Xeethra

Tales of Zothique #9

by Clark Ashton Smith, Steve Behrends (Editor), Robert H. Knox (Illustrator)

"Xeethra" is the tale of the orphaned goatherd Xeethra, who tolerates his abusive uncle and lives in dire poverty. One day, he spots a cave in a hidden valley, and descends to a beautiful but sinister garden, where he eats a weird fruit hanging from a tree. He starts having memories of being Amero, the ruler of a far-off country, and when he returns to the surface he sets off to seek his kingdom....

This short story is the first in the collection ZOTHIQUE, which was part of Ballantine's Adult Fantasy line, coming out in 1970. The story itself was first published in "Weird Tales", December 1934.

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Short Stories, Science Fiction

16 pages, Chapbook

First published December 1, 1934

About the author

Clark Ashton Smith was a poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. It is for these stories, and his literary friendship with H. P. Lovecraft from 1922 until Lovecraft's death in 1937, that he is mainly remembered today. With Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, also a friend and correspondent, Smith remains one of the most famous contributors to the pulp magazine Weird Tales.

His writings are posted at his official website.

Reviews

[Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an interesting story, beautifully written. In the end, the fairytale-like roundness of the narrative and the theological mythology and morality were not exactly to my tastes, so I can't give it a perfect score, but I enjoyed it all the same.

[Ευθυμία Δεσποτάκη · Rating 4 out of 5]

Διήγημα στο μοτίβο της Αναζήτησης του Ίρανον, το οποίο δεν αναδεικνύει όλο το εύρος και τις ικανότητες του Σμιθ.

Σε κάθε περίπτωση ένας μέτριος Σμιθ εξακολουθεί να είναι ένας Σμιθ, δηλαδή ανώτερος του μετρίου. Σας μπέρδεψα;

[Velmu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A kind of Lovecraftian fairytale. I first read this in Finnish in a collection of short stories when I was in high school, and something of the story, the sky like a misty golden dome, had stayed with me through the years. I finally managed to find it again!

Reading the original English, it felt like the author was, to borrow a phrase “beating the shit out of a thesaurus piñata”.

[William Cherico · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's an interesting "grass is alway greener" message here in the story of a farm boy who wants to be a king, then anguishes for simplicity when he's granted visions of life as a king, but the way it's written is so pessimistic that it hardly comes off as a morality tale and more like a nihilistic sigh. Clark Ashton Smith' purple prose shines through here - sometimes it creates vivid descriptions of the land, other times he says things like "like a dreaming dreamer."

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

And to think I was this close from moving on in my pulp reading, giving up Smith with uncertainty of what to read. His first story in the Zothique collection hints that Smith may be the pulper I most enjoy. But I will wait the collection to pronounce that with any degree of certainty.

[Per · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/...

[Jakub Brudny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my taste

[Bradley]

I know I read it. I think. My mind was everywhere except on these pages.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

My second Clark Ashton Smith story. The strength of Smith's writing is hard to ignore, but in Xeethra it found imperfect application with its intriguing atmosphere and futile story.

[Forked Radish · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeesh! What a load of sesquipedalian bilge! But I learned that if you espy an unfamiliar fruit just go for it. Why not?