The End of the Story: The Collected Fantasies, Vol. 1
by Clark Ashton Smith
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/246 ... -the-story
The book has a bunch of fantasy, sci fi, and horror stories by Clark Ashton Smith. It's very good. The end of the book includes letters to and from HP Lovecraft, CAS's other contemporaries, notes regarding publishers, CAS's thoughts on his own stories, and other stuff. HP Lovecraft was very supportive of CAS.
CAS was extraordinarily productive. I don't remember how many stories he wrote in his career but it was quite a lot. More than a hundred.
CAS must have had a thesaurus close at hand at all times when he was writing. He used more fancy words than any other author I've read. CAS really liked describing colors in his stories for some reason. I can honestly call CAS a wordsmith.
A few highlights, from what I can remember.
1. The Abominations of Yondo
It's a very good story, except it seems to have no real ending.
2. The Metamorphosis of the World
Described in another post of mine.
3. Marooned in Andromeda
A sci fi story about marooned mutineers. They are forced to explore their new planet by a succession of events.
4. The Immeasurable Horror
This is my favorite story in this collection. It's a sci fi horror story. Humans are making an aerial exploration of an alien planet and they encounter a colossal slug-like creature.
5. The Monster of the Prophecy
The human protagonist is the monster in this story. He's taken to another planet to fulfill a prophecy. This story contains a ridiculous plot device to save the human's life.
A meteor hits a temple where the human is being tortured, and he uses the confusion to flee.
It's a very good story regardless.
6. The Tale of Satampra Zeiros
Reading this story was very fun. Two guys scoff at tales of a haunted town that people are afraid of. They explore the town and discover why people are afraid of it.
Recommendation: If you like HP Lovecraft or WH Hodgson, you'll like this collection.