Xiccarph

by Clark Ashton Smith, Lin Carter (Introduction), Gervasio Gallardo (Illustrator)

Introduction by Lin Carter, cover by Gervasio Gallardo, scarce, low print run

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Short Stories, Weird Fiction, Science Fiction, Fiction, Speculative Fiction

247 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Clark Ashton Smith was a poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. It is for these stories, and his literary friendship with H. P. Lovecraft from 1922 until Lovecraft's death in 1937, that he is mainly remembered today. With Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, also a friend and correspondent, Smith remains one of the most famous contributors to the pulp magazine Weird Tales.

His writings are posted at his official website.

Reviews

[Warren Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 1972 collection of Radium-Age science fiction stories from none other than Clark Ashton Smith. But when I say science fiction, take that with a grain of salt. When I first started reading these tales, I immediately thought of Catherine Moore's Northwest Smith cycle and Robert Howard's Conan series. Indeed, after looking through the foreword, editor Lim Carter was thinking the same thing.

Though set on other planets, these are fantasy tales squarely in the weird fiction realm. They are all beautifully written in the style of a poet at heart, and are an exercise in the feng shui of language. Smith creates names for alien peoples and places that roll off the tongue with exotic flare. He creates vivid landscapes you have never seen but that are absolutely out of your dreams--or nightmares. The power of his prose is stunning, weaving hallucinogenic dark fairy tales embued with wonder and horror.

There are only two Xiccarph stories, while the rest concern other worlds. This isn't the only common thread you'll find in these stories, though. Smith has a fascination with flowers as much as flowery language, and this element is consistent throughout this collection, whether it be hybrids between human and flower or plants with supernatural powers, all of which can be quite vengeful and deadly. The ever eco-friendly Smith questions the line drawn between vegetable and animal, and seems to advocate for respect for all life by painting scenarios of humans enslaved by intelligent plant life and ensnared by bewitching gardens. Remember that the next time yoy try to force your kids to eat all their broccoli.

No one knows why he stopped writing Xiccarph stories when he did, but it was clear that he meant to create a series. The second seems to pick up right where the other left off only to go off in an entirely different direction. So though they are ultimately unrelated, they both involve a wizard scientist who is a pure villain in the first story and then does something semi-heroic but equally brutal in the second. The motivations and history behind this not-very-likeable but powerful character is never explained, and perhaps was never intended to be, but it's clear that Smith was moving in a direction of weaving a series of tales interconnected by this one person. As they stand, they kind of left me wondering what was the intended point and wanting more. But enjoyed simply for what they are, these stories are exquisite examples of how writing takes you to unimaginable places.

There are some weak points to be found, though perhaps they are nit-picks. These stories take place in a time when human technology has advanced to take them routinely into the stars, yet they still carry old-fashioned Colt revolvers. And in one story, the narrator has been injected with a toxin that is destroying his brain, but this doesn't stop him from dictating a long and poetic narrative full of the most esoteric words in the English language.

But aside from some minor gripes, the collection does contain some of the finest of Smith's output, such as the Martian opus "Vulthoom." That story is about as close to a space opera as Smith ever comes, set in a future time where humans freely engage in interplanetary travel via ether-ships and trade with the local Martian population. Two down-on-their-luck travelers are given the opportunity to get back home to Earth by an ancient life form who itself also was stranded on Mars millennia ago, but the price for this help is very great indeed. This was one of my favorite of the bunch, with a more sensible plot involving higher stakes. I strongly suspect an allegory here for drug addiction without resorting to "Yellow Peril" propaganda of the day, as the story is rich in Chinese imagery, and the main theme involves a narcotic flower (opium) that an ancient civilization wants to use to intoxicate and subdue all of civilization. But whether or not you recognize any particular themes here, you will doubtless marvel at Smith's incredible gift for descriptive input into the mind's eye of incredibly beautiful but sinister environments and creatures.

Complete with otherworldly cover art, reminiscent of an early Budgie album, by Spanish surrealist Gervasio Gallardo, who also did illustrations for books by Lovecraft, Chesterton, and Lord Dunsany, this is a must-have for the vintage sci-fi collector.

