I'd like to mention the recent publication of "The Book of Eibon," an anthology of stories related to the eponymous volume, and "The Black Diamonds," a complete novel written by Smith when he was fourteen. I have both of these, and may post reviews when I finish them. "The Book of Eibon" is published by Chaosium, which did a very nice edition of the supernatural fiction of Robert W. Chambers last year.

My copies are in the post. Reviews would be great. A little more a about them and other cas books coming out can be found here:

[www.eldritchdark.com]
Clark Ashton Smith in Print: A list of currently available Clark Ashton Smith Works

Hey there Francis! It's been awhile, hasn't it? I remember just beginning to be acquainted with you when you decided to leave ZN. I believe Eibon is due to be scrutinized rather closely in the coming weeks, as is The Black Diamonds. My own copies should be arriving next week and many of our members who are customers of mine will be getting their own copies as soon as I can get them posted. I could have had The Black Diamonds sooner, but I took advantage of Derrick's kind offer to send some copies to S.T. Joshi for autographs, and this took some time for him to send them back. Hence, some guys already have their copies while I still wait for mine.

Gavin Smith, Bookseller
3408 Pleasant Run Road
Irving, Texas 75062-3255

[www.geocities.com]

My autograph fetish has meant delays for the folks I wanted to get the first copies! Just be glad you didn't opt for an inscription from both Joshi & illustrator Jason Eckhardt: those books are somewhere in limbo right now waiting for Jason to receive and sign them, and send them back to me for mailing. I'm sorry to say that our host Boyd, as well as Ian Davey, Donald Sidney-Fryer, Ron and a number of other CAS luminaries are stuck in that queue! Sorry, guys. I hope it will be worth the wait.

Best regards,
Derrick
[www.hippocampuspress.com]

"The Book of Eibon" is an anthology of stories about or relating to CAS's imaginary grimoire. A great many of the stories were written by Lin Carter, whose CAS pastiches were sometimes, well, pretty bad. I find Carter a fascinating character, however. He was like the ultimate fan run amuck. He got to publish the books he liked (in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series), write pastiches and posthumous collaborations with his heroes (CAS and REH), and generally indulge himself. He had some good moments in his own writing, as I recall. I remember thinking that the first few Callisto books were among the best Burroughs imitations that I had ever read.

I have read that the circumstances of his last years were not very favorable. I note that some of the stories in "The Book of Eibon" were published in chapbooks. This perhaps reflects difficulty in finding commercial markets, but perhaps also reflects the persistence of the Eternal Fan.

Sometimes I think it would be fun to write a Lin Carter biography, but it doesn't seem a project replete with commercial rewards.

No sweat, Derrick. It's to be expected when mutiple signing are involved. I'm sure it will be worth the wait!
-Ron

Just to let everyone know, the copies signed by Joshi & Eckhardt arrived, and have all been sent out. USA recipients should have their copies in a few days, international early next week.

My copies of THE BLACK DIAMONDS and THE EMPEROR OF DREAMS arrived within a week of each other. Despite some quibbles about Jones' choice of contents, the collection is rather nice. It may be a while before I get beyond the preface to THE BLACK DIAMONDS. Has anyone yet had a chance to read their copy?

Jim

I'm about half way through The Black Diamonds. I have to laugh at the dialogue its so very convoluted and every one is so very very polite, makes me think that Smith was a goody-two shoes at 14. Tho whole narrative is convoluted but i do find my self wanting to know how the story is resolved.

Are we to assume that the rakish side of Smith did not appear until after the age of 17, or 19, depending upon whether we accept Raine Bennett's anecdote in "Clark Ashton Smith, Virgin"?

Jim

What is the anecdote? I'm not familiar with that article.

The article is:
http://www.eldritchdark.com/bio/virgin.html

I finished Black Diamonds last night
an intresting curio but nothing to write home about.

May I introduce myself. I am Dr. W.C. Farmer, currently writing to
this site, and in possession of the missing pages of "Black Diamonds".

I would like to know your source for stating that Clark wrote
this at age 14. The handwriting in the holograph in my possession is
that of a more mature Clark in my opinion. I will send you a copy
as an email attachment if you will send me your email address.
Ron Hilger and I discussed this briefly the other day and I was
surprised to hear him quote that age in relation to this work.
I have Ebony and Crystal and Sandalwood signed by him the year
of its publication, and then in 1957/8 when he gave them to me.
There is a radical difference in the penmanship. Of course, I could be
wrong. Thank you for caring about CAS

I must confess that I was merely quoting from the back cover of the book itself. The rest of the original manuscript is at Brown University and was discovered there by S.T. Joshi. Being a native Californian I have never visited Rhode Island, although I understand that microfilm copies can be made if one is very patient and can afford the fee.
Dr. Farmer is absolutely correct that there is a radical difference between CAS' juvenile and mature penmanship. I also agree this appears to be the work of a more mature person, but then again, CAS was certainly much more than your average precocious 14 year old!
-Ron

Perhaps one of you could confirm whether or not The Book of Eibon is still in print today? I may have missed the relevant entry on this site. I'm pretty usre that "Black Diamonds" is still available. Lastly, do you think that these titles compare well with the stories released some time ago by Panther (in paperback)? Looking forward to your replies.