(no subject)

[alfgifu]

Amongst many other things, I've been reading Fitz Lieber's stories about Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. I've decided to put together a bit of a list about why they're so good.

1. They're satirical without being cynical.
2. The heroes have greater-than-human luck, skill, strength and wit - but never quite implausibly so. You know that both will survive, but they do make mistakes, look like idiots, get enchanted and generally act like naughty schoolboys when summoned by their respective wizardly masters, Sheelba of the Eyeless Face and Ningauble of the Seven Eyes.
3. Sheelba and Ningauble are referred to as 'Sheel' and 'Ning' by the heroes, although not to their faces.
4. When they first meet, Fafhrd introduces himself. The Mouser asks if it's pronounced 'Fafhrudd'. Nope, says Fafhrd, it's just 'Faf-erd'.
5. They have bad luck with girlfriends, who either seem to die, turn out to be supremely powerful multi-dimensional beings, get tired of them or turn out to be spiders.
6. Fafhrd has red hair.
7. The Mouser has a snub nose.
8. They undertake a number of quests completely drunk.
9. They complement one another very well and are extremely good friends and comrades.
10. They never fight succesfully against more than two opponents at once; generally one hero never even beats two enemies at close quarters unless one of the enemies is distracted.
11. After escaping from an improbable situation of near-certain horrible death their general response is to collapse in fits of laughter.
12. They sail well because Fafhrd's people are sailors, they survive in icy wastes because he comes from such an area, they survive in cities because the Mouser was a street rat type, they pick up languages, ancient languages and the ability to decipher treasure maps more or less on the hoof. There's always a reason why they know what they know.
13. Their learned sages believe their world to be a giant bubble.

There are plenty more reasons, but I can't be bothered to think of them.

ælfgifu