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Tales of Zothique #3
The Charnel God
Zothique is Earth's last continent in the very distant future when the sun has grown dim, the world has grown old, and the remorseless seas have overwhelmed all other continents. The sciences have been forgotten as the shadowy arts of sorcery and magic have been reborn. The a dark world of mystery in which luxurious kings and wandering heroes venture across dim landscapes, pitting their strength and wisdom against powerful wizards, necromancers, and alien gods, all under a dying sun.
In The Charnal God a young couple stops for lodging in the wrong place - the infamous city of Zul-Bha-Sair! Unbeknownst to Phariom and his wife, Elaith, Zul-Bha-Sair is home to Mordiggian, feared god of all who die within his territory. When Elaith falls ill and lapses temporarily into unconsciousness, shadowy agents of Mordiggian arrive and whisk her away to the god's massive temple. Left with no other option, Phariom attempts a danderous mission to locate and rescue his stolen wife.
This is a nail-biting journey into the world of darkness, suspence, and necromancy.
In The Charnal God a young couple stops for lodging in the wrong place - the infamous city of Zul-Bha-Sair! Unbeknownst to Phariom and his wife, Elaith, Zul-Bha-Sair is home to Mordiggian, feared god of all who die within his territory. When Elaith falls ill and lapses temporarily into unconsciousness, shadowy agents of Mordiggian arrive and whisk her away to the god's massive temple. Left with no other option, Phariom attempts a danderous mission to locate and rescue his stolen wife.
This is a nail-biting journey into the world of darkness, suspence, and necromancy.
Audio CD
First published September 30, 2006
3 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Clark Ashton Smith
719 books997 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 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 6, 2020
3.5*
El Dios Del Osario /El Dios Carroñero/ El Dios De Los Muertos (1934)
"El ha sido el dios desde tiempos perdidos en sombras más profundas que los subterráneos de su negro templo para la memoria del hombre .todos los que mueren dentro de las murallas de la ciudad son consagrados a Mordiggian. Hasta los reyes y los magnates, cuando mueren, son dejados en manos de sus embozados sacerdotes. Esta es la ley y la costumbre"
'Entregamos los nuestros al dios. Su santuario es terrible, un lugar de terror y sombras oscuras donde el sol no penetra, allí los sacerdotes llevan a los muertos y los depositan sobre una vasta mesa de piedra para que esperen su salida de la cámara interior donde habita. Ningún hombre vivo, aparte de los sacerdotes, lo ha visto alguna vez, y los rostros de los sacerdotes se ocultan bajo máscaras de plata; hasta sus manos están cubiertas, para que los hombres no puedan ver a aquellos que han visto a Mordiggian"
Un joven noble "Phariom", y su prometida "Elaith", están de paso por una extraña ciudad"Zul-Bha-Sair".
Eliath por desgracia,sufre inoportunamente de un ataque de catalepsia y la declaran muerta.
En esta ciudad tienen por costumbre entregar el cuerpo de cualquier persona que haya muerto dentro de sus confines, al dios Mordiggian, por medio de sus esbirros... unos sacerdotes Necrófagos/Ghouls, para ser devorados.
A su vez un grupo de Nigromantes intentan burlar a este Dios.
Seguiremos e desarrollo e la historia en la que esta pareja se ve en medio de la disputa entre las dos fuerzas y en la que Phariom hará todo lo posible para salvar a su prometida. Y veremos que tan Maligno, Benigno o justo puede ser el accionar de este dios primigenio.
Una historia a mitad de camino entre el horror y la fantasía oscura y que se conjugan con otras historias de Lovecraft y Robert E Howard también publicadas en Weird Tales. Con algunas características propias del Pulp y con su propia impronta del autor.
El Dios Del Osario /El Dios Carroñero/ El Dios De Los Muertos (1934)
"El ha sido el dios desde tiempos perdidos en sombras más profundas que los subterráneos de su negro templo para la memoria del hombre .todos los que mueren dentro de las murallas de la ciudad son consagrados a Mordiggian. Hasta los reyes y los magnates, cuando mueren, son dejados en manos de sus embozados sacerdotes. Esta es la ley y la costumbre"
'Entregamos los nuestros al dios. Su santuario es terrible, un lugar de terror y sombras oscuras donde el sol no penetra, allí los sacerdotes llevan a los muertos y los depositan sobre una vasta mesa de piedra para que esperen su salida de la cámara interior donde habita. Ningún hombre vivo, aparte de los sacerdotes, lo ha visto alguna vez, y los rostros de los sacerdotes se ocultan bajo máscaras de plata; hasta sus manos están cubiertas, para que los hombres no puedan ver a aquellos que han visto a Mordiggian"
Un joven noble "Phariom", y su prometida "Elaith", están de paso por una extraña ciudad"Zul-Bha-Sair".
Eliath por desgracia,sufre inoportunamente de un ataque de catalepsia y la declaran muerta.
En esta ciudad tienen por costumbre entregar el cuerpo de cualquier persona que haya muerto dentro de sus confines, al dios Mordiggian, por medio de sus esbirros... unos sacerdotes Necrófagos/Ghouls, para ser devorados.
