Although Leiber writes stirring ac tion sequences and can be a brilliant prose stylist, the success of the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories rests ultimately on the personalities of his two protagonists. Fafhrd and the Mouser are in many ways typical of the old "thief with a heart of gold" tradition that includes Sinbad the Sailor, Robin Hood, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Pretty Boy Floyd, the Blues Brothers, and countless other characters, both historical and imaginary. In order to convince the reader of the essential goodness of his thief characters, an author must carefully design their crimes, their victims, and the representatives of the law who pursue them.

The author must convince the reader that there is in fact a legitimate reason for those crimes to be committed and that both the victims and the pursuing law officers are morally ambiguous. A discussion of...