If you don't have this particular volume, here are my individual ratings for the individual stories that you can find and read separately from various other sources:

1) THE MAZE OF MAAL DWEB--The first of the two Xiccarph stories, featuring the villainous sorcerer Maal Dweeb. Beautiful, but pointlessly mean-spirited. Four Stars
2) THE FLOWER-WOMEN--Maal Dweb travels to a world inhabited by vampiric flower-women who are being persecuted by intelligent dragons. Maal Dweb sort of saves the day, but I don't know why we should care. Three Stars
3) VULTHOOM--First of the Smith Martian chronicles. A classic. Five Stars
4) THE DWELLER IN THE GULF--Surprisingly gory and downbeat story reminding me a bit of the movie "The Descent." It first appeared under the title "The Dweller of Martian Depths" in the magazine "Wonder Stories," and Smith has to sue editor Hugo Gernsback for the $769 he was owed. Five Stars
5) THE VAULTS OF YOH-VOMBIS--Another gory alien monster story that takes place underground about a group of explorers terrorized by brain-eating slugs. Hard to believe this stuff was written almost 100 years ago. Five Stars.
6) THE DOOM OF ANTARION--Also known as "The Planet of the Dead," this is a variant of the prose poem "From the Crypts of Memory," also included in this volume. An astronomer is projected in a dream into the body of Antarion on a planet where the dead live in perpetual antiquity. I was bored by this one. Two Stars
7) THE DEMON OF THE FLOWER--For centuries, the people of the planet Lophai have made human sacrifices to an ancient being in the deadly Voorqual flower. But when his betrothed is selected as next to be sacrificed, the high priest decides to rebel. Three Stars
8) THE MONSTER OF THE PROPHECY--Theophilus Alvor is a writer of poetry and fantasy, but can't find a publisher for his work. He is saved from commiting suicide by a gentleman in a top hat, actually an alien in disguise who wants Theo to help fulfill a prophecy on his home planet. Along with "The Navigators of Space" by J.-H Rosny aîné, this is an unusual early example of interspecies romance. Four Stars
9) SADASTOR--A brief but beautiful prose poem, a fairy tale told by a demon. Four Stars
10) FROM THE CRYPTS OF MEMORY--Another prose poem based on the same idea as "The Doom of Antarion," but the poem works much better. Smith's poetry is an absolute delight. Five Stars

In conclusion, if you are more of a science fiction reader and only a casual fan of horror, here is a great place to dip your toes into the work of Clark Ashton Smith if you haven't already. For those of you who are solid horror genre readers, you will still highly enjoy these tales. And if you are already a fan of the poet and have not yet read these stories, get on your ether-ships today and begin your interplanetary adventures from Xiccarph to beyond the stars!

WORD OF THE DAY: Odalisque.
But this is Clark Ashton Smith we're talking about, and there's just too much purple here for just one word of the day. So let's throw in a few more:
Eidolon; Noctilucae; Adumbration; Gneissic; Sacerdotalism; Nacarat; Quinquiremes

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his introduction and elsewhere, Lin Carter insists on seeing the stories in terms of being fragments of nascent "cycles" similar to Smith's developed Zothique and Poseidonis settings. He provides no proof that Smith ever considered such, so such categorization reveals more about his own thinking than Smith's.

The collection is something of a grab-bag, put under the 'Xiccarph' label because they all sort of fall into the same sort of theme, of decadence turned to rot and outright decay. Worlds at the tail end of their existence, now mostly cities of tombs and dry sea beds, and lost dying elements of species and civilizations.

Even the Xiccarph stories themselves, starring the all-powerful Maal Dweb, ruler of six planets, is of a wizard who ultimately is battling his own ennui. (I wonder, incidentally, how much the decadent and cosmically-powerful wizards Jack Vance's Rhialto the Marvellous owe to this.

Between Maal Dweb, "The Monster of the Prophecy", and "Sadastor", there is an ongoing theme of fantasy gone cosmic, admitting the existence of planets and stars within this fantastic writing.

[Omaira · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,25.
El laberinto de Maal Dweb 3/5.
Las mujeres flor 3,5/5.

Breve pero necesaria aproximación a Clark Asthon Smith. No había leído hasta este momento al autor en solitario. Y su relato de la renombrada antología "Los mitos de Cthulhu", "Estirpe en la cripta", no me gustó demasiado, como tampoco el de Robert E. Howard. Por esa razón, aunque también por distintas prioridades e inquietudes literarias, he ido dejando y dejando a Smith a un lado. Mal.

