Tag Archives: Clark Ashton Smith

Clark Ashton Smith and the Ballantines

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Today, as I’m writing this, it’s January 13. Or to put it another way, it’s the birthday of Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961). I’ve been on the road since  I got off work  this morning, and only got home about forty-five minutes ago, which is why I’m posting this so late. Most of you probably won’t see it until tomorrow.

I say all that to say that I’ve not had a chance to read anything by Smith today, so I’m going to do something different. I’m going to take a brief look at the four CAS collections Lin Carter put together for the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series. That’s the Ballantine I reference in the title of the post. I’m not going to put “Adult Fantasy” in the title.

As an aside, do you have any idea what comes up if youtype “Ballantine Adult Fantasy” into a search engine? Hint: Don’t try this at work.

Continue reading →

Catching Up I: Catching up on the Classics

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So lately I’ve been catching up on some of my TBR pile, or in many cases by TBRR (to be reread) pile. There’s not a huge amount of new fantasy and science fiction being published these days that appeals to me. There’s some, just not a lot. I went to B&N last night and left without buying anything.

I’ve been spending a good deal of this year trying to get caught up on books that fall into two broad (and occasionally overlapping) categories, classics of the field and series I’ve either started but not finished/series I’ve bought but not started at all. Many of the latter haven’t been finished because I started them when they were only one book and never worked later books in. Then there are the stand-alones I got distracted while reading and haven’t finished yet. So I guess there are three categories.

The focus of this post is what would be considered classics in both the science fiction and fantasy fields. Much of my catch-up reading has been science fiction the last half year or so.  Not all of it has been titles I’d not read. Some of it has been rereading things I read so long ago but have little to no memory of now. I’ll list a few things I’ve been reading and then solicit suggestions. Continue reading →

Klar-Kash-Ton

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Today, January 13, is the birthday of one of the greatest writers of fantasy of the Twentieth Century or any other. Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961) was one of the big three in what many consider to be the best years of Weird Tales. The other two are Robert E Howard and H. P. Lovecraft.

I last looked at some of Smith’s work last summer when I reviewed Zothique from the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series. I had started Hyperborea, which was the next volume Lin Carter published in that line, but summer school started. Trying to figure out how to teach online in a summer session was time consuming, and I never got back to it.  I’m going to try to get back to in sometime in the next few months.

Smith doesn’t seem to be as well-known these days as REH and HPL. Part of that, I think, is because his writing isn’t light and breezy. Neither are Howard’s nor Lovecraft’s, but Smith used a vocabulary that was extensive. As a result reading him can be something of a challenge. You see, kids, back in the day, we had these things called dictionaries, and anytime we didn’t know what a word, meant, well, we just looked ’em up. Now git off my lawn.

I’m not sure what story of Smith’s I’m going to read tonight. Maybe I’ll reread “The City of the Singing Flame”. It was the first story by CAS I ever read. I was in the seventh grade, and the junior high library had a nice collection of Robert Silverberg anthologies. It was in one of those.

Regardless, I’ll raise my glass to Clark Ashton Smith and enjoy some of his fiction this evening.

Who Are the Giants?

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So yesterday’s post on Edgar Rice Burroughs and Harold Lamb and the recent post on the canon, coupled with today is the anniversary of the passing of J. R. R. Tolkien and the seventh anniversary of the death of Frederik Pohl, got me to thinking. I referred to Burroughs and Lamb as giants. In the canon post I quoted Newton talking about his achievements being due to his standing on the shoulders of giants.

So who exactly are the giants in the field? Continue reading →

Lin Carter’s Legacy: The Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series

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Lin Carter was born on June 9, 1930.  He passed away in 1988. I’m not going to review any of his fiction for this birthday post.  It’s been one of those days. I’m going to try to read something by Keith Laumer for Futures Past and Present.

Lin Carter

Today I want to discuss what was arguably his greatest contribution to the field of fantasy. No, I’m not talking about his involvement with L. Sprague de Camp and the Conan revival of the 1960s. I mean, of course, the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series.

BENE NOTE: If you want to do a web search, type “Ballantine Fantasy” in your search engine.  Don’t say “Ballantine Adult Fantasy” unless you want to set off all kinds of bells and whistles. Especially at work. Continue reading →

The Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series: Zothique by Clark Ashton Smith

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A few years back, I was writing a series of posts for Black Gate in which I was reviewing each volume of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series (mostly) in order. The reasons why I stopped are several, and I’m not going to get into them here. Nor do I plan to restart that series here, at least not without getting John O’Neill’s blessing. He’d asked for the series, IIRC, and as a courtesy, I would want to make sure he was okay with me moving the series to my blog. I’ve got too many irons in the fire right now, though, to pick up another project.

