Reference Book Articles

Anon.  "Fritz Leiber."  Authors and Artists for Young Adults, Vol. 65.  Ed. Dwayne D. Hayes. Detroit, MI: Thomson Gale, 2005.

Anon.  "Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr." Britannica Biography Collection.

A brief biographical piece.

Anon.  "Fritz Leiber, 1910-     ."  Contemporary Authors, Vols. 45-48.  Gale.

A brief bio-bibliographical sketch.

Anon.  "Fritz Leiber, 1910-1992."  Contemporary Authors. New Revision Series, Vol. 40.  Gale.

A revision and expansion of an earlier sketch.

Anon.  "Fritz Leiber, 1910-1992." Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series, Vol. 86.  Gale

An even further revision and expansion of a bio-bibliographical sketch.

Anon.  "Fritz Leiber." Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature.  Brittanica.

A brief biographical and critical peace.  Notes Leiber's liberal point of view in his works.

Anon.  "Fritz Leiber."  The Oxford Companion  to Twentieth Century Literature in English.  Ed. Jerry Stringer. Oxford University Press, 1996.

Summarizes Leiber's works as "distinguished by humanitarianism, sexual daring, and frequent formal experiments."

Anon.  "Fritz Leiber (Reuter, Jr.) 1910-1992."  Something about the Author, Vol. 73.  Gale.

A brief biographical and bibliographical note written for children.

Anon. "Fritz Leiber."  Readers' Guide to Twentieth Century Science Fiction.  Ed. Marilyn P. Fletcher and James L. Thorson. American Library Association, 1989.

Anon.  "Science Fiction."  The Columbia Encyclopedia.  6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007.

Mentions Leiber as a science fiction great.

Anon. "Fritz Leiber." Biography from Chambers Biographies on CD-ROM. Chambers Harrap Publishers, 1997.

Basic biographical note.

Anon. "Fritz Leiber."  Something About the Author. Vol. 73. Ed. Diane Telgen.  Detroit: Gale Research, 1993.

Anon.  "Fritz Leiber (Reuter, Jr.).  World Authors 1975-1980.  Ed. Vineta Colby.  New York: Wilson, 1985). pp. 438-40.

Ashley, Mike. "Fritz Leiber.'  Who's Who in Horror and Fantasy Fiction.  By Mike Ashley.  New York:  Taplinger, 1978.

A brief paragraph about Leiber's supernatural fiction and his long career in the field.

Asimov, Isaac, et al.  Science Fiction A to Z:  A Dictionary of the great SF Themes.  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin, 1982.

Bleiler, Everett F.  "Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr."  The Guide to Supernatural Fiction. By Everett F. Bleiler.  Kent, OH:  Kent State University Press, 1983.

An annotated listing of major works of Leiber's supernatural fiction, both fantasy and horror.

Bousfield, Wendy.  "Our Lady of Darkness."  Magill's Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature.  Pasadena, CA:  Salem Press, 1996.

Regards the novel as "perhaps" Leiber's best.  Notes the fear of female sexuality and sets up the implications of it against the modern industrial city, which is unfeeling and cold.  Franz Westen, the protagonist, must grapple with his own fears.

Bryan, Ryan.  "Fritz Leiber."  Major 20th Century Writers: A Selection of Sketches from Contemporary Authors.  Detroit: Gale, 1991.

Byfield, Bruce.  "Fritz Leiber."  Facts on File Bibliography of American Fiction, 1919-1988. Ed. Matthew J. Bruccoli.  New York:  Facts on File, 1991.

Carter, Paul A. "From the Golden Age to the Atomic Age: 1940-1963."  Anatomy of Wonder 4:  A Critical Guide to Science Fiction.  Ed. Neil Barron.  New Providence, NJ:  R.R. Bowker, 1995.

Lists and annotates such novels as The Change War,  Destiny Times Three, and Gather, Darkness.  Notes Leiber's attitude toward organized religion as it is expressed in these novels, especially Gather, Darkness.

Commire, Anne.  "Fritz Leiber."  Something About the Author. Vol. 45.  Detroit: Gale, 1986.

Cox, Michael. "Fritz Leiber."  A Dictionary of Writers and Their Works.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Crawford, Gary William.  "The Modern Masters, 1920-1980."  Horror Literature:  A Core Collection and Reference Guide.  Ed. Marshall B. Tymn. New York:  Bowker, 1981.

Notes Leiber's humanist thematic concerns that arise from his background in science and psychology.  Lists and annotates his major works of horror fiction.

D'Ammassa, Don.  "Fritz Leiber."  Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction. New York: Checkmark Books, 2006.

Interesting essay on Leiber that focuses on the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser tales and Leiber's ghost and horror stories.

Dellinger, Paul.  "You're All Alone."  Magill's Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature.  Pasadena, CA:  Salem Press, 1996

In line with a long tradition of science fiction novels in which the world is inhabited by automatons finds expansive form in this novel (also under the title The Sinful Ones).  Like Jack Finney's The Body Snatchers, the world is being taken over by unfeeling automatons.

Dziemianowicz, Stefan.  "Conjure Wife."  Magill's Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature.  Pasadena, CA:  Salem Press, 1996.

