''Elak of Atlantis'' is a

collection Collection or Collections may refer to: * Cash collection, the function of an accounts receivable department * Collection (church), money donated by the congregation during a church service * Collection agency, agency to collect cash * Collectio ...

sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tale ...

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

by American author

Henry Kuttner Henry Kuttner (April 7, 1915 – February 3, 1958) was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror. Early life Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915. Kuttner (1829–1903) and Amelia Bush (c. 1834–1911), the ...

(1915-1958), 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 John Brian Francis "Jack" Gaughan, pronounced like 'gone' (September 24, 1930 – July 21, 1985) was an American science fiction artist and illustrator who won the Hugo Award several times. Working primarily with Donald A. Wollheim at Ace Books, ...

that first appeared in the anthology '' The Fantastic Swordsmen'' (1967). 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 Brad W. Foster (born April 26, 1955) is an American illustrator, cartoonist, writer and publisher. He has also been Artist Guest of Honor at multiple conventions such as ArmadilloCon 10, Conestoga 9, Archon 35, NASFiC 2010, and 73rd World Scie ...

. The Paizo and Gateway/Orion editions dropped the Lovisi and Foster material in favor of an introductory essay by

Joe R. Lansdale Joe Richard Lansdale (born October 28, 1951) is an American writer and martial arts instructor. A prose writer in a variety of genres - Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense - he's also written comic books and screenplays. Se ...

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.

*"Henry Kuttner and Elak: An Introduction" (Gary Lovisi) (Gryphon edition only) *"Kuttner Sharpens His Literary Sword" (

) (Paizo and Gateway/Orion editions only) *"A Portable Outline of Elak's Career"

t. 1 T is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet. (For the same letterform in the Cyrillic and Greek alphabets, see Te and Tau respectively). T may also refer to: Codes and units * T, Tera- as in one trillion * T, the symbol for "True" in lo ...

(Gary Lovisi) (Gryphon edition only) *"Atlantis" (map) *"Thunder in the Dawn" (from ''Weird Tales'' v. 31, nos. 5–6, May–June 1938) (Henry Kuttner) *"A Portable Outline of Elak's Career"

t. 2 T is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet. (For the same letterform in the Cyrillic and Greek alphabets, see Te (Cyrillic), Te and Tau respectively). T may also refer to: Codes and units * T, Tera- as in one trillion * T, the symbol for ...

(Gary Lovisi) (Gryphon edition only) *"The Spawn of Dagon" (from ''Weird Tales'' v. 32, no. 1, July 1938) (Henry Kuttner) *"A Portable Outline of Elak's Career"

t. 3 T is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet. (For the same letterform in the Cyrillic and Greek alphabets, see Te and Tau respectively). T may also refer to: Codes and units * T, Tera- as in one trillion * T, the symbol for "True" in lo ...

(Gary Lovisi) (Gryphon edition only) *"Beyond the Phoenix" (from ''Weird Tales'' v. 32, no. 4, Oct. 1938) (Henry Kuttner) *"A Portable Outline of Elak's Career" t. 4(Gary Lovisi) (Gryphon edition only) *"Dragon Moon" (from ''Weird Tales'' v. 35, no. 7, Jan. 1941) (Henry Kuttner) *"Cursed Be the City" (Prince Raynor) (from ''Strange Stories'' v. 1, no. 2, April 1939) (Henry Kuttner) (Paizo and Gateway/Orion editions only) *"The Citadel of Darkness" (Prince Raynor) from ''Strange Stories'' v. 2, no. 1, Aug. 1939) (Henry Kuttner) (Paizo and Gateway/Orion editions only)

Reception

The collection was reviewed by

Robert M. Price Robert McNair Price (born July 7, 1954) is an American New Testament scholar. His most notable stance is arguing in favor of the Christ myth theorythe claim that a historical Jesus did not exist. Price is the author of a number of books on bi ...

in ''Crypt of Cthulhu'' no. 33, Lammas 1985,

Richard A. Lupoff Richard Allen Lupoff (February 21, 1935 – October 22, 2020) was an American science-fiction and mystery author, who also wrote humor, satire, nonfiction and reviews. In addition to his two dozen novels and more than 40 short stories, he a ...

in ''

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

'' 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 ''Elak, King of Atlantis'' is a collection of sword and sorcery short stories by English author Adrian Cole, continuing the stories featuring the title character by American author Henry Kuttner. It was first published in trade paperback and eb ...

'' (2020).

References

{{Lewis Padgett 1985 short story collections Fantasy short story collections Atlantis in fiction

Summary

Contents

Reception

Relation to other works

References