Read about it here.*

Words fail me. That’s probably best.

*It has been confirmed on the Nu Image/Nu Millennium site here.

Way too many cool authors were born in January. In fact, there are so many it’s hard to keep track at times (my abject apologies to the shade of Jack London). I would advise any prospective parents wanting to produce an author-child of exceptional talents to strive mightily in the months of April and May.

Luckily for The Cimmerian, James Maliszewski reminded us all that today is the birthday of Abraham Merritt. Using his Grognardia blog as a bully pulpit, Maliszewski once again preached the gospel of A. Merritt.

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In honor of Robert E. Howard’s nativity, Dennis McHaney and Paul Herman are throwing a wee soiree for the Man From Cross Plains at Opal Divine’s (the Penn field location) in Austin on Saturday. The festivities start at 2 p.m. and go ’til close. Jack and Barbara Baum (former owners of the REH literary estate) just might attend. Word on the street is that TC alumnus, [redacted], has also threatened to grace Austin with his presence for the occasion.

“…the older Christopher Lee gets, the cooler Christopher Lee gets.”

— Steve Tompkins, “The Voice of Saruman, Speaking the First Age Into Being”

While I’d heard whispers of a new Christopher Lee project on the Official Robert E. Howard Forum,* it was this fine blog entry by Jeff Sypeck on the Quid Plura? site which motivated me to get up off the parliamentary side o’ me arse and compose a blog entry of my own.

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Last Tuesday, Ryan Harvey, one of Black Gate’s elite crew of bloggers, reviewed the new editi0n of A. Merritt’s The Ship of Ishtar recently published by Paizo. Saturday night, Morgan Holmes posted his own take on the Paizo edition over at the REHupa blog. Today, James Maliszewski, warlord of Grognardia, weighed in on Merritt’s classic novel as well. Obviously, this phenomenon had reached some sort of critical mass and warranted a look by yours truly.

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The Cimmerian was not the only venue celebrating the nativity of  Clark Ashton Smith this thirteenth of January just past. Cool websites such as Grognardia and Cinerati marked the occasion as well. Their tributes differed somewhat from those proffered here in that they noted the influence of Clark Ashton Smith upon the history of fantasy role-playing games. Specifically, they both cited Tom Moldvay’s Castle Amber gaming module as being what led them to Klarkash-Ton.

What is particularly striking about both tributes is that Castle Amber remains the one, single, solitary example of an RPG product that either blogger concerned (or myself) knows about which was largely based upon the works of CAS. Yet, that module appears to have exerted an outsized influence over the years.

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I just received a notification email from Lulu.com that they are having another twenty percent off sale through midnight on Monday, January 18th. To get the discount, simply use the coupon code “CABIN” when you get to the checkout.

As with Lulu’s last sale, this can really benefit fans of Robert E. Howard and other fantasy lit. For instance, the new edition of A Gent from Bear Creek is now available from Lulu. Imaro: The Naama War from Charles R. Saunders would also be eligible. For other cool books offered through Lulu.com, see here.

Clark Ashton Smith gets credit for a lot of things, at least by those who are aware of his work. He was arguably the first poet to versify from a truly cosmic viewpoint when he wrote his legendary “The Hashish-Eater.” His poetry and prose, as well as his inimitable drawings, paintings and sculptures, captured the attention and respect of H.P. Lovecraft, who name-checked CAS in his own tales more than any writer, even Dunsany. Smith was a highly valued correspondent of Robert E. Howard. Clark Ashton Smith was admired by (and sometimes mentored) younger authors such as Bradbury, C.L. Moore and Leiber. His tales of Zothique were patent inspirations for later works by Jack Vance and Gene Wolfe.

One thing that Clark Ashton Smith decidedly does not receive much credit for is being one of the founding fathers of the heroic fantasy genre. On this, his one hundred and seventeenth birthday, I’d like to give him his due.

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I just learned that the Preditors & Editors Readers Poll for 2009 is almost over. Sponsored by the Critters Writers Workshop, the purpose of the poll is, as the website puts it, to “honor print & electronic publications published during 2009.”

The main aspect of interest for myself about this poll (and I assume it would be to readers of The Cimmerian as well) is its “Fantasy & Science Fiction Short Story published in 2009…” category. Many of the stories and contestants vying for the prize have been drawn from the Rage of the Behemoth collection, which I reviewed last summer.

This contest is packed with Sword-and-Sorcery and heroic fantasy tales. One of them needs to win this thing. Several are truly excellent examples of the Sword-and-Sorcery genre and should be honored accordingly. Make your voices heard. Our favorite style of fiction is on the move and getting stronger every day. The results of this poll should reflect that.

Voting in this poll is ridiculously easy. It took me less than two minutes (after I’d decided on my selection, of course). Plus, as is noted on their “Rules” page (scroll down), there are even some cool prizes for the voters, not just the contestants.

The poll closes at midnight Thursday, January 14. Let’s make sure one of our own is accepting the award.

Easton Press has announced the imminent publication of a hefty collection of Robert E. Howard’s Conan yarns, all in a deluxe, leather-bound format. Easton has been reticent concerning the contents of the book, but judging from the page-count, cover font and the cover illustration, the Easton volume is a high-end reprint of the Prion edition from last year (see below).

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