But I think his short stories are usually better than his novels.
Published by Arkham House. Obviously books like this rise in value, sometimes astronomically, when they go out of print. The local public library staff will search to see if they can locate a copy, and they will take care of all the paperwork for you.
Thankfully, I did find a collected text of essays on Vance's fiction - especially helpful was one essay which directly compared Smith's work to Vance's.
The Vance books are very entertaining and lead to the magic system used in Dungeons and Dragons, the main deity of magic is named Vecna, and anagram of Vance. I got IotL via interlibrary loan. He stayed in the famous Auburn Hotel, now, regrettably, a collection of yuppie boutiques, alas.
I plan to read Vance's Dying Earth this weekend. It is strange that Lovecraft never attempted something similar, however, seeing as how easily Derleth was able to make HPL's trademark style a marketable commodity.
If I may, let me qualify a little.
Though I have not read Vance yet, I very much agree with you; Smith's command of the vocabulary unique to weird fiction is overwhelming.
I have my own mini recording studio, so that will be a fun visit. Both co-feature the names of Lovecraft and Derleth. Joshi, when he was working on his Bierce bibliography.
But I think his short stories are usually better than his novels.
Lumley even has a factory turning out mass-produced Elder Signs. Published by Arkham House. But I think his short stories are usually better than his novels. You may also like to try out the Chaosium anthology; I think it was called Made in Goatswood, or something similar, from memory.
Any of you in the vicinity of Texas would be welcome to visit.
That said, all signs are good for having Smith vol.
Yes, what little I've read is pretty good. Be sure to try Amazon used books. Lovecraft does not get off scot free here. In the novel Spawn of the Winds, they almost kill Ithaqua, and are almost unbelievably effective in fighting these godlike aliens.
Good luck with your study, I hope we get to hear more about it. And some of the other books are quite cheap. I'll be happy to share the results with you all in the coming months. Crosses out of the crust and disappears down into the molten magma of the mantle. For all Lovecraft's originality in setting horror scenarios, his narrators and other characters are little better than pasteboard cut-outs.
The original Arkham House editions. But I think his short stories are usually better than his novels.