Re: CAS in Penguin Modern CLassics
Posted by:
jimrockhill2001 (IP Logged)
Date: 14 January, 2013 03:00AM
Congratulations, Scott and S. T.!
I would have loved to have seen "The Chain of Aforgomon" and "Necromancy in Naat" included too, though I understand their omission due to space considerations. However, the one deep regret I have is the omission of "The Last Incantation", not only because it is a wonderful story that demonstrates Smith's ability to evoke deep emotion without having to resort to grue, but because I feel that "The Death of Malygris" and this story each gain from being read in tandem. That is the one omission I would urge you to rectify; otherwise, I can live with this selection.
Once we start considering the more overtly science fictional stories, I believe we start getting into trouble, which is why I believe "Yoh Vombis" is your best bet - otherwise, if you include "The Dweller in the Gulf", why not also include "The Master of the Asteroid", etc. Tough choices.
The problem with "The City of the Singing Flame" is that, as evocative as the original novella is, and despite the somewhat awkward transition between the original and the continuation, the most memorable portion of the whole remains, for me, the second part of the continuation, "The Striding Doom". Yes, the continuation somewhat dilutes the mystery and poetry of the original, but Smith's depiction of that striding, malevolent city is impressive enough to offset that for me, with the result that we are faced with no easy solution when it comes to that particular work.
I second Jojo is celebrating your deletion of "The Return of the Sorcerer", which may once have been among Smith's most celebrated stories, but now seems to me to rank among his worst as far as execution goes. Unfortunately, the Lovecraft it seems to attempt to emulate is the Lovecraft of "From Beyond" and other earlier experiments in which interesting concepts were tied to the most melodramatic popular fiction tropes imaginable.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 14 Jan 13 | 03:50AM by jimrockhill2001.