Genius Loci, and Other Tales [Textbook Binding]

Clark Ashton Smith (Author)

Product Details

• Textbook Binding
• Publisher: Arkham House Pub (June 1972)
• ISBN-10: 9997541154
• ISBN-13: 978-9997541154
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,929,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Klarkashton of Atlantis, October 3, 2002

By 

David Jenrette (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Genius Loci, and Other Tales (Textbook Binding)

If you like Howard and Lovecraft and Dunsany, you will like Clark Ashton Smith. His stories are little constructions for the most part with words as archaic and arcane as his subject matter. These stories should be read separately and from time to time. Too much could be an overdose.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A lot of imagery, not much plot, July 9, 2001

By 

Shane Tiernan (St. Petersburg, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Genius Loci, and Other Tales (Textbook Binding)

This collection consists of 15 stories:

A Star Change
Genius Loci
The Black Abbot of Puthuum
The Charnal God
The Colossus of Ylourgne
The Disinterment of Venus
The Eternal World
The Garden of Adompha
The Ninth Skeleton
The Phantoms of the Fire
The Primal City
The Saytr
The Weaver in the Vault
The Willow Landscape
Vulthoom

All of them are written in Smith's poetic/dramatic prose style which is at times beautiful and less often boring or even ridiculous. Some, like _The Colossus of Ylourgne_ or _The Garden of Adompha_ stay rooted in some fantasy realm of monsters and magic; while others, like _Vulthoom_ or _The Eternal World_ wander into space, dealing with timeless aliens and strange silent races.

Overall I would NOT suggest this as a starting point for aspiring C.A. Smith fans. Although it does give the feel for Smith's writing style, it doesn't seem to be the strongest collection 'plotwise'. Some of the ideas are good but are just not given enough detail to make them shine and others seemed less 'dark' than they could have been with a little extra effort.