Smith, Clark Ashton

The Collected Fantasies Of Clark Ashton Smith Volume 1: The End Of The Story (Collected Fantasies)

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Smith at last
First Volume of the Ultimate Smith Collection
Literary Justice at last
The Beginning of the Collection

The Collected Fantasies Of Clark Ashton Smith Volume 1: The End Of The Story (Collected Fantasies)
Clark Ashton Smith
Manufacturer: Night Shade Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Collected Fantasies Of Clark Ashton Smith Volume 2: The Door To Saturn (Collected Fantasies)
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The Return Of The Sorcerer: The Best Of Clark Ashton Smith
Out of Space and Time (Bison Frontiers of Imagination)
The Jack Vance Treasury

ASIN: 1597800287

Book Description

Published in chronological order, with extensive story and bibliographic notes, this series not only provides access to stories that have been out of print for years, but gives them a historical and social context. Series editors Scott Conners and Ronald S. Hilger excavated the still-existing manuscripts, letters and various published versions of the stories, creating a definitive "preferred text" for Smith's entire body of work. This first volume of the series, brings together 25 of his fantasy stories, written between 1925 and 1930, including such classics as "The Abominations of Yondo," "The Monster of the Prophecy," "The Last Incantation" and the title story.

Customer Reviews:

Smith at last.......2007-04-19

What happened to Lovecraft with S.T. Joshi and David E. Schultz, or to Robert E. Howard with Patrice Louinet, has just happened to Clark Ashton Smith. Two long devoted scholars, Scott Connors and Ron Hilger, have spent years editing this definitive edition of the collected tales and short stories (some of them being in fact extended prose poems of an incredibly bewitching quality as the CAS scholar Donald Sidney-Fryer has often pointed out) of Clark Ashton Smith. This is what any serious CAS fan has been waiting for.

First Volume of the Ultimate Smith Collection.......2007-04-08

One cannot imagine a better representation of the fantastic fiction of the late Clark Ashton Smith than that to be found in this and the forthcoming volumes in this collection. Connors and Hilger have tirelessly restored Smith's stories to their original form after comparing the texts of holographic manuscripts, published versions, and even bits and pieces from Smith's personal correspondence. The stories are being published herein in chronological order with notes for each tale and more (including an alternate ending for one tale that was deemed too "racy" at the time it was written).

The sturdy and handsome library binding, excellent typesetting, and beautiful dustcover top off this first of what cannot help but be the definitive Smith collection.

Fans of Smith's fantasmagorical tales, this collection tops all others.

Literary Justice at last.......2007-04-01

Superbly printed and bound the words of CAS here receive literary justice. This first volume of a planned set of five looks to be the definitive edition. Highly recommended.

The Beginning of the Collection.......2007-03-15

Clark Ashton Smith is a writer most similar to Poe, Lovecraft, and Dunsany -- and yet, like each of them, he is also unique. Not afraid to be gloomy, his work is poetic, visual, both dreamlike and nightmarish. His stories are short, as many were in the pulp era -- but I find the fast pacing a welcome contrast to long-winded styles of other eras. He gets right to the point, with the artistic economy found only in poets.

The Collected Fantasies Of Clark Ashton Smith Volume 2: The Door To Saturn (Collected Fantasies)

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The Collected Fantasies Of Clark Ashton Smith Volume 2: The Door To Saturn (Collected Fantasies)
Clark Ashton Smith
Manufacturer: Night Shade Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Collected Fantasies Of Clark Ashton Smith Volume 1: The End Of The Story (Collected Fantasies)
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The Return Of The Sorcerer: The Best Of Clark Ashton Smith
Out of Space and Time (Bison Frontiers of Imagination)

ASIN: 1597800295

Book Description

Published in chronological order, with extensive story and bibliographic notes, this series not only provides access to stories that have been out of print for years, but gives them a historical and social context. Series editors Scott Conners and Ronald S. Hilger excavated the still-existing manuscripts, letters and various published versions of the stories, creating a definitive "preferred text" for Smith's entire body of work. This second volume of the series brings together 20 of his fantasy stories.

