Scan barcode
billymac1962's review against another edition
2.0
This came as a recommendation from a visitor to my old website, and I
was lucky enough to come across it at my favorite used book store.
This store, btw, is The Book Gallery, in Carleton Place, Ont., and it's an old creaky house converted into a book store. On both floors, floor to ceiling is crammed with books. It's glorious.
Anyways. Nifft.
This is a highly rated novel by most who have read it. It's very literate, long on description, and short on character development.
This is a read that requires some patience. I had a false start with it
while struggling through the prefaces, so this was my second attempt.
I can tell you that you can safely skim through Shag's prefaces to the stories. I did; it was simply too much brain power (and I've been tapped enough these past weeks at work) to visualise and understand the whole setup.
Once you get into the stories, though, the writing is much easier. These are tales of Nifft and his buddy Barnar, two thieves, and their travels to demonic underworlds in their quest for riches.
As I said, the stories are incredibly rich in description, and the landscapes and inhabitants are among the grimmest I've come across. But, the plotlines themselves were merely OK, and the characters quite thin. Thus, I lost interest about halfway through the second story.
As rich as the writing was, it was a bit too rich for my liking, and I need more than descriptive writing to keep me going. I need to care, and I didn't. Too bad.
Your mileage will vary, I'm sure. Writing like this needs to be tasted, at least.
was lucky enough to come across it at my favorite used book store.
This store, btw, is The Book Gallery, in Carleton Place, Ont., and it's an old creaky house converted into a book store. On both floors, floor to ceiling is crammed with books. It's glorious.
Anyways. Nifft.
This is a highly rated novel by most who have read it. It's very literate, long on description, and short on character development.
This is a read that requires some patience. I had a false start with it
while struggling through the prefaces, so this was my second attempt.
I can tell you that you can safely skim through Shag's prefaces to the stories. I did; it was simply too much brain power (and I've been tapped enough these past weeks at work) to visualise and understand the whole setup.
Once you get into the stories, though, the writing is much easier. These are tales of Nifft and his buddy Barnar, two thieves, and their travels to demonic underworlds in their quest for riches.
As I said, the stories are incredibly rich in description, and the landscapes and inhabitants are among the grimmest I've come across. But, the plotlines themselves were merely OK, and the characters quite thin. Thus, I lost interest about halfway through the second story.
As rich as the writing was, it was a bit too rich for my liking, and I need more than descriptive writing to keep me going. I need to care, and I didn't. Too bad.
Your mileage will vary, I'm sure. Writing like this needs to be tasted, at least.
scheu's review against another edition
5.0
I wasn't expecting this book to be as good as it is. Nifft the Lean, a thief of renown (accompanied by fellow thief Barnar), steals things, insults morons, and goes to hell. Very reminiscent of Fritz Leiber, in a good and not particularly derivative way. Ugly and sensual. Very entertaining, as though Michael Shea wrote a really, really good D&D novel. That is, better than any D&D novel.
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
Come then, Mortal. We Will Seek Her Soul:
At the behest of an apparition, Nifft and Haldar kidnap a disgraced warrior and take him to the land of the dead to be reunited with her in exchange for the Wizard's Key. Only things don't go as planned...
The first Nifft story was quite good, a trip to hell with all sorts of horrifying denizens. It was a bit like Fritz Leiber's Fahfrd and the Gray Mouser, only told in the first person and in a meatier style like REH's. Shea's sense of humor and dialogue remind me of Jack Vance's. My favorite part? Having to wrestling the Soultaker, a large manlizard, for a chance to accompany him and the Guide of Ghosts on a trip to the land of the dead.
Pearls of the Vampire Queen:
White gathering pearls in a deadly swamp, Nifft and Barnar learn of a vampire queen and scheme to steal from her.
I liked Pearls even more than the first story. Shea's writing, already quite good, improved a bit in the interval between the tales. The idea of a vampire queen that feeds on blood in exchange for magical protection is a good one. Nifft and Barnar rose a bit in my esteem in this one. Shea never resorts to fantasy stereotypes when it comes to monsters. There were ghuls, lurks, and murderous, pearl-producing polyps.
Fishing the Demon-Sea:
Nifft and Barnar are saved from being torn apart on the rack at the last minute and tasked with traveling to a subworld and braving the Demon-Sea to rescue a noble's spoiled son who was taken by a water demon. Too bad he's such an arrogant little shit...