For those not in the know, or stumbled upon this post because of the word “Adult” in the title, Ballantine published a series of books under the editorial direction of Lin Carter of fantasy aimed at grown-ups. If you’re in the latter group, this isn’t going to be that type of “adult” post. And the type of fantasy you’re probably looking for isn’t what we deal with here.

Zothique was the first of four collections of Clark Ashton Smith’s short fiction that appeared in the BAF series. The wrap-around cover is by George Barr. (One of the best things about this line of books was their covers.)

Zothique is the last continent on a far future Earth in which much science and history has been forgotten, and magic has returned.  If this reminds you of Jack Vance’s Dying Earth, keep in mind Smith did it first. Some of the stories are better than others, but all are well-done.  Here are a few of my favorites. Continue reading →

Of Kisses and Seeds and Klarkash-Ton

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Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961) was born on this date, January 13.  Along with Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft, Smith was considered one of the Big Three of Weird Tales. Smith lived the longest of these three gentlemen, but his writing career wasn’t much longer. He wrote during the 1920s and 30s but stopped writing around 1937. Smith was a poet as well as a short story writer, and it shows in his lush, baroque prose.  In fact, one of the more common criticisms of Smith is that reading him requires too much work and too large of a vocabulary. His stories were often set in imaginary worlds such as Hyperborea, Poseidonis, and Zothique.  They are well worth seeking out.  Fortunately they are available in inexpensive electronic editions.

In observance of his birth, let’s look at two of his stories set in more modern times. Mild spoiler warning. Continue reading →

A Quick Look at E. Hoffmann Price

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Pulp writer E. Hoffmann Price was born on this date, July 3, in 1898.  He passed away in 1988 at the age of 89 a few weeks prior to his birthday.  Price graduated from West Point, served in the American Expeditionary Force in World War I, as well as in the Philippines and Mexico.  A student of the orient, he drew on these interests for much of his fiction.

Price wrote for a variety of pulps, especially adventure, detective, and western, but he is best remembered these days for his weird fiction.  A correspondent of H. P. Lovecraft, they collaborated on “Through the Gates of the Silver Key”.  I believe he is the only pulp writer to have met Robert E. Howard in person, on two different occasions, IIRC.  He is also the only known person to have Howard, Lovecraft, and Clark Ashton Smith.  Price met many of the pulp writers, including Edmond Hamilton, Jack Williamson, and L. Sprague de Camp.

Price experienced a resurgence in his career in the late 70’s and early 80’s, publishing several fantasy and science fiction novels.

We just got back from vacation last night, so I’m playing catch-up today.  If I get a chance, I’ll read one of his short stories this evening.

What to Read for Clark Ashton Smith’s Birthday?

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So I was hoping this year would start out on a better foot.  Didn’t happen.  I’ll post about the events of the last two weeks later.  That will probably go live tomorrow.

Today, I just want to acknowledge one of the all time greats of weird fantasy, Clark Ashton Smith.  Smith was born in 1893 in Long Valley, California.  He would go on to become one of the so-called Big Three of Weird Tales, the other two being H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard.

I’ve read a number of Smith’s stories over the years, but I’m not nearly as familiar with his work as I am that of Howard and Lovecraft.  So I’m going to seek counsel from those who are wiser than I.

What story by Smith do you suggest I read?  Please answer in the comments below.

Of Editorial Greatness

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Earlier today I was reading a post on a site I don’t normally read these days (I was lured by the temptation of a free ebook).  The post made the argument that John Campbell was the greatest editor the science fiction and fantasy fields have seen.

That got me to thinking, which usually gets me in trouble.  I began wondering who would be the greatest editor, greater being defined as having the most impact over time.  The original post didn’t include fantasy other than a passing reference to Unknown.  So I thought I’d throw the question open to anyone who wanted to voice an opinion.  Below is a list I compiled off the top of my head.  I didn’t include any living editors.  If I had, Ellen Datlow would be on it.  My rationale is that the impact of living editors on the can’t be accurately assessed because they are still having an influence and their greatest influences may still be to come.

 

So in alphabetical order are ten editors.  I’ll provide a brief explanation as to why they have been included.  Some will be quickly eliminated.  Others, not so much. Continue reading →