The Collected Fantasies Of Clark Ashton Smith Volume 3: A Vintage From Atlantis

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The Collected Fantasies Of Clark Ashton Smith Volume 3: A Vintage From Atlantis
Clark Ashton Smith
Manufacturer: Night Shade Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The White Sybil and Other Stories

ASIN: 1597800309

Book Description

Published in chronological order, with extensive story and bibliographic notes, this series not only provides access to stories that have been out of print for years, but gives them a historical and social context. Series editors Scott Conners and Ronald S. Hilger excavated the still-existing manuscripts, letters and various published versions of the stories, creating a definitive "preferred text" for Smith's entire body of work. This third volume of the series brings together 21 of his fantasy stories.

Horror Classics: Graphic Classics, Volume Ten (Graphic Classics (Eureka))

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Great stories and wonderful illustration work
Mummies, Murder and Monkey's Paws
Each story is skillfully rendered into comic book format

Horror Classics: Graphic Classics, Volume Ten (Graphic Classics (Eureka))
Edgar Allan Poe , H. P. Lovecraft , Clark Ashton Smith , Saki , Jack London , W.W. Jacobs , John Pierard , Michael Manning , Gabrielle Bell , Richard Jenkins , Ryan Inzana , and Mark A. Nelson
Manufacturer: Eureka Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0974664812

Book Description

Horror Classics is an anthology of great fiction adapted in comics form for readers of all ages. This tenth volume of the Graphic Classics series presents stories by eleven of the original creators of the horror genre, including H.P. Lovecraft's "The Thing on the Doorstep," Edgar Allan Poe's "Some Words with a Mummy," and W.W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw." Plus Saki, Balzac, Jack London, Olive Schreiner, Bret Harte, Howard Garis, Fitz-James O'Brien and Clark Ashton Smith. With art by Michael Manning, Richard Jenkins, Gabrielle Bell, Ryan Inzana and nine more great illustrators.

Customer Reviews:

Great stories and wonderful illustration work.......2005-10-23

This fun little graphic novel is a collection of some twelve short stories and poems that were all written by the greats of modern horror literature - H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Saki (pen name of Hector Hugh Munro), Jack London, and others. Just as heterogeneous as the authors are the illustrators. Each of the stories was illustrated by a different artist, who drew the story as he or she saw fit, each different from the others and each excellent.

Overall, I thought that this was an excellent book, with great stories and wonderful illustration work. I think that my favorites were Lovecraft's The Thing on the Doorstep, W.W. Jacobs' Monkey's Paw, and Clark Ashton Smith's The Beast of Averoigne, with Bret Harte's Selina Sedilia being too funny to miss. Yep, this is a great book, one that my fourteen-year-old daughter and I both enjoyed and both highly recommend!

Mummies, Murder and Monkey's Paws.......2005-04-01

Horror has done well for the modern incarnation of the Graphic Classics, whose series has seen such luminaries as Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe and HP Lovecraft brought to life by some extremely talented cartoonists. Whether it is the short-story nature, or the ready-made visually splendid imagery, there is something in the classic horror tales thats makes them well suited to the Graphic Classics treatment. Here, in the 10th volume, they have wisely continued this tradition, and assembled an anthology of classic horror stories to chill and delight.

"Horror Classics" brings together 12 authors, some of which, like HP Lovecraft , Jack London and Ambrose Bierce, have been previously honored with their own Graphic Classics collections. Others, like Clark Ashton Smith and Honre de Balzac, appear for the first time. All of the stories are well-chosen, and the artists's styles are well-matched.

This collection contains:

"The Mummy" - Ambrose Bierce - A short and witty poem, with a sharp illustration to match it.

"The Thing at the Doorstep" - HP Lovecraft - A brilliant take on one of my favorite Lovecraft stories. The artist manages to capture the "Innsmouth look" perfectly, and uses the author's original text combined with illustrations to great effect. "glub..glub...glub-glub..." You know what I mean.

