Customer Reviews

The Maker of Gargoyles and Other Stories

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Clark Ashton Smith was man with an unlimited imagination. His flowery tales of the fantastic and weird stand out as shining star for his time.

This book only scratches the surface of his vast collection of works, but it does offer a very diverse selection of his style.

For those who are familiar with Smith and his written works, this book will feel somewhat short and lacking.
On the other hand, If you are new to the work of CAS and would like to get a taste of his style without cleaning out your wallet in the process, then this book is for you.

It is the perfect CAS starter.

hopefully, this isn't the best of clark ashton smith's work. this collection of 8 tales is disappointing overall. technically speaking, smith's effortless command of the language and attention to detail is impressive, but plot is often a weak point. what works in his favor is that smith does seem capable of being equally at ease with three categories of imaginative fiction horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. these tales might appeal to fans of h.p. lovecraft, but in truth, while interesting in an eerie, gothic way, smith's work is less intriguing and lacks the depth of that of his famous friend. it seems likely that this isn't really a sample of his best work, but more of a random overview of his output. i haven't given up on smith, yet i'm hoping that smith has other, better tales to justify his reputation as a talented creator of weird fiction..

Smith offers a splendid bouquet of tales here in this very fine edition by Wildside Press. Their new releases of Smith's strange and alluring prose are nicely bound, and all feature fantastic cover art that beg the viewer to buy and open these treasure troves of pure fantasy. Highly recommended, as is the previous release of "The Double Shadow", so I really look forward to "The White Sybil" this Summer.