The Double Shadow: A Clark Ashton Smith Podcast

Episode #21: “The Tale of Satampra Zeiros”

A transcription of this episode is available.

This week, we’ll be doing our first Hyperborean episode, “The Tale of Satampra Zeiros.” To see the rest of the Hyperborean stories, check out the list on our about page.

We have our first guest in this episode, Jason Thompson, a.k.a Mockman or @khyungbird. Jason is the author of Manga: The Complete Guide and the author and artist of various comics, including King of RPGs (with Victor Hao), H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, and The Stiff. He is currently working on a comic with Shaenon Garrity. One of the reasons we asked Jason to be a guest on this episode, in particular, is because he’s done a great comic of today’s story. You can buy the comic in his store and I (Ruth) really recommend it.

Jason mentioned learning about Hyperborea in the Inventorum Natura by Una Woodruff. Tim was able to find the Clark Ashton Smith illustrations for The Lurking Fear, thanks for W.H. Pugmire’s blog.

This is the family tree we mentioned, which Lovecraft created to bind his world to Smith’s:

The next two episodes will cover the amazingly trippy adventures in “The Door to Saturn.”

Music by Erdenstern.

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  1. Odilius Vlak says:

    Fabulous episode!!!… I dare bet my head if the creature that shased the two thieves wasn’t Knygathin Zhaum in a wholly degenerated condition after so many years of a lonely existence in Commoriom. Knygathin was a descendent of both Tsathoggua and Ubbo-Sathla. The features of the two spawns are similar, including the shapeless condition. Knygathin, after get tired of being reigning on the block of Eighon wood, decided to shut his eyes for a while, and what better place to do it than the temple of his father… inside a very comfortable basin of bronze? Of course, Tirouv Ompallios had the same thought, but Knygathin wasn’t in the mood the share his bed.

  2. Night-Gaunt says:

    This is my kind of milieu, I will have to go back and listen to every single one of the broadcasts. My kind of stuff. If I recall correctly, Cykranosh/Saturn is where Tsthaggua came from. And on that world “he” looks very different from the lazy languorous toad/sloth/bat he finds pleasing on our world. For “he” may not have a single shape as other animals. As plastic or nearly so as the shoggoths.

    I had a story idea of as the ice retreats as Global Warming kicks its next phase that city (Commorium) is uncovered and so is the ominous cube that is the shrine to Tsthaggua. Guess what is still alive in the brazen basin?

  3. RobP says:

    Great episode, really enjoyed this one. Also gave me an urge to dig all my old D&D books out…or at least maybe look for a local RPG group…..