Greetings, all. I am new to this forum and thought I would introduce myself and maybe get a question in.

I am a long-time fan of E.R. Eddison (among others) who only a few years ago really started to read American writers such as ERB, HPL, and REH (aside from the Lin Carter _King Kull_ collection I had as a kid), and I am now really getting into CAS. A friend gave me copies of three of the four Ballantine collections, and I am greatly enjoying this author and have been prowling this site for more info.

Now, I am a great lover of books. I love to buy them and read them and lovingly place them on my shelf and take them down and re-read them. Having stories on the web to read on my screen or print out--that's a great service, but it's just not the same. I heartily agree with the webmaster's policy here of not making available stories that are currently in-print.

Anyway, my question is: Is there any possibility of hardcovers of "The Book of Hyperborea" and "Tales of Zothique" coming out any time soon? Naturally, my interest in what kind of collection I would like to see is colored by the Lin Carter collections that introduced CAS to me. But, also, it seems to me that CAS clearly expressed a desire to see these particular collections in hard covers. Not to mention that it seems like general audiences, at least initially, might more easily take an interest in a cycle united by setting, theme, and affect than in a general collection sampling the varied writings of an author. Hyperborea, in particular, would seem to be an obvious entry point, due to the Lovecraft connections. Mythos Tales of Ancient Times, or of Prehistoric Greenland (blah), or of the Eldrich North, or what have you, would more easily draw an audience than the author's name alone.

Also, with "The Averoigne Chronicles," if Grant is going to delay this project indefinitely, couldn't another suitable publisher be found? Quite a few publishers seem to be doing CAS hardcovers these days. And I understand the editor holds the rights.

Just a newbie's perspective. No intention to step on anyone's toes. Regards.
--

Michael Falconer - [ulmo.mux.net]
"Because by fate even the gods are cast down, weep ye all with me."

Welcome aboard! :) *waves*

Falconer Wrote:
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> Anyway, my question is: Is there any possibility
> of hardcovers of "The Book of Hyperborea" and
> "Tales of Zothique" coming out any time soon?

My personal guess is that that is pretty unlikely, considering that the Complete Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith are in the works. And they're in hardcover too! :)

Yrs
Martin

Martinus Wrote:
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> My personal guess is that that is pretty unlikely,
> considering that the Complete Fantasies of Clark
> Ashton Smith are in the works. And they're in
> hardcover too! :)


It's Collected Fantasies not Complete, just to be pedantic

>Also, with "The Averoigne Chronicles," if Grant is going to delay this project >indefinitely

I don't see him handing it over even if he should, publishers are territorial. Hard covers are so expensive compared with paper backs and we are not dealing with some populist like King with a guaranteed market. I'm surprised any of them survive, they sure do grumble about being poor a lot; and yet there the number of them keep growing. I wounder if Print On Demand has been a boon or bane.

B.

Boyd Wrote:
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> Martinus Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > My personal guess is that that is pretty
> unlikely,
> > considering that the Complete Fantasies of
> Clark
> > Ashton Smith are in the works. And they're
> in
> > hardcover too! :)
>
>
> It's Collected Fantasies not Complete, just to be
> pedantic
>

Oh, at least I got the "co" right. Two out of nine ain't bad! ;-)

Yrs
Martin

Greetings!

Martinus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My personal guess is that that is pretty unlikely,
> considering that the Complete Fantasies of Clark
> Ashton Smith are in the works. And they're in
> hardcover too! :)

Well, not to impugn the value of such a project, as I am sure it is quite worthy, but my point is that this collection might be very exciting to CAS scholars and established hardcore fans, but is possibly of little-to-no interest to the potential readership at large. In other words, different audiences have different demands, and are not satisfied by each others' solutions. Collections of Zothique, Hyperborea, and Averoigne tales could probably do well on the mass market if marketed well, in my opinion. I simply wondered if there were any who agreed with that, or if I was a newbie way off the mark. ;-) Regards.
--

Michael Falconer - [ulmo.mux.net]
"Because by fate even the gods are cast down, weep ye all with me."

I suspect your right, there are a chunk of his stories that are more marketable than others (well he did write 100+). The Gollancz "The Emperor of Dreams" covered that territory.

I am extremely excited about the Collected Fantasies project from Night Shade, but agree that the story cycles (at least) should be made more easily available to the public. Perhaps the Collected Fantasies and the fairly recent publication of the Selected Letters will create enough of a stir to interest mainstream publishers in Smith's work.

Pace Boyd, the Gollancz collection gathers many of Smith's best tales, but as a single volume supposedly devoted to Smith at his best, I thought it fell below Arkham House's A Rendezvous in Averoigne, even if one excludes the science fiction stories. How in the world did "The Good Embalmer", "The Kiss of Zoraida", "Prince Alcouz and the Magician", and others make it into the book, but not "The Colossus of Ylourgne"? Why include the slight, but colorful "The Flower Women" while excluding the magnificent tale to which it is a sequel, "The Maze of Maal Dweb"? The ordering of the contents is also rather arbitrarily based on date of publication instead of creation; hence the early insignificant tale "Prince Alcouz and the Magician" appears in the book after the fruits of the author's maturity.

Jim

There does seem to be some increased interest in Smith's work, viz the announcement by Bison Books (an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press) that they will be reprinting OUT OF SPACE AND TIME and LOST WORLDS. Bob Wiener informs Ron Hilger that Thomas Canty has completed the artwork for THE AVEROIGNE CHRONICLES, and it might actually appear in 2006. The Night Shade set has sold over 200 advance subscriptions, so it appears that it will be quite successful; there have even been some reprint feelers. Once paperback publishers see that CAS _sells_, that he is in fact as marketable as HPL or REH, then I am sure that we will see reprints of HYPERBOREA and ZOTHIQUE, or the Necronomicon Press equivalent, or similar thematic assemblages.
Rejoice, brethern, for our time in the wilderness draws to a close, and we near the promised land....

Scott

Some good news there. So The Averoigne Chronicles will be a reality? Sweet! And Lost Worlds seems to be a particularly good collection. I don't know if CAS will ever be as marketable as HPL and REH, whose Cthulhu and Conan have been so successfully franchised, but we can indeed hope that Ballantine/Del Rey might want to test the waters with CAS after the success of their HPL and REH lines.

To add another upbeat remark, I visited my local SF/Fantasy bookstore here in San Francisco, and they had a great selection of in-print CAS collections for sale there: A Rendezvous in Averoigne, The Emperor of Dreams, The Black Diamonds, The Last Oblivion, Selected Letters, The Double Shadow (hardcover and paperback), The Sword of Zagan, Red World of Polaris, The Maker of Gargoyles (hardcover), and Star Changes were all right there on the shelf. I was truly in awe at this beautiful sight! Regards.
--

Michael Falconer - [ulmo.mux.net]
"Because by fate even the gods are cast down, weep ye all with me."

Which store was this? Borderland? I ought to stop in next time I'm in the Bay Area.

Scott

Oops, yes, this is Borderlands Books on Valencia St at 20th St in San Francisco. Regards.