Nifft the Lean

Rating:
Summary: It's a shame really...
Review: As I sit here gazing fondly at my musty, yellowed first edition DAW paperback of 'Nift the Lean' (did this book Ever come out in hardcover?), I still remember skulking up to the check out counter in a fashionably cool NYC bookstore in early '83. My companion did not want to be seen with me while I purchased this book because the cover art was 'embarassingly bad'. Well, his loss, because after reading a few paragraphs, I didn't care if there was dog's doo on the cover - I was buying it! Not a single review or word of praise was on the back or inside the cover. But someone else must have braved the snotty bookstore clerks, because, low and behold, next thing you know, it wins the world fantasy award. (My companion eats some serious crow, here.)

I've read a lot of fantasy (and science fiction, and science fantasy) over the years. Very few books in this genre hold a candle to Nift. Was there ever a story richer, more inventive or more delightfully horrifying than 'Fishing in the Demon-Sea'? Was there ever a character in all of dark fantasy as strange and evocative as the Privateer? Or an action sequence with more edge-or-your-seat excitement than the hell-ride down the mine shaft? (Did Steven Spielberg read this story before he made 'Temple of Doom' - you bet he did.)

After so many years it is baffling to come here and find that this book is still not recognized for a classic of dark fantasy. That it is Still out of print. All I can say is get your hands on a stinky, dog-eared copy of this book and read it - you can't have mine!

Rating:
Summary: Sword&Sorcery on par w/ Moorcock and Leiber; a thief in hell
Review: How many books have you read that begin with a eulogy for the title character? _Nifft the Lean_ starts with a promise of hard-edged, high-intensity dark fantasy, and then delivers in four masterful novelettes.

Set in a lurid, bizarre world reminiscent of Jack Vance's "Dying Earth", these stories relate how Nifft and various partners wager their very souls in the course of pursuing their "art". With atmosphere surpassing that of even the greatest masters of dark fantasy, Shea matches eerie visions with sheer horror to create his own flavor of sword and sorcery.

Shea is able to create a character in Nifft that transcends the common fantasy stereotypes often found in second rate fiction and role-playing game supplements. Nifft and his main partner, Barnar, are not tricksters, silly picaros, or slinking alley trash; they are mercenary hereos with their own amoral code of honor. Like Howard's Conan, and Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Shea's characters are the kind of men who show disdain for wealth by stealing a fortune and then drinking it all away. The cosmology of Nifft's world is reminiscent of that found in the ancient epics of Gilgamesh, or Homer, where a man must strive to live boldly and well, since no paradise lies beyond death.

Where Shea truly shines is in his powers of description. Nifft, Barnar and the other characters tromp through a chaotic landscape rife with gruesome detail. Vivid settings, such as those encountered in the Land of Death, or the first Demon Subworld, are not easily forgotten. Shea also makes masterful use of perspective: one story being narrated by Nifft himself, others being third person accounts, or first person narrations by friends of Nifft, pretending to be Nifft... All in all, Shea provides us with a great variety of narrative styles.

Even those who normally disdain sword and sorcery type fiction as hackneyed and simplistic are urged to read _Nifft the Lean_. Shea brings a new level of intellegence to the genre rarely seen in recent decades. A man is drug forcibly down through the depths of hell. What is the final torture awaiting him there? Probably not what you think....

Shea, unfortunately not a very prolific author, has shown his mastery in this work (Nifft the Lean even won the World Fantasy award for best novel, 1983!). Be on the lookout for a new edition of this book in the fall, hopefully followed soon by a sequel!.

Rating:
Summary: Horrifying. Wildly Imaginative. Funny. Superb.
Review: I rarely review a book, but I am compelled to review this one. This book so captivated me from the beginning, that I was shocked at how deeply involved in the story, characters, and description I became. It was hypnotic.

First, the author has almost a Tolkien-like ability for description, without losing his sense of pacing. Imagine suddenly waking up in a strange room and your mind races to absorb the details. What made this book succeed where most others fail, was the bridge from the recognizable to the comicly foreign and demented. Too often fantasy writers just expect the reader to follow them into their artificial world that looks all-too-familiar. Expect to be blown away with Nifft. Its that dusty attic door you were always too afraid to open. Nifft opens it for you, and pushes you in, but comes along for support.

Second, the characters. Again, I refer to Tolkien only to say this book is decidedly un-Tolkienlike in that there are very few characters. The two main characters (Nifft and his friend Barnar) have quite a bit of dialog. They joke with each other, get on each other's nerves, anger each other, and sacrifice themselves for the other. Somehow, Shea has included a very nice "buddy" story amid the horrors of imagination. Never seen it before, and it works beautifully.

Third, the imagination of Shea is almost too wild to comprehend. Who would of thought sneaking into Hell with your buddy would be so shocking and revolting, yet so much fun? Shea struck a perfect balance between dread and absurdity. Its as if he took the dare other fantasy writers wouldn't take, and blew through the artificial ceiling of "fantastical" thought.

As I recall, this book is actually four separate stories. This works actually better than one very large novel as it gives broader scope to the characters. Things take place in different times and places. My personal favorite is "Fishing in the Demon Sea". I still have memories of it, even though its been a few years.

This book really isn't SF or Fantasy. Its literature. Its high-level reading. If you can survive the opening chapters, you'll love the book. Unfortunately, I now have a much higher standard for authors who attempt new realities. You will find many other authors utterly fail to live up to your new standards after you read this book. That's okay, competition is good. I just wish Shea would write more.

Rating:
Summary: Hard to Decide
Review: Nifft the Lean comprises four novelettes featuring Nifft, a gaunt thief. That Nifft is a 'gaunt thief' is all we really ever learn about him, as the stories aren't really about Nifft, but the places he visits. Each of the four stories are exceedingly visual, with a dash of Hollywood over-the-top flair. Shea had several locations and a few cool things he wanted to show us: the underworld and how it operates (twice), a monster-infested swamp, and two giants - one dead and one reawakening. Unfortunately, the frame of stories around them were simple, if not weak. Where Shea excels is the writing itself, which was beautifully said and exceptionally vivid. In the two underworld stories, Shea leans heavily toward the grotesque. Nifft the Lean is not a serious book, nor does it pretend to be, but it's not exactly light reading either.

Rating:
Summary: Hard to Decide
Review: Nifft the Lean comprises four novelettes featuring Nifft, a gaunt thief. That Nifft is a 'gaunt thief' is all we really ever learn about him, as the stories aren't really about Nifft, but the places he visits. Each of the four stories are exceedingly visual, with a dash of Hollywood over-the-top flair. Shea had several locations and a few cool things he wanted to show us: the underworld and how it operates (twice), a monster-infested swamp, and two giants - one dead and one reawakening. Unfortunately, the frame of stories around them were simple, if not weak. Where Shea excels is the writing itself, which was beautifully said and exceptionally vivid. In the two underworld stories, Shea leans heavily toward the grotesque. Nifft the Lean is not a serious book, nor does it pretend to be, but it's not exactly light reading either.