Okay, new thread: as reviews show up for THE END OF THE STORY and others in the NSB series, I'm posting them here; and if anyone else finds something that I missed, please feel free to add it. First off is Rick Kleffel's "Agony Column" for January 16, 2007: [
trashotron.com]
Beginning at the Beginning
When I saw 'The End of the Story: Volume One of the Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith' (Night Shade Books ; April 10, 2007; $39.95), edited by Scott Connors and Ron Hilger, I thought in theory that though this was a book I would certainly want, it might not be a book I'd need. But alas, I have the book to hand, not just in theory. The book in fact, words and all, suggests that it's beyond desire, beyond need. It is required.
I don’t say that lightly. Clark Ashton Smith has long been one of my favorite writers from the Old Weird generation. You know, H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Lord Dunsany. The Old Weird. I can still see in my mind the huge book rack they had at the Lucky Store in Covina, California. That's where I bought a substantial number of the original Bantam Adult Fantasy series, edited if I'm not mistaken by Lin Carter. 'Fungi from Yuggoth', poems by H. P. Lovecraft. 'At the Edge of the World', short stories by Lord Dunsany. And 'Poseidonis' by Clark Ashton Smith.
These books were supreme enablers. They led me directly to the Arkham House editions of Lovecraft, the first hardcovers I purchased that I really, really cared about. And thence unto the now.
Enablers. And when you get drugs as good as 'A Rendezvous in Averoigne', the 1988 omnibus from Arkham House, edited by the late Jim Turner, illustrated by J. K. Potter, I'm telling you, it's a hard high to top. That's the sort of volume that should really be in every book-lover's collection, regardless of your tastes. The combination of Smith's ornate prose, Arkham's pristine production and Potter's surreal mind-captures create a reading experience like no other.
And thus it remains. But Night Shade knows their way around the Old Weird better than anybody out there, and this new series of books promises to be beyond mere desire. They are not a nice-to-have, but a need-to-have. Yes, you still need the Arkham House, to be sure. But, alas, Smith's addictive prose is drug-like, and the architecture of this series promises to make it indispensable. Let Arkham House be the executive summary. Let Night Shade be the contact itself.
You're not reading this column because you can take it or leave it when it comes to reading unusual and under-publicized fiction. There are a couple of reasons that make 'The End of the Story' the beginning of a beautiful addiction. The first is the methodical architecture of the series. There will be five books, we're told, so the total investment is $200. This seems a very reasonable price to me; I've paid that much for single volumes worth, in retrospect, much less in terms of re-reading pleasure. But here's the Big Appeal, part one. The stories are offered in the order of composition, based on Smith's notes. For me, this is ideal. As a reader, I like to experience a writer's work in the chronological order in which it was composed, so that I, as a reader can get to know a writer, to watch them grow and see their style change. This then, makes that possible and easy for Clark Ashton Smith. While I like the typical trend of grouping the stories by theme, and that is indeed an excellent way to read them in order to become familiar with Smith's worlds, this collection offers readers the chance to become familiar with Smith himself as a writer. This alone puts this in the required column.
But editors Connor and Hilger, in association with Jeremy Lassen and Jason Williams at Night Shade, have done much more than this. They've taken advantage of the generosity of Arkham House itself as well as the Smith estate, to create the ultimate compendium of Smith's work. Look, you're reading the stories here to experience the man as well as his worlds, and to that end what do you want? Extensive story notes, the sort of literary detective work that comes at the back of this volume. The kind of well-written, informative and thoroughly documented notes you find here are exemplars, and themselves sort of short stories. Reading the story, then the notes, you'll embark on a dual journey, into the world created and the mind of, the world of, the world's creator. This is fascinating stuff, and very different reading experience from that of the Arkham House. Connor, Hilger and Night Shade are to be congratulated.
If you've made it this far without pre-ordering, then you’re made of sterner stuff than I. Perhaps this is because you didn't stand there in the Lucky's Grocery Store in 1970 and stare at the racks, your mind full of idiocy and wonder. Perhaps you never bought the 1988 omnibus edition, never had the chance to luxuriate in Smith's prose and Potter's visions. Well, Lucky's is not more, so no luck there. But you if you've somehow missed Smith altogether, then you can still find copies of the justifiably iconic 'Rendezvous in Averoigne'. It'll set you back some $34-$100. Buy it and read it, and then step outside your door. Raise your arms to the skies and curse the day you read this and me as well. Then step inside and order this volume. Sign up for the whole series. Better to buy it now, new, than later, used and much more expensive. It's not what you want; it's what you need.