The Centaurs
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THE CENTAURS
by André Lichtenberger
adapted by Brian Stableford
cover by Mike Hoffman
She is so beautiful, Kadilda the blonde, Kadilda the white, Kadilda the virginal! Who could be insensible to her triumphant grace? Klevorak himself feels pride swelling his heart when his eyes fall upon the last-born of his blood.
The Centaurs (1904) chronicles the last days of the Era of the Beasts that preceded ours, when Fauns, Tritons and other now-mythical creatures shared the Earth. In that wild world, the balance of nature is maintained by the Centaurs. The One Law is Thou Shalt Not Kill. But one day, Klevorak, the King of the Centaurs, learns that the One Law has been broken by the new creatures called Men, whom he calls The Accursed Ones.
Meanwhile, the beautiful Katilda, one of the few remaining female Centaurs, refuses to bear offspring with the males of her species and instead falls in love with a young hunter, who only sees in her a coveted prey. Soon, the Elder Races are slaughtered by Men. Can Klevorak still save the remnants of his people by taking them across the ocean to the legendary Sacred Isle?
This beautiful, timeless classic of French fantasy, inbued with violence and melancholy, is translated here for the first time, with three other stories; literary homages to Jonathan Swift, Rudyard Kipling and H.G. Wells.
Contents:
THE CENTAURS (Les Centaures, 1904)
GULLIVER IN THE LAND OF THE VICHEBOLKS (Gulliver chez les Vichebolks) (1923)
MR. CUFFYCOAT'S CURIOUS ADVENTURE (La Curieuse aventure de M. Cuffycoat) (1923)
MOWGLI RETURNS FROM THE FRONT (Mowgli revient du front) (1923)
Introduction and Notes by Brian Stableford.