<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Author Fritz Leiber (December 24, 1910–1992) was a rarity in speculative fiction in that he was highly regarded not only for his science fiction but also for his fantasy and horror fiction.

His first significant SF story was Gather Darkness! (1943), a dystopian novel about a religious dictatorship overthrown by technology masquerading as witchcraft. The Sinful Ones (1950, also published as You're All Alone) and The Green Millennium (1953) bolstered his reputation. They were cleverly written indictments of contemporary mores, but satire has lost favor with modern readers and these two novels have been largely forgotten in recent years, even though most of their critiques are still valid. Leiber began writing the Changewar stories during the 1950s, pitting two groups of time travelers against one another in a battle to control history. The longest of these tales, The Big Time (1958), won the Hugo Award for best novel. They remain the standard against which all new stories in a similar vein are judged.

Most of Leiber's later novels continued to be satirical. The Silver Eggheads (1962) lampooned the publishing industry and the reading public. A Spectre Is Haunting Texas (1969) postulates a future America where genetically enhanced Texans hold sway. The Wanderer (1964) was an uncharacteristic disaster saga and the author's longest book, for which he received another Hugo. Although he continued to enjoy success with his book-length works, Leiber seemed more at ease with short fiction, and he steadily produced a large number of high-quality stories throughout his career. Several of these won awards, including Nebulas for "Gonna Roll Them Bones" (1967), "Ill Met in Lankhmar" (1970), and "Catch That Zeppelin!" (1975). "Gonna Roll Them Bones" and "Catch That Zeppelin!" also won the Hugo Award, as did "Ship of Shadows" (1970). Others of particular merit are "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes" (1949), "A Bad Day for Sales" (1953), "The Man Who Made Friends with Electricity" (1962), and "Midnight by the Morphy Watch" (1974).

Leiber's most memorable fantasy is the series of stories featuring Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, two professional thieves in and about the city of Lankhmar, who survive numerous dangers, natural and supernatural. Robin Wayne Bailey wrote the first of what was planned as a series of continuing adventures following Leiber's death, but no further volumes have appeared. Only Robert E. Howard's Conan stories have had an equal influence on sword and sorcery, a term apparently originated by Leiber. His collection of supernatural fiction, Night's Black Agents (1947) and his novel of contemporary witchcraft, Conjure Wife (1952) are acknowledged classics in the horror genre. The variety of stories which Leiber wrote—and wrote outstandingly well—is an achievement that has rarely been equaled in the field.