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Η πόλη της τραγουδιστής φλόγας
Μέσα από τα βάθη της ζούγκλας της πανάρχαιας Υπερβορείας, αναδύεται ο ερπετόμορφος θεός Τσαθόγκουα, ενώ από τη μαγική πύλη του Κίκρανος εμφανίζεται ο τρομακτικός θεός Ζοθάκουα- κι ο Λευκός Σκώληκας που παγώνει και μολύνει τα πάντα στο πέρασμά του εγκαινιάζει την εποχή του τρόμου. Δεν είναι τα μόνα εξωλογικά πλάσματα που κυκλοφορούν στο ονειρικό, εφιαλτικό σύμπαν του Κλάρκ Aστον Σμιθ 1893-1961, ενός από τους σπουδαιότερους συγγραφείς φάνταζι, τρόμου και επιστημονικής φαντασίας. Η οργιαστική, δαιμονική φαντασία που ταξιδεύει στην μυθική Ατλαντίδα, στη σκοτεινή ήπειρο Ζοθίκ, στον τρομακτικό πλανήτη Ξικάρφ, στη μεσαιωνική Αβεραούμ, στον επικίνδυνο πλανήτη Aρη, στα αβυσσαλέα βάθη του διαστήματος, σε άλλες διαστάσεις, για να συναντήσει, μάγους, μάγισσες, νεκροζώντανους, βρικόλακες, φαντάσματα, εξωγήινους φαντασμαγορικά στοιχεία ενός φανταστικού κόσμου, οικοδομημένου ποιητικά, όπως μόνο ένας γνήσιος δημιουργός μπορεί να το κάνει.
227 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
12 people are currently reading
515 people want to read
About the author
Clark Ashton Smith
720 books995 followersClark Ashton Smith was a poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. It is for these stories, and his literary friendship with H. P. Lovecraft from 1922 until Lovecraft's death in 1937, that he is mainly remembered today. With Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, also a friend and correspondent, Smith remains one of the most famous contributors to the pulp magazine Weird Tales.
His writings are posted at his official website.
His writings are posted at his official website.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
June 30, 2017
"And the music? I have utterly failed to describe that, also. It was as if some marvelous elixir had been turned into sound-waves — an elixir conferring the gift of superhuman life, and the high, magnificent dreams which are dreamt by the Immortals."
Clark Ashton Smith along with H.P. Lovecraft were the leading contributors to Weird Tales back in the 1920s and 1930s, the heyday of the pulp magazine, a time when the literary world past harsh judgement on authors writing in the genres of fantasy, horror or science fiction. Nowadays most critics and reviewers recognizes the mature work of these two authors are among the finest in American literature. The focus of my review will be on one such story, the title story from this Clark Ashton Smith collection, The City of the Singing Flame, a piece of deep philosophical significance.
A brief synopsis: Giles Angarth, himself an author of fantastic fiction, relates in his diary how he discovered two craters out in the Nevada desert wherein he could step between these craters and be propelled into another non-earthly dimension. This new incredible landscape leads to a city. We read:
“I was standing in the midst of a landscape which bore no degree or manner of resemblance to Crater Ridge. A long, gradual slope, covered with violet grass and studded at intervals with stones of monolithic size and shape, ran undulantly away beneath me to a broad plain with sinuous, open meadows and high, stately forests of an unknown vegetation whose predominant hues were purple and yellow. The plain seemed to end in a wall of impenetrable, golden-brownish mist, that rose with phantom pinnacles to dissolve on a sky of luminescent amber in which there was no sun.
In the foreground of this amazing scene, not more than two or three miles away, there loomed a city whose massive towers and mountainous ramparts of red stone were such as the Anakim of undiscovered worlds might build. Wall on beetling wall, spire on giant spire, it soared to confront the heavens, maintaining everywhere the severe and solemn lines of a rectilinear architecture. It seemed to overwhelm and crush down the beholder with its stern and crag-like imminence.”