A su vez un grupo de Nigromantes intentan burlar a este Dios.
Seguiremos e desarrollo e la historia en la que esta pareja se ve en medio de la disputa entre las dos fuerzas y en la que Phariom hará todo lo posible para salvar a su prometida. Y veremos que tan Maligno, Benigno o justo puede ser el accionar de este dios primigenio.
Una historia a mitad de camino entre el horror y la fantasía oscura y que se conjugan con otras historias de Lovecraft y Robert E Howard también publicadas en Weird Tales. Con algunas características propias del Pulp y con su propia impronta del autor.
March 21, 2017
Well, I listened to it. They said, "Mordigian," a great deal. Just finished it and can't recall a think. Smith is not something I can enjoy passively. One step closer to completing the Mythos, since technically, it entered my ears!
December 9, 2019
It's refreshing to see a god of death - even one so grotesque, commanding ghouls and darkness - be shown as a decent creature deep down.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2018
A man rescues his wife from the clutches of a necromancer and his cohorts, before she is devoured by the evil charnel god of the title - a deity who consumes all the dead of the city in which he dwells.
December 20, 2018
A man ventures into the depths of haunting catacombs to face off against an evil necromancer that is holding his wife hostage as a sacrifice for a god of death. It dragged on a bit too long, but still a satisfyingly dark fantasy adventure.
April 11, 2018
This is the third of Ashton Smith's Zothique series, published in 'Weird Tales' in 1934. It is an accomplished horror story based on a number of his common themes - young love in peril, dark necromancy, unspeakable cults and the charnel house.
This story takes up another meme, much loved in the Weird Tales community, of the ghoul that feeds on dead human flesh and then manages to shift it up a gear by having a city in which a Ghoul God (who happens to be just) and his ghouls have built up a symbiotic relationship with humanity.
The Zothique stories, like the Averoigne stories, follow a clear pattern in a consistent universe and are written to a high standard, considering their destination in a pulp magazine. Ashton Smith takes the reader close to the edge when it comes to the horrific and even erotic but never quite tips over.
June 5, 2019
This did exactly what a short story should do, provide lots of intrigue and pack a lot of info into a small amount of space.
The way the two plots were woven together in this piece was particularly well done and the spooky city and it's god king were suitably spooky. I also really enjoyed the lovecraftian language employed in what is otherwise a more traditional pulp fantasy story.
This book did exactly what it needed to and didn't waste any time doing it. I will be reading more of Smith's short stories in the future for sure!
The way the two plots were woven together in this piece was particularly well done and the spooky city and it's god king were suitably spooky. I also really enjoyed the lovecraftian language employed in what is otherwise a more traditional pulp fantasy story.
This book did exactly what it needed to and didn't waste any time doing it. I will be reading more of Smith's short stories in the future for sure!
June 20, 2012
Originally posted at FanLit.
Clark Ashton Smith’s most popular short stories take place in a land he called Zothique, the last continent on our dying earth. It rose out of the sea and its people have forgotten modern technologies, customs, and religions. Instead they worship strange gods and practice sorcery. Smith’s 16 complete ZOTHIQUE stories were published in Weird Tales from 1932 to 1953. They’ve since been reprinted in several collections and, because they’re in the public domain, posted with the Smith family’s permission at Eldritchdark, a fan website.
Some of the ZOTHIQUE stories are also available in a... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Clark Ashton Smith’s most popular short stories take place in a land he called Zothique, the last continent on our dying earth. It rose out of the sea and its people have forgotten modern technologies, customs, and religions. Instead they worship strange gods and practice sorcery. Smith’s 16 complete ZOTHIQUE stories were published in Weird Tales from 1932 to 1953. They’ve since been reprinted in several collections and, because they’re in the public domain, posted with the Smith family’s permission at Eldritchdark, a fan website.
Some of the ZOTHIQUE stories are also available in a... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
November 8, 2025
Text
https://ia801500.us.archive.org/19/it...
Audiobook
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=299UU...
A man and his “girlish” wife stay overnight in a strange city while they’re traveling. The man’s wife suffers from narcolepsy, and has a narcoleptic fit during the night. She is summarily pronounced dead by a doctor from the city, who completely ignores the husband’s protests that she’s narcoleptic. She is taken away by the masked devotees of the God of the city, to be eaten by the God and his devotees. However, she is instead taken to a necromancer who works with the God’s devotees: he kills people, resulting in more corpses for the God to eat, and in return they let him “borrow” the corpses and experiment on them before returning them to be eaten by the God.
Along with the protagonist’s wife, this necromancer has also taken the corpse of a woman he is in love with, whom he killed in order to have her for himself, and he doesn’t want to give her body back to the God, he wants to keep her forever as an animated corpse (which is mindless and totally obedient, so I guess all he was really “in love” with was her body).
The protagonist’s wife revives from her narcoleptic fit while the necromancers are trying to animate her. Her husband, who has tracked down her whereabouts, attempts to rescue her, fighting off the necromancers, who are trying to kill him. But they’re all stopped mid-fight by the arrival of the God itself, who eats the necromancer’s dead love interest. The God leaves, and his devotees then show up, with their masks off, revealing them to be some kind of werewolf-like people. They kill the necromancers as punishment for trying to keep one of the corpses. One of the devotees speaks to the protagonist, telling him and his wife to go, and that their God only wants the dead, not the living. They escape, and that’s the end of the story.
