The Double Shadow

A transcription of this episode is available.

This week, we escape the sinking continent of Poseidonis on A Voyage to Sfanomoë.”

Voyage is the second of Smith’s Poseidonis stories and the first we’ve had so far in the podcast with scientists instead of magicians or necromancers. It was published in the August 1931 issue of Weird Tales, just over a year after “The Last Incantation.” Lovecraft’s “The Whisperer in Darkness” was published in the same volume.

Join us next time, as we release our self-titled(????) episode, “The Double Shadow!”

Music by: Erdenstern

A transcription of this episode is available.

Welcome to Poseidonis! The About page has been updated with our new list of stories. Today we start off with “The Last Incantation.”

We’ve jumped back in time to June of 1930, when this story was published in Weird Tales and to an era after the glory of Atlantis, but before Averoigne. The series is bookended with stories about Malygris, possibly the greatest sorcerer/necromancer we’ve run across so far.

Next time, join us on “A Voyage to Sfanomoët;.”

Music by: Erdenstern

This week is our last in Averoigne. We talk about the three major synopses from the Eldritch Dark and a little biographical and critical information. Synopses: “Queen of the Sabbat,” “The Werewolf of Averoigne,” and “The Sorceress of Averoigne | The Tower of Istarelle.”

The essay Phil referenced is “Into the Woods: The Human Geography of Averoigne” by Stefan Dziemianowicz, in The Freedom of Fantastic Things: Selected Criticism on Clark Ashton Smith ed. by Scott Connors. Tim quoted from “Eblis in Bakelite” by James Blish, “James Blish versus Ashton Smith; to Wit, the Young Turk Syndrome” by Donald Sidney-Fryer, and “Who Discovered Clark Ashton Smith?” by Scott Connors, all published in the Lost Worlds journal.

So–what did we have in Averoigne?

Next week, we’ll be doing our first Poseidonis story: “The Last Incantation.”

Music thanks to: Kevin MacLeod.

This week, we’re covering the last published Averoigne story, “The Satyr” along with its variant conclusion.

The poet referenced in the story was Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585), who was a member of the group of French poets known as La Pléiade.

The phrase we were looking for from the Podcast to the Curious was the “Jamesian whallop,” an especially good phrase when said in a British accent.

In next week’s episode, we’ll wrap up Averoigne with a discussion of the setting and a look at three synopses/outlines CAS wrote for potential Averoigne stories. The synopses we’ll be covering are “Queen of the Sabbat,” “The Werewolf of Averoigne,” “The Sorceress of Averoigne | The Tower of Istarelle.”

Thanks again to Kevin MacLeod for the music.

This week’s episode is on “The Enchantress of Sylaire.” Enchantress was published in the July 1941 issue of Weird Tales.

The Wikipedia entry for Cromlech has an illustration of a basic one, as well as more complex outlines.

A few links here for those interested in illustrations of monsters carrying women and the “carry phenomenon.”

Next time, we’ll be doing the last of the Averoigne stories, “The Satyr.” You may also want to read read its variant conclusion, which we’ll be discussing on the show.

Thanks again to Kevin MacLeod for the music.