Roads [Facsimile] [Hardcover]

Seabury Quinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2005

This limited edition "facsimile" reprint volume is a complete and detailed reproduction of the original first edition (published by Arkham House in 1948), fully authorized, and packaged in a deluxe gift box that includes a booklet with detailed biographical information about the author and illustrator. The dust jacket and gift box both feature the beautiful metallic gold ink of the original Arkham House edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This edition is a charming facsimile and comes in an impressive box set. Put it on your Christmas list now. -- Flux Magazine

From the Publisher

''I have not tried to paint the portrait of a man, but merely to present a personality and hazard a guess as to the motivation that makes Santa Claus the wondrous figure he is -- a figure who more than any other exemplifies the beauty of selflessness.'' -- Seabury Quinn

Drawing upon the original Christian legends that coalesced over centuries into the familiar, jolly form of Saint Nicholas, pulp fiction pioneer Seabury Quinn weaves a spellbinding new origin for this most beloved of children's icons in his classic novella ''Roads.''

First published in the January 1938 issue of Weird Tales, this re-imagining of Santa Claus has been hailed by genre historian Sam Moskowitz as ''the greatest adult Christmas story written by an American.'' Ten years after its initial publication, ''Roads'' reappeared as a handsome hardcover book from Arkham House, the groundbreaking speculative fiction publisher founded in 1938 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei -- an edition which featured beautiful new illustrations by the legendary fantasy artist Virgil Finlay.

Divided into three sections, Quinn's tale begins in the days of the Roman Empire, where the mighty gladiator Claus -- a barbarian from the frozen Northland -- has just finished his term of service in the province of Judea. On the journey back to his homeland, Claus chances upon a poor family under attack and saves them from a murderous band of soldiers. With this selfless act, his life is changed forever.

Claus goes on to travel further than he ever could have imagined. Crossing from one end of the Empire to the other and back again, he eventually outlives the power of Rome and the dark ages that follow it, and witnesses the rise of new civilizations on its former lands. Immune to the effects of time, Claus accumulates the wisdom of many lifetimes before discovering the final road he is destined to follow -- a path which will lead him to his true calling, and fulfill a promise made to one very special child on behalf of all the children of the world.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 116 pages
• Publisher: Red Jacket Press; Facsimile edition (June 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097488958X
• ISBN-13: 978-0974889580
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #453,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Christmas story since the original, December 25, 2001

By 

Brooks A Rowlett - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roads (Textbook Binding)

_Roads_ is the best Christmas story since the original one. Had I been the first reviewer, I would have only given clues toward the ending, where Klaus the Barbarian becomes Claus the good, because it is meant as a surprise ending. But this is a book I wish I could read in a church Christmas festival to show doubters how "Santa" - St Nicholas, who even if he wasn't real, should have been - is a symbol of Christ, and good; loving, giving and caring, not an anagram of "Satan".

Even if you cannot afford the Arkham edition, it was republished in a paperback collection of the _Best of Weird Tales_, and may be again someday. This story deserves the same kind of wide renown and affection as Richard Paul Evans' _The Christmas Box_ and O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi". Rankin-Bass's animation is cute, but this is the kind of fiction that ought to be true.... Santa SHOULD be real, and this SHOULD be his story.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best christmas story since dickens's "carol", August 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Roads (Textbook Binding)

I first met Seabury Quinn through "Weird Tales" in the early 1930s and was lucky enough to meet and to know both him and his wife when I was stationed at the Pentagon during the Korean War. We stayed in touch and every year or so we got together at his apartment near Dupont Circle or in downtown Washington for drinks, good food and great conversation. I valued his friendship. We were both in the intelligence business, Seabury with the Air Force and I with the Army. I was saddened when the hostess at the Dupont Plaza where we often met for dinner called to tell me of my friend's death. I cherish his memory as I do the signed copy of "Roads" he gave my mother for Christmas when it was published. Many Christmas eves have come and gone since I first opened "Roads' and savored the tale and its completely fresh look at an old and well loved Yuletide legend. Dickens set the scene and Seabury Quinn came along to tell a story with a cast of characters to touch hearts young and old. Ebenezer Scrooge shows how we can keep Christmas well. Klaus, the man from the Northland who once saw a child in Egypt and years later watched the death of a mon on a hill called Golgotha shows why we keep it in our hearts today. From Amahl and his Night Visitors to that Other Wise Man the simple yet powerful story of "Roads" has already taken its place up there with the best.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A facsimile reproduction of the 1948 first edition, August 8, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roads (Hardcover)

Roads is a facsimile reproduction of the 1948 first edition, Roads is a fantasy novel by pulp fiction pioneer Seabury Quinn. First published in the January 1938 issue of "Weird Tales", Roads is an "adult Christmas story" that offers a daring re-interpretation of the legend and tradition of Santa Claus, drawn heavily from the inspiration of original Christian legends. Renowned fantasy artist Virgil Finlay illustrated the 1948 edition, in this gorgeous reproduction that is the next best thing to owning the original. "Roads" comes packaged in a stiff cardboard box, and retains its classic and timeless charm, as well as a sense of wonder and imagination to look beyond boundaries. Highly recommended.