Publisher Description
George Campbell sets out with a tent into the Canadian forests to find respite from work. There, he comes across a crystalline cube that exhibits extraordinary properties – the longer one gazes at it, the more it glows, beginning to hypnotize the observer. Campbell is reminded of the story of the so-called Eltdown Shards, whose alleged translation spoke of crystalline cubes and a race of entities sending minds into the Universe for exploration using such cubes.
The creator of the story was the young Julius Schwartz, publisher of the fanzine "Fantasy Magazine," who asked a group of well-known writers to create a multipart story based on the given title - each writer was to write one segment. One group of authors was to create a work in the spirit of science fiction, while the rest (including Lovecraft) - in the spirit of supernatural or fantasy tales.
C. L. Moore started the story. Then, Frank Belknap Long wrote his part. The next in line, the highest-paid writer among them all, A. Merritt, declared that Long had deviated too much from the title's essence in his development of the story. Merritt set a condition: either Long's portion would be rejected and replaced with his fragment, or he would withdraw from the project. Schwartz couldn't afford to lose such a prominent name, so he thanked Long. Of course, Merritt's contribution was minimal, and to advance the plot, Lovecraft had to intervene, creating the longest fragment of them all. The rest was completed by Robert E. Howard and – convinced by H.P. Lovecraft to return – Frank Belknap Long.
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About the Authors
Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He is well known for his character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre. Born and raised in the state of Texas, Howard spent most of his life in the town of Cross Plains.
H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) was an American author who achieved posthumous fame through his influential works of horror fiction. Virtually unknown and only published in pulp magazines before he died in poverty, he is now regarded as one of the most significant twentieth-century authors in his genre. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island, where he lived most of his life. His relatively small corpus of work consists of three short novels and about sixty short stories.
Frank Belknap Long (1901–1994) was a prolific American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and nonfiction. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award in 1977.
C.
L. Moore (1911–1987) was an influential science fiction and fantasy
writer and one of the first women to write in either genre. Her acclaimed
Jirel of Joiry stories first appeared in pulp magazines in the 1930s. She was
inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1998.
Abraham Grace Merritt (1884–1943)—known by his byline, A. Merritt—was an American Sunday magazine editor and a writer of fantastic fiction. Author of numerous science fiction and fantasy stories, Abraham Merritt was a major inspiration for H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith. A. Merritt remains one of the most celebrated fantasists of all time. He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999.
About Josh Greenwood
Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He is well known for his character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre. Born and raised in the state of Texas, Howard spent most of his life in the town of Cross Plains.