This essay collection fills a critical gap by examining Fritz Leiber and his work from an academic perspective. Examined here are the role of civilization in Leiber's work; the evolution of Our Lady of Darkness; the concept of time; death, rebirth and existentialism; feline characters; sexual desire; his gothic and weird tales; eccentricity in Leiber's poems; the theme of power in the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser adventures; connecting threads,...