Beyond Carcosa

by Ambrose Bierce

“For there be divers sorts of death—some wherein the body remaineth; and in some it vanisheth quite away with the spirit.” —“An Inhabitant of Carcosa,” by Ambrose Bierce

”‘Direct me, I beseech you, to Carcosa.’" —“An Inhabitant of Carcosa,” by Ambrose Bierce

“Strange is the night where black stars rise, / And strange moons circle through the skies / But stranger still is / Lost Carcosa” — Verse 2 “Cassilda’s Song” by Robert W. Chambers

Skyboat Media and Steven Archer reunite for another unique audiobook experience …

Beyond Carcosa is an original compilation featuring poetry and short stories by Ambrose Bierce, Robert W. Chambers, Edgar Allan Poe, and William Butler Yeats.

Carcosa is a fictional land that first appeared in Bierce’s 1886 story “An Inhabitant of Carcosa” (included in this collection), and later is appeared Robert W. Chambers’s The King in Yellow. It has since been used by many other fantasy and horror writers and poets, including H. P. Lovecraft, Joseph S. Pulver, John Scott Tynes, George R.R. Martin, and many more. Carcosa has even been used as a location in the HBO’s True Detective and Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

This collection explores Carcosa and other fictional cities found in nineteenth-century poetry and short stories.

As with the first Skyboat and Archer collaboration, The Masque of the Red Death, the works of these classic and innovative writers are given new life, and a new generation of listeners will have the chance to voyage to Carcosa … and beyond.

Original musical score and artwork by Steven Archer. Includes an accompanying PDF of Steven Archer’s original illustrations.

Full

“To Elsa” (From The Haunts of Men) by Robert W. Chambers

“An Inhabitant of Carcosa” by Ambrose Bierce

“Cassilda’s Song” (From The King in Yellow) by Robert W. Chambers

“In the Court of the Dragon” by Robert W. Chambers

“The Haunts of Men” by Robert W. Chambers

“A City in the Sea” by Edgar Allan Poe

“The Purple Emperor” by Robert W. Chambers

“Song of the Wandering Aengus” by William Butler Yeats

PLEASE When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Audible Audio

Published October 18, 2022

About the author

died perhaps 1914

Caustic wit and a strong sense of horror mark works, including In the Midst of Life (1891-1892) and The Devil's Dictionary (1906), of American writer Ambrose Gwinett Bierce.

People today best know this editorialist, journalist, and fabulist for his short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and his lexicon.

The informative sardonic view of human nature alongside his vehemence as a critic with his motto, "nothing matters," earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce."

People knew Bierce despite his reputation as a searing critic, however, to encourage younger poet George Sterling and fiction author W.C. Morrow.

Bierce employed a distinctive style especially in his stories. This style often embraces an abrupt beginning, dark imagery, vague references to time, limited descriptions, the theme of war, and impossible events.

Bierce disappeared in December 1913 at the age of 71 years. People think that he traveled to Mexico to gain a firsthand perspective on ongoing revolution of that country.

Theories abound on a mystery, ultimate fate of Bierce. He in one of his final letters stated: "Good-bye. If you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags, please know that I think it is a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stairs. To be a Gringo in Mexico--ah, that is euthanasia!"