Lankhmar Volume 8: Swords Against the Shadowland

by Robin Wayne Bailey

Years ago, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser turned their backs on the city of Lankhmar and the painful memories it held. But now, a deadly plague, spawned from a sorcerer's curse, sweeps through the streets... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1595820779
• ISBN13: 9781595820778
• Release Date: May 2009
• Publisher: Dark Horse Books
• Length: 342 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.2" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

a worthy addition to the series

Attempting to follow in another writer's footsteps in always a challenge; the more so since Fritz Leiber was a talented and intelligent individual with a unique point of view. Thus, I began this book with a great deal of trepidation. To my surprise, Robin Wayne Bailey (whom I had never heard of before) did a creditable job in continuing the saga. While it is not equal to Leiber's best, I felt it was better than the earliest Fafhrd & Gray Mouser stories. (The series was written over the span of nearly 50 years, so it's no wonder that the writing, while good, improves during that time.) Chronologically, this falls between volumes one and two, a good choice as I always felt there was a stylistic gap between the Hugo Award-winning "Ill Met in Lankhmar", which ends volume one (AKA "Swords and Deviltry") and "The Circle Curse" which begins volume two ("Swords Against Death"). (There is also a book entitled "Ill Met in Lankhmar" which combines these two volumes.) The problem was, Leiber wrote these stories as inspiration struck him and without an overarching structure. This wasn't really a problem until they began collecting the stories and were faced with the problem of getting the two heroes from Psychological Point A (dealing with the tragic events of "Ill Met") to Psychological Point B (that is, their normal state). I don't know whether Leiber didn't wish to deal with the issue at length or the publisher didn't want to pay for a novel dealing with the subject. In any event, "The Circle Curse" is a literary stopgap, a short story acknowledging the gap even if it doesn't deal with it satisfactorily. Robin Wayne Bailey's work is the book-length account of two heroes' journey back from a psychological precipice and returning to the bon vivants we know and love. Unless you are one of those "How DARE anyone else write such-and-such" who are unwilling to give another author a fair shake, if you enjoyed the originals, you will probably enjoy this one as well.

Great Book

A great book that I wish was still in circulation at book stores. The story is awesome and I will have to collect the rest of the books when I can afford to... but until then I still can't get enough of this book.

The heroes live on!

If you like Sword & Sorcery, even if you have never read Leiber, you will enjoy this book. If you have read Leiber, you'll enjoy it even more.Usually when an author tries to step into someone else's shoes (series), the fit is not exact. Being a fan of Leiber's Fafhrd & Gray Mouser, I was a little worried Bailey would disappoint me. He didn't. Swords Against the Shadowland has all the adventure of the original series, all the action. Bailey's style is not quite the same as Leiber but he did not try to force it to be. Instead he created a strong story worthy of the series rather than a pale copy of it (a fault many authors fall prey to in trying to continue someone else's series). He did his homework and included links to previous stories, the character's backgrounds, and Lankhmar itself. What emerges is a Fafhrd & Gray Mouser tale that can rest on the shelf with the others with no shame.The book is good enough it could stand on its own, but by being part of a series I like it is that much more enjoyable. I eagerly await any more, confident Bailey will do right by Leiber's duo.

Does Leiber 2 steps better

I anxiously awaited this book, but with a bit of fear. Leiber's Lankmar novels have long been favorites of mine and I feared what a different author might do. Originally Leiber and Bailey were to work on this one together, but Leiber passed away shortly after they signed the contract.Bailey surprised me be capturing Leiber's "flavor" while making the story much more meaningfull to people of the '90s.This is a must read for fans of Leiber's Lankmar stories and a great place to start fot someone that has never read the series. Leiber would be proud.

An excellent , re-visit to Lankhmar!

If you have read and loved Lieber's work you will enjoy this. The most notable difference, of course, is the departure from the short story format to the FULL blown epic-saga style. I was quite apprehensive at first, but as I read on the story evolved! I extremely loved the return to the "Slippery Eel", with Robin's EXTRA details!