Pulp Appeal: “The Garden of Adompha” by Clark Ashton Smith (guest post by Anthony Perconti)

Broadswords and Blasters

Cover of Weird Tales April 1938

Editors’ Note: Anthony Perconti lives and works in the hinterlands of New Jersey with his wife and kids. He enjoys good stories across many different genres and mediums. His articles have appeared inSwords and Sorcery MagazineandDMR Books Blog.If you’d like to submit an article, send us a pitch. Payment is one digital copy of your choice of any issue ofBroadswords and Blasters.

“The Garden of Adompha” was published in the April 1938 issue of Weird Tales. King Adompha, ruler of the eastern isle of Sotar’s life is filled with a constant sense of ennui. In order to relieve himself of this boredom, Adompha has enlisted the aid of the court magician, Dwerulas, in the upkeep and maintenance of a secret garden. This is no typical, run of the mill garden. A person of Adompha’s station is above these…

View original post 986 more words

Pulp Appeal: “The Tomb Spawn” by Clark Ashton Smith (guest post by Anthony Perconti)

Broadswords and Blasters

Editors’ Note: Anthony Perconti lives and works in the hinterlands of New Jersey with his wife and kids. He enjoys good stories across many different genres and mediums. His articles have appeared in Swords and Sorcery Magazine and DMR Books Blog. If you’d like to submit an article, send us a pitch. Payment is one digital copy of your choice of any issue of Broadswords and Blasters.

May 1934 cover of Weird Tales. First appearance of Conan on the cover, but inside is “The Tomb Spawn.”

In a wine shop at the northern gate of the city of Faraad, a merchant caravan is settling down for the evening, washing away the dust of the road with the heady vintages of Yoros. A skald is regaling the crowd with tales from antiquity. The story for the evening concerns the mythic Ossaru, wizard-king who ruled over half of the continent of Zothique…

View original post 2,077 more words

Pulp Appeal: “The Master of the Crabs” by Clark Ashton Smith (guest post by Anthony Perconti)

Broadswords and Blasters

Editors’ Note: Anthony Perconti lives and works in the hinterlands of New Jersey with his wife and kids. He enjoys good stories across many different genres and mediums. His articles have appeared in Swords and Sorcery Magazine and DMR Books Blog. If you’d like to submit an article, send us a pitch. Payment is one digital copy of your choice of any issue of Broadswords and Blasters.

Cover of Weird Tales March 1948,

Clark Ashton
Smith’s “The Master of the Crabs” originally appeared in the March 1948 issue
of Weird Tales magazine. It is the
penultimate Zothique cycle fantasy published
in his lifetime. The supercontinent of Zothique is a geological patchwork made
up of sections of Asia Minor, Arabia, Persia, India, east Africa and the
Indonesian archipelago. It is the far future and the sun is nearing its
extinguishing point, dark sorcery is ubiquitous, and monarchs rule the populace
with an…

View original post 1,533 more words