Zothique: Zothique and The Isle of Torturers
Clark Ashton Smith wrote several stories set in the dark and fantastical world of Zothique, and which were collected by Lin Carter in the book Zothique. We've been reviewing them, and here's the fourth batch: Zothique and The Isle of Torturers.
ZOTHIQUE
The first story of the collection is a poem that basically tells you what to expect from this strange land.
He who has trod the shadows of Zothique
And looked upon the coal-red sun oblique,
Henceforth return to no anterior land,
But haunts a latter coast
Where cities crumble in the black sea-sand
And dead gods drin the brine.
He who has known the gardens of Zothique
Where bleed the fruits torn by the simorgh's beak,
Savors no fruit of greener hemispheres:
In arbors uttermost,
In sunset cycles of the sombering years,
He sips an aramanth wine.
He who has loved the wild girls of Zothique
Shall come not back a gentler love to seek,
Nor know the vampire's from the lover's kiss:
For him the scarlet ghost
Of Lilith from time's last necropolis
Rears amorous and malign.
He who has sailed in galleys of Zothique
And seen the looming of strange spire and peak,
Must face again the sorcerer-sent typhoon,
And take the steerer's post
On far-poured oceans by the shifted moon
Or the re-shapen Sign.
Honestly, we think that opening paragraph from The Dark Eidolon was a better introduction to Zothique.
THE ISLE OF TORTURERS
After a mysterious illness called Silver Death ravages his kingdom, King Fulbra of Yoros tries to sail to Cyntrom. However, instead, he ends up on Uccastrog, where King Ildrac and his people amuse themselves by inflicting the worst imaginable tortures on anyone unfortunate enough to land on their shores...
"It is a long voyage to Cyntrom," said Ildrac, with a subtle smile. "Also, it is not our custom to permit guests to depart without having fully tasted the hospitality of the Isle of Uccastrog. Therefore, King Fulbra, I must beg you to curb your impatience. We have much to show you here, and many diversions to offer. My chamberlains will now conduct you to a room befitting your royal rank. But first I must ask you to leave with me the sword that you carry at your side; for swords are often sharp-and I do not wish my guests to suffer injury by their own hands."
The titular isle was first mentioned in The Dark Eidolon. The King's favourite concubine, Obexah, was from there, and Namirrha not only reminds her of a former lover she handed over to the torturers, but also included this delicacy in his revenge feast:
"Prithee, make trial of this meat," quoth Namirrha, "for it is very choice, being the flesh of that boar which the Torturers of Uccastrog are wont to pasture on the well-minced leavings of their wheels and racks; and, moreover, my cooks have spiced it with the powerful balsams of the tomb, and have farced it with the hearts of adders and the tongues of black cobras."
That's a lot of hype, but when Smith finally got to Uccastrog, it lived up to it. The story doesn't begin there, though, and we were surprised to get nice King Fulbra and the Silver Death instead. This intro makes it very easy to guess the end, but until you reach it, things take a turn for the gruesome. We wished we could've seen more of the island and its people beyond Fulbra's POV, and that Smith hadn't felt the need to mention this psychotic people's skin tone so many times in a row when they went to get Fulbra and the other newcomers. Thankfully, he stopped after that and focused on their sadism. Apart from that, it's good.
And now, since we know how some readers love maps, we thought it would be good to add a map of Zothique, also made by Carter, and taken from the book.
So, you get necromancer-infested Naat on the West, and the Isle of Torturers (Uccastrog) on the East. Lovely.