"Conjure Wife helped lay the foundation for many trends that define contemporary dark fantasy . . . . Leiber's rendering of horrors emerging subtly from behind the simple aspects of life--the home, the family, the job--marks a break with the pulp horror tradition of supernatural invasion from forces beyond and defines the direction postwar horror would take."

Dziemianowicz, Stefan.  "Conjure Wife."  Supernatural Literature of the World.  3 vols. Ed. S.T. Joshi and Stefan Dziemianowicz.  Westport, CT:  Greenwood Press, 2005.

An excellent commentary on Leiber's classic supernatural horror novel.  Notes the tension between the supernatural and the natural in the characters of Norman Saylor and his wife Tansy.

Dziemianowicz, Stefan.  "Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr."  Supernatural Literature of the World.  3 vols.  Ed. S.T. Joshi and Stefan Dziemianowicz.  Westport, CT:  Greenwood Press, 2005.

An excellent and perceptive overview of Leiber's supernatural horror fiction.  A good place to begin reading about Leiber.

Dziemianowicz, Stefan.  "Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr."  St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost, and Gothic Writers. Ed. David Pringle.  Detrot: St. James/Gale, 1998.

Notes how Leiber modernized the Gothic horrors of the past.  Remarks, "No matter how much imagination he invested in his horrors, Leiber never failed to convey that their inhumanity could only be defined in terms of the fundamental humanity of his characters."

Edwards, Malcolm J., and John Clute.  "Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr."  The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Ed. John Clute and Peter Nicholls.  New York:  St. Martin's Press, 1993.

Notes Leiber's association with Harry Fischer and Fischer's inspiration for the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser fantasy stories.  Also mentions Leiber's first major science fiction novel Gather, Darkness.  Notes how varied were his themes, from the modernization of ghost stories to sexual and religious themes in the science fiction works.  Remarks that his sword and sorcery works are, unfortunately,  given more prominence by the critics.

Glitsch, Catherine.  American Novel Explication, 1969-1908.  Archon Books, 2000.

Hadji, Robert. "Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr."  The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural.  Ed. Jack Sullivan.  New York:  Viking, 1986.

Notes the influence of Poe and Lovecraft and Leiber's modernization of Lovecraft's vision.  Also discusses the femme fatale, especially in works such as Conjure Wife and Our Lady of Darkness.

Harris-Fain, Darren.  "Contemporary Fantasy, 1957-1998."  Fantasy and Horror. Ed. Neil Barron.  Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1999.

Discusses Leiber's forays into sword and sorcery fantasy and lists Swords in the Mist.

Hayes, Dwayne.  Authors and Artists for Young Adults. Vol. 65.  Detroit:  Thomson Gale, 2005.

Hills, Norman L.  "Fritz Leiber:  Overview."  St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers.  Ed. Jay P. Pederson.  4th ed.  Detroit: St.James/Gale, 1996.

An overview of Leiber's work that notes his modernization of the supernatural and his linking supernatural and science fiction elements.  Also mentions his use of humor and satire and his basic humanity.

Hills, N.L. "Fritz Leiber."  Twentieth-Century American Science-Fiction Writers, Part 1: A-L, Vol. 8 of The Dictionary of Literary Biography.  Detroit: Gale, 1981.

A biographical and critical survey of Leiber's science fiction, fantasy, and horror.  Notes that at all times Leiber is a humanist and a pacifist.  He does not distrust science, as Lovecraft does, and he is basically concerned with the innate humanity of his characters.

Kopaska-Merkel, David C.  "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser."  Magill's Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, 1996.

Leiber's "combination of writing skill, excellent story ideas, a unique and enchanting setting, and good characterization made the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser series what it is and earned for it a place among the great works of fantasy literature."
 

Langford, David.  "Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr."  The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. Ed. John Clute and John Grant.  New York:  St. Martin's Press, 1997.

Stresses the heroic fantasy stories over the horror and science fiction works.  Still notes Leiber's variety and the way his work took such surprising and effective intellectual turns.

Laskowski, William.  "Fritz Leiber."  Guide to Literary Masters and Their Works.  Salem Press.

A brief biographical and critical survey.

Levy, Michael M., and Brian Stableford.  "The New Wave, Cyberpunk, and Beyond: 1963-1994."  Anatomy of Wonder 4:  A Critical Guide to Science Fiction.  Ed. Neil Barron.  New Providence, NJ:  R.R. Bowker, 1995.

Lists and annotates a retrospective collection The Leiber Chronicles and the novel The Wanderer.

Meyers, W.E.  "The Short Fiction of Fritz Leiber, Jr."  Survey of Science Fiction Literature.  Vol. 4.  Englewood Cliffs, NJ:  Salem Press, 1979: 1958-1962.

A survey of the science fiction short stories, especially the ones that are in Leiber's "Change war" series.  Notes that Leiber often uses the motif of the monster in his science fiction.  Leiber points out that "in science fiction, we try to understand the monster, and if we succeed, we remove its danger."

Neilson, Keith. "Contemporary Horror Fiction: 1950-1988." Horror Literature:  A Reader's Guide.  Ed. Neil Barron.  New York: Garland, 1990.

