زیککارف

The collection is something of a grab-bag, put under the 'Xiccarph' label because they all sort of fall into the same sort of theme, of decadence turned to rot and outright decay. Worlds at the tail end of their existence, now mostly cities of tombs and dry sea beds, and lost dying elements of species and civilizations.Even the Xiccarph stories themselves, starring the all-powerful Maal Dweb, ruler of six planets, is of a wizard who ultimately is battling his own ennui. (I wonder, incidentally, how much the decadent and cosmically-powerful wizards Jack Vance's Rhialto the Marvellous owe to this.Between Maal Dweb, "The Monster of the Prophecy", and "Sadastor", there is an ongoing theme of fantasy gone cosmic, admitting the existence of planets and stars within this fantastic writing. Introduction and Afterword by Lin Carter. The Maze of Maal Dweb The Flower-Women Vulthoom The Dweller in the Gulf The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis The Doom of Antarion Lophai The Demon of the Flower The Monster of the Prophecy Sadastor From the Crypts of Memory