Poor Superman and Others - Paperback

by Fritz Leiber (Author)

A fantastic collection containing some of the most thought-provoking stories by science fiction and fantasy great, Fritz Leiber. From the strange shared universe of Poor Superman and Coming Attraction to forgotten gems like the Chthulu Mythos story, The Dreams of Albert Moreland. Diverse stories like No Great Magic (A story of the Change War) to the fan favorite, A Pail of Air. Tales from the darkly disturbing-A Bit of the Dark World. To the hilarious and bizarrely erotic-The Night He Cried. Also included is the novel, The Night of the Long Knives. Over 100,000 words that promise to entertain as well as a gateway into the unique, genius mind of a Science Fiction Grand Master.

Author Biography

Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. (December 24, 1910 - September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also an expert chess player and a champion fencer. Leiber (first syllable rhymes with "shy") was born Dec 24, 1910 in Chicago, Illinois to Fritz Leiber, Sr and Virginia Leiber, thespians (theater and actors feature heavily in his narrative) and, for a time, seemed inclined to follow in his parents' footsteps. He spent 1928 touring with his parents' Shakespeare company before studying philosophy at the University of Chicago, whence he graduated with honours (1928-32). In 1932 he studied at general Theological seminary and worked for a time as a lay preacher. In 1934 he toured with his parents' acting company, Fritz Leiber & Co. He married Jonquil Stephens on January 16, 1936, and their son Justin Leiber was born in 1938. Jonquil's death in 1969 precipitated a three-year drunk, but he returned to his original form with a fantasy novel set in modern-day San Francisco, Our Lady of Darkness. In the last years of his life, Leiber married his second wife, Margo Skinner, a journalist and poet with whom he had been friends for many years. Many people believed that Leiber was living in poverty on skid row. He seems to have suffered periods of penury; Harlan Ellison has written of his anger at finding that the much-awarded Leiber had to write his novels on a manual typewriter that was propped up over the sink in his apartment. But other reports suggest that Leiber preferred to live simply in the city, spending his money on dining, movies and travel. In the last years of his life, royalty checks from TSR, the makers of Dungeons and Dragons, who had licensed the mythos of the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser series, were enough in themselves to ensure that he lived comfortably.