It was an enjoyable story, especially the description of the God at the end. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith were friends and influenced each other’s writings, and you can definitely see that in this story. Also, Clark Ashton Smith seems to have the attitude of, “I bought an entire dictionary, so I’m going to use the entire dictionary.” It would be a great reading selection for anyone looking to expand their vocabulary.
https://ia801500.us.archive.org/19/it...
Audiobook
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=299UU...
A man and his “girlish” wife stay overnight in a strange city while they’re traveling. The man’s wife suffers from narcolepsy, and has a narcoleptic fit during the night. She is summarily pronounced dead by a doctor from the city, who completely ignores the husband’s protests that she’s narcoleptic. She is taken away by the masked devotees of the God of the city, to be eaten by the God and his devotees. However, she is instead taken to a necromancer who works with the God’s devotees: he kills people, resulting in more corpses for the God to eat, and in return they let him “borrow” the corpses and experiment on them before returning them to be eaten by the God.
Along with the protagonist’s wife, this necromancer has also taken the corpse of a woman he is in love with, whom he killed in order to have her for himself, and he doesn’t want to give her body back to the God, he wants to keep her forever as an animated corpse (which is mindless and totally obedient, so I guess all he was really “in love” with was her body).
The protagonist’s wife revives from her narcoleptic fit while the necromancers are trying to animate her. Her husband, who has tracked down her whereabouts, attempts to rescue her, fighting off the necromancers, who are trying to kill him. But they’re all stopped mid-fight by the arrival of the God itself, who eats the necromancer’s dead love interest. The God leaves, and his devotees then show up, with their masks off, revealing them to be some kind of werewolf-like people. They kill the necromancers as punishment for trying to keep one of the corpses. One of the devotees speaks to the protagonist, telling him and his wife to go, and that their God only wants the dead, not the living. They escape, and that’s the end of the story.
It was an enjoyable story, especially the description of the God at the end. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith were friends and influenced each other’s writings, and you can definitely see that in this story. Also, Clark Ashton Smith seems to have the attitude of, “I bought an entire dictionary, so I’m going to use the entire dictionary.” It would be a great reading selection for anyone looking to expand their vocabulary.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2018
Muy bueno y entretenido. No conocía a este autor, pero ya lo anotaré para mis futuras lecturas oscuras y de fantasía.
October 9, 2020
Review
Clark Ashton Smith is one of my favorite authors, I spent years tracking down a copy of the book Zothique, it was my favorite and still is.
Clark Ashton Smith is one of my favorite authors, I spent years tracking down a copy of the book Zothique, it was my favorite and still is.
July 22, 2024
Best god ever! Like having a raccoon god that you sacrifice your table scraps to. A god that actually makes itself useful for a change! God cum garbage disposal! I’m ready to convert!
May 1, 2024
A morbid tale of corpse-devouring ghouls and a god, contrasted with the eternal magnetism of lovers, and the nefarious desires of the dark arts. A just entity who deals with the dead or a hungry brood that devours all? This tale, though dark, is one of the more hopeful situations in the harrowing Zothique tales.
The last continent, Zothique. Zul-Bha-Sair is a dark and old city with the law of
The Abominations of Yondo
The Charnel God
The Dark Eidolon
The Death of Malygris
The Double Shadow
The Empire of the Necromancers
The Isle of Torturers
Necromancy in Naat
The Tale of Satampra Zeiros
The Tomb-Spawn
The Voyage of King Eurovan
The Weaver in the Vault
The last continent, Zothique. Zul-Bha-Sair is a dark and old city with the law of
The Abominations of Yondo
The Charnel God
The Dark Eidolon
The Death of Malygris
The Double Shadow
The Empire of the Necromancers
The Isle of Torturers
Necromancy in Naat
The Tale of Satampra Zeiros
The Tomb-Spawn
The Voyage of King Eurovan
The Weaver in the Vault
November 14, 2025
Reading the Zothique series collected in a book, and The Charnel God has been so far one of the very few short stories contained therein with a solid plot that withstands all probing and testing. Not by coincidence, it is also the strongest story so far, which leaves me with hope that the second half of the collection harbors more gems and treasures. The Charnel God stands like a monument of dark fantasy in a sea of inconsequential and arbitrary creations.
June 2, 2013
Clark Ashton Smith’s most popular short stories take place in a land he called Zothique, the last continent on our dying earth. It rose out of the sea and its people have forgotten modern technologies, customs, and religions. Instead they worship strange gods and practice sorcery. Smith’s 16 complete ZOTHIQUE stories were published in Weird Tales from 1932 to 1953. They’ve since been reprinted in several collections and, because they’re in the public domain, posted with the Smith family’s permission at Eldritchdark, a fan website.
Some of the ZOTHIQUE stories are also available in a... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Some of the ZOTHIQUE stories are also available in a... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews