ET Books

Lost Worlds of Space and Time edited by Steve Lines was published by Rainfall Books in the UK in 2004, and is a collection of almost all newly published works based on or inspired by the works of Clark Ashton Smith. It is a handsome trade paperback, I think with the typical feel and look of small press publications these days. The cover art and interior art is also by Steve Lines; at least the cover is based on works by Clark Ashton Smith. It is an interesting depiction of two aliens and some weird plant like things suspending human skulls. Attractive but no wow factor. I enjoyed the interior art; it added to the overall quality of the book. There is a brief introduction by the editor and a few authors' notes after some of the stories. Otherwise there is no description of the authors', minibios or their thoughts about CAS. Page count is 205, so I thought it was a generous sampling of stories and poetry.

Contents:
Introduction by Steve Lines
Pegana:
The Empress Ygloriane by Robin Reed
Atlantis:
The Departure of Malygris by Steve Lines & John B. Ford
Hyperborea:
The Fear of Liqoimkh by Laurence J. Cornford
The Pool Above Nraqlommbeth by Simon Whitechapel
In the Court of the Crystal Flame by James Ambuehl
Star Spawn of Hyperborea by John Fultz
The Exorcism of Igsat by Joseph S. Pulver Sr.
The Forgotten Ritual of Mnar by Joseph S. Pulver Sr.
Fire by Randal D. Larson
Averoigne:
The Circumstances of Ghostly Cats by Mike Minnis
The Butcher of Vyones by Mike Minnis
Unhallowed Ground, Unholy Fetish by James Chambers
The Passing of Belzevuthe by Simon Whitechapel
Unknown Realms:
The Sorcerer Returns by Richard L. Tierney
The Oldest Dreamer by Walter C. DeBill
Rescue by Michael Fantina
Castle Keep by Michael Fantina
The Silver Cup by Michael Fantina
Villanelle of the Necromancer to His Love by Michael Fantina
Dream Lover by Michael Fantina

As you can see, the stories are grouped together by the particular realm of CAS in which they are set or that inspired them. Right from the get go the editor acknowledges the one problem for this collection that cannot be surmounted. That is, all of these stories are written in the incomparable shadow of the prose of Clark Ashton Smith, an inimitable master. Anyone who tries to adopt his style can end up reading like a bad mimic. I have A Rendezvous in Averoigne, the hardback by Arkham House as my basic Smith collection. I urge all readers who have not done so to seek out this volume. It has a cherished place of pride on my bookshelf. Of course there is the Nightshade books 5 volume collection of Smith's fantasies that is slowly being released. If it is anything like their William Hope Hodgson collection, then it will have all of CAS' works edited in the context of the most up to date scholarship, in utterly beautiful hardcover editions. However the subscriber price is pretty expensive. Lost Worlds of Space and Time is not the first such CAS inspired anthology. There is The Last Continent, in a gorgeous hardcover edition by Shadowlands press edited by John Pelan. It has stories set in Zothique. I had read 2-3 stories in that when I loaned it away; it is now next on my reading stack. Rainfall Books, publisher of this volume, has an interest in CAS inspired fiction and releases a few chapbooks per year devoted to such stories. I am grateful for collections like this packed with brand new stories of weird and wonderful fiction. Overall I was favorably impressed with this book. Note that many of the authors here have also witten Lovecraftian and Yello Sign fiction.

Minor spoilers may follow.

The Empress Ygloriane by Robin Reed - Enjoyable tale of an empress who maintains her power and youth with noxious magics, and whose downfall is plotted by her servitors. Meanwhile a patient, unaware and indifferent sentience takes no notice of her comings and goings.

The Departure of Malygris by Steve Lines & John B. Ford - A strange and nicely creepy tale of how the ennui of an ancient sorcer is finally overcome, not to the betterment of the surrounding city. Very engaging read.

The Fear of Liqoimkh by Laurence J. Cornford - Never underestimate a magician! A bold and scheming bandit overlooks one of the basic maxims of being an evil overlord and leaves his enemy alive to gloat at him. An engaging read.

The Pool Above Nraqlommbeth by Simon Whitechapel - Forlorn love story, with hope and love intermingled with death and dispair. Another good read.

In the Court of the Crystal Flame by James Ambuehl - I have read this before and this time around I enjoyed it even more. It is a sequel of sorts to the well know story by CAS of Satampra Zeiros' adventures in the temple of Tsathoggua. If REH, Fritz Leiber or anyone else had created such a marvelous thief, they would never have just used him in one story. He simply cries out for his own series of tales. So James Ambuehl takes up the gauntlet. What really set this story into its proper context for me was the author's note, acknowledging the more appropriate antecedents of REH and Sword & Sorcery as opposed to CAS. Vivid and fun to read.

