Theosophy arose in the late 1800s and quickly spread throughout the Western world. Its doctrines and mythology fascinated everyone from political revolutionaries to pulp authors. Its influence is still felt today, after nearly one hundred and fifty years.
Read MoreThe cosmic wheels have whirled and turned once more. We yet again find ourselves celebrating Klarkash-Ton Day. Raise a glass of Atlantean vintage—or the closest equivalent—to the memory of Clark Ashton Smith and his almost-avatar, Klarkash-Ton.
Read MoreClark Ashton Smith was a pioneer of the S&S genre. His “The Tale of Satampra Zeiros” was the first sword-and-sorcery story he ever wrote. It is also, possibly, the most influential tale he told within that genre.
Read More“In this article, I will be not only contemplating the current state of entertainment but also briefly reviewing “The Return of the Sorcerer” of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, because it is, I feel, one of the best episodes in that series, it is good fun for a Samhain night, and said episode was inspired by the short story “The Return of the Sorcerer” by Clark Ashton Smith.”
Read MoreFrom my perspective, sword and sorcery is not power-fantasy; it is barbarian-fantasy: the longing to return to the primitive, the past, the preindustrial, the raw of terrestrial nature, the simple.
Read MoreFantasy stories are typically set in either an imaginary world like Nehwon and Narnia or an imagined past like the Hyborian Age or Middle Earth. Then there is the Dying Earth genre which is set not only in the future, but at the end of Earth’s history.
Read MoreThis is the debut celebration of the date when H.P. Lovecraft bestowed upon Clark Ashton Smith the ‘Mythos name’ of “Klarkash-Ton”, while also creating a persona/backstory to go with the sobriquet.
Read MorePossible spoilers ahead for Robert E. Howard’s "A Witch Shall Be Born," The Happy Prince (2018), Salomé (2013), Conan the Barbarian (1982), the works of Clark Ashton Smith, Wilde’s Salome, and more.
Read MoreKlarkash-ton and Monstro Ligriv (Gerry de la Ree, 1974) is a testament to the depth of influence of H.P. Lovecraft in that it prompted a handful of letters between two with whom he himself corresponded: Clark Ashton Smith and Virgil Finlay.
Read MoreIt seemed to me that I should revisit my old essay for The Cimmerian blog, “The Sword-and-Sorcery Legacy of Clark Ashton Smith”. While recognition of Klarkash-Ton as the co-founder of Sword-and-Sorcery has increased since I wrote that essay in 2010—most notably in Brian Murphy’s excellent Flame and Crimson—it appears to me that Smith’s influence on the S&S genre is still very undervalued.
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