Lists and annotates Leirber's major works of horror fiction, especially short stories such as "The Black Gondolier" and Our Lady of Darkness.  Notes the modernization of typical horror conventions and the frequent use of science fiction in his horror tales.

Ploeg, Scott D. Vander.  "The Big Time."  Magill's Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature.  Pasadena, CA:  Salem Press, 1996.

Notes the irony of the novel: the characters gradually discover that the war they are engaged in is meaningless.

Pringle, David.  Modern Fantasy: the Hundred Best Novels: an English Language Selection, 1946-1987.  New York:  Bedrick Books, 1989.

Brief critical essays on Leiber's Conjure Wife, The Sinful Ones, The Swords of Lankhmar, and Our Lady of Darkness.  Provides some plot summary with short analysis.

Pringle, David.  "The Wanderer by Fritz Leiber (1964)."  Science Fiction:  The 100 Best Novels.  Ed. David Pringle.  New York:  Carroll and Graf, 1985.

The novel is the most ambitious science fiction work that Leiber wrote. It is "a summation of its author's wide-ranging interests and obsessions."

Reginald, Robert.  "You're All Alone."  Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature.  Ed. Frank N. Magill. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1983.  pp. 2200-2202.

Spratford, Becky Siegel, and Tammy Hennigh Clausen.  The Horror Readers' Advisory:  The Librarian's Guide to Vampires, Killer Tomatoes, and Haunted Houses.  Chicago:  American Library Association, 2004.

Annotates Leiber's Conjure Wife, classifying it as a novel from the pulp era that is a true classic.

Stableford, Brian.  "Early Modern Horror Fiction, 1897-1949."  Horror Literature: A Reader's Guide.  Ed. Neil Barron, 1990.

Notes the modernization of the Gothic in such stories as "Smoke Ghost" and remarks on Leiber's elegant style which was quite different form the typical story in the magazine Weird Tales.

Stableford, Brian.  "Early Modern Horror Fiction, 1897-1949."  Fantasy and Horror.  Ed. Neil Barron.  Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1999.

A revision of the above item.

Stableford, Brian.  "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser."  Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature.  Ed. Frank N. Magill. Vol. 2. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:  Salem Press, 1983: 511-17.

A detailed history of the famous characters created by Leiber and his friend Harry Fischer.  Notes the sophistication and wit and irony of Leiber's handling of the sword and sorcery genre.  "In a genre where artristry is not only rare but also largely unnoticed in its absence, he stands out as a prose stylist and a writer with an excellent sense of fantastic imagery."

Stableford, Brian.   "From Baum to Tolkien, 1900-1956."  Fantasy and Horror.  Ed. Neil Barron. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1999.

Notes the Leiber's sophistication of the genre of sword and sorcery. Annotates Two Sought Adventure.

Stableford, Brian.  "Fritz Leiber:  Overview."  St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers.  Ed. David Pringle.  Detroit: St. James/Gale, 1996.

A sensitive appreciation of Leiber's fantasy fiction especially the adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.  Notes that Leiber transformed the sword and sorcery genre to a level of "artistic sophistication, in terms of both literary elegance and psychological depth."  Notes Leiber's success, but also the difficulties he faced in his career, and his periods of alcoholism.  Leiber was, in Stableford's view, the epitome of the twentieth century writer.

Stableford, Brian.  "Fritz Leiber."  Science Fiction Writers.  Ed. E.F. Bleiler.  New York: Scribner's, 1982.

Stableford, Brian.  "Fritz Leiber."  Science Fiction Writers. 2nd ed.  Ed. Richard Bleiler.  New York:  Scribner's, 1999.

A revision of the above excellent biographical and critical essay that shows how difficult Leiber's career was.  As he grew older, his stories became intensely personal.  "Leiber's fiction often depicts individuals living in direly difficult circumstances, who must pursue eccentric psychological and social strategies in order to survive and thrive."

Stableford, Brian.  "Fritz Leiber."  Supernatural Fiction Writers.  Ed. E. F. Bleiler.  New York: Scribner's, 1985.

Stableford, Brian.  "Fritz Leiber, 1910-1992."  Supernatural Fiction Writers: Contemporary Fantasy and Horror. Ed. Richard Bleiler.  2nd ed.  New York:  Scribner's, 2003.

A revised version of Stableford's essay in the first edition of the book above.  Notes Leiber's modernization of the supernatural tale and developing and refining the sword and sorcery genre.  Notes that Leiber's experience of theater and film gives his works a very sophisticated immediacy.

Tuck, Donald H.  "Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr."  The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy.  Compiled by Donald H. Tuck.  3 vols.  Chicago:  Advent, 1974.

A listing of major works with publication information.

Wiloch, Thomas.  "Fritz Leiber (1910-   )."  Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series, Vol. 2.  Gale.

A brief, but very useful bio-bibliographical sketch.

Zacharias, Gary.  "The Wanderer." Magill's Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature.  Pasadena, CA:  Salem Press, 1996.

Leiber "focuses on the courage and resilliency of people under tremendous pressure, fighting for their lives and the lives of others."