Scott Connors Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm on several REH forums, and the only one
> where Dick's introduction was discussed was on the
> REH Forum at Conan.com. Somebody picked up your
> comment. When Dick's remarks were printed there,
> the response was "... That's it? That's what we're
> supposed to have a fit about? This is just shoddy
> researching and opinionating , not MVO-level
> mythologizing. The way the ED folk were talking
> you'd think they were talking about 'Superman on a
> Psychotic Bender'." (He refers to a hostile NY
> Times review of SKULL-FACE AND OTHERS, showing
> that the 'Gray Lady' was full of crap at least as
> far back as the 1940s.)

But then there was the _other_ thread (in the same forum) on Lupoff on REH, where (among other things) one poster said that he would buy the latest CAS volume second-hand in order not to put money in Night Shade's pocket, because of Lupoff's description of Howard. And that's just plain silly, as Jojo and Jim conclude (if I'm reading you right, guys).

> Experts and scholars like Don Herron, Mark
> Finn, Rusty Burke, and others have found that the
> only way to combat the widespread misinformation
> out there about REH is to confront it aggressively
> and put out the facts as opposed to the legend,
> THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE not withstanding.
> Lovecraftians had to do the same thing for many
> years. CAS lived long enough to have escaped much
> of the pernicious mythology surrounding his
> comrades. I'm sorry if you think that this is
> "wacky."

Nah, that's the intelligent, grown-up part of REH fandom. And there seem to be more of those people around today, thank Crom.

> BTW, ED readers might find my essay for Darrell
> Schweitzer's ROBERT E. HOWARD READER of interest.
> It is "WEIRD TALES and the Great Depression," and
> it examines the finances of the "Unique Magazine"
> in the early to mid-1930s, using editor Farnsworth
> Wright's letters to CAS and Derleth to determine
> just how far behind in paying its writers WT fell
> after the 1933 bank holiday. It's published by
> Borgo Press (and has a truly wretched cover!)

Yes, awful cover for a nice book!

Personally, such reactions of affront have disinclined me towards serious work on Howard (and others) in the past. That and the collector mentality, since what is needed for Howard and others are, precisely, affordable and accessible editions with authoratative texts, with a de-emphasising of the invidiousness of the collector mentality.

I am sure I am not the only one, here and elsewhere, who would love to see CAS et al. enjoyed by a far wider readership.

Blog: The Cruellest Month -- [the-cruellest-month.blogspot.com.au]
Website: [www.phillipaellis.com]

australianreaderdotcom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Personally, such reactions of affront have
> disinclined me towards serious work on Howard (and
> others) in the past. That and the collector
> mentality, since what is needed for Howard and
> others are, precisely, affordable and accessible
> editions with authoratative texts, with a
> de-emphasising of the invidiousness of the
> collector mentality.
>
> I am sure I am not the only one, here and
> elsewhere, who would love to see CAS et al.
> enjoyed by a far wider readership.

Rusty Burke and Patrice Louinet have edited several authoritative volumes of Howard's work (including all of the Conan stories, plus Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn, Kull, and the horror stories) for Del Rey Books that are exactly what you have asked for (well, they're trade paperbacks, but that just makes them more accessible). THE DARK MAN is a scholarly journal devoted to REH that eschews the fanboy venom. There are fools, idiots and morons running loose in Howard fandom, but we've got those in Lovecraft fandom as well. If CAS is mercifully (relatively) free of their ilk, that's due, I fear, to his relative obscurity as compared to his compadres; once he becomes better known, I expect the flame-breathing trolls will spring up like dragon's teeth.

Should I mention that both Ron and I have substantial CAS collections? : )

Scott


Scott

Dear Scott,

I've just had a look, following your note, and shall be availing myself of the Del Rey volumes, and I am aware of your work with the CAS volumes. Thank you.

I have yet to peruse a copy of The Dark Man, and hope to do so shortly.

I would like your feedback on something I'm working on re: CAS; do you have my Gmail address, or my old yahoo one from when we were corresponding?

Blog: The Cruellest Month -- [the-cruellest-month.blogspot.com.au]
Website: [www.phillipaellis.com]

Regarding the fiction of CAS if i wanted to have all of his fiction,

I would have to buy the 5 fantasies volumes
and the Tales of India and Irony

Then i would still have to get The Black Diamonds from hippocampus press
plus the The Sword Of Zagan And Other Writings from hippocampus press

Are there other fiction writings by him that are not included here?

I know he has a book of letters and also lots of poetry.


JELIO

jelio Wrote:
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>
> Are there other fiction writings by him that are
> not included here?
>

The prose poems.

Hold on, what's this I see? :)

Wonderful news. I hope the book will have a better, less generic title when it is actually released. The Infernal Star and Other Lacunae? Okay, that's terrible, but you get the idea.

Night Shade now has a page for the volume of miscellany: [nightshadebooks.com]

Very much looking forward to this!

Jim

WTG, Scott!

Hope to come out soon,

Cathexis

I've finally read the 5th CAS volume. I give great thanks to the editors of the series. Every volume is absolutely remarkable, a true treasure.

Noivilbo

Hey everyone... I'm new here and I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who put these great volumes together and also ask a question while I'm here.

I was able to buy the CAS volume 2-5 from Night Shade not all that long ago, but unfortunately volume one seems to be out of print. I emailed them to inquire as to a possible second printing as some point but didn't receive a response.

My question is, does anyone know a place where I can still get a copy of volume one without it costing me $100? I'd really like to finish (at the beginning?) reading this series, it is superbly well done, but I don't have an arm and a leg extra to pay for a copy either.

Any advice is appreciated! Happy reading :)

I had no idea it was worth sooooo much! However I have to wonder if anybody actually manages to sell them at these prices... Anyway, I'd suggest using bookfinder.com - if they can't find it cheap then... well... you're in trouble!

Yeah, they don't. People have unrealistically high expectations for books that happen to have recently gone out of print. This $100+ price tag might be realistic if it were a limited edition of some kind or the book won multiple awards (look at the prices for Night Shades hardcover of The Windup Girl for example) but this is just unrealistic.

Bookfinder, AddAll, and other places I have checked... though thanks for the tip. But these search engines do not always catch everything. They don't index some specialty genre stores (like Camelot Books) so I was hoping that maybe someone might have an idea. Any would be appreciated!

If anyone has a second copy they'd be willing to sell, I'd pay more than retail for it. But not that much more!

Thanks again!
Best,
~t