collections
		Tales of Lankhmar (2000) ― “Induction” to “The Jewels in the Forest”
		Thieves’ House (2001) ― “Thieves’ House” to “Lean Times in Lankhmar”
		Only two of these newly organized collections were published, containing stories from the first three Swords books. White Wolf recycled two of the Mike Mignola covers from its 1990s omnibuses.

Comics

	Sword of Sorcery (DC Comics, 1973)
	#1 (March 1973)	“The Price of Pain Ease”
	#2 (May 1973)	“Thieves’ House”
	#3 (August 1973)	“Betrayal” * (O’Neil)
	#4 (October 1973)	“The Cloud of Hate”; “The Prophecy” * (O’Neil)
	#5 (December 1973)	“The Sunken Land”; “The Mouse Alone” * (Effinger)
	Writers: Denny O’Neil, George [Alec] Effinger (5b); pencils: Howard Chaykin (1-3, 4a?), Walt Simonson (4b & 5a), Jim Starlin (5b), Al Milgrom (5); inker: “The Crusty Bunkers” (Neil Adams) (1+), various (3); covers: Michael Wm. Kaluta (1 & 3), Chaykin & Bernie Wrightson (2), Chaykin (4 & 5?). A prequel appeared as back-up feature in Wonder Woman 202 (August-September 1972)

	Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (Epic/Marvel-Prestige, 1990-91)
	#1 (October 1990)	“Ill Met in Lankhmar”
	#2 (November 1990)	“The Circle Curse”; “The Howling Tower”
	#3 (December 1990)	“The Price of Pain Ease”; “Bazaar of the Bizarre”
	#4 (January 1991)	“Lean Times in Lankhmar”; “When the Sea King’s Away”
	Adaptation and script: Howard Chaykin; penciles: Mike Mignola; inker: Al Williamson (1991 Harvey Award for Best Inker); colorist: Sheryl van Valkenburgh; lettering and logo design: Michael Heisler.