Avon Fantasy Reader No. 7

This anthology presents ten fantasy and weird tales by major pulp authors. C. L. Moore's "Shambleau" opens the collection—a tale of an interplanetary being hunted by a mob on Mars, set in the colonial town of Lakkdarol. Smith, a hardened space-explorer, shelters the mysterious brown-skinned girl from pursuers, only to discover she is non-human, with feline eyes, claws, and strange anatomy. Sax Rohmer contributes "The Curse of a Thousand Kisses," described as a sorcery tale set in ancient and modern Egypt. A. Merritt's "When Old Gods Wake" appears here for the first time in print. Robert E. Howard's "The Cairn on the Headland" addresses ancient evil, while Clark Ashton Smith offers a macabre future tale. Lord Dunsany, Frank Belknap Long, Jr., Fritz Leiber, Jr., Frank Gruber, and editor Donald A. Wollheim round out the collection with additional fantasy adventures.