"Some Words with a Mummy" - Edgar Allan Poe - A clever and light adaptation of a resurrected mummy bantering with a few scientists over which has the superior society.

"In a Far Off World" - Oliver Schreiner - An excellent, melancholy tale. One I have never read before, but am glad to be introduced to.

"The Thing at Ghent" - Honre de Balzac - Entirely dialog free, I am at a bit of a loss as to the actual story. Unfortunately, it is not such a familiar tale as to be able to divine the story from illustrations alone. The only disappointment in the lot.

"The Monkey's Paw" - WW Jacobs - Any fan of "The Simpsons" will recognize this one, although they may have never seen the original. The artist JW Pierard maintains the full weight of the original cautionary tale. Be careful what you wish for, and don't mess with unfamiliar magiks.

"The Open Window" - Saki - Another familiar tale, one that I have heard told but never knew the origin of. A clever almost-ghost story, well adapted in a simple Victorian style.

"A Day Dream" - Fitz-James O-Brien - Cartoonish musings on murder, and the high class going slumming in the Five Points.

"Keesh Son of Keesh" - Jack London - A dark and powerful tale of barbarian culture and blood-rights amongst the Native American tribes. Ryan Inzana's heavy woodblock illustrations perfectly compliment this heavy story.

"Professor Jonkin's Cannibal Plant" - Howard R. Garis - "Feed me, Seymour!" Another comedic adaptation, featuring a foolish professor and his frightening child.

"The Beast of Averoigne" - Clark Ashton Smith - A contemporary of Lovecraft, this tale of a wild comet, a haunted abbey, and the Ring of Eibon, is adapted with appropriate style.

"Selina Sedilia" - Bret Harte - A humorous look at love ever-after between two base villains. And of course, there is only one way to achieve love "ever-after."

Each story is skillfully rendered into comic book format .......2004-11-13

Horror Classics is a graphic novel anthology that brings to vivid life those great tales of terror by Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and others. Each individual story is skillfully rendered into comic book format by a different artist, who uses black-and-white imagery to perfectly capture moments of terror. An engrossing introduction to the classics of horror for those new to the literary experience, and an exciting fresh take on great stories for those who have read them a hundred times before.

Out of Space and Time (Bison Frontiers of Imagination)

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Clark Ashton Smith

Out of Space and Time (Bison Frontiers of Imagination)
Clark Ashton Smith
Manufacturer: Bison Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lost Worlds (Bison Frontiers of Imagination)
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Kull: Exile of Atlantis

ASIN: 0803293526

Book Description

An artist, poet, and prolific contributor to Weird Tales, Clark Ashton Smith (1893–1967) is an influential figure in the history of pulp fiction. A close correspondent and collaborator with H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, Smith was widely celebrated as a master by his contemporaries. Back in print for the first time since 1971, Out of Space and Time showcases the many facets of Smith's unique prose that make him one of the greatest American writers of macabre and fantastic tales.

Here are tales of Averoigne, tales belonging to the Cthulhu, stories of sheer horror, and one or two of sardonic comedy. Jeff VanderMeer provides an introduction for this Bison Books edition.

Customer Reviews:

Clark Ashton Smith.......2007-03-21

Ijust glad someone brought this great fantasy writer back for others to enjoy.

Lost Worlds (Bison Frontiers of Imagination)

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Clark Ashton Smith
Excellent Fantasy From an Early 20th Century Master

Lost Worlds (Bison Frontiers of Imagination)
Clark Ashton Smith
Manufacturer: Bison Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Out of Space and Time (Bison Frontiers of Imagination)
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ASIN: 0803293518

Book Description

An artist, poet, and prolific contributor to Weird Tales, Clark Ashton Smith (1893–1967) is an influential figure in the history of pulp fiction. A close correspondent and collaborator with H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, Smith was widely celebrated as a master by his contemporaries. Back in print for the first time since 1971, Lost Worlds brings together twenty-three of Smith's classic stories, all of which were originally published in Weird Tales. Rather than center his works on heroes, Smith created fantastical worlds around which he built cycles of stories. Included here are tales from the realms of Averoigne, Zothique, Hyperborea, and others. Told in lush poetic prose, these haunting stories bring to life dark, dreamlike realms full of gothic monsters and mortals. Jeff VanderMeer provides an introduction for this Bison Books edition.

Customer Reviews:

Clark Ashton Smith.......2007-03-21

I'm glad someone finally brought this great fantasy writer back so others can enjoy his fantastic journeys. Thanks!

Excellent Fantasy From an Early 20th Century Master.......2007-02-14

This is an extraordinary collection of fantasy (and sometimes horror) masterpieces by a much-neglected, but very influential author. Smith published mostly in WEIRD TALES in the Twenties and Thirties but also published in the occasional science fiction pulp magazine as well. This is fantasy before Tolkein and has nothing of the Arthurian mold to it. Smith writes of weird worlds, strange sorcerers, men who set out to explore the ruins of a dead city of antiquity only to unleash some horror on the world. Lovecraft is the one author who lurks in the background, but Smith is really a writer all of his own. The other factor that is important here is Smith's use of language. It's very poetic and rich, perhaps over the top at times. But this is the attraction of this kind of literature; the very language itself is what evokes these weird worlds and strange landscapes. I can highly recommend this book, especially if you are a fan of fantasy. But be forewarned: This isn't the sword-and-sorcery of Robert Jordan or David Eddings. These stories are dark are the kind that gave WEIRD TALES its power and uniqueness. The editors at Bison should be commended for bringing these stories back out into the open.

The Emperor of Dreams (Fantasy Masterworks)

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Bow down, I am the Emperor of Dreams

The Emperor of Dreams (Fantasy Masterworks)
Clark Ashton Smith
Manufacturer: Gollancz
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Out of Space and Time (Bison Frontiers of Imagination)

ASIN: 057507373X

Book Description

From the vampire-haunted alleyways of mediaeval Averoigne to the shining spires of dying Zothique, Clark Ashton Smith weaves his literary sorcery, transporting us to forgotten realms of necromancies and nightmares, lost worlds and other dimensions. In the enchanted regions of Hyperborea, Atlantis and Xiccarph, encounter malefic magic and demonic deeds beneath the last rays of a fading sun . . . For the first time ever, this volume encompasses Clark Ashton Smith's entire career as a writer. Smith virtually stopped writing stories in 1937, for reasons that have never been satisfactorily explained, but he left behind a unique legacy of fantasy fiction which is as imaginative and decadent today as when it was first published in the pulp magazines more than half a century ago.

Customer Reviews:

Bow down, I am the Emperor of Dreams.......2005-08-16

Wow! I'm so glad that one publisher has seen fit to collect such a stunning collection of the great but shockingly under-published weird fictionist Clark Ashton Smith in this excellent and affordable paperback. This really is one of the best anthologies of CAS's work currently on the market, including most of the best shorts from his fertile period at Weird Tales. Notable exceptions include "Maze of the Enchanter", "Devotee of Evil", and "Monster of the Prophecy" which are three of my personal favorites, and it would have been nice to have had the full version of his epic poem "The Hashish Eater" (of which only a fragment is printed), but on the whole I am thrilled with what is in these pages.

If you're new to Clark Ashton Smith's work then this is surely one of the very best places to start. A famous friend and peer of HP Lovecraft, and respected poet in his own right, Smith's prose is rich with sensuous imagery of alien worlds and decadent cultures, of monstrous sorcerers and insane gods, of loathly creatures and heavenly maidens. Yet there is an undeniably blackly humorous vein running throughout his work, and our heroes (if such they can be named) are often bumbling, greedy, cruel, or overly inquisitive persons who invariably come to a sticky end of their own making. Admirers of Lord Dunsany and The Arabian Nights will find much to enjoy here. "The Werid of Avoosl Wuthoqquan" and "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros" are quirky little tales where greed and curiosity lead the heroes eventually to a place 'they do not want to be.' "The Double Shadow" and "Ubbo Sathla" tell of the dangers of delving too deeply into forbidden knowledge, and the things that may be made manifest as a result. "The Dark Eidolon", one of the best pieces here, is a fantastically epic tale of revenge that spirals into an ever more insane cycle of vengeance and malice.

There are also some very fine contemporary (1930s) horror pieces here. "The Return of the Sorcerer", "The Nameless Offspring", "The Seed from the Sepulcher" and several others are all frmly in the Lovecraft manner, and help to break up what would otherwise be a nauseously rich diet of weirdness.

Finally, there is an excellent afterword by Stephen Jones that chronicles Smith's life and work, his inspirations and those he inspired.

Full contents:

On Fantasy (essay)
Song of the Necromancer (poem)
Abominations of Yondo
Ninth Skeleton
Last Incantation
A Rendezvous in Averoign
Return of the Sorcerer
Tale of Satampra Zeiros
Door to Saturn
The Gorgon
Weird of Avoosl Wuthoqquan
Nameless Offspring
Empire of the Necromancers
Hunters from Beyond
Isle of the Torturers
Beast of Averoign
Genius-Loci
Ubbo-Sathla
Kiss of Zoraida
Seed from the Sepulcher
Weaver in the Vault
The Ghoul
The Charnel God
Death of Malygris
Tomb-Spawn
Seven Geases
Xeethra
The Dark Eidolon
Flower-Women
Treader of the Dust
Black Abbot of Puthuum
Necromancy in Naat
Death of Illalotha
Garden of Adompha
Mother of Toads
Double Shadow
Coming of the White Worm
Root of Ampoi
Morthylla
An Offering to the Moon
Theft of the Thirty-Nine Girdles
Symposium of the Gorgon
Told in the Desert
Prince Alcouz and the magician
A Good Embalmer
The Mortuary
Afterword: The Lost Worlds of Klarkash-Ton by Stephen Jones (essay)

The Tsathoggua Cycle: Terror Tales of the Toad God (Call of Cthulhu Horror Fiction) (Call of Cthulhu Fiction)

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Not Just for Game Players
Worth a look, typical for the Chaosium cycle books
Ia ! Ia ! Zhothoqquah

The Tsathoggua Cycle: Terror Tales of the Toad God (Call of Cthulhu Horror Fiction) (Call of Cthulhu Fiction)
Clark Ashton Smith
Manufacturer: Chaosium Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 156882131X

Customer Reviews:

Not Just for Game Players.......2005-10-26

This is one more (and belated) addition to a series of fantastic fiction titles merchandised by Chaosium as a background for their celebrated role-playing game about the Cthulhu mythos. The books, however, stand on their own and may be considered -- to a certain extent -- "serious" weird literature. The problem, as always, lies with the selection, and while the original Clark Ashton Smith tales about the transuranic toad-god Tsathoggua are still quite enjoyable, not all the contemporary stories that have been added to complete this offering are up to their standards. All in all, a "must have" for Smith completists and players of the game, but not just for everybody's taste.

Worth a look, typical for the Chaosium cycle books.......2005-10-22

Man oh man it's finally here. The saga of The Tsathoggua Cycle is very familiar to those of us who haunt the Lovecraft usenet groups regularly. This book was compiled in the late 1990s for a 1998 release when certain unfortunate financial realities kicked in for Chaosium. At last things turned around for the small press icon and after a lengthy delay we have the finished product. And it was actually finished back in 1997-1998; this is not an anthology of stories new in the last 5 years.

List price is $14.95 but Amazon's price is $10.17, and eligible for free shipping if you buy $25 worth of stuff. It is a standard trade paperback with 220 pages. This does not include a 6 page introduction by Robert Price but it does include an introduction to each story. Production qualities are reasonable. The cover art however, continues the dreadful, shameful tradition of the Chaosium cycle books, which have notably poor artwork. The picture looks like pitiful claymation of a dinosaur. After stunning artwork in modern mythos books like Hive, Horrors Beyond and Night Voices, Night Journeys this effort by Mark Achilles White leads me to wonder how much he got paid and that maybe I could become an artist too.

The introduction by Robert Price (the workhorse of the Chaosium cycle series) was actually very useful. It laid out the entire history of the creation of Tsathoggua by Clark Ashton Smith and also discussed various pronunciations. Best of all, there was a photo of a sculpture of Tsathoggua by CAS! This would have been a great cover! In fact more CAS artwork throughout the book would have been most welcome. I also think the individual story introductions, also by Price, were mostly good, although not as good as the book introduction. My advice, however, is to read them after each story as the do contain minor to major spoilers. I also get fatigued by Price's constant comparisons and allusions of mythos stories to Biblical authorship. Give it a rest for at least one book!

Here are the contents:

From the Parchment of Pnom (Clark Ashton Smith)
The Seven Geases (Clark Ashton Smith)
The Testament of Athammaus (Clark Ashton Smith)
The Tale of Satampra Zeiros (Clark Ashton Smith)
The Theft of the Thirty-Nine Girdles (Clark Ashton Smith)
Shadow of the Sleeping God (James Ambuehl)
The Curse of the Toad (Loay Hall and Terry Dale)
Dark Swamp (James Anderson)
The Old One (John Glasby)
The Oracle of Sadoqua (Ron Hilger)
The Horror Show (Gary Myers)
The Tale of Toad Loop (Stanley C. Sargent)
The Crawling Kingdom (Rod Heather)
The Resurrection of Kzadool-Ra (Henry J. Vester III)

My comments follow, with possible minor spoilers, so don't read any more if that bothers you.

I will say from the outset that I think CAS was a unique American prose master. I acquired his Hyperborea and Zothique from Ballantine many years ago, edited by Lin Carter. My favorite compilation is A Rendezvous in Averoigne from Arkham House. I urge everyone to get a copy of this title. I am eagerly awaiting the complete stories from Nightshade Books (yes I couldn't help preordering it). Rereading the Smith tales enclosed herein was like encountering old friends after a long separation. CAS had a gift for language, scene painting and shading horror with humor. But I must also voice a complaint. Any HPL collector likely already has A Rendezvous in Averoigne. I can understand the desire to get all the Tsathoggua stories in one volume but this was really needless duplication. On the other hand, except for Sargent's contribution the rest of the stories here were new to me. As for commentary on The Tale of Satampra Zeiros and The Theft of the Thirty-Nine Girdles, I simply must direct you to Dan Clore's brilliant discussion of timeline inconsistencies: search on Google Groups for alt.horror.cthulhu and then search that group for posts by Dan Clore. I will note that The Seven Geases made an indelible impression on me when I was a teen, first discovering CAS and HPL, with the fate of the protagonist giving me quite a shock, after all the happy ending fantasy I had been reading. I sometimes wonder if why I like CAS and HPL so much is I was swept off my feet by them in my formative teen reading years. I've been enamored ever since. Finally, I must also contradict myself. For me From the Parchment of Pnom was just about unreadable. I don't think CAS ever intended it for print. I really can't stand mythos genealogies. They don't ring true for me; at least I don't enjoy them at all.

Shadow of the Sleeping God by James Ambuehl - You may know of James Ambuehl's other story in the Satampra Zeiros canon, In the Court of the Crystal Flame found in Lost Worlds of Space and Time volume one. That story was very enjoyable. Alas I just didn't find this (written earlier?) 1998 effort to be nearly as good. This story is a direct sequel to The Theft of the Thirty-Nine Girdles. I don't like it when the story bludgeons you over the head with the fact that it is mythos, and that there is a mythos, instead of the mythos entities/trappings being props for the story. Also there is no way the avatar of Tsathoggua would not have consumed all the protagonists. In the intervening years Mr. Ambuehl's prose has become much more polished. Check out The Pisces Club, for example.

The Curse of the Toad (Loay Hall and Terry Dale) - The premise of this story was pretty good, with a disdainful great white hunter cursed by a shaman of Gua (Tsathoggua for short...). Unfortunately the execution was not so hot. Writing a sentence in upper case does not give it more weight any more then the old trope of the italicized ending. The prose here was fair at best but I'll admit to enjoying the denouement, nicely concealed by indirection.

