Description

The Averoigne Legacy: Tribute Tales in the World of Clark Ashton Smith edited by Edward Stasheff

Trade Paperback – Pickman’s Press – 2019 – 357 pages

The lore of Averoigne didn’t end with Clark Ashton Smith. Over the decades other writers, fascinated by this “Lovecraft country” of medieval France, added their own contributions. Read over two dozen stories and poems of Averoigne (including some never before published) by Mythos authors like DJ Tyrer, Richard Tierney, Brian McNaughton, Michael Minnis, and James Chambers. Revisit Vyônes and Périgon, meet Luc le Chaudronnier and Azédarac once again, as tales of harpies and werewolves, ogres and giants, changelings and cockatrices await you!

THE STORIES

• The Oracle of Sadoqua by Ron Hilger
In the Regio Averonum, Roman officer Horatius goes in search of a missing comrade, Galbius. His search takes him to the Cave of the Oracle, guarded by druids of Sadoqua. What he finds within is more disturbing than his worst fears for his friend.

• The Wedding of Sheila-Na-Gog by Glenn Rahman & Richard L. Tierney
In Gaul, Simon of Gitta, betrayed by the Druids, captured by the Romans, and set to be sacrificed to the mysterious goddess Sheila-na-gog, has no choice but to seek the help of disreputable and unlikely allies: the Averoni.

• Cult of the Singing Flame by David Reid Ross
A young monk from Périgon is sent to investigate a new cult spreading throughout Averoigne, but what he ultimately finds threatens both his sanity and his soul.

• The Doom of Azédarac by Ron Hilger
Attempting to retrieve his stolen copy of The Book of Eibon, the sorcerer-bishop Azédarac drinks his time-travel potion to visit the past… but arrives in an alternate universe instead, where he must face his most dangerous foe yet—himself.

• The Pink Flower of Saint Zénobie by Aaron Hollingsworth
When a woman in Ste. Zénobie awakens one morning to find her husband’s headless corpse in bed beside her and her daughter kidnapped, a soldier, a hunter, and a monk set out to find the young woman—and never return. At least, not alive, and not in one piece…

• Hugh the Discerning by Garnett Elliott
When the ogre Chantillion terrorizes the village of Morraine, its reeve Hugh the Discerning sets out, alone and unarmed, to defeat the monster, confident his superior intellect can outwit a big dumb ogre. But Chantillion is not as stupid as he seems…

• The Circumstances of Ghostly Cats by Michael Minnis
When the beloved stray cat Matois, uncrowned king of Vyônes, is tortured and killed by a necromancer’s thuggish henchman, the ghostly feline achieves an unconventional—but deadly—revenge.

• Unhallowed Ground, Unholy Flesh by James Chambers
When people start going missing, the Archbishop of Vyônes convinces Luc le Chaudronnier to investigate the disappearances—near the Plain of Nathaire, where legend claims the necromancer’s infamous Colossus found its final resting place.

• The Little and the Big by Michael Minnis
Vyônes is besieged by a plague of toads that neither armored knights nor stone walls can stop… until a clever peasant woman has an idea.

• The Passing of Belzévuthe by Simon Whitechapel
The Inquisitor of Averoigne has set his sights on Moïse ben Belzévuthe, a Jewish man accused of sorcery. But the old man proves to be a worthy opponent, with more than one nasty trick up his sleeve.

• The Butcher of Vyônes by Michael Minnis
In a time of hunger and hardship, the butcher’s wife seems to grow plump and prosperous. The townspeople accuse her of witchcraft—but the truth is much, much worse.

• Black Art in Vyônes by Keith Chapman
While Vyônes is being terrorized by a harpy, a lowly painter’s apprentice stumbles across its secret lair. But can he do anything with this knowledge before he becomes the harpy’s next meal?

• The Cockatrice of Cordeliers by Michael Minnis
When the Cockatrice of Averoigne lays waste to a noble wedding party, only two criminals are left standing between the monster and the unsuspecting city of Cordeliers.

• Clotaire of the Cross by Colin Harker
A knight charged with finding and destroying the creature plaguing the Château Conflans must decide who is a bigger threat: the monster, or the marquis who tyrannizes the village.

• Symposium of the Gargoyle by Simon Whitechapel
In nineteenth century Averoigne, an invalid whose only entertainment is observing Vyônes through his telescope discovers a secret cipher sculpted into the gargoyles of the cathedral. If he can only decrypt the code, what mysteries might be revealed?

• The Quarry by Simon Whitechapel
Ignoring the dark reputation of the flooded quarry outside of the village of Grémoire, a young man goes fishing in its dark waters—and catches more than he expected.

• The Gargoyles of Notre Dame by Matthew Baugh
A mystic and a vigilante hunting down a sorcerer’s dark magic in Paris are lured to Notre Dame Cathedral—which recently had two gargoyles transferred from Vyônes.

• The Return of the Colossus by Brian McNaughton
France, 1916. Desperate to break the deadly stalemate on the Western Front, intrigued by the medieval legend, the Allies search for the buried giant… and get more than they expected.

• The Muse of Averoigne by Ron Hilger & Henry J. Vester III
On a trip to France, Philip Hastane becomes entranced by a La Frênaie tapestry depicting legends from Averoigne’s past.

• The Fell Fête by Manuel Arenas
A Spanish student visiting Averoigne is convinced by an enchanting local girl to attend her village’s traditional ceremony—to Iog-Sotôt.

• Boufonoula by D.J. Tyrer
An American tourist to the Averoigian countryside falls for a pretty young country girl who is older than she seems… much, much older…

• A Honeymoon in Averoigne by Trevor O. Childers
A newlywed couple on their honeymoon hiking the French forests get caught in a thunderstorm and take refuge in the ruins of an abandoned castle—the Château Faussesflammes.

• PLUS over a dozen poems of Averoigne by H.P. Lovecraft, DJ Tyrer, Ashley Dioses, Wade German, Cardinal Cox, Ron Shiflet and others!

• PLUS a Map of Averoigne by legendary Tolkien artist and multiple Hugo-award winning artist Tim Kirk!