Nifft and Barnar are a cut above most fantasy characters when it comes to inventiveness. I loved the mine car bit. The giant leeches and scorpion demons were nasty. The subworld was a horrid place I won't soon forget. Gildmirth proved to be a very interesting supporting character. I hope Shea uses him again in the future.
The Goddess in Glass:
Anvil Pastures is in dire peril, in danger of being destroyed by an impending mountain collapse, and it's up to Nifft to lead a force to re-unite the Goddess in Glass with her flock so they can save the day.
The last story was different than the rest in that Nifft wasn't telling it. Other than that, I really liked it. Aliens as gods is always a sf trope that I enjoy.
To sum up, Nifft the Lean was a great read. While slim, the stories are great and the writing is rich. We need more fantasy like this on the racks.
At the behest of an apparition, Nifft and Haldar kidnap a disgraced warrior and take him to the land of the dead to be reunited with her in exchange for the Wizard's Key. Only things don't go as planned...
The first Nifft story was quite good, a trip to hell with all sorts of horrifying denizens. It was a bit like Fritz Leiber's Fahfrd and the Gray Mouser, only told in the first person and in a meatier style like REH's. Shea's sense of humor and dialogue remind me of Jack Vance's. My favorite part? Having to wrestling the Soultaker, a large manlizard, for a chance to accompany him and the Guide of Ghosts on a trip to the land of the dead.
Pearls of the Vampire Queen:
White gathering pearls in a deadly swamp, Nifft and Barnar learn of a vampire queen and scheme to steal from her.
I liked Pearls even more than the first story. Shea's writing, already quite good, improved a bit in the interval between the tales. The idea of a vampire queen that feeds on blood in exchange for magical protection is a good one. Nifft and Barnar rose a bit in my esteem in this one. Shea never resorts to fantasy stereotypes when it comes to monsters. There were ghuls, lurks, and murderous, pearl-producing polyps.
Fishing the Demon-Sea:
Nifft and Barnar are saved from being torn apart on the rack at the last minute and tasked with traveling to a subworld and braving the Demon-Sea to rescue a noble's spoiled son who was taken by a water demon. Too bad he's such an arrogant little shit...
Nifft and Barnar are a cut above most fantasy characters when it comes to inventiveness. I loved the mine car bit. The giant leeches and scorpion demons were nasty. The subworld was a horrid place I won't soon forget. Gildmirth proved to be a very interesting supporting character. I hope Shea uses him again in the future.
The Goddess in Glass:
Anvil Pastures is in dire peril, in danger of being destroyed by an impending mountain collapse, and it's up to Nifft to lead a force to re-unite the Goddess in Glass with her flock so they can save the day.
The last story was different than the rest in that Nifft wasn't telling it. Other than that, I really liked it. Aliens as gods is always a sf trope that I enjoy.
To sum up, Nifft the Lean was a great read. While slim, the stories are great and the writing is rich. We need more fantasy like this on the racks.
eaterofworlds's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
pine_wulf's review against another edition
3.0
Really liked the first story. The second is even better. The third gets slow during the middle. And the fourth never really engaged me.
dgagneaux's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
grafious's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ianbanks's review against another edition
4.0
Four stars because the last story is only quite good rather than brilliant. Seriously, just read this for "The Fishing Of The Demon Sea" which takes up roughly half its length and is the most inventive, gripping, horrific and laugh-out-loud funny trip to hell you are ever likely to read.
deimosremus's review against another edition
4.0
With Shea being very influenced by Jack Vance and Fritz Leiber, Nifft the Lean is a great fantasy anthology that feels grounded and real, while still retaining highly creative fantastical elements that form a memorable visual package in the mind. Shea is much more heavy on horror and the grotesque than Vance and Leiber, drawing from Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel's iconically strange and horrifying visions of Hell, making for some truly mesmerizing passages and stories. My only gripe with the collection is that the final story (The Goddess in Glass) is perhaps the least engaging of the 4.
michaeldennis's review against another edition
2.0
Not my thing. I had a hard time keeping interest in the book, although I did make it through to the end. As the 1982 winner of the World Fantasy Award, I hoped I'd enjoy it more.
The episodes were reminiscent of the language and details of Clark Ashton Smith (which I read earlier this year), but I don't know that this depth and intricacy of vocabulary and description is sustainable in the length of these stories without some other positive -- plot or characters or witty banter.
The episodes were reminiscent of the language and details of Clark Ashton Smith (which I read earlier this year), but I don't know that this depth and intricacy of vocabulary and description is sustainable in the length of these stories without some other positive -- plot or characters or witty banter.