Fritz Leiber's Swords Against Death, the second collection of Fafhrd and Gray Mouser tales, contains 10 short stories, more or less from the early days of the thieving duo's partnership, when the tragedies of the first volume were still fresh. At least that's what the two tales written for the 1970 printing reinforce, and they're two of my favorites. Leiber is a raconteur who zooms out to build the world of Newhon, throwing away more intriguing concepts than he'll ever write about, and then zeroing in on the anti-heroes' point of view (definitely preferring the Mouser's in this batch - the best stories are those that give them an even share of the POV). The prose is crisp, the fights well described, the tales varied in theme and incident. Where I think Leiber's stories are weakest is in their endings, where I think the final lines lack luster. These aren't short stories with final twists, but they could wrap up with more pith.