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Tales of Zothique #11
Necromancy in Naat
Yadar, a princely nomad, searches for his love Dalili, only to discover her on the Island of Naat... and the horrors of the island...
ebook
First published November 1, 2012
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About the author
Clark Ashton Smith
724 books1,013 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 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 14, 2021
A romantic tale of necromancy by weird fiction master Clark Ashton Smith? Undead love from 1936? Surely I jest .... yet Necromancy in Naat is just that. Chilling, and with action and gore. And romance. As well, Smith's lush prose and his haunting depictions of the desolate island of Naat itself, situated at the abyss on the edge of the world. Despite the pervasive terror, there's an underlying glimmer of something actually sweet here. An ending with at least a shred of solace for a weary hero, which Smith pulls off masterfully and to thoroughly chilling effect.
February 28, 2026
Another Clark Ashton Smith story with
In this 1936 dark fantasy originally published by Weird Tales, Prince Yadar is off to find his missing love interest, the beautiful Dalili, who's been caught in a human trafficking ring and has somehow found herself on the island of Naat.
Naat, however, is naat to be messed with, hehe, as it has a naaty reputation: "...there is no land saving the evil land of Naat, which is called also the Isle of Necromancers. I know not which were the worse fate, to be wrecked on that infamous isle or hurled into space with the waters falling from earth's edge. From either place there is no return for living men such as we. And from the Isle of Naat none go forth except the ill sorcerers who people it, and the dead who are raised up and controlled by their sorcery."
Fearing neither the undead nor being hurled into space, our intrepid young lover makes it to Naat, where he is rescued by the undead Dalili and given over to three Necromancers, who promptly invite him to supper and introduce him to their evil pet ferret, the demon familiar Esrit. Now you would think that Prince Yadar would refrain from eating the necromantic dinner, but alas! Yadar is not that bright, as evidenced from his traveling to Naat in the first place.
"As he ate and drank, his senses were sharpened weirdly, and he grew aware of eldritch shadows moving between the lamps, and heard the chill sibilance of whispers that checked his very blood. And there came to him, from the peopled hall, every odor that is exhaled by mortality between the recentness of death and the end of corruption."
Yadar very quickly smartens up when he realizes that the other human dinner guest is not there to eat, but to be eaten, but alas! Yadar is stuck on Naat with three necromancers and a host of undead, including his beloved Dalili.
Fortunately two of the necromancers solicit Yadar's help to destroy the primary necromancer, which leads to some crazy killing antics, including a hilarious scene where the evil sorcerer is running around like a chicken with his head nearly cut off. Literally.
Read it free here:
http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/...
In this 1936 dark fantasy originally published by Weird Tales, Prince Yadar is off to find his missing love interest, the beautiful Dalili, who's been caught in a human trafficking ring and has somehow found herself on the island of Naat.
Naat, however, is naat to be messed with, hehe, as it has a naaty reputation: "...there is no land saving the evil land of Naat, which is called also the Isle of Necromancers. I know not which were the worse fate, to be wrecked on that infamous isle or hurled into space with the waters falling from earth's edge. From either place there is no return for living men such as we. And from the Isle of Naat none go forth except the ill sorcerers who people it, and the dead who are raised up and controlled by their sorcery."
Fearing neither the undead nor being hurled into space, our intrepid young lover makes it to Naat, where he is rescued by the undead Dalili and given over to three Necromancers, who promptly invite him to supper and introduce him to their evil pet ferret, the demon familiar Esrit. Now you would think that Prince Yadar would refrain from eating the necromantic dinner, but alas! Yadar is not that bright, as evidenced from his traveling to Naat in the first place.
"As he ate and drank, his senses were sharpened weirdly, and he grew aware of eldritch shadows moving between the lamps, and heard the chill sibilance of whispers that checked his very blood. And there came to him, from the peopled hall, every odor that is exhaled by mortality between the recentness of death and the end of corruption."
Yadar very quickly smartens up when he realizes that the other human dinner guest is not there to eat, but to be eaten, but alas! Yadar is stuck on Naat with three necromancers and a host of undead, including his beloved Dalili.
