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Thieves' World/Lankhmar - why do you like them?
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<blockquote data-quote="TheLastMehina" data-source="post: 1325459" data-attributes="member: 15076"><p><strong>Kitsch-free is good!</strong></p><p></p><p>I haven't read any Thieves' World novels, but I love Lankhmar. The biggest pull to me is Leiber's use of language - he writes like no one else I've ever read, except maybe Lovecraft. He has amazing imagery in all his stories - like the Plaza of Dark Delights or the Cold Waste. I love the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories set in Lankhmar - you can *see* the night fog rolling in when the sun goes down. You can sense that there are a myriad hidden alleyways, smoky wineshops and gritty taverns you'll never visit, where adventures exist in potentia by the dozen. </p><p></p><p>The characters are a big draw, as well. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser get drunk, get laid, curse, steal, and bleed. They are more real to me than many characters in a Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms novel (Raistlin being a notable exception - but I have an odd feeling Raistlin would feel much more at home in Lankhmar, anyway). </p><p></p><p>I also like the moral ambiguity of Nehwon. It doesn't quite fit along the neat, nine-pointed alignment axis. You have to love a universe where the cleric's main job is making sure nobody pesters the gods. There aren't any shining examples of good except for the clumsy morality of Fafhrd & Grey Mouser. And evil is more pathetic and grotesque than frightening, such as the ratkin Lord Hisvin.</p><p></p><p>And when you get right down to it, it's refreshing to read a fantasy story that hasn't been influenced by the twin monoliths of Lord of the Rings and D&D. Not that these are bad, but there are few modern fantasy stories which can escape their influence.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TheLastMehina, post: 1325459, member: 15076"] [b]Kitsch-free is good![/b] I haven't read any Thieves' World novels, but I love Lankhmar. The biggest pull to me is Leiber's use of language - he writes like no one else I've ever read, except maybe Lovecraft. He has amazing imagery in all his stories - like the Plaza of Dark Delights or the Cold Waste. I love the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories set in Lankhmar - you can *see* the night fog rolling in when the sun goes down. You can sense that there are a myriad hidden alleyways, smoky wineshops and gritty taverns you'll never visit, where adventures exist in potentia by the dozen. The characters are a big draw, as well. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser get drunk, get laid, curse, steal, and bleed. They are more real to me than many characters in a Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms novel (Raistlin being a notable exception - but I have an odd feeling Raistlin would feel much more at home in Lankhmar, anyway). I also like the moral ambiguity of Nehwon. It doesn't quite fit along the neat, nine-pointed alignment axis. You have to love a universe where the cleric's main job is making sure nobody pesters the gods. There aren't any shining examples of good except for the clumsy morality of Fafhrd & Grey Mouser. And evil is more pathetic and grotesque than frightening, such as the ratkin Lord Hisvin. And when you get right down to it, it's refreshing to read a fantasy story that hasn't been influenced by the twin monoliths of Lord of the Rings and D&D. Not that these are bad, but there are few modern fantasy stories which can escape their influence. [/QUOTE]
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