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dangerousaudino's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Torture, and War
kerrygold's review against another edition
5.0
Zothique, a collection of tales by Clark Ashton Smith, was published in 1970 as number 16 of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series. Lin Carter was editor both of the Zothique volume and the series as a whole. Here, and in three other collections in the series, Carter does great work by uniting all stories from a particular Clark Ashton Smith milieu in one volume. For several stories, Carter publishes their original source text for the first time.
In his introduction, Carter identifies Clark Ashton Smith as one of three great fantasy writers to emerge from Weird Tales, the other two being H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. In my view, Smith was the best of the three.
The continent of Zothique belongs to an Earth of the far future, where the sun has grown red and sorcery and necromancy have replaced the sciences. Zothique was surely the inspiration for Jack Vance's The Dying Earth and Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun.
Carter includes a map of Zothique and the islands that surround it and explains his choice to order the stories in this particular way. He writes,
Carter saved the best for last, "The Voyage of King Euvoran," which is darkly humorous with a surprising ending. Nevertheless, the whole collection is brilliant. Clark Ashton Smith's controlled, farout imagination and ornate writing style reminds me of the early Dunsany fantasy short stories.
The wraparound cover art by George Barr complements the atmosphere of the stories very well.
In his introduction, Carter identifies Clark Ashton Smith as one of three great fantasy writers to emerge from Weird Tales, the other two being H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. In my view, Smith was the best of the three.
The continent of Zothique belongs to an Earth of the far future, where the sun has grown red and sorcery and necromancy have replaced the sciences. Zothique was surely the inspiration for Jack Vance's The Dying Earth and Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun.
Carter includes a map of Zothique and the islands that surround it and explains his choice to order the stories in this particular way. He writes,
... if you read the stories carefully, as I have done, you can follow the tide of civilization sweeping from Xylac, to Tasuun, to Yoros, and thence to Ustaim and the isles. Each land becomes in turn a desert, its peoples extinct, in the sequence as I have established it. (p. 272)
Carter saved the best for last, "The Voyage of King Euvoran," which is darkly humorous with a surprising ending. Nevertheless, the whole collection is brilliant. Clark Ashton Smith's controlled, farout imagination and ornate writing style reminds me of the early Dunsany fantasy short stories.
The wraparound cover art by George Barr complements the atmosphere of the stories very well.
tsuchinoko's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Beautiful poetic writing and a dark, dying world to match. Everything I could ask for in a short story collection—well, minus the complex character relationships that can only be developed in a longer story. It's a fantastic entry point to the Dying Earth genre provided you're comfortable reading the ancient writing. But, I like that sort of language.
johnayliff's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jorgefernandez's review against another edition
4.0
Nigromantes, muerte, desolación, decadencia, momias, esqueletos,... Seguramente no hubiese sido la lectura más adecuada, pero mi yo de 14 años hubiese sido inmensamente feliz de haberse encontrado con este libro.
ostrava's review against another edition
5.0
I've read a couple of CAS tales and found him incredibly underrated. The ones set in Zotique tended to be the best, though my favorite of his is the Monster of the Prophecy (not included in this edition). In fact, I did not read this edition, but read stuff here and there over the Internet because it's next to impossible to find stories of this guy.
Anyway, give it a go. You're here mostly for atmosphere and vibe, don't read if lack of deep characterization bothers you.
Anyway, give it a go. You're here mostly for atmosphere and vibe, don't read if lack of deep characterization bothers you.
jobot0's review against another edition
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0