Steve Lines (–2021)

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 Yellow 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.… (altro)

Lost Worlds of Space and Time, Volume Two is the eagerly (well, by me) awaited second volume of fiction written based on, in tribute of or using themes and characters by the incomparable Clark Ashton Smith. I very much enjoyed Volume One. Just like its predecessor, Volume Two is a handsome trade paperback. Page count is 230, very generous, a little higher than Volume One. Like before the cover art is by Steve Lines, and is based on works by CAS. The aliens are different and facing a different direction. I like it better than I did Volume One a year ago; it's grown on me. The interior art was most welcome and also by Mr. Lines, who did the editing honors. On the whole, I am glad to have this book although I think Volume One is clearly stronger than Volume Two. Maybe the prose was more derivative across the board in Volume Two? Here is a bone I have to pick with these genre anthologies in general, not just with this book in particular. It is about publication history. Who is responsible for the copyright info and publication history? For example, Black Massif by Stanley Sargent is listed as a first publication, and © 2005. But I have a copy of Ancient Exhumations +2 by Sargent from Elder Signs Press, © 2004, and it contains Black Massif. Hmph.

Here are the contents. Again the atories are divided based on what work by CAS influenced them:

Introduction by Steve Lines
Xiccarph
The Lord of Xiccarph by Ron Shiflet (poem)
The Maze of Maal-Dweb by Steve Lines (poem)
The Reprisals of Maal-Dweb by Henry J. Vester III
The Death of Maal-Dweb by C. J. Henderson
The Legacy of Maal-Dweb by Ron Shiflet
Earth
The Gordian Knot by Robert M. Price
Orpheus at Sea by Mark Francis (poem)
The Cave Wizard by Richard L. Tierney (poem)
The Letter by Warlock G. Vance
The Night that Wins by Joel Lane
Aihai
Cavern of the Golden Fleece by Edward P. Berglund
Yihh
The Sarcophagus of Yiolh-Ngwehh by Simon Whitechapel
Xulthoom
The Xulthoom Dispatches by Scott Urban
Zothique
The Vainglorious Simulacrum of Mungha Sorcyllamia by Mark McLaughlin
The Fane of Mordiggian by Ann K. Schwader (poem)
At the Yielding of Twilight by Ann K. Schwader (poem)
Maraeva by Ran Cartwright
Plagues by Franklyn Searight (poem)
The Storming of Vrookhal by Laurence J. Cornford
Cincor During Necromantic Rule by Ron Shiflet (poem)
Deepness by Phillip Ellis (poem)
Gylas' Hymn to Mordiggian: A Fragment (poem)
The Villanelle of the Last Days by Phillip Ellis (poem)
The Black Massif by Stanley Sargent

I freely admit I was not won over by any of the poetry. Regarding the stories, they are each set in some corner of CAS' fantastical worlds. For example, note all the Xiccarph stories written loosely as sequels to The Web of Maal-Dweb.

The Reprisals of Maal-Dweb by Henry Vester was set in the future time when an earthly spaceship comes to Xiccarph and humans try to outwit/out fight the potent old sorcerer. This was OK, easy to read if not too inspired.

The Death of Maal-Dweb by C. J. Henderson is a direct sequel to The Web of Maal-Dweb. Again, reasonably engaging, not disagreeable. CJ Henderson has written many other fine stories.

The Legacy of Maal-Dweb by Ron Shiflet is also a sequel to The Web of Maal-Dweb, although in a very different way than the Henderson tale. For whatever reason, this was my favorite of all the Maal-Dweb stories. The mordant twist would likely have brought a smile to CAS' face.

The Gordian Knot by Robert M. Price - Not bad! Price gives a very readable story of the real history behind the Gordian Knot, with some OK CAS imagery.

The Letter by Warlock G. Vance - OK! Now we're getting somewhere! A detective on a murder scene finds a letter written to him, years ago by CAS. I found this story evocative and effective.

The Night that Wins by Joel Lane was a creepily effective story about a man who loses his family and seeks to understand what happened, and maybe get revenge.

