The collection is something of a grab-bag, putunder the 'Xiccarph' label because they all sort of fall into the samesort of theme, of decadence turned to rot and outright decay. Worlds atthe tail end of their existence, now mostly cities of tombs and dry seabeds, and lost dying elements of species and civilizations.Eventhe Xiccarph stories themselves, starring the all-powerful Maal Dweb,ruler of six planets, is of a wizard who ultimately is battling his ownennui. (I wonder, incidentally, how much the decadent andcosmically-powerful wizards Jack Vance'sRhialto the Marvellousowe to this.BetweenMaal Dweb, "The Monster of the Prophecy", and "Sadastor", there is anongoing theme of fantasy gone cosmic, admitting the existence of planetsand stars within this fantastic writing.