This is a legendary series, so my expectations were high. It wasn't bad, but didn't knock me off my feet either. Probably because the Oxford English-speaking, amoral barbarian Fafhrd. The Mouser was a much better character, but still... Perhaps there is more promise in the follow-ups.

2 stars for first 2 stories, 4 stars for the third
Well written, if a little flowery. Third story enough to keep me interested in the characters and world

Hasn't stood the test of time...

A titan of the genre and the best of pulp fantasy.

The author is great at making you feel a scene and it was cool to check another classic fantasy inspiration off the to-read list.

Sold as Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Book 1, Fritz Leiber's Swords and Deviltry actually contains three stories written late in the game - a solo "origin" story for each iconic character and the award-winning Ill Met in Lankmahr which proposes to tell of their first adventure together and the birth of their partnership. Leiber's prose is stellar, filled with evocative descriptions, intriguing world-building, and word-crafting that's borderline Shakespearean in dexterity. His characters are immediately likeable and I found myself taking to Fafhrd the barbarian in particular, his solo story easily my favorite of the book's three offerings. The unforgiving matriarchal world of Cold Corner is incredibly well rendered and Fafhrd's need to escape and discover civilization sympathetically presented. The much shorter Gray Mouser story isn't a failure by any means, but pales in comparison. As for Ill Met, it moves smoothly between comedy, action and tragedy, creating the necessary bond between the two men, but one that was secured by Fate, or their innate chemistry, already. My only complaint about the collection - where it feels dated - is that it is never very kind to its female characters, quite the opposite. Perhaps this felt necessary to set up an ongoing (remember, these were prequels) sword & sorcery bromance, but there's something of a wasted potential in the way things play out.