Cavern of the Golden Fleece by Edward P. Berglund - Now here is a story that is a clear winner. I really enjoyed this from start to finish; Mr. Berglund really delivers the goods, with humor, grotesque touches and nifty prose.

The Sarcophagus of Yiolh-Ngwehh by Simon Whitechapel - an acolyte plans to steal a relic from a priest and doesn't realize that spells may be effective even if their caster moulders in his sarcophagus. Decent read, didn't knock my socks off.

The Xulthoom Dispatches by Scott Urban - Better than most of the other stories here, a young girl visits Xulthoom and does not enjoy the trip. I liked this story rather well but I found the mock photo at the end didn't really have much impact. Maybe a prose finish would have been better.

The Vainglorious Simulacrum of Mungha Sorcyllamia by Mark McLaughlin - Another nicely evocative tale about a man who longs for woman he cannot have, and then tries to cross to her dimension. This brief description does not do justice to the prose or world painting.

Maraeva by Ran Cartwright - I really wish I liked this story better. For me it was too derivative and the prose didn't hold up to the better stories here. On the other hand, the time travel paradox and denouement were handled nicely.

The Storming of Vrookhal by Laurence J. Cornford - Good story of a wizard and the advisors of a vain and foolish king who seeks to find an ancient magic that will give him eternal life. OK, the prose is no match for CAS but whose is? I liked it.

The Black Massif by Stanley Sargent - A decent effort by Sargent about wizards trying to circumvent the end of humanity in the last days of Zothique.

Am I being too harsh? I dunno, another person might be more favorably inclined. For the most part I just happened to like the stories in Volume One quite a bit better than most of the ones here. Certainly the Berglund story made me smile. There was nothing here I disliked; every story had some merits. I was engaged for the whole book and never set it aside until I was done, so there is some charm to it; I can safely recommend it to all CAS fans and fans of weird fiction. I just wish I liked it better. In any event, I sincerely hope Rainfall will give us a volume Three in the future.… (altro)

Cthulhu's Creatures was released in 2007 and I have only now gotten around to reviewing it. There are a number of reasons for that; I suppose my problem was that although I mostly enjoyed this book, the best stories were all reprints I already had, mythos poetry is just about never any good and the worst stories were not so hot. Rainfall Books is an enterprising press in the UK which produces a lot of material of interest to mythos fans. In particular they put out pretty good chapbooks, each with 3-4 stories in it. Because of the prolific nature of their chapbook publication they have attracted submissions from many authors with varying degrees of talent. The rub is that these chapbooks are not widely available in the US. Shocklines used to sell all of them for about $12, with free shipping. Mythos Books carries a few and some were available on EBay, RFB's original preferred distribution. Now that Shocklines has tanked, no one has stepped into the breach. No worries! You might consider Cthulhu's Creatures a greatest hits compilation of RFB's chapbooks. The publisher, however, was JNJ Publications. I guess they saw one way for small presses to make money was to put out limited edition collectors' items. Hence, Cthulhu's Creatures is a limited edition trade paperback soft cover. Only 100 copies were printed, all of them numbered to add to the cachet (I have #43) and signed by RFB's head honchos Steve Lines and John Ford, as well as JNJ Publications' Jeff Hill and Simon Clark, who wrote the optimistically enthusiastic introduction. Cover art is a nice Cthulhu by Jeff Lines who does just about all of RFB's art. Page count is 230, all text. Production qualities are good, nothing special for a "limited" edition; editing was pretty good and I only spotted a few typos. There is a useful list of the original publication history of most of the stories, although I still have questions about how accurate the copyright dates are. For example, I Married a Shoggoth was in Jeffrey Thomas's collection Unholy Dimensions from Mythos Books in 2005, so how can it have a 2007 copyright?

The Night Music of Oakdeene by Joseph S. Pulver - I know Mr. Pulver from the dreadful novel Nightmare's Disciple. I shouldn't have worried. I thought this was an excellent start to the book. A cruel young man has a new job as night watchman at the Oakdeene sanitarium where he finds he is able to keep his inmates quiet by chanting to Ybb Tstll. Tension and horror were both well developed.