Fortunately two of the necromancers solicit Yadar's help to destroy the primary necromancer, which leads to some crazy killing antics, including a hilarious scene where the evil sorcerer is running around like a chicken with his head nearly cut off. Literally.
Read it free here:
http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/...
August 6, 2022
A quick audiobook and straight forward to the point... nothing much to say really since it was only 1hr long so not enough time to build the world or characters.
October 16, 2021
I have had the pleasure of reading a half dozen or so Clark Ashton Smith stories over the past year and this is easily the best of all of them. It starts with a classic problem in fantasy literature. The hero, Yadar, is trying to rescue the love of his life, Dalili, after she has been captured and enslaved. By the end, this will cease to be a simple recovery story and turn into a genuinely touching romance—something I never expected from Clark Ashton Smith whose previous stories led me to think he saw women as either prizes or evil seductresses.
In the opening pages, Smith mentions many adventures that Yadar endures in what are essentially throwaway paragraphs. Some authors would have used these adventures to build a novel. Smith uses them to exquisitely construct Yadar’s reputation with the reader. He’s a Sinbad or a Conan, capable of both martial feats and great cleverness, and these clearly incredible challenges he overcame are barely worth mentioning as footnotes compared to the true story to come. And what a challenge the real story presents. Dalili has fallen into the possession of the Necromancers of Naat and turned into a zombie. You read that right—before the story truly beings—Yadar has lost. And yet, Smith still manages to create a fantastic story that ends with a haunting and yet surprisingly beautiful expression of true and enduring love.
I’ve always enjoyed Clark Aston Smith’s work, but this story makes me realize just how capable he truly was.
I’d like to add a note about the narrator of this story, because it’s through him that I discovered these Clark Ashton Smith tales. Will Hahn is an amazingly talented reader who brings drama and excitement with every word he utters. So when I found out he had chosen to narrate a handful of stories from CASiana Enterprises Ltd., I wondered what it was about them that drew his interest. After listening to the tales, I not only understood, it made me want to see what other gems he’s uncovered and could share with the rest of us.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
In the opening pages, Smith mentions many adventures that Yadar endures in what are essentially throwaway paragraphs. Some authors would have used these adventures to build a novel. Smith uses them to exquisitely construct Yadar’s reputation with the reader. He’s a Sinbad or a Conan, capable of both martial feats and great cleverness, and these clearly incredible challenges he overcame are barely worth mentioning as footnotes compared to the true story to come. And what a challenge the real story presents. Dalili has fallen into the possession of the Necromancers of Naat and turned into a zombie. You read that right—before the story truly beings—Yadar has lost. And yet, Smith still manages to create a fantastic story that ends with a haunting and yet surprisingly beautiful expression of true and enduring love.
I’ve always enjoyed Clark Aston Smith’s work, but this story makes me realize just how capable he truly was.
I’d like to add a note about the narrator of this story, because it’s through him that I discovered these Clark Ashton Smith tales. Will Hahn is an amazingly talented reader who brings drama and excitement with every word he utters. So when I found out he had chosen to narrate a handful of stories from CASiana Enterprises Ltd., I wondered what it was about them that drew his interest. After listening to the tales, I not only understood, it made me want to see what other gems he’s uncovered and could share with the rest of us.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
July 16, 2020
Dreary and macabre, yet with an underlying softness and optimism rare among this era of Weird writers, Smith's "Necromancy in Naat" is among the best of his writing.
April 11, 2018
This story is Clark Ashton Smith at his very best. All his great Zothique themes are here - selfless love, evil necromancy, a world far from ours but with a coherent history and imaginative horror (this time on a zombie theme but with space for a vampire weasel-demon).
The tale has a long search for a lover thieved by slave raiders, a Sinbad-like journey across the seas to an island of dark evil, shipwreck, black magicians without a shred of humanity left, a gloomy abode, betrayal and murder. What's not too appreciate.
