"The Emperor of Dreams"
Apr. 26th, 2006 09:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoutfellowLast year, at CascadiaCon, I picked up a copy of The Emperor of Dreams, an anthology of short stories by Clark Ashton Smith. I'd read of him in histories of F/SF and other such references, in which he was always identified as one of the great writers of fantasy and horror. Klarkash-Ton, he was called, in imitation of the Lovecraftian style he often used; so I looked forward to reading this volume quite a bit. The verdict: mixed, but generally positive.
This is a thick volume; there are forty-four stories in all, along with a short essay on fantasy and a poem. Forty of the stories were published during Smith's lifetime, and they are arranged chronologically; the last four were published posthumously, and are out of sequence. I mention this only to explain my shifting reactions to the book as I worked my way through.
The problem with reading a hefty single-author anthology is the danger of burnout. I once read the complete short stories of Saki cover to cover, and found that the taste of his cynicism became bitter before the end. In Smith's case, though, this did not happen. I think, mainly, this was because Smith took some time to find his own voice. The first stories are rather derivative, sometimes from Lord Dunsany (although they are darker in tone than most of his work) and sometimes from H. P. Lovecraft (although they are a bit more playful, often, than his). (Smith and Lovecraft were friends, and many of Smith's stories fit into the Cthulhu mythos. In fact, some elements of the mythos actually originated with Smith.) They were enjoyable enough, but nothing special; who would read faux Dunsany, or faux Lovecraft, who has the real thing available?
Obstinate as I am, I continued with the book, and was eventually rewarded. A bit less than halfway through, some memorable stories began to appear. "The Ghoul" tells of an honest man driven to horrible crime, and, though the ending is predictable, still it manages to evoke sympathy for the unfortunate Noureddin. "The Charnel God" features a hideous cult and a young man who struggles against it; he finds himself with unexpected allies, and the ending features a nice if rather grim turnabout. "The Seven Geases" is definitely Lovecraftian, but it reminded me, in its black humor, of some of Dunsany's stories - "The Injudicious Prayers of Pombo the Idolater" and "The Probable Adventure of the Three Literary Men" in particular. "Necromancy in Naat" is relentlessly bleak, but the ending is glumly upbeat, if such a thing is conceivable. "The Theft of Thirty-Nine Girdles" is a rather funny crime caper, with an appropriate ending (reminiscent of "A Fish Called Wanda", actually), and "The Symposium of the Gorgon" bears more resemblance to Borges than to either of Smith's early inspirations.
There are still flaws, of course. Smith was rather too fond of certain themes; too many of his stories feature a man from one era who is possessed by the spirit of a man from another and meets an anachronistic fate, for example. Still, I enjoyed enough of the stories to make the purchase worthwhile.
This is a thick volume; there are forty-four stories in all, along with a short essay on fantasy and a poem. Forty of the stories were published during Smith's lifetime, and they are arranged chronologically; the last four were published posthumously, and are out of sequence. I mention this only to explain my shifting reactions to the book as I worked my way through.
The problem with reading a hefty single-author anthology is the danger of burnout. I once read the complete short stories of Saki cover to cover, and found that the taste of his cynicism became bitter before the end. In Smith's case, though, this did not happen. I think, mainly, this was because Smith took some time to find his own voice. The first stories are rather derivative, sometimes from Lord Dunsany (although they are darker in tone than most of his work) and sometimes from H. P. Lovecraft (although they are a bit more playful, often, than his). (Smith and Lovecraft were friends, and many of Smith's stories fit into the Cthulhu mythos. In fact, some elements of the mythos actually originated with Smith.) They were enjoyable enough, but nothing special; who would read faux Dunsany, or faux Lovecraft, who has the real thing available?
Obstinate as I am, I continued with the book, and was eventually rewarded. A bit less than halfway through, some memorable stories began to appear. "The Ghoul" tells of an honest man driven to horrible crime, and, though the ending is predictable, still it manages to evoke sympathy for the unfortunate Noureddin. "The Charnel God" features a hideous cult and a young man who struggles against it; he finds himself with unexpected allies, and the ending features a nice if rather grim turnabout. "The Seven Geases" is definitely Lovecraftian, but it reminded me, in its black humor, of some of Dunsany's stories - "The Injudicious Prayers of Pombo the Idolater" and "The Probable Adventure of the Three Literary Men" in particular. "Necromancy in Naat" is relentlessly bleak, but the ending is glumly upbeat, if such a thing is conceivable. "The Theft of Thirty-Nine Girdles" is a rather funny crime caper, with an appropriate ending (reminiscent of "A Fish Called Wanda", actually), and "The Symposium of the Gorgon" bears more resemblance to Borges than to either of Smith's early inspirations.
There are still flaws, of course. Smith was rather too fond of certain themes; too many of his stories feature a man from one era who is possessed by the spirit of a man from another and meets an anachronistic fate, for example. Still, I enjoyed enough of the stories to make the purchase worthwhile.