Objects from the Gilman-Waite Collection by Ann K. Schwader - In this brilliant story, a traveling businessman spends a few idle hours looking at a traveling exhibit in a museum. His past comes back to haunt him. This was probably the best story in the book but it was reprinted from Strange Stars and Alien Shadows, which I already have.

The Image Dissector by Simon Clark - Simon Clark wrote the Leisure Book, Nailed by the Heart in about 2000. I haven't read it but it *is* a Leisure Book...He also has written a few short stories but I don't recall any. In a balloon above 1936 Providence images are sent via wire to a television on the ground. During a storm the crew of three men begins to see images on their screen sent up the wire the wrong way from a contact in a nearby graveyard. I suppose this was OK enough but it was pretty forgettable, with a predictable plot, caricatures instead of characters and prose that lacked any snap.

Ms Found in a Steel Bottle by Simon Whitechapel - As near as I can tell, Mr. Whitechapel does not have much of a mythos story publication history. Maybe someone can fill me in. An antiquarian of modest means serves as an antiquarian of immodest means' secretary. They seek artifacts of Atlantis and are lowered into a bathysphere as they explore the depths. Only the message makes it back. OK, decent enough, not spectacular or memorable.

Far Sight by Kevin O'Brien - I wish Lindisfarne Press had not tanked. I really do. Both Eldritch Blue and Strange Stars and Alien Shadows were outstanding books; I was practically salivating over their proposed catalogue. Alas! Also alas I do not like Mr. O'Brien's prose even a little bit. In this story Laban Shrewsbury is used to introduce a detective/professorial couple who perhaps the author wants to develop as recurring characters or occult detectives? A device can spy into other dimensions. Not only is the plot device pretty well worn, but the initial descriptions of the characters reads painfully like an essay for English 101, and there is an incredibly tedious amount of lecturing us about tachyons.

Re-Quest Denied by Stanley Sargent - Mr. Sargent has a few books of his mythos fiction floating around. Check out Elder Signs Press' homepage if you want to sample it. I have never been moved by Mr. Sargent's fiction and here I think he makes a bit of a mistake. While the story of regrets of old age and jealousy of youth has a very good unexpected ending, I don't think anyone should tread the hallowed ground of Sesqua Valley except WH Pugmire. Mr. Pugmire's prose is so unique, his vision so...Lovecraftian...no one else can transport us like he can. [Addendum: Mr. Sargent informed me he had Mr. Pugmire's blessing for his story.]

I Married a Shoggoth by Jeffrey Thomas - Mr. Thomas may be the closest to famous of all the authors here. In this story, a frustrated young man summons a shoggoth to fulfill his fantasies. I liked this one pretty well but I have multiple other copies in my library.

Questioning of the Azathothian Priest by CJ Henderson - OK, maybe Mr. Henderson is pretty well known too! I am not a big Anton Zarnak fan but this story manages to do justice to Lin Carter's character with the author's reliable hard boiled prose. The only problem is that I already have this story in Hard Boiled Cthulhu. Maybe they are playing to the UK audience who won't have as much duplication?

When in Leng by Ron Shiflet - I like Ron Shiflet's prose. I am eagerly awaiting his single author collection, Looking for Darla from ESP (although I am also thinking there will be a lot of overlap with my collection). This story is decent enough. Two old college buddies get together for dinner after one of them returns from his travels among the Tcho Tcho...No surprises but fun.

Signs & Signals by John Shire - I don't know much about Mr. Shire's work except I liked The Tip of the Iceberg from High Seas Cthulhu. This was a somewhat too complicated story about how the wind farms near Cornwall are actually being used as signals to something that really likes walking on the wind...I wasn't blown away (so to speak) but I enjoyed it well enough.

