Introduction
Fantastic Fiction
Non-Fantastic Fiction
Prose-Poems and Plays
Miscellaneous and Non-Fiction Prose
Index
STEVE BEHRENDS is a Research Associate in High Energy Physics at Purdue University. He edited Clark Ashton Smith: Letters to H. P. Lovecraft and has published essays on the work of Smith and Donald Wandrei.
?Perhaps the hardest review to write is the one, where the reader
is confronted with a near-perfect book. I suppose if I wanted to
quibble with type-styles and binding I might be able to find
something to criticise in Strange Shadows, but otherwise I find
nothing wrong with this book; it's everything I would expect Clark
Ashton Smith's last prose collection to be, and more. I say last
because this volume collects the remainder of Smith's fiction,
story synopses, unfinished tales, essays, and plays known to exist.
And for this task, the editors--in particular Steve
Behrends--deserve our thanks. Behrends has done more for the
revival of Smith's reputation than any one individual, and all in a
very short period of time. . . . Strange Shadow is one of the first
true scholarly editions of an author's work of weird fiction,
something which hasn't even been done with Lovecraft's work yet.
Considering this, Strange Shadows becomes more and more important
on each level we look at it. Of course, though, for those who
aren't interested in variants, these additions can be passed over
easily, making the volume enjoyable at all levels. . . . Extensive
notes are offered, as well as three interesting appendices: "The
Lost Worlds of Clark Ashton Smith" by Steve Behrends looks at the
non-extent works by Smith that we know were completed; "Nemesis of
the Unfinished" is the outline by Don Carter which was the basis of
the story co-authored by the two; and "The Black Book: Addenda"
includes material not used in the Arkham House edition of Smith's
The Black Book (1979). If the sheer bulk of material featured in
Strange Shadows doesn't intrigue you, then the diversity and
quality should. For most readers, Iam sure the high point will be
the lengthy story fragment The Infernal Star, ' which some will
readily classify as a Lovecraft Mythos' tale and is replete with
mentions of The Necronomicon. Whether you are a Smith fan or a
scholar of weird fiction, this volume has something for everyone.
And while the high price of the volume is the only aspect of it I
can quarrel with, the $39.95 will be well spent; how many of us
have spent more than that on some out-of-print volume that we
really didn't need?. . . Strange Shadows is a necessity, and worth
the price many times over. Strange Shadows is a recessity, and
worth the price many times over.?-Studies in Weird Fiction
"Perhaps the hardest review to write is the one, where the reader
is confronted with a near-perfect book. I suppose if I wanted to
quibble with type-styles and binding I might be able to find
something to criticise in Strange Shadows, but otherwise I find
nothing wrong with this book; it's everything I would expect Clark
Ashton Smith's last prose collection to be, and more. I say last
because this volume collects the remainder of Smith's fiction,
story synopses, unfinished tales, essays, and plays known to exist.
And for this task, the editors--in particular Steve
Behrends--deserve our thanks. Behrends has done more for the
revival of Smith's reputation than any one individual, and all in a
very short period of time. . . . Strange Shadow is one of the first
true scholarly editions of an author's work of weird fiction,
something which hasn't even been done with Lovecraft's work yet.
Considering this, Strange Shadows becomes more and more important
on each level we look at it. Of course, though, for those who
aren't interested in variants, these additions can be passed over
easily, making the volume enjoyable at all levels. . . . Extensive
notes are offered, as well as three interesting appendices: "The
Lost Worlds of Clark Ashton Smith" by Steve Behrends looks at the
non-extent works by Smith that we know were completed; "Nemesis of
the Unfinished" is the outline by Don Carter which was the basis of
the story co-authored by the two; and "The Black Book: Addenda"
includes material not used in the Arkham House edition of Smith's
The Black Book (1979). If the sheer bulk of material featured in
Strange Shadows doesn't intrigue you, then the diversity and
quality should. For most readers, Iam sure the high point will be
the lengthy story fragment The Infernal Star, ' which some will
readily classify as a Lovecraft Mythos' tale and is replete with
mentions of The Necronomicon. Whether you are a Smith fan or a
scholar of weird fiction, this volume has something for everyone.
And while the high price of the volume is the only aspect of it I
can quarrel with, the $39.95 will be well spent; how many of us
have spent more than that on some out-of-print volume that we
really didn't need?. . . Strange Shadows is a necessity, and worth
the price many times over. Strange Shadows is a recessity, and
worth the price many times over."-Studies in Weird Fiction
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