The Last Hieroglyph (Collected C.A.S. Vol.5) now available

[hypnogeist]

Today "The Last Hieroglyph (The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith, Vol. 5)" by Night Shade Press has started shipping. This is the last volume in this excellent series which started in 2007 with "The End of the Story" (only 3 years later the cheapest used copy on Amazon is offered for $67) with the aim of reprinting all of C.A.S.'s short stories.

Every story in these books, as the editors claim (and I have not heard anyone yet disagree) is a definitive representation of itself; i.e., when possible, the stories have been restored to include material C.A.S. wrote for them but that was excised by the editors of the various magazines where they originally saw publication. It is also noteworthy the stories are arranged in choronological order relative to when C.A.S. wrote them, as opposed to when they were published, with the express purpose of allowing the reader to appreciate how C.A.S.'s writing skills evolved over time.

A curosory search seems to show the best bargin is currently at either Amazon for $26.39 (which will be your grand total if you choose free super-saver shipping) or Barnes & Noble for $21.49 (but this does not include shipping). If you don't want to end up paying more later it would probably be a good idea to order asap - historically sellers tend to jack the price up considerably on these books as soon as they sell out.

Physically the books are nice too, with woven cloth stretched over the boards, gold-leaf spine lettering, high quality paper (not even a hint of yellowing in any of my volumes), an attractive easy-on-the-eyes font that is easy to read as well as not too small or too large, and admirable covers by the esteemed Jason Van Hollander.

[Joel]

It's been a fine series so far, and the last volume looks to be the best fiction-wise. The restored texts (incorporating revisions that CAS made and approved of, but not ones made under duress or made by others) read extremely well and the endnotes are excellent. The last three covers (including this one) all feature a nervous-looking CAS in a landscape from his own fiction.

[Freyasfire]

I have this waiting for me to be picked up at the post office as we speak, and it seems like it will be a fine ending to a wonderful series of books. I have all the other volumes, and have been very impressed by the way the stories have been represented, and the quality of the books themselves is more than satisfactory. They look lovely on my bookshelves.

[klarkash]

Thanks all for the notification. I wonder if anyone was smart enough to "subscribe" to this series at the outset, when an additional subscribers-only volume of CAS' non-fantasy work was promised? I regret I missed the deadline on this offer...

[nomis]

Quote Originally Posted by klarkash

Thanks all for the notification. I wonder if anyone was smart enough to "subscribe" to this series at the outset, when an additional subscribers-only volume of CAS' non-fantasy work was promised? I regret I missed the deadline on this offer...

I was! Though, I have yet to see such a volume. I have moved houses between the 4th and 5th volume's release, so I'm on pins at the moment wondering whether my copy is indeed heading toward the right address. Only time shall tell, I imagine.

[njhorror]

Quote Originally Posted by Freyasfire

I have this waiting for me to be picked up at the post office as we speak, and it seems like it will be a fine ending to a wonderful series of books. I have all the other volumes, and have been very impressed by the way the stories have been represented, and the quality of the books themselves is more than satisfactory. They look lovely on my bookshelves.

I also subscribed to this.

[Soukesian]

Looking forward to completing the set. It's great to finally have an definitive complete works. The cover is outrageous - effortlessly exceeds the punishing standards set by previous volumes!

[kobaia]

Quote Originally Posted by klarkash

I wonder if anyone was smart enough to "subscribe" to this series at the outset, when an additional subscribers-only volume of CAS' non-fantasy work was promised?

I went for the subscription, but don't remember if the bonus "subscribers" book was to be issued simultaneously with the release of the final volume in the series, or at some later date. I guess I'll find out soon enough when Volume 5 arrives on my doorstep.

[njhorror]

Quote Originally Posted by Soukesian

Looking forward to completing the set. It's great to finally have an definitive complete works. The cover is outrageous - effortlessly exceeds the punishing standards set by previous volumes!

That's Jason Van Hollander, one of my favorite artists.

[hopfrog]

This series is exceptional -- & what a delicious kind of calm I feel, when I look at the shelf on which these five volumes sit together with the three volumes of the Complete Poetry. There are still many CAS tales that I have yet to read. I am now reading the fiction in ye order it was published, reading slowly and taking notes -- as one of the two books I write next year will be an 80,000-100,000 word collection of weird fiction, poetry and prose-poems in ye Clark Ashton Smith tradition. I didn't feel that I was able to write such a book until I had ALL of CAS in my personal library -- then I could study the works and do my best to write a book that evokes the spirit of Klarksh-Ton, not Ec'h-Pi-El. Just the covers of these five volumes of the Collected Fantasies shews me that the world of CAS is unique unto itself. I am so excited about exploring that world intimately and exhaustively!