Here is a collection of extraordinary tales of cat-dom told only as Fritz could tell them. Many autobiographical in nature, all reflecting the powerful imagination for which he is famous, these ten stories span five decades of award-winning writing.Included are exceptional cat poems and an Afterword by Margo Skinner Leiber plus two cat poems by Karen and Poul Anderson.The 1,000 copy slipcased edition, signed by Margo Skinner Leiber and artist Rodger Gerberding, has a special 36 page tribute to Fritz by Justin Leiber, Poul Anderson, Karen Anderson, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Ramsey Campbell, Catherine Crook de Camp, L. Sprague de Camp, Harlan Ellison, Dennis Etchison, Stephen King, Judith Merril, Andre Norton, and Frank M. Robinson. T-1 • Fritz Leiber Tribute: Preface • essay by Ann R. Howland T-3 • Fritz Leiber, Felines & Son • essay by Justin Leiber T-6 • Fritz Leiber • essay by Poul Anderson T-9 • Ballade of a Loss: Fritz Leiber 1910–1992 • poem by Karen Anderson T-11 • Fritz Leiber • essay by Robert Bloch T-13 • Fritz Leiber • essay by Ray Bradbury T-15 • Fritz Leiber • essay by Ramsey Campbell T-17 • Remembering Fritz Leiber • essay by Catherine Crook de Camp T-19 • The Leiber– de Camp Duel • essay by L. Sprague de Camp T-21 • ... And Last Words • essay by Harlan Ellison T-22 • A Few Too Few Words • essay by Harlan Ellison T-25 • Fritz Leiber • essay by Dennis Etchison T-27 • Fritz Leiber • essay by Stephen King T-30 • Emancipation Proclamation • essay by Judith Merril T-32 • Fritz Leiber • essay by Andre Norton T-33 • Fritz Leiber • essay by Frank M. Robinson ix • Introduction (Gummitch and Friends) • (1992) • essay by Fritz Leiber 19 • Space-Time for Springers • [Gummitch the Cat] • (1958) • short story by Fritz Leiber 39 • Kreativity for Kats • [Gummitch the Cat] • (1961) • short story by Fritz Leiber 53 • Cat's Cradle • (1974) • short story by Fritz Leiber 75 • The Cat Hotel • [Gummitch the Cat] • (1983) • short story by Fritz Leiber 97 • Thrice the Brinded Cat • (1992) • short story by Fritz Leiber 107 • The Lotus Eaters • (1972) • short story by Fritz Leiber 115 • Cat Three • (1973) • short story by Fritz Leiber 127 • The Bump • (1972) • short story by Fritz Leiber 133 • The Great San Francisco Glacier • (1981) • short story by Fritz Leiber 143 • Ship of Shadows • (1969) • novella by Fritz Leiber 207 • Earthbound • (1990) • poem by Margo Skinner 209 • God and the Cat • (1981) • poem by Margo Skinner 211 • A Sinister of Siamese • (1990) • poem by Margo Skinner 213 • Lullaby for a Cat Named Fatima • (1990) • poem by Margo Skinner 215 • Origin of the Species • (1958) • poem by Karen Anderson 217 • Sestina of the Cat in the Doorway • (1959) • poem by Poul Anderson 219 • Afterword (Gummitch and Friends) • (1992) • essay by Margo Skinner
Author
Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. was one of the more interesting of the young writers who came into HP Lovecraft's orbit, and some of his best early short fiction is horror rather than sf or fantasy. He found his mature voice early in the first of the sword-and-sorcery adventures featuring the large sensitive barbarian Fafhrd and the small street-smart-ish Gray Mouser; he returned to this series at various points in his career, using it sometimes for farce and sometimes for gloomy mood pieces—The Swords of Lankhmar is perhaps the best single volume of their adventures. Leiber's science fiction includes the planet-smashing The Wanderer in which a large cast mostly survive flood, fire, and the sexual attentions of feline aliens, and the satirical A Spectre is Haunting Texas in which a gangling, exo-skeleton-clad actor from the Moon leads a revolution and finds his true love. Leiber's late short fiction, and the fine horror novel Our Lady of Darkness, combine autobiographical issues like his struggle with depression and alcoholism with meditations on the emotional content of the fantastic genres. Leiber's capacity for endless self-reinvention and productive self-examination kept him, until his death, one of the most modern of his sf generation. Used These Alternate Names: Maurice Breçon, Fric Lajber, Fritz Leiber, Jr., Fritz R. Leiber, Fritz Leiber Jun., Фриц Лейбер, F. Lieber, フリッツ・ライバー