La verdad, iba sin expectativas. Pero no voy a negar que ha sido un reto tratar a Clark A. Smith "como un autor más". Llevo muchos años escuchando palabras amables sobre el autor y su obra, y de un tiempo a esta parte más frecuentemente porque he tenido el placer de confraternizar con una persona que lee y aprecia de verdad a estos autores por sus obras, y no por su fama o legado. Estas conversaciones con mi amigo hicieron que experimentara una curiosidad mórbida por los relatos de Smith, una curiosidad que fue culminante cuando ayer pude hacerme con este pequeño ciclo de relatos. Y he decidido leerlos esta mañana mientras me tomaba el café para hacerme una idea más certera de lo que encontraré en un futuro próximo en Zothique e Hipérborea, ambos "textos" editados por Valdemar. Para no ir a ciegas, básicamente.

La estética de Smith recuerda al Jardín de las Delicias del Bosco. Es impresionante la imaginación de la que rebosan sus historias y las poderosas imágenes que genera sin caer en un lenguaje ampuloso que, sinceramente, habría sido los grilletes de este vórtice de sueños sacados del más profundo de los niveles del subconsciente. Pero lo más fascinante es que estos elementos extraños, que parecen alejados del entendimiento humano y lo copan todo, me generan la sensación de que pretenden hacer al lector parte de lo extraño. Algo que logra Smith, pues sino no estaría escribiendo estas líneas.

En el primer relato nos narra la travesía del amado de Alethé, Tiglari, a través de un laberinto sacado de la imaginación de René Laloux y Stefan Wul. El segundo relato narra la liberación de las mujeres-flor de los ataques continuos de los ispazar. Me gustaron mucho ambas narraciones, pero sobre todo la resolución, pues aborda cuestiones filosóficas interesantes. Maal Dweb a veces siente piedad por seres menos desarrollados, pero otras veces solo les dedica una profunda indiferencia. Ayuda a unos seres inferiores a él para divertirse y destruye a otros por la misma razón. Para el brujo la existencia de los seres de estas lunas es un barro que moldea a su antojo, tanto el sentido moral y en el físico. Juega mucho con su función, pues a veces solo desea ser un brujo y en otras gobernarlo todo. Es un artista iconoclasta y al mismo tiempo es solo una criatura aburrida de su propio poder. Me pareció un personaje interesante que, bajo mi punto de vista, habría dado para más que dos relatos.

En conclusión, han sido dos relatos deliciosos y fascinantes que me han acercado un poco más al autor californiano. Espero leer alguna cosa suya más extensa antes de que den las campanadas este año...

[Padblock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este breve texto es, probablemente, la mejor manera de adentrarse en la obra del más lírico, complejo y enigmático de los escritores de horror cósmico.

[Fantasy boy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Xiccarph by Clark Ashton Smith is his science fiction short stories collection was selected in Ballantine adult fantasy series by Lin Carter. It has one of the most interesting story which is the Prophet of the Monster. The poet Alvor was trying to suicide but the monster Vizaphmal took him to the planet Saddort and wanted to fulfill the prophecy. And was fall in love with the alien poet queen.

Smith has the most peculiar taste of using words in his writing. He often portrays visual images of the far away realms; the alien creatures, fora and Funa, and bizarre rituals or sacred archaic religions were exited. Xiccarph has the same elements but it is more related to Sci Fi settings.

8.5 out of 10. Grand settings of Clarke Ashton Smith’s Sci Fi world are still fascinating to read!

[Kimberly Karalius · Rating 3 out of 5]

The language was poetic and gorgeous, but I can only take so many tragic endings, of which there are many in this collection.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a miscellany this one -- Smith only actually wrote two stories about Xiccarph, so editor Lin Carter rounded things out with three stories Smith wrote about Aihai [Mars] and a handful of singletons; to the extent that there's an overarching theme, I guess that it's stories set on different worlds?

Whatever the case, the stories are good, written in Smith's inimitable, ornamented prose; and the collection has Carter's usual enthusiastic introduction and story notes.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just found another superb weird fiction author. The only thing I can compare them to is Lovecraft's dream cycle works, particularly the darker parts of them (as most of the stories in this collection are dark). The Xiccarph stories take place in the strangest, most creative realm, but I enjoyed the Aihai stories most. They take place in what I think is Mars' ancient past (although it might be in the far future), and mostly in underground caves. The alienness of Smith's aliens is a huge plus. There was also a story towards the end of the book which took a surprising turn towards romance. The romance was between a (spoilers) human stranded on an alien world, and an alien wishing to escape "her" world. So two people feeling weird and isolated by their social surroundings. I can see why this concept would appeal to readers and writers in the weird fiction arena. (end spoilers) The writing is superb, though it is slow, atmospheric, and setting heavy. I had heard that Smith was friends with/influenced Lovecraft and that is clearly evident from these tales.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this collection doesn't reach the lofty heights of world building and cosmic terror that Smith reached in Hyperborea, Xiccarph takes a different approach. These stories have Smith's enchantingly described yet at the same time horrific alien landscapes. My favorite story here was definitely the Monster of the Prophecy.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Xiccarph is a collection of Clark Ashton Smith's "star stories," a variety of science fantasy horror set on other planets. Published in 1972 with wrap-around cover art by Gervasio Gallardo, Xiccarph was the 41st. volume in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series, where Lin Carter edited the book itself and the series as a whole. Carter had already published Zothique and Hyperborea in the series, and would yet publish a fourth volume of Clark Aston Smith stories, Poseidonis. These other three books are set on Earth, though in the far past or far future. The stories in Xiccarph are unusual among Smith's work for their locations in the stars.

