Jesse’s Reviews > The Episodes of Vathek > Status Update

“The Story of the Princess Zulkais and the Prince Kalilah”

In this story, twins are the unwitting pawns of their pagan intellectuals who encourage their incestuous affections. It’s really gross but the story is unfinished and the twins never get a chance to consummate their burgeoning relationship within the prose. I can see why C.A. Smith picked it up, since the end promises his kind of alien travelogue.

Imma just say that this chapter would be Cassandra Clare’s favorite

“The Story of Prince Barkiarokh”

Barkiarokh is a horrid miscreant, a man seemingly composed of nothing but appetites, who chafes at the counsel of a virtuous (but naive) spirit, even if she would put him on a throne. The dude’s list of crimes includes prompting fratricide and patricide, rape, adultery, murder, and contemplating (but not consummating) incest with his daughter.

Alasi let a lot of horrible stuff go that Firouz was doing but Barkiarokh is so much worse, maybe even worse than Firouz. It’s a tough race but from what I know I have some 20 pages left and I know that it only gets nastier from here.

“The Story of Prince Alasi and the Princess Firouzkah”

Most of this story consists of injustices overlooked by Alasi due to his intense love for the young, wicked prince who is placed in his charge. Beckford dissolves the homoerotic tension to reveal (the spoiler is in the title!) that Firouz is actually the princess Firouzkah. She has been raised with a philosophy of hedonism and Alasi is her heart’s desire.

The next (4th) volume of Clark Ashton Smith stories has Vathek fanfiction that finishes the third and final of these collected debaucheries, so it’s time to confront the Episodes of Vathek. These stories were meant to be published as nested narratives told by the damned in Muslim Hell, with there being a place in Vathek set aside for this very purpose.