Rather than saying anything further regarding the story’s many other details, I’ll turn to the alluring, mystical singing flame at the very center of both the city and the tale, a tall flame producing ecstatic sound that forcefully brings to mind the following:
Odysseus and the Sirens
In Homer’s famous epic, Odysseus had himself bound to the ship’s mast so he could hear the beautiful music of the Sirens and live to tell the tale. Giles Angarth likens the singing flame to Homer’s Sirens. But is this an accurate assessment? Is Giles judging the flame in a rather limited way, projecting his own cultural categories and prejudices? In other words, does surrendering one’s physical body to merge with the singing flame necessarily result in death? Perhaps another interpretation could be all those non-earthy creatures who leap or fly into the fame surrender personality and personhood in order to unite individual consciousness with the highest cosmic vibration, the most ecstatic, consciousness-expanding sound.
Nada Yoga
Within the world of yoga from India, there is what is known as nada yoga, the yoga of sound. Men and women following the path of yoga chant the sacred sound of OM and other seed syllables and mantras to raise their consciousness to the divine. Also, there is the path of bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion, where music is key – kirtan, the singing of the many names of the divine. (Personal note: in years past I played mridanga drum for kirtans).
An ancient Indian mandala depicting the vibrational form that mystical seers and yogis visualized during meditation while chanting the seed sound OM.
Ambient Music
Much in the same spirit as nada yoga, modern composers such as Steve Roach and Steve Reich have employed electronics to create music associated with meditation, harmony, peace and states of bliss. Link to a sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf4mZ...
Heavenly Music
Within the tradition of Christianity, celestial music has historically been linked with heaven and life eternal as with the playing of musical instruments by angels as in Hans Memling’s gorgeous fifteenth century medieval painting.
Scriabin's Music and Light Show
Lastly, to my mind, no music captures the spirit of rapture, joy and ecstasy more than Russian composer Alexander Scriabin’s 1910 Prometheus: Poem of Fire, especially the concluding sustained chord, complete with light that is meant to flood the eye. Please take a look at this astonishing performance. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3B7u...
Link to Clark Ashton Smith's City of the Singing Flame: http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/...
Clark Ashton Smith - (1893-1961) - Self-educated American author who lived most of his life by himself in the log cabin in Northern California built by his parents.
April 27, 2021
Deeply chilling visions of a celestial temple where myriads of bizarre creatures are drawn willingly like moths from across dimensions, time and space into the flame of eternity.
August 18, 2018
Οι ιστορίες του βιβλίου αυτού κινούνται στο ίδιο μοτίβο με τις ιστορίες του "Το ταξίδι του βασιλιά Γιουβόραν". Κυρίως μάγοι και κληρικοί μπλέκονται σε διάφορες περιπέτειες σε μυστήριες τοποθεσίες και μακρινούς πλανήτες...
Η μετάφραση του "Η πόλη της τραγουδιστής φλόγας" μου άρεσε πολύ σε αντίθεση με αυτή του "Βασιλιά Γιουβόραν" που την βρήκα κάπως πρόχειρη και εκτός κλίματος! Όμως οι ιστορίες του δεύτερου βιβλίου ήταν πιο κοντά στα γούστα μου...
Εν τέλει κάποιες ιστορίες είναι πολύ καλές κάποιες εντελώς αδιάφορες.
Στο σύνολο τους είναι μια αξιοπρεπής συλλογή. Προσωπικά με κούρασαν ελαφρώς οι πολλές περιγραφές τοπίων και κόσμων όπως και οι επίπεδοι χαρακτήρες των περισσοτέρων ιστοριών, αλλά σχεδόν σε κάθε διήγημα με αποζημίωναν οι ευρηματικές υποθέσεις και οι καταλήξεις αυτών!
Η ιστορία με το Λευκό Σκουλήκι και αυτή τον νεαρό μάγο που ταξίδεψε στο χρόνο ήταν οι 2 που ξεχώρισα...
Θεωρώ πως ο Σμιθ αδικήθηκε σαν συγγραφέας του φανταστικού μιας και πέθανε νέος και δεν πρόλαβε να γράψει ένα ολοκληρωμένο βιβλίο στο οποίο θα υπήρχε μια σύνδεση των κόσμων και των χαρακτήρων του!
3/5!
Η μετάφραση του "Η πόλη της τραγουδιστής φλόγας" μου άρεσε πολύ σε αντίθεση με αυτή του "Βασιλιά Γιουβόραν" που την βρήκα κάπως πρόχειρη και εκτός κλίματος! Όμως οι ιστορίες του δεύτερου βιβλίου ήταν πιο κοντά στα γούστα μου...
Εν τέλει κάποιες ιστορίες είναι πολύ καλές κάποιες εντελώς αδιάφορες.
Στο σύνολο τους είναι μια αξιοπρεπής συλλογή. Προσωπικά με κούρασαν ελαφρώς οι πολλές περιγραφές τοπίων και κόσμων όπως και οι επίπεδοι χαρακτήρες των περισσοτέρων ιστοριών, αλλά σχεδόν σε κάθε διήγημα με αποζημίωναν οι ευρηματικές υποθέσεις και οι καταλήξεις αυτών!
Η ιστορία με το Λευκό Σκουλήκι και αυτή τον νεαρό μάγο που ταξίδεψε στο χρόνο ήταν οι 2 που ξεχώρισα...
Θεωρώ πως ο Σμιθ αδικήθηκε σαν συγγραφέας του φανταστικού μιας και πέθανε νέος και δεν πρόλαβε να γράψει ένα ολοκληρωμένο βιβλίο στο οποίο θα υπήρχε μια σύνδεση των κόσμων και των χαρακτήρων του!
3/5!
December 6, 2018
Χαίρομαι πάρα πολύ που διάβασα αυτό το βιβλίο, και σίγουρα θα ξαναδιαβάσω κάποιες ιστορίες του. Δεν μπορώ να πω ότι μου άρεσαν όλες, ούτε ότι βρίσκω τον τρόπο αφήγησης του γούστου μου, αλλά έχει αρετές η γραφή και η φαντασία του Κλαρκ Άστον Σμιθ από τις οποίες διδασκόμαστε.
Η ομώνυμη ιστορία, φυσικά, είναι η αγαπημένη μου. Πύλες σε άλλες διαστάσεις, ουράνιες μουσικές (επιτρέψτε μου εδώ ένα σχόλιο προσωπικού... πόνου: «Μα-δεν-έχει-μείνει-τίποτα-άγραφτο;»), παράτολμοι εξερευνητές, εξωπραγματικά πλάσματα, μαγικές πόλεις... και τι δεν είχε. Βούλιαξα στη φαντασία.
Η ομώνυμη ιστορία, φυσικά, είναι η αγαπημένη μου. Πύλες σε άλλες διαστάσεις, ουράνιες μουσικές (επιτρέψτε μου εδώ ένα σχόλιο προσωπικού... πόνου: «Μα-δεν-έχει-μείνει-τίποτα-άγραφτο;»), παράτολμοι εξερευνητές, εξωπραγματικά πλάσματα, μαγικές πόλεις... και τι δεν είχε. Βούλιαξα στη φαντασία.
September 15, 2017
7.5/10
Πρώτη γνωριμία με τον Clark Ashton Smith και γενικά μπορώ να πω ότι μου έχει κάνει αρκετά καλή εντύπωση.
Η συλλογή αυτή περιέχει 11 ιστορίες σε μια μίξη αρκετού τρόμου και φάντασυ από διάφορους κόσμους που είχε γράψει αλλά με το στοιχείο του τρόμου να κυριαρχεί σχεδόν σε όλες.
Η γραφή του, για την εποχή που έγγραφε, είναι αρκετά καλή πράγμα που δεν περίμενα καθόλου (τουλάχιστον έτσι φαίνεται στην μετάφραση). Βέβαια, σε μερικές ιστορίες φαίνεται η παλαιότητά τους αλλά προσωπικά δεν με πείραξε.
Από την συλλογή αυτή μου άρεσαν αρκετές ιστορίες, αλλά περισσότερο αυτές που είναι πιο πολύ τρόμου παρά φαντασίας.
Ξεχώρισα ιδιαίτερα τις ιστορίες με τον τρομερό θεό Τσαθόγκουα "Η ιστορία του Σατάμπρα Ζίρος" και το, σιχαμένο, Σκουλήκι "Ο ερχομός του Άσπρου Σκουληκιού" από τον κόσμο της Υπερβορείας, όπως επίσης και τον δαίμονα σκιά "Η διπλή σκιά" από την Ατλαντίδα, που παρεμπιπτόντως είναι και η πιο δυνατή για μένα.
Επίσης μου άρεσε πολύ και η ιστορία του τίτλου, "Η πόλη της τραγουδιστής φλόγας", που είναι και η πιο μεγάλη, και είναι πραγματικά τρομερή μιας και ο συγγραφέας σε ταξιδεύει σε άγνωστους κόσμους και γαλαξίες με ένα εκπληκτικό φινάλε.
Συνολικά, πιστεύω είναι μια καλή συλλογή και θα την πρότεινα σίγουρα σε όσους θέλουν να γνωρίσουν τους κόσμους του CAS, αλλά και όσους τον γνωρίζουν ήδη.
Πρώτη γνωριμία με τον Clark Ashton Smith και γενικά μπορώ να πω ότι μου έχει κάνει αρκετά καλή εντύπωση.
Η συλλογή αυτή περιέχει 11 ιστορίες σε μια μίξη αρκετού τρόμου και φάντασυ από διάφορους κόσμους που είχε γράψει αλλά με το στοιχείο του τρόμου να κυριαρχεί σχεδόν σε όλες.
Η γραφή του, για την εποχή που έγγραφε, είναι αρκετά καλή πράγμα που δεν περίμενα καθόλου (τουλάχιστον έτσι φαίνεται στην μετάφραση). Βέβαια, σε μερικές ιστορίες φαίνεται η παλαιότητά τους αλλά προσωπικά δεν με πείραξε.
Από την συλλογή αυτή μου άρεσαν αρκετές ιστορίες, αλλά περισσότερο αυτές που είναι πιο πολύ τρόμου παρά φαντασίας.
Ξεχώρισα ιδιαίτερα τις ιστορίες με τον τρομερό θεό Τσαθόγκουα "Η ιστορία του Σατάμπρα Ζίρος" και το, σιχαμένο, Σκουλήκι "Ο ερχομός του Άσπρου Σκουληκιού" από τον κόσμο της Υπερβορείας, όπως επίσης και τον δαίμονα σκιά "Η διπλή σκιά" από την Ατλαντίδα, που παρεμπιπτόντως είναι και η πιο δυνατή για μένα.
Επίσης μου άρεσε πολύ και η ιστορία του τίτλου, "Η πόλη της τραγουδιστής φλόγας", που είναι και η πιο μεγάλη, και είναι πραγματικά τρομερή μιας και ο συγγραφέας σε ταξιδεύει σε άγνωστους κόσμους και γαλαξίες με ένα εκπληκτικό φινάλε.
Συνολικά, πιστεύω είναι μια καλή συλλογή και θα την πρότεινα σίγουρα σε όσους θέλουν να γνωρίσουν τους κόσμους του CAS, αλλά και όσους τον γνωρίζουν ήδη.
February 3, 2024
Gesammelte Werke sind selten konsistent.
Dieser Band hier enthält in der hinteren Hälfte die Geschichten von Smiths Hyperborea-Zyklus - ein Hyperborea, das man so losgelöst von esoterischem Ballast genießen kann. Die vordere Hälfte enthält Geschichten, die scheinbar in keinen Zyklus gehören.
Wie zu erwarten, sind manche Geschichten einfach stärker als andere. Die Titelgeschichte und ihre Fortsetzung "Hinter der singenden Flamme" gehören definitiv zu den Highlights. Der Erschaffer von exotischen Welten, der Smith ist, feuert aus allen Zylindern!
Andere Highlights sind für mich dann im Hyperborea-Teil "Das Tor zum Saturn", "Die Ankunft des Weißen Wurms" und "Der Raub der neununddreißig Keuschheitsgürtel". Was die meisten dieser Geschichten gemeinsam haben, ist dieser feine, böse Humor. Man sollte nicht den Fehler machen und Smith nur im Schatten seines engen Freundes H. P. Lovecraft betrachten. Im Gegensatz zu dem sind Smiths Geschichten mal humorvoll, mal romantisch ("Die Weiße Seherin") und manchmal völlig skurril ("Die sieben Banngelübde").
Meine Reise durch Smiths Erzählungen werde ich fortsetzen, soweit ich in der Lage bin, sie aufzutreiben ...
Dieser Band hier enthält in der hinteren Hälfte die Geschichten von Smiths Hyperborea-Zyklus - ein Hyperborea, das man so losgelöst von esoterischem Ballast genießen kann. Die vordere Hälfte enthält Geschichten, die scheinbar in keinen Zyklus gehören.
Wie zu erwarten, sind manche Geschichten einfach stärker als andere. Die Titelgeschichte und ihre Fortsetzung "Hinter der singenden Flamme" gehören definitiv zu den Highlights. Der Erschaffer von exotischen Welten, der Smith ist, feuert aus allen Zylindern!
Andere Highlights sind für mich dann im Hyperborea-Teil "Das Tor zum Saturn", "Die Ankunft des Weißen Wurms" und "Der Raub der neununddreißig Keuschheitsgürtel". Was die meisten dieser Geschichten gemeinsam haben, ist dieser feine, böse Humor. Man sollte nicht den Fehler machen und Smith nur im Schatten seines engen Freundes H. P. Lovecraft betrachten. Im Gegensatz zu dem sind Smiths Geschichten mal humorvoll, mal romantisch ("Die Weiße Seherin") und manchmal völlig skurril ("Die sieben Banngelübde").
Meine Reise durch Smiths Erzählungen werde ich fortsetzen, soweit ich in der Lage bin, sie aufzutreiben ...
October 27, 2015
Clark Ashton Smith, one of the three most prominent contributors to the pulp magazine of the early 1900s 'Weird Tales', with the other two being HP Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard (of Conan fame), has gone all out in what many of his readers I've gathered have come to conclude is his best work. Coming fresh off the nihlistic horror themes of Lovecraft I was expecting to find much of the same here due to the close relationship the three had, instead, I was not in the least bit disappointed to have learned midway through that Clark's finest is actually more adventure than horror, and not just that, but his veering towards the core themes of the Speculative Fiction genre were made felt and appreciated by this reader here.
Before starting to read for him I did a bit of research on what I could expect and came across a sort of consensus on the need for his readers to pop up their dictionaries at hand whenever delving into his work, not very surprising after having read some of Lovecraft's thesauri employing works; but I refused to allow that to deter me. Instead, with new found high spirits and a headstrong, albeit stubborn, determination I flung the virtual leather cover of this 60-something page diary and began to immerse myself in a tale that starts with a plea.
The story opens with a foreword by the man in whose hands rests the fate of his two friends. Angram and Ebbonly, as they are named, the former by trade a writer and the latter an artist, have suddenly disappeared from existence, and by leaving no trace of their whereabouts save for the journal Angram commendably wrote then sent foreword's author Hastane. Finding himself in the uncomfortable situation of having to make a decision, Hastane teeters between regarding the contents of the journal given him as nothing but a new iteration of the many intricate pranks the two were infamous for, and investing just enough belief in the fantastical claims written therein and set out to rid his contemporaries of the danger they put themselves in.
After duly thinking his decision over, Hastane resolves to packs his revolver alongside some refreshments and a belt of ammunition, and sets out to investigate the ominous and soapy greenish-gray boulders Angram bewilderedly spoke of before having disappeared out of existence.
Before starting to read for him I did a bit of research on what I could expect and came across a sort of consensus on the need for his readers to pop up their dictionaries at hand whenever delving into his work, not very surprising after having read some of Lovecraft's thesauri employing works; but I refused to allow that to deter me. Instead, with new found high spirits and a headstrong, albeit stubborn, determination I flung the virtual leather cover of this 60-something page diary and began to immerse myself in a tale that starts with a plea.
The story opens with a foreword by the man in whose hands rests the fate of his two friends. Angram and Ebbonly, as they are named, the former by trade a writer and the latter an artist, have suddenly disappeared from existence, and by leaving no trace of their whereabouts save for the journal Angram commendably wrote then sent foreword's author Hastane. Finding himself in the uncomfortable situation of having to make a decision, Hastane teeters between regarding the contents of the journal given him as nothing but a new iteration of the many intricate pranks the two were infamous for, and investing just enough belief in the fantastical claims written therein and set out to rid his contemporaries of the danger they put themselves in.
After duly thinking his decision over, Hastane resolves to packs his revolver alongside some refreshments and a belt of ammunition, and sets out to investigate the ominous and soapy greenish-gray boulders Angram bewilderedly spoke of before having disappeared out of existence.
October 30, 2016
This collection divides Clark Ashton Smith's stories up, organized by his four “worlds”. We also get the title story, which belongs to none of them, but it's a world unto itself.
This is probably a pretty good springboard into Smith's world, showcasing his various blends of fantasy, horror, and romance. Stories like “The Dark Eidolon” and “Flower Women” help to unveil an author who occupied the pulp world and yet was apart from it. Most people probably find Smith through his ranking alongside Howard and Lovecraft, and he is well-placed in that group, but he is probably the strangest artist of all of them.
Clark Ashton Smith is a lot like Lord Dunsany in his commitment to the pure element of imaginative fantasy. His writing may prove baffling for many modern readers as it delves into dreams without burying them in common conventions of genre or normal storytelling. Violence and horror come second to strangeness and irony.
My copy of this collection is the Pocket Books “Timescape” series, complete the trippy logo. I really appreciate the fact that “Return of the Sorcerer” was not included here since that story appears too many other places. This is hardly the last word on Smith, but it's a taste.
This is probably a pretty good springboard into Smith's world, showcasing his various blends of fantasy, horror, and romance. Stories like “The Dark Eidolon” and “Flower Women” help to unveil an author who occupied the pulp world and yet was apart from it. Most people probably find Smith through his ranking alongside Howard and Lovecraft, and he is well-placed in that group, but he is probably the strangest artist of all of them.
Clark Ashton Smith is a lot like Lord Dunsany in his commitment to the pure element of imaginative fantasy. His writing may prove baffling for many modern readers as it delves into dreams without burying them in common conventions of genre or normal storytelling. Violence and horror come second to strangeness and irony.
My copy of this collection is the Pocket Books “Timescape” series, complete the trippy logo. I really appreciate the fact that “Return of the Sorcerer” was not included here since that story appears too many other places. This is hardly the last word on Smith, but it's a taste.
August 18, 2025
a short review for a very short story....amazing, inventive, weird, and mystical.
January 17, 2016
You walk into a land that defies description. We're talking riven, sub-adjacent gulfs and infra-stellar forces of night. You dig? Unspeakable monsters abound, but they ignore you because--how else will you see all the weirdness? A light show rages to some insanely good music--so good, the music sticks in your head . . . .
Better in print than audiobook. Smith has an, other-than-modern notion of story structure and word choice. "It's like awakening from a drug debauch." Must be an acquired taste like Lovecraft.