Without offering spoilers, this excellently written and well paced story reaches an end that really touches the heart with a great if ambiguous sadness but it does so by means of a series of adventures and scenes that recall the old European tradition of fairy tales and the Arabian Nights.
This is what is interesting about Ashton Smith whether he is writing on Averoigne or on Zothique (this story was published in 1936 in Weird Tales when he was at the peak of his powers) - he writes as if he is bringing much older narrative traditions of literature into the world of pulp fiction.
With Averoigne, he is working his way back through the fantasies of Dunsany and his ilk and of the Renaissance to the world of the troubadours, the minnesinger, the lives of the saints and the Arthurian romances yet introducing Lovecraft and Gothick fiction like a comet from space.
With Zothique, he works through the fairy tale, Gothick fiction again and the Arabian tale but still finds space for modern sword and sorcery and, once again, Lovecraftian themes. Pulp fiction has never been more sophisticated and yet his writing is always crystal clear for his mass audience.
October 23, 2025
Algo tienen estas historias de este autor. Porque siempre son originales hasta el más sorprendente nivel y sorprendentes hasta dejarte sin aliento. La inmersión que logra y la poesía que alcanza, sin mencionar el detalle de las descripciones y el horror que crea es simplemente alucinante. Me gusta mucho, lo admiro en gran medida.
A veces pienso que en estos sentidos, las descripciones, la inmersión, la originalidad, puede que me atreva a decir que aventaja a Lovecraft. Aunque esa idea sea sacrílega en todo sentido.
A veces pienso que en estos sentidos, las descripciones, la inmersión, la originalidad, puede que me atreva a decir que aventaja a Lovecraft. Aunque esa idea sea sacrílega en todo sentido.
May 17, 2025
(read in Weird Tales Vol. 28 No. 1)
So I guess the only way I will ever log more than one book per year on this app is to read short stories... Better than nothing i guess?
Anyway pretty good novelette, it actually gets scary at times. I thought It would be filled with clichés but it's pretty interesting and sweet at times. After all, it's still a love story (a very fucked up one, but a love story nonetheless)
So I guess the only way I will ever log more than one book per year on this app is to read short stories... Better than nothing i guess?
Anyway pretty good novelette, it actually gets scary at times. I thought It would be filled with clichés but it's pretty interesting and sweet at times. After all, it's still a love story (a very fucked up one, but a love story nonetheless)
June 13, 2021
A love story with a happy ending, also zombies.
Read it online for free at http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/...
Read it online for free at http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2021
Smith has the typical excess of a pulp writer, but employed with greater skill than Howard for certain, possibly Lovecraft as well...
April 5, 2023
A good read. Nothing exceptional, nothing outstanding, just an enjoyable story if you like weird fiction.
November 22, 2025
3,5 Sterne
Langsam habe ich das Gefühl, dass Smiths Geschichten sich nicht zu sehr unterscheiden. Abgesehen davon hat sie mir aber gefallen und wieder ist die Geschichte so viel größer, als diese Geschichte lang ist. Der Erzählstil ist auch wieder sehr auf Abstand und gibt einem das Gefühl, eine Lagerfeuer Geschichte erzählt zu bekommen.
(+)
- Nekromanten wirkten extrem bedrohlich
- Fand das Ende episch
(-)
- Nicht sehr interessant erzählt
Langsam habe ich das Gefühl, dass Smiths Geschichten sich nicht zu sehr unterscheiden. Abgesehen davon hat sie mir aber gefallen und wieder ist die Geschichte so viel größer, als diese Geschichte lang ist. Der Erzählstil ist auch wieder sehr auf Abstand und gibt einem das Gefühl, eine Lagerfeuer Geschichte erzählt zu bekommen.
(+)
- Nekromanten wirkten extrem bedrohlich
- Fand das Ende episch
(-)
- Nicht sehr interessant erzählt
November 14, 2025
This reads like a summary of an actual story. Beyond that, I found it inspired yet critically lacking in plot: arbitrary and avoidable, which makes it the worst kind of plot.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews