Hello,

what stories by C.A.Smith do you like best? My short list is:

Genius Loci (the best story by C.A.S I have read so far)
Murder In The Fourth Dimension
The Primal City
The Double Cosmos
The Supernumerary Corpse
The Uncharted Island

Take care

My favorite 6 (excluding the prose poems):

"The Maze of the Enchanter"
"Xeethra"
"The Dark Eidolon"
"The Double Shadow"
The other two are in pairs, depending upon my mood: "The Testament of Athammaus" and "The Coming of the White Worm", or "The Last Incantation" and "The Death of Malygris", or "The Chain of Aforgomon" and both parts of "The City of the Singing Flame".

I haven't read every story by CAS (indeed there are a lot I haven't read yet!) but just off the top of my head, without referring to the Nightshade Press collections:

The Holiness of Azederac--If any story by Smith could have been published in Unknown Magazine, this one would be it. It's both witty and risqué in an amusing way. I can imagine him smiling as he was typing it up. It just misses the modern-day, ironic flavor of fantasy John W. Campbell was looking for. It is a pity...

Ubbo-Sathla--Yes, this is a variation of the H. G. Wells story The Crystal Egg, but I still like it.

The City of The Singing Flame--A story which gains much of its power from what it doesn't tell the reader. To continue the story, the reader must collaborate in his imagination. I haven't read the sequel--I'm a bit afraid of being let down by any revelation behind the mystery.

The Vault of Yoh-Vombis--I can't understand why this (relatively) straightforward, jaw-dropping little horror story hasn't been adapted to film. It's a natural!

Sorry for any misspellings. Again, I don't consider these stories the best Smith wrote, only the ones that immediately spring to mind. Thanks, Minicthulhu--this was a fun exercise.

jimrockhill2001 Wrote:
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> My favorite 6 (excluding the prose poems):
>
> "The Maze of the Enchanter"
> "Xeethra"
> "The Dark Eidolon"
> "The Double Shadow"
> The other two are in pairs, depending upon my
> mood: "The Testament of Athammaus" and "The Coming
> of the White Worm", or "The Last Incantation" and
> "The Death of Malygris", or "The Chain of
> Aforgomon" and both parts of "The City of the
> Singing Flame".


As for the Smith's work, you seem to like his fantasy stories, while I am much more into his modern horror/sci-fi tales.