Better in print than audiobook. Smith has an, other-than-modern notion of story structure and word choice. "It's like awakening from a drug debauch." Must be an acquired taste like Lovecraft.
September 25, 2021
I mean, cool ideas and the imagery is top notch. But for me, this is pretty dated and lacks an actual story with any stakes or narrative tension.
June 30, 2025
Clark Ashton Smith is absolutely incredible. The use of language, the strangeness, the worlds he created are something so special. I can’t wait to read more of him. Do yourself a favor and pickup anything he’s written. It’s sure to be special. 6/5 stars.
August 3, 2019
The format is a chapbook. Typos abound.
February 2, 2016
Πολύ καλή μετάφραση, αλλά λιγότερο καλή επιμέλεια. Αυτό το σχόλιο μπορεί να επεκταθεί και στο περιεχόμενο των ιστοριών, όμως: πολύ καλή γραφή, αλλά λιγότερο καλές ιστορίες. Τα περισσότερα διηγήματα της συλλογής είναι απλά στιγμιότυπα, χωρίς ιδιαίτερη πλοκή ή ανάπτυξη χαρακτήρων, και βασίζονται κυρίως στην -ομολογουμένως- πολύ καλή τους ατμόσφαιρα για να κερδίσουν τον αναγνώστη. Αν και αυτό μπορεί να συμβεί σε μια ανθολογία, ανάμεσα σε άλλα διηγήματα διαφορετικών υφών και με ποικίλλης περιπλοκότητας υποθέσεις και ήρωες, είναι κουραστικό στα πλαίσια μιας συλλογής όπου κάθε διήγημα είναι έτσι. Ακόμη και τα διηγήματα που είχαν κάποια πλοκή ήταν κάπως προβλέψιμα και παλιομοδίτικα. Γενικά μου αρέσει ο Κλαρκ Άστον Σμιθ, αλλά νομίζω πως μία ιστορία του τη φορά μου είναι αρκετή.
March 5, 2014
Was drawn to the book by the main story. Read it and found it to be very wordy, as others have mentioned. Started reading the second story and found it to be also very wordy and too much sci-fi, the type where the author makes up a lot of new words and espouses them as defintions. Did not finish reading the second story, and skipped the rest of the book, which is a rare thing for me to do. I would rather read H.P. Lovecraft.
January 29, 2022
One of the greatest stories I have ever read. His veering-on-purple prose is perfect for things like this. The descriptions are so detailed and colourful that it makes the unimaginable, but beautiful environments come to life. The atmosphere of this story is like existing in a painting of one of the great surrealists.
December 26, 2018
An enchanting and nightmarishly captivating voyage into an eldritch city with bedazzling sounds and imagery. A simple premise with prose that flows like candy to the eyes.
August 8, 2019
η γλώσσα του σμιθ είναι απλά ποίηση
ολοκληρώνοντας αυτό το βιβλίο ένιωθα πιο γεμάτος μέσα μου
παράξενο συναίσθημα και σπάνια μου συμβαίνει πια
ολοκληρώνοντας αυτό το βιβλίο ένιωθα πιο γεμάτος μέσα μου
παράξενο συναίσθημα και σπάνια μου συμβαίνει πια
April 5, 2022
Ίσως στο παρελθόν του έβαζα και 4 και 5 αστέρια. Όχι τώρα όμως. Μια καλή συλλογή για την εποχή που βγήκε. Κουραστική όμως για το σήμερα.
August 6, 2021
This book was silly, and slow, and very much a product of its time. The descriptions of everyone who is either not white or not male are... well. Like I said, product of its time.
And the horror element! Ha! I suck at horror, I had to train to be able to deal with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This book is very obviously trying really really hard to be Strange and Horrifying and it probably did a good job a century ago. But even I was chuckling at this.
I really liked that there were Adventures, and the prose was like a thesaurus and a dictionary did their very best to produce eloquent offspring, which I very much enjoyed as well.