Indeed, according to Carter in the introduction, Smith was genuinely original in this particular group of stories. No one before Smith had published this kind of science fantasy horror. Smith thereby created his own tiny subgenre, written of course in his signature "luxuriant, gorgeous prose," in terms used by Carter.

Unlike Zothique, Hyperborea, and Poseidonis, the stories in Xiccarph do not belong to a single location. For example, for the title location, the planet Xiccarph, Smith wrote only two stories, "The Maze of Maal Dweb" and its sequel "The Flower-Women." The former, Carter had already revived in The Young Magicians in the same series. It's a shame that Smith didn't write further tales about Xiccarph's sorcerer-scientist ruler, Maal Dweb.

There follows three stories set on Aihai, another name for Mars. For me, they strongly recalled Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles. Smith's brand of science fantasy horror is quite different from Bradbury's style, but nevertheless, I would guess that the Aihai stories inspired Bradbury's Chronicles.

The remainder of Xiccarph consists of a single story each, set on the planets Phandiom, Lophai, and Satabbor; and then finally two prose poems set on dying planets.

Clark Ashton Smith's vision of otherworldly strangeness is given full scope in his "star stories." Xiccarph is a gem. The stories are perhaps some of Smith's best, and Carter's erudite introduction and commentary throughout is an excellent bonus.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Xiccarph” is a collection of tales by Clark Aston Smith that includes only two stories set on the titular fictional planet. This is the general tone of this book which was edited by Lin Carter. Any similar stories were put together. Therefore, we have Smith’s three stories set on Mars, two set on Xiccarph, then single stories set on various worlds. Some of these might be considered science fantasy, most are more fantasy than science. All of these tales are written in the unique and amazing way of which Clark Aston Smith was the master. He was also a poet, and his prose is lyrical and unique.

Clark Ashton Smith was one of the Weird Tales authors, and a contemporary and correspondent of H. P. Lovecraft. I personally consider his work more dark fantasy than horror. His works can be found online, but e-book collections can be hit or miss.

This particular Ballentine publication edited by Lin Carter is worthwhile to seek out as it collects a variety of his stories set on strange worlds. The editor spent considerable effort in putting everything in order, and providing introductory material to explain the stories.

[Sergio Cresta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Última lectura del mes: XICCARPH, una serie de relatos cortos que fueron apareciendo en magazines como Weird Tales; del autodidacta, pintor, escultor, escritor, Clark Ashton Smith, quien obtiene su fama, más allá de su prolífica producción literaria, debido a su amistad con Lovecraft.
Escritor de fantasía, más que de terror, crea mundos prodigiosos, en los cuales recrea gran parte de mitologías ancestrales. Así pues, en este corto relato nos transporta a un mundo dominado por el Nigromante todopoderoso Maal Dweb, quien, aburrido de su inmenso poder, decide correr una aventura que le devuelva algo de incertidumbre para salir del tedio de su inexpugnable laberinto, habitado por extraña criaturas. Se dirige a uno de los mundos de su dominio, un sistema con cuatro lunas, tres soles, y cinco planetas. Asistiendo a los dominios de las mujeres flor, de vampíricas tendencias, para realizar un mágico rescate.
Quizá mejor ilustrador que escritor, Smith atosiga con tan apabullante imaginación, el terror se corre de lado ante tan elevadas dosis de fantasía.

[Kars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ending the year as I started it: with a Clark Ashton Smith collection. Xiccarph isn’t as good as Zothique, mainly because it is more inconsistent and fragmentary. But the standouts here are really great and exactly what I was hoping for: A delirious mashup of fantasy, sci-fi and horror captured in lyrical prose. Standouts here are the two Xiccarph tales (Maal Dweb, and The Flower Women) as well as the last two set on Aihai (CAS’s version of Mars): Dweller in the Gulf, and Yoh-Vombis. The former have amazing alien protagonists, the latter feature protagonists suffering very gnarly deaths at the hands of genuinely horrifying monsters. Still haven’t grown tired of CAS and will continue to seek out stories of his in the new year.

