''Lost Worlds'' is a collection of

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

by the American writer

Clark Ashton Smith Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an influential American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction stories and poetry, and an artist. He achieved early recognition in California (largely through the enthusiasm ...

. It was published in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

and was the author's second book published by

Arkham House Arkham House was an American publishing house specializing in weird fiction. It was founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to publish hardcover collections of H. P. Lovecraft's best works, which had ...

. 2,043 copies were printed. The stories for this volume were selected by the author. The collection contains stories from Smith's major story cycles of

Hyperborea In Greek mythology, the Hyperboreans (, ; ) were a mythical people who lived in the far northern part of the Ecumene, known world. Their name appears to derive from the Greek , "beyond Boreas (god), Boreas" (the God of the north wind). Some schol ...

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

Averoigne Averoigne is a fictional counterpart of a provinces of France, historical province in France, detailed in a series of short stories by the American writer Clark Ashton Smith. Smith may have based Averoigne on the actual province of Auvergne (prov ...

Zothique ''Zothique'' is a collection of fantasy short stories by Clark Ashton Smith, edited by Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by Ballantine Books as the sixteenth volume of its Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in June 1970. It was the fir ...

and Xiccarph.

* "

The Tale of Satampra Zeiros "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros" is a short story written in 1929 by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Hyperborean cycle, and first published in the November 1931 issue of ''Weird Tales''. It is the story in which Smith created the C ...

" * " The Door to Saturn" * "The Seven Geases" * "The Coming of the White Worm" * "The Last Incantation" * "A Voyage to Sfanomoë" * "The Death of Malygris" * "The Holiness of Azédarac" * "The Beast of Averoigne" * " The Empire of the Necromancers" * "

The Isle of the Torturers "The Isle of the Torturers" is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle, and first published in the March 1933 issue of ''Weird Tales''. Publication history According to '' Emperor of Dreams: A Clark Ashto ...

" * " Necromancy in Naat" * " Xeethra" * "The Maze of Maal Dweb" * "The Flower-Women" * "The Demon of the Flower" * "The Plutonian Drug" * "The Planet of the Dead" * "The Gorgon" * "The Letter from Mohaun Los" * "The Light from Beyond" * "The Hunters from Beyond" * "The Treader of the Dust"

Reception

In the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

book ''Horror: Another 100 Best Books'', the author

Storm Constantine Storm Constantine (12 October 1956 – 14 January 2021) was a British science fiction and fantasy author, primarily known for her Wraeththu series, which began as one trilogy but has spawned many subsequent works. Beginning in the 1980s, Cons ...

remarked that "they come across as slightly camp now, but still with the power to captivate". In the

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

book ''The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Critical and Bibliographic History'', the authors Jack L. Chalker and Mark Owings noted "superb stories". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reviewer Marjorie Farber declared, "What is most fascinating about the present volume is the sort of obfuscatory prose which readers of ''

Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, printe ...

'', etc. are apparently willing to overcome for the sake of getting at whatever terror may lie at the end of the skull-dotted trail," concluding that ''Lost Worlds'' "cannot be read." In the

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

book ''The Arkham House Companion: Fifty Years of Arkham House'', the author

Sheldon Jaffery Sheldon Jaffery (April 22, 1934 – July 10, 2003) was an American bibliographer. An attorney by profession, he was an aficionado of'' Weird Tales'' magazine, Arkham House books, the weird menace pulps, and related topics. Biography Jaffery w ...

compared it with '' Out of Space and Time'' and decided "the quality is slightly diminished". '' Black Gate''s Robert Burke Richardson wrote, "In ''Lost Worlds'', the condition of an uncaring universe becomes not a case for despair, but rather for a weird and precious celebration."

Reprints

*Jersey, Channel Islands:

Neville Spearman Neville Spearman Armstrong (20 October 1913 – September 2008) was a British soldier, literary agent, and publisher. In the 1940s and early 1950s he was in partnerships with others, then from 1955 he operated his own publishing company called N ...

, 1971. *St. Albans, UK: Panther, 1974 (2 vols.). *Lincoln, NE: Bison, 2006.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Works of Clark Ashton Smith 1944 short story collections Fantasy short story collections Horror short story collections Science fiction short story collections by Clark Ashton Smith

Contents

Reception

Reprints

See also

References

Sources