Also, there were some efforts to escape the thing where all characters are either Super Good or Pure Evil. There was definitely a hint of gray areas there, and Good did not automatically always win. Refreshing.
Plus, our while male heroes actually got scared every now and then! And in one single instance a woman sort of made a decision about her future by herself!
If you're interested in the genre and you'd like to see the start of some terrible cliches when they were fresh and new, you might like this. Otherwise, it's too dated to be of much interest.
And the horror element! Ha! I suck at horror, I had to train to be able to deal with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This book is very obviously trying really really hard to be Strange and Horrifying and it probably did a good job a century ago. But even I was chuckling at this.
I really liked that there were Adventures, and the prose was like a thesaurus and a dictionary did their very best to produce eloquent offspring, which I very much enjoyed as well.
Also, there were some efforts to escape the thing where all characters are either Super Good or Pure Evil. There was definitely a hint of gray areas there, and Good did not automatically always win. Refreshing.
Plus, our while male heroes actually got scared every now and then! And in one single instance a woman sort of made a decision about her future by herself!
If you're interested in the genre and you'd like to see the start of some terrible cliches when they were fresh and new, you might like this. Otherwise, it's too dated to be of much interest.
December 7, 2019
"Now, as I write this, I am wondering why I came back again to the human world. Words are futile to express what I have beheld and experienced; and the change that has come upon me, beneath the play of incalculable forces in a world of which no other mortal is even cognizant. Literature is nothing more than the shadow of a shadow; and life, with it's drawn-out length of monotonous, restorative days, is unreal and without meaning now in comparison with the splendid death which I might have had- the glorious doom which is still in store."
Love the way this man writes fiction.
Love the way this man writes fiction.
September 14, 2025
This was an absolute breath of fresh air for me. While the stories are a little “pulpy,��� Smith’s prose, mythos-building, and imagination elevate them to some of the best dark fantasy stories I’ve ever read. There weren’t any stories that I disliked, but my favorites were “The Garden of Adompha” and “The Dark Eiolodon.” Smith’s writing feels like if you combined Clive Barker with Jack Vance, both of whom he clearly influenced. I was completely engrossed in these stories from cover to cover, and I highly recommend it to any dark fantasy fans!
December 5, 2023
I listened to the reading by Harlan Ellison. Damn, this man can narrate! And it was recorded live, including the rustling of the pages and one (and only one!) slip of the tongue.
The descriptions and the prose in this are amazing. However, there is only a very thin story accompanying it.
Narration: 5*
Prose: 5*
Story: 2*
The descriptions and the prose in this are amazing. However, there is only a very thin story accompanying it.
Narration: 5*
Prose: 5*
Story: 2*
March 4, 2025
This story is exceedingly short and, despite being well-written, it lacks substance, rendering it easily forgettable. The only redeeming aspect lies in the author’s vividly picturesque descriptions of imaginary concepts—brief and beautiful, to the point, yet lacking depth. This emptiness makes it subpar and I cannot recommend it.
August 8, 2018
Never have I read a more flowery, horrifying collection of tales. CAS knows how to build worlds. Some of the language is a bit much, but all of it contributes to the pressing terror and grotesqueries he displays so well.
October 31, 2023
A short story not about Eldritch Horror, but about Eldritch Bliss. It's still a bit horrific, but ends with less terror than may be normal for the genre. The writing style seems more important than the fantastic story it describes.
December 10, 2023
The City of the Singing Flame is a great short story about how attraction can lead one to do things you know aren't sane.
There are other stories in this book, but they're not as good and kinda cheesy.
There are other stories in this book, but they're not as good and kinda cheesy.
January 8, 2023
Kurzgeschichte - Der Schrecken der Venus
April 6, 2023
Sadly, there is nothing original in these tales except for Smith's vocabulary. Maybe when the pulps published them they were new ideas, but today not so much. Still worth the read.
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