[Stormbringer · Rating 5 out of 5]

***** Must Read
**** Excellent
*** Good
** At Your Own Risk
* Ive surely missed the point here

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hodgepodge of CAS stories, but still excellent, full of jeweled morbid beauty. The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis is always welcome and chilling when it shows up in collections.

[Tyler Gatien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am normally indifferent about short story collections, but these were just wonderful.

[Francesco Manno · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://panopticonitalia.blogspot.it/2...

Xiccarph is an anthology composed of multiple stories fantasy / science fantasy written by Clark Ashton Smith and originally published in the thirties of the last century in various magazines; including Weird Tales. In 1972, Ballantine Books has collected and published all these short story, entrusting its care to Lin Carter.
I begin by saying that Clark Ashton Smith is one of my favorite authors. You have to know that they are in love with his baroque prose and reading his stories sends me into raptures.
You excuse me therefore if in the assessment of this work will express an opinion not impartial.
But let us ...
Xiccarph can not be considered a single saga, but is a composite series of short stories, all set in alien planets, inhabited by civilizations decadent and monstrous creatures, governing in a despotic manner, making use of their subordinates and practicing human sacrifice. Sometimes these monsters are elevated to the rank of true deity by local people, and revered as such.
The protagonists of the events in question are not the classic heroes and the stories do not have happy endings. Instead we rather wicked witches (as Maal DWeb) and ordinary men who very often fail to achieve the goal they have set initially, and living afflicted by their fears and boredom.
There are even the myriad of fighting with bayonets in which we have used many other writers. A lord it are intricate plots, introspective and counterintuitive typical of Arabian tales of One Thousand and One Nights, by which Clark Ashton Smith is tax.
As usual, the author, being equipped with an imagination like no other, assigns a key role in world building, describing in great detail the flora, the fauna of the worlds in which these adventures are set. We can see tropical vegetation and desert teeming with plants and ofidiche carnivorous flowers siren, reptiles and winged horses like blade and scaly lizards.
I conclude by saying that Xiccarph is essential work not only for lovers of fantasy, but also other kinds of speculative fiction.

[Steve Goble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhere on a continuum between Lord Dunsany and H.P. Lovecraft, you will find the spirit of Clark Ashton Smith. One of the writers who emerged from the pulp days of "Weird Tales," Smith weaves imaginative stories of wonder, tragedy and horror. Sure, he'll send you to your dictionary several times per story, but what the hell. His prose is poetic and lyrical.

This collection is very good and contains tales quite varied. My favorites in this bunch are the sort-of Lovecraftian "The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis," the oddly moving "The Monster of the Prophesy" and "The Doom of Antarion," which takes the Burroughs Barsoom concept in a melancholy direction.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah....I'm not gonna' sugar coat this....I hated these short stories. It took me 3 months to get through them (although, I did stop to read another book in between) and part of the reason was due to the nauseating, flowery language. Leave it to a "poet" to go overboard with the adjectives. I'm not a fan of horror anyway, but I definitely don't like fantasy horror. Smith wrote horror stories set on distant planets, and I think I could have done without them. However, if you like that sort of thing, this collection is for you.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of Smith's extraterrestrial fantasies—adventures of the alien sorcerer Maal Dweb, the unspeakable lost horrors of Mars and a frustrated poet lured to another world to become "The Monster of the Prophecy." These are all good, and the best are easily 5 stars and a bit over ("Vaults of Yoh-Vombis" is insanely creepy even though the monster and the set-up aren't that original). The language is ornate, which works for me but YMMV; while dark, some of the stories surprised me with happy endings.

[Athanasius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another sublime selection of masterpieces from Clark Ashton Smith, the unheralded paragon of the fantasy genre.

DO read this book if you appreciate poetry, imagination, and prose par excellence.

DON'T read this book if you are a fan of sub-par, mass produced paperbacks that clog modern day bookstores (Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Malazan, anything by Gaiman - I'm looking at you!).

[Aloha]

Don't have this particular book, but the stories are contained in the complete collection I own.

[n-Manifold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Morbid. Creative. Fantasy and science fiction with awesomely obtuse words. Wish the stories hadn't ended so suddenly.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh CAS, why did you not write more stories in each of these cycles!?!