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francyfrancy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
slettlune's review against another edition
3.0
Ligotti was recommended to me as the greatest contemporary writer of cosmic horror today, and from my dabbling I'm liable to agree. Ligotti offers a sort of formal, intellectual horror, characters who don't scream and gibber but who are just as overwhelmed by things beyond their understanding. Interestingly, Ligotti's prose is also very reminiscent of Lovecraft's -- for better or worse. There's a denseness to the prose, sentences that can keep adding twists and turns and fill half a page before it ends in a period. Sometimes that works, other times it makes for a fairly exhausting reading experience.
I do like how Ligotti can write characters who exist in a sort of placeless, timeless setting of oppression. Almost Soviet-like, but not quite. Almost DDR-esque, but not quite. No towns are named, no country stated, we only have the prospect of a border and strange, unknown areas "out there". Everyone's continually medicated, the doctors are part of some vague conspiracy, and the less we know, the better the horror and bizarre oppressive atmosphere comes across.
Sadly, the last half of the book becomes extremely introverted and intellectual, short stories obviously meant to tie up threads and give a deeper understanding to the book's universe as a whole, but pages upon pages of characters philosophizing with themselves, alluding to other events, all speaking in the same, dry, "intellectual" voice, made it a genuine chore to finish the book. Which is such a pity, because there were some stories in the first half I adored to the point I was bothering my friends with them.
My favourite stories were Our Temporary Supervisor (the horror of capitalism, the inhumanity of workplace efficiency); Purity (a young boy colluding with dangerous strangers and his even stranger family); The Town Manager (an almost fairy tale-like story of unearthly mayors and uneasy but perpetual compliance); and The Gas Station Carnival (which feels almost Stephen King-esque, and not for the creepy clown).
Really wish this was a more even, balanced, collection. As it is I think Ligotti probably works better in anthologies where his talents can put others to shame.
I do like how Ligotti can write characters who exist in a sort of placeless, timeless setting of oppression. Almost Soviet-like, but not quite. Almost DDR-esque, but not quite. No towns are named, no country stated, we only have the prospect of a border and strange, unknown areas "out there". Everyone's continually medicated, the doctors are part of some vague conspiracy, and the less we know, the better the horror and bizarre oppressive atmosphere comes across.
Sadly, the last half of the book becomes extremely introverted and intellectual, short stories obviously meant to tie up threads and give a deeper understanding to the book's universe as a whole, but pages upon pages of characters philosophizing with themselves, alluding to other events, all speaking in the same, dry, "intellectual" voice, made it a genuine chore to finish the book. Which is such a pity, because there were some stories in the first half I adored to the point I was bothering my friends with them.
My favourite stories were Our Temporary Supervisor (the horror of capitalism, the inhumanity of workplace efficiency); Purity (a young boy colluding with dangerous strangers and his even stranger family); The Town Manager (an almost fairy tale-like story of unearthly mayors and uneasy but perpetual compliance); and The Gas Station Carnival (which feels almost Stephen King-esque, and not for the creepy clown).
Really wish this was a more even, balanced, collection. As it is I think Ligotti probably works better in anthologies where his talents can put others to shame.
lowkeymattp's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
luotenrati's review
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
scottjp's review against another edition
4.0
I've read Ligotti before, but this is the first time I've read several of his stories together, and I have to say that I don't think there is anyone else like him. Lovecraft comes close, but not quite. Lovecraft's stories usually at least begin in our world, while Ligotti's exist in one that is somewhat like ours, but is slightly off, though accepted as normal by his characters. His language is dense and precise, and his narrators (the stories are written in first-person) seem to have an obsessive nature that causes them to repeat phrases, not in an annoying or condescending way, but in a way that lends a kind of weird rhythm to the pieces. The stories are full of ambiguity and mystery, and by the end you may not know much more than you did when you began, but you will have had a unique and deeply unsettling experience.
segcab263's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
sameenshakya's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
tmvallehoag's review against another edition
2.0
I never thought I would be disappointed by Thomas Ligotti, but here we are. These stories are still remarkably philosophically consistent with his other work, but lack the supernatural and dreadful flare of his better collections. Put an other way, these stories have boring plots, even though the prose is quintessential Ligotti. Where his other stories have monsters, zombies, vampires, and psycho killers, these have… capitalism; expressed through thin metaphors of gothic factories and jobