Clark Ashton Smith

It is often forgotten that Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961) was a lifelong resident of California, residing in the small town of Auburn, nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The otherworldly nature of much of his work-set in the imaginary realms of Zothique, Averoigne, Hyperborea, Xiccarph, and elsewhere-makes it seems as if Smith himself is a denizen of some extraterrestrial realm.But this volume emphatically demonstrates how vital his birthplace in the Golden State was central to his life and imagination. One of his most famous stories, "The City of the Singing Flame," opens in the area of Crater Ridge, which Smith visited frequently. Other tales, such as "The Devotee of Evil," "The Return of the Sorcerer," and "Genius Loci," also utilize various settings in central California.Smith also infused his poems and prose poems with his love of California, as such works as "The Old Waterwheel," "The Black Lake," and "Soliloquy in an Ebon Tower" attest.This volume features tales that begin in California but take the reader on cosmic voyages throughout the universe. It has been edited by the well-known critic and editor Ronald S. Hilger and features a sensitive introduction by contemporary weird writer Marc Laidlaw.

The Star-Treader, and other poems, a classical book, has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we at Alpha Editions have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies of their original work and hence the text is clear and readable.

Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961) is best known for creating exotic worlds of fantasy, such as the lost continent Zothique, set in the far future, the arctic realm of Hyperborea, and the medieval domain of Averoigne. It is less widely known that Smith was a pioneer in science fiction, as his tales appeared extensively in such pulp magazines as Wonmder Stories and Amazing Stories and had a marked influence on the science fiction of his day. Mars was a favored locale for several significant tales, including the cosmic horror masterpiece "The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis." "Seedling of Mars" is one of several tales in this volume that broaches the distinctive subgenre of "green horror"-horror that results from deadly animated plants. This motif first found expression in Smith's early prose poem "The Flower-Devil," and he utilized it in such tales as "Vulthoom," "The Demon of the Flower," and others. The remote planet Xiccarph is the setting for two tales, "The Maze of the Enchanter" and "The Flower-Women." One of Smith's most expansive tales, "The Monster of the Prophecy," is set on Antares, while the late story "Phoenix" is grimly apocalyptic in its setting in the far future, with most of the Earth's inhabitants killed off. Clark Ashton Smith's mastery of a prose-poetic idiom lends a distinctive flavor to his interplanetary tales. Far from being naively optimistic adventures into the depths of space, they exhibit a rueful doubt as to the place of human beings in an immense and hostile universe. This volume, edited by leading Clark Ashton Smith scholar Ronald S. Hilger, contains an illuminating preface by Nathan Ballingrud.

Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961)was an American author of fantasy, horror, and science fiction, known forhis vivid imagination and lyrical prose. His work had a profound influence on the fantasy and horror genres."Smith filled my mind with incredible worlds, impossibly beautiful cities, and still more fantastic creatures"- Ray Bradbury"In sheer daemonic strangeness andfertility of conception, Clark Ashton Smith is perhaps unexcelled"- HP Lovecraft"Nobody since Poe has so loved a well-rotted corpse"- L. Sprague de CampThis is a republishing of the original 1922 volume of poetry, reformatted to fit your pocket.

Zothique, a mythical land of the far future, is Clark Ashton Smith's most carefully worked out fantasy realm, and many of his most celebrated stories are set in this evocative world of languid decadence, strangeness, and sexuality. Beginning with "The Empire of the Necromancers" (1932) and extending all the way to the short play The Dead Will Cuckold You (1956), Smith fashioned Zothique in tale after tale, each adding new elements to the locale. As we read the Zothique tales, we see how the imminent extinguishing of the sun has caused civilization to collapse. Paradoxically, society has reverted to a kind of primitivism with the return of royalty, superstition, and sorcery. This scenario allowed Smith to engage in tongue-in-cheek archaism of both langauge and setting. Some of the most poignant stories he ever wrote-stories that fused fantasy and the supernatural with a sense of aching loss and tragedy-are set in Zothique, including "The Dark Eidolon" and "Xeethra." Other tales, such as "The Weaver of the Vault" and "Necromancy in Naat," focus morbidly on death. Eroticism is the focus of "The Witchcraft of Ulua" and "Morthylla," while "The Voyage of King Euvoran" is grimly humorous. And "The Last Hieroglyph" is a fitting capstone to the series in its depiction of the ultimate destruction of the realm. Of all his story cycles, Zothique allowed Clark Ashton Smith the widest scope for his imagination. This volume presents his expression of that imagination in prose fiction, drama, and poetry. All the texts have been scrupulously edited by leading Smith scholar Ron Hilger, and features a new introduction by Donald Sidney-Fryer.

Ebony And Crystal: Poems In Verse And Prose, has been considered by academicians and scholars of great significance and value to literature. This forms a part of the knowledge base for future generations. So that the book is never forgotten we have represented this book in a print format as the same form as it was originally first published. Hence any marks or annotations seen are left intentionally to preserve its true nature.

Zothique, Maapallon viimeinen manner, kulkee kohti loppuaan. Ikivanhat kaupungit peittyvät hiekkaan ja vaipuvat unohdukseen. Taivaalla verenkarvas aurinko hehkuu väsynyttä valoaan kuolevan maailman ylle.Taantunut ihmiskunta elää toista nuoruuttaan. Viimeiset eloonjääneet juhlivat kadonneiden kulttuurien haudoilla ja hakevat nautintonsa irstailuista ja pahuudesta - menneisyyttä tuntematta ja tulevaisuudesta murehtimatta. Uskonnot, tiede ja teknologia ovat rappeutuneet, synkkä taikuus ja okkultismi rehottavat, ja muinaiset demonit ja epäjumalat ovat palanneet leikittelemään kuolevaisten kustannuksella.Kalifornialainen Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961) saavutti jo nuorena mainetta dekadenteilla runoillaan, mutta nykyään hänet muistetaan parhaiten tuotteliaana ja omaperäisenä pulp-kirjailijana. Zothique on hänen arvostetuin tarinasikermänsä ja tärkeä esikuva myöhemmälle tieteisfantasialle ja miekka & magia -kirjallisuudelle. Tuoreeltaan Weird Tales -lehdessä julkaistu sarja ilmestyy nyt ensimmäistä kertaa suomeksi kokonaisuudessaan.