Strange Shadows: The Uncollected Fiction and Essays of Clark Ashton Smith (Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction

I am not reviewing the book here but the title short story 'Strange Shadows' published after Ashton Smith's death in 1985. It is not one of his greatest stories (although Ashton Smith cannot write badly), being a conventional tale of urban unease based on a rather absurd premise.

The core idea is that shadows tell the clairvoyant observer (not the rest of us) the real character and intentions of people (and, it is suggested, of animals) but the imagery is stereotypical and the story line weak. Yet Ashton Smith still manages to engage us.

This brings us on to another interesting tale published after his death but the year before as his drafts were disinterred for an eager public. This is 'Nemesis of the Unfinished' which tells us of the show more awful fate of a pulp fantasy and horror writer at the hands of his own work.

They say that a writer should write about what he knows, This is worth reading as a sardonic account of the life of a pulp fiction writer with too many ideas and too perfectionist to make an easy living. Not a masterpiece but amusing enough and insightful. show less

A couple of unpublished full stories, unfinished stories and mere synopses of stories. The book is suitable for real CAS affectionados and CAS scholars.

Interesting, but more for a writer or a hardcore fan. I really liked it, of course.