Dark Swamp (James Anderson) - In this tale, HPL makes an appearance as himself, at least one of his experiences does; the setting is a place where HPL actually spent an afternoon looking, unsuccessfully perhaps, for Dark Swamp. Price's introduction was particularly useful spelling all this out for those of us unfamiliar with all the details of HPL's life. Years later the protagonist wants to walk in HPL's footsteps and to his chagrin manages to find the swamp. He then wonders if HPL had actually seen the denizens of the swamp and if this inspired his fiction. I really find the appearance of HPL and his fiction inside mythos stories to be a tiresome plot device, particularly when the implication is that his fiction wasn't really fiction. The prose was OK, the denouement was OK, none of it jazzed me. And I'll have to reread beacuse I missed just where Tsathoggua makes an appearance and how the story fits in this anthology...

The Old One (John Glasby) - Oh well, another typical HPL pastiche type introduction about a scientist/archeologist warning us all about the veil of reality and how he wished he never peeked behind it, yadayadayada. In this case the ancient city Yuth is discovered on the ocean floor near Bimini, and so is a temple of Tsathoggua. Some intrepid (or mostly trepid...) scientists investigate, including one who knows the awful truth... You know, this was a perfectly agreeable story with perfectly agreeable writing. I mostly enjoyed it. It just wasn't very original.

The Oracle of Sadoqua (Ron Hilger) - I really like Roman times mythos stories. Others I can think of offhand include the novel The Gardens of Lucullus (used copies available on the internet) and The Golden Keeper by Ian R. MacLeod (available in the collection Eternal Lovecraft from Golden Gryphon). The friend of a Roman lieutenant stationed in Gaul disappears. Suspicions run high against the druids who are the guardians of the Oracle of Sadoqua (I actually enjoyed the use of different names/spellings for Tsathoggua in this book; it nicely dovetails with the uncertainty, blurred distinctions, contradictions, human inability to completely perceive these Lovecraftian type entities. I liked the construction of the story, the setting and the prose. Keep up the good work, Mr. Hilger.

The Horror Show (Gary Myers) - I am unfamiliar with Gary Myers but I have to fix that. The Horror Show was a gem, clearly my favorite in the anthology (of course, not including the CAS stories). Great prose well developed tension, great plot. A chance encounter in a pretentious and contrived Goth club causes a young lady to accept the persuasions of a young man to see a real horror show...

The Tale of Toad Loop (Stanley C. Sargent) - Ancient Exhumations was originally published by Mythos Books in 1999; the new edition, Ancient Exhumations +2 (with a real cool cover!) was published by Elder Signs Press in 2004. This is where The Tale of Toad Loop made its first anthology appearance. The basic plot is very familiar mythos territory. A sorcerer or dabbler in sorcery opens a gate to allow an outré being to impregnate his wife (as usual for very obscure reasons), Toadaggwa in this case. Sargent spins a fine yarn with this common premise, with deft plotting, nifty prose and an unexpected ending.

The Crawling Kingdom (Rod Heather) - Another well written story cleverly plotted. A professor studying toads in the woods inadvertently observes a rite of worship of Tsathoggua. A nosy college reporter uncovers what the consequences were to the professor, and maybe to himself from that unhappy chance.

The Resurrection of Kzadool-Ra (Henry J. Vester III) - More CAS like than HPL like, this story was set in Zothique, where an acolyte inadvertently discovers an alter dedicated to Zathogwa. He decides to resurrect worship to the dread god... A very agreeable read.

So what is the mythos fan to do? As usual in the Chaosium cycle books this was a mixed bag. Some reprints everyone probably has, some stories that were not so hot (although no really complete dogs) some minor gems and one that knocked my socks off. It is inexpensive, compiles almost all the Tsathoggua stories in one place and will keep your cycle book collection complete. Go for it!

