The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories

A collection of four new short stories, a novella, and additional fiction by David C. Smith, author of dozens of sword-and-sorcery, horror, and fantasy novels for more than forty years. The title story is a dark comedy about a young novelist who is jealous of Stephen King's commercial success and whose bitter complaints are overheard by King himself, who visits the writer in the odd domain where all stories and dreams--and horrors--come from. "The Shadow of Dia-Sust" is Smith's FIRST NEW ORON STORY in 30 years; in it, the young barbarian helps a dying witch exact an overdue revenge and puts himself on the path of a destiny that will lead him into the events featured in Oron, the previously published first novel in the series. "Ug-hul-ene" is a horror story about zombies set in ancient Sumeria, and "Nerve Endings" tells about an uncommonly horrible means of destruction utilized by a modern-day terrorist. "We Went to See the Vampire on Halloween Night" reveals what happened to three people who visited an actual vampire on the outskirts of Chicago thirty years ago--a visit that anticipated the world we find ourselves living in today. Also included are a sample chapter from "The West Is Dying," the first volume of Smith's fantasy trilogy "The Fall of the First World," back in print for the first time in thirty years, and a chapter from the author's work in progress, "Sometime Lofty Towers," a literary sword-and-sorcery novel. There are also author notes that provide background information about each of the stories.