The Horror in the Genizah by Robert Price - Mr. Price requires no introduction from me. He is practically venerable and the mythos world owes him much for his tireless efforts on behalf of Lovecraftian fiction (dare I say he is a latter day Derleth?) . Sometimes I have carped about his overly assiduous application of his knowledge of comparative religion, but sometimes it really works, like in Acute Spiritual Fear (see Tales Out of Dunwich). Or here. I was totally into this story by Mr. Price, as I freely admit I don't know much about Islam. Per Price (I cannot vouch for the veracity of his prose), Muslims so venerate the Koran that they cannot just discard it when a copy has worn out. They instead `retire' it into a repository in a mosque. Over the years you can accumulate quite a store of papers, and perhaps the version at the bottom in the most ancient mosques does not match up with today's standard version. Perhaps there is a book we all know giving the original its provenance...

Welcome to Goatshead by Tim Curran - I have mixed feelings about Mr. Curran's fiction. I didn't like Hive but I have enjoyed most of his short stories. Here a young woman close to term in her pregnancy returns to her childhood home in Wisconsin around the Lammas Night celebration. Perhaps the prose was a bit overblown for some, but personally I enjoyed the atmospheric language and slow mood building.

Felicity by Susan McAdam (the artist from Eldritch Blue!) - An office drudge is asked to settle the affairs of a coworker who has committed suicide. Interestingly, the suicide has been settling the affairs of another coworker who had just committed suicide. In the deceased's possession is a certain play...Well I confess it. I love most Yellow Sign fiction, although this piece was particularly good.

Innsmouth Harvest by Ran Cartright - Mr. Cartright has a collection of his stories, Gretchen's Wood, available from Publish America. He practically has a cottage industry of publishing in RFB's chapbooks. In this story, Innsmouth has become a hot spot for the young and upwardly mobile...at least the women are particularly welcomed and the men don't find things so convivial. I just don't care much for Mr. Cartright's prose. This was not unenjoyable but it wasn't memorable.

The Ring of Azathoth by Michael Fantina - I only know Mr. Fantina from his poetry printed in the earlier RFB book Lost Worlds of Space and Time. A poor student becomes enamored of a piece of jewelry in a dusty old pawn shop in the poor area of town. A devout monk and mystic helps him. Readable enough I suppose but pretty forgettable, alas like a lot of what I've been reading in this book.

Crawling Terrors from Sho-Beth Mein by CD Allen - This author is new to me. This pedestrian effort discusses the loathsome aspects of spiders.

Episode in an Arkham Pool Hall by James Ambeuhl - Hey James, I love you man. Don't hate me for not especially liking this story, which is pretty standard Ambeuhl fare. Heck I guess I liked it well enough; it was pretty fun, pithy and better than some others here.

A Vision of Carcosa by John B. Ford and Steve Lines - You already know my bottom line on Yellow Sign fiction. I found it a very agreeable read.

Chancellor Town at Dark by Brian Leno - Franklyn Searight also pens Chancellor Town stories, also over the top and played for mythos humor. Mostly I think they flop. No exception here.

In no particular order, the following works were poetry:
Beneath Evil Skies by Phillip Ellis, The Marsh House by Franklyn Searight, Eclipse by Joel Lane, The Prisoner by Joel Lane, The Passing of Cassilda by Richard Tierney, Apocalypse by Richard Tierney - none of them jazzed me at all.

Do I have a bottom line? Collectors must have this. Casual readers will have a hard time acquiring one of the copies. While I didn't find it objectionable I sure wish it had more good stories; on the whole, there were enough good things in it to make me happy about spending my hard earned Cthulhu bucks. Among recent anthologies with mythos tendencies, I have really liked Horrors Beyond II and Weird Shadows Over Innsmouth. Hard Boiled Cthulhu was top notch. On a lesser rung were High Seas Cthulhu and Frontier Cthulhu; I found plenty to enjoy in both. Cthulhu's Creatures is probably about on the level of Arkham Tales. I rate it 5 stars because I think it had more good stories than The Tsathoggua Cycle, which I rated at 3, and it was better than The Colour Out of Darkness, a novella by John Pelan. Double check your collection for overlap. What the heck, I liked Arkham Tales too. Good luck finding it. It is more availabe than the first edition of Dead But Dreaming (only 75 copies printed) or Cthulhu Express (11 copies plus contributors' copies, although it may some day be reprinted).… (altro)