Ia ! Ia ! Zhothoqquah.......2005-09-14

The long and the short of it...I loved the book. Ok, that was the short...
here's the long

Here are my opinions on the tales.
From the Parchments of Pnom: Clark Ashton Smith
The first tale is more of a setup for the other Tsathoggua tales, the idea
of how he came to earth, his relatives and other bits of tale that gets
more detail in the stories. Never read this one before now, but I knew all
the data already. Still, nice to read it in CAS's own words.

The Seven Geases: Clark Ashton Smith
First tale that Saint Toad actually shows up in, a hunter is cursed to be a
snack for Tsathoggua, but instead he's sent on a series of weirder and
weirder geas meeting various critters of ancient Hyperborea. Amusing tale.

The Testament of Athammaus: Clark Ashton Smith
How the city of Commorian was rezoned for amorphous beings. Not the best
tale, but still worth the read. Proof that loosing your head over some
things is a bad idea *wink*.

The Tale of Satampra Zeiros: Clark Ashton Smith
First appears of Satampra Zeiros, thief of Hyberborea. Why stealing from
the temple of a nearly forgotten god can really disarm you. ;)

The Theft of the Thirty Nine Girdles: Clark Ashton Smith
Not really a Tsathoggua tale, but staring Satampra Zeiros and set in Hyperborea.
More like one of Fritz Leiber's Gray Mouser tales, but enjoyable.

Shadow of the Sleeping God: James Ambuehl
Third tale of Satampra Zeiros, a wrap of the other two tales, plus with a nice
heart to heart with Tsathoggua.

The Curse of the Toad: Loay Hall and Terry Dale
Basic Mythos tale of why travelling can be bad for you. Not the best of
the stories in the collection, but amusing.

The Dark Swamp: James Anderson
Follow up to a real roadtrip taken by HPL looking for a swamp in
Rhode Island,that he never talked about afterwards. So, the
author filled in the blanks. Not really about Tsathoggua or kin,
other than swamps = toads I guess.

The Old One: John S Glasby
I found this one interesting, since it's framework is about a archaelogist
looking for proof of a prehistorical civilization, like Atlantis, Lemuria or...
Hyperborea ;) Other than that, it's a fairly normal Mythos tale.

The Oracle of Sadoqua: Ron Hilger
This was my favorite tale, set in CAS's Averoigne (France) in Roman times. The
idea is cool, sorta like a demonic Oracle of Delphi. Kind of predictable in the
ending, but it's a Mythos tale...most of the endings are fairly obvious what's
going to go horribly wrong ;)

The Horror Show: Gary Myers
Creepy tale, short, sweet, to the point...and leaves you wondering what happens
to the poor Goth girl ;) For those in Dallas, it would make you wonder about
going to the Church anytime soon ;)

The Tale of Toad Loop: Stanley C. Sargent
Tsathoggua meets Dunwich Horror. While it's a common tale in the Mythos,
Elder God meets Girl, Elder God fathers unspeakable offspring on Girl, Girl
looses mind...but Mr Sargent does it rather well.

The Crawling Kingdom: Rod Heather
You'll never hear the chorus of frogs and toads calling the same way again.
Fairly long build up to the story, but it works fairly well, though the
narrator being fairly insane by the end is a little overdone.

The Resurrection of Kzadool-Ra: Henry J. Vester III
One of CAS's other worlds is Zothique, the last continent on Earth many years
in the future. The author added Tsathoggua into this world, with his one
remaining worshipper, and why when a god gives you some advice on what not
to do, why you should listen.

There wasn't a 'bad' tale in the bunch, some seemed to fit better than
others, but all in all it was one of the better collections from Chaosium in
a while. My favorites were The Oracle of Sadoqua, The Tale of Toad Loop and
Shadow of the Sleeping God. If you like weird fiction, give it a shot.

Average customer rating:

Hyperborea
Clark Ashton Smith
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: 0345022068

Product Description

Science Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy

Average customer rating:

Xiccarph
Clark Ashton Smith
Manufacturer: Ballantine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000E46GCI

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Authors

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