Elak of Atlantis


Elak of Atlantis is a collection of sword and sorcery short stories by American author Henry Kuttner, gathering together all his tales featuring the title character. It was first published in trade paperback by Gryphon Books in March 1985; a later trade paperback edition was issued by Paizo Publishing in October 2007. The first British and first ebook edition was issued by Gateway/Orion in March 2013; the first American ebook edition was issued by Diversion Books in July 2014.

Summary

The book collects the author's four "Elak" stories, together with supplementary material that differs according to the edition. All editions include a map of Kuttner's version of Atlantis deriving from an original by Jack Gaughan that first appeared in the anthology The Fantastic Swordsmen. The Gryphon Books edition included a general introduction and individual introductions to each story by editor Gary Lovisi, the latter consisting of linking material collectively titled "A Portable Outline of Elak's Career." Also included were illustrations by Brad W. Foster. The Paizo and Gateway/Orion editions dropped the Lovisi and Foster material in favor of an introductory essay by Joe R. Lansdale and supplemented the Elak stories with the two tales of Kuttner's other Sword and Sorcery hero, Prince Raynor. The Diversion Books edition consisted of the four Elak stories alone, omitting all supplementary material except the map.

Contents

  • "Henry Kuttner and Elak: An Introduction"
  • "Kuttner Sharpens His Literary Sword"
  • "A Portable Outline of Elak's Career"
  • "Atlantis"
  • "Thunder in the Dawn"
  • "A Portable Outline of Elak's Career"
  • "The Spawn of Dagon"
  • "A Portable Outline of Elak's Career"
  • "Beyond the Phoenix"
  • "A Portable Outline of Elak's Career"
  • "Dragon Moon"
  • "Cursed Be the City"
  • "The Citadel of Darkness"

Reception

The collection was reviewed by Robert M. Price in Crypt of Cthulhu no. 33, Lammas 1985, Richard A. Lupoff in Locus no. 567, April 2008, and Howard Andrew Jones in Black Gate, Summer 2008.

Relation to other works

Author Adrian Cole has continued Kuttner's Elak saga in his own series of short stories, most of which appear in his collection Elak, [King of Atlantis].