On Sun, 25 May 2003, Steven Brust wrote: > At 09:45 AM 5/25/2003 -0500, Ryan wrote: > You can think of the Vlad books this way: > A world created in honor of Fritz Leiber > Fantasy tropes created in honor of Michael Moorcock > A narrative style in honor of Dashiel Hammet > A general aesthetic in honor of Roger Zelazny I get/got Zelazny, Moorcock (though I'd prefer more Warhound and the World's Pain than Stormbringer, or maybe some Gloriana re the court), Hammett (though I totally missed the following, from the opening of The Maltese Falcon: Sam Spade's jaw was long and bony, his chin a jutting v under the more flexible v of his mouth. His yellow-grey eyes were horizontal. The v motif was picked up again by thickish brows rising outward from twin creases above a hooked nose, and his pale brown hair grew down--from high flat temples--in a point on his forehead. He looked rather pleasantly like a blond satan. ), but though I've read all the Fafhrd (sp?) and the Grey Mouser (ok, twenty years ago) stories I don't get Fritz Leiber. Hmm, Gonna Roll the Bones for gambling? Nope. p.s. Sam Spade is "quite six feet tall" - guess Hammett's editor didn't think "quite seven feet tall" would go over well.