The Crimson Tome

In this scintillating volume, K. A. Opperman immediately places himself in the forefront of contemporary weird verse. Deeply influenced by Clark Ashton Smith, George Sterling, and other masters of the form, Opperman nonetheless reveals a vibrancy and originality of outlook that stamps his poetry as very much his own. A master of several of the most rigorous forms of metrical poetry-the sonnet, the quatrain, the rhyming couplet-Opperman's poetic brilliance conveys, seemingly without effort, images of terror, gruesomeness, and bleak melancholy. The book concludes with tributes to Opperman by D. L. Myers and Ashley Dioses. K. A. Opperman is a young poet living in California. His verse has appeared in Weird Fiction Review, Spectral Realms, and other venues. "The California Romantic tradition lives on in this ambitious and varied collection. Redolent of Clark Ashton Smith with more than a whiff of Poe, Opperman's complex verse forms are an ideal setting for darkness. Whether questing for the Crimson Tome through an extended sonnet sequence, celebrating the heights-and hideous depths-of romantic attraction, lingering in October shadows, or traversing lost Atlantis, these poems are surefooted and unabashedly exotic."-Ann K. Schwader, author of Twisted in Dream & Bram Stoker Finalist "Opperman is a latter day lapidary who works in words much as his spiritual mentors George Sterling and Clark Ashton Smith. Here you will find poetic gems of a rare provenance, indeed, perhaps mined long ago in Xiccarph or Averoigne and cut with the aid of a most powerful sorcery."-Michael Fantina "K. A. Opperman's The Crimson Tome reveals a flare for intense weird poetry. Elevated, beautiful imagery vies with startling and fearful visions of dread for supremacy of tone. The titles themselves convey some of the wide range of subjects touched on: "To an Unknown Enchantress," "The Corpse of Beauty," "Siren of the Dead," "Vampiric Roses," and "Decapitated Kiss," amongst so many others, exhibit an unearthly decadence and splendour not to be missed. In the tradition of Edgar Allan Poe, Clark Ashton Smith, George Sterling, Charles Pierre Baudelaire, and H. P. Lovecraft, The Crimson Tome exhibits a technique of the sombre, which, paradoxically, is very enlightening. In such bardic horrors as these, the Muse of Monstrousness unveils her face and smiles wickedly."-Charles Lovecraft, P'rea Press "This generous collection marks the appearance of a distinctive new voice in weird and fantastic verse. The exemplary degree of craft in Opperman's darkling poems is exceeded only by the author's delectably delirious imagination, and his command of language of elegant simplicity interspersed with archaisms to savour, like exotic black berries glistening on platters of ebony. Songs of sorcery and sensuality mingle herein with incantations on the ineluctable effects of decay and the death which awaits us all. A rare feast for all devotees of the macabre."-Leigh Blackmore, author of Spores from Sharnoth & Other Madnesses"The poetry of K. A. Opperman is a wonder and a revelation. His verse spans the full spectrum of the weird, from fantasy and the supernatural to brooding pessimism and melancholy. The Crimson Tome is his first book, but all lovers of true poetry will fervently hope it will not be his last."-S. T. Joshi