Star Spawn of Hyperborea by John Fultz - this owes as much to HPL as CAS, as a little band of adventurers tries to prevent Cthulhu from gaining freer access to our world. Perhaps the canvas is too broad or the story too long. Also owes more to REH than CAS. Still a decent read.

The Exorcism of Igsat and The Forgotten Ritual of Mnar by Joseph S. Pulver Sr. - I think these 2 were supposed to be like brief excerpts from the Book of Eibon. They did nothing for me.

Fire by Randal D. Larson Excellent story! A sorceror reaches into our time to find an ally.

Averoigne - This whole section was highly superior, moving from strength to strength, with great plotting and prose. I won't go into details but all 4 of these were outstanding, and probably had the most CAS-like feel, particularly the story by Whitechapel. I am also a big Mike Minnis fan.

Unknown Realms - This was all poetry. I think writing poetry is terribly difficult. In school we are weaned on the best the English language has to offer. Thus I mostly don't enjoy mythos poetry. Maybe someone else will like it.

So in summary a terrific anthology. Reasonably priced, with good production values, I found it a great way to while away some hours lost in worlds created by CAS, a true master. I heartily recommend it to all readers. Best of all, it is volume 1.

Being a big comic fan, I think Ma Dalton is excelent and probably the best luck luke out there. The book is simply hilarious.

I read that book when I was back home in Ivory Coast and I could never forget about it. It inspired me a lot I would also like to have a copie of the book.

Although some of its suggestions and theories would appear to be outdated, it is an excellent work and will drive the curious to seek out more information on the varied subjects it covers beneath the umbrella of Semetic magic as traced or linked to older sources and its influence over various cultures and religous ideologies.

It is filled with accounts of ghuls, ghosts, demons and gods. It roams amidst their horrid habitations and divulges some of their strange and terrible secrets whilst giving the wary some ideas of ancient protective measures against them. It covers many of the concepts of demonic possesion amoungst the ancients and expands on curious myths you may have seen only hints of through the Quran, Tanak or Christian bible. It is a great source for myths and magical details including an Assyrian ritual that would seem to be an ancient origin for the modern concept of the Qabbalistic Cross Ritual, the idea of laying on of hands in faith healing and the concept of a guardian being. To quote:

"Unto the house on entering
Samas (is) before me,
Sin (is) behind [me],
Nergal (is) at [my] right hand,
Ninib (is) at my left hand;
When I draw near unto the sick man,
When I lay my hand on the head of the sick man,
May a kindly Spirit, a kindly Guardian, stand at my side."

The quote above is one of many very interesting bits of information contained in this book. I recommend it highly.

As an avid amateur mushroom hunter, I have a lot of books on fungi. When I got this as a re-gifted gift from a naturalist more interested in the trees than the mushrooms, it was a very pleasant surprise. The heart of any fungophile/fungivore beats faster when they spot oaks in the distance, as so many edible species find their home in conjunction with the roots and stumps of these magnificent trees.

To the point - this seems like an incredibly nerdy book, but it's not. It has great photos that make it suitable as a field guide, and the well-organized layout and scientific info of a reference guide. The general focus on tree habitats rather than just fungi was refreshing if you are used to straight myco-texts, and it's an overall pleasure to read and use. It probably shouldn't be your very first mushroom book, but if you're lucky enough to live near lots of oaks, it's a serious contender.

Bottom line - very entertaining for a geek like me, and terrifically focused and useful for the near-beginner. Five fungal stars.

Here are the madrigals of Monteverdi's Ottavo Libro (Book 8) in modern notation with text underlay, plus various commentaries. This is not a faultless edition of the sort that a top notch recording ensemble could rely on, but if you can read music, you might find that it enhances your pleasure in listening to any of the three splendid recordings of these madrigals what I've reviewed elsewhere:
La Venexiana - Book 8 complete on 3 disks
Concerto Italiano - complete
The Consort of Musicke - excellent but not complete
And if you can sing, and have friends who also can sing, hey, give it a try!

If you give any young child a gift from the heart, let this be it.
An incredible story of a girl's enexpected gift.
Life is about sharing, and she bring this true to life.

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I love these recipes! I have three teenagers and have to double the recipes in the book, but they are easy to use and a great idea to just cook ahead of time and thaw out what you want. For an active family this is a fabulous idea. I also like that you can thaw out one mixture and make several different dishes... makes changing your mind about what to cook not a problem!! Highly recommended!

Modern business is about alternatives and exploiting them. This book brilliantly faces the reader with the multitude of options modern technology and business thinking offer in the case of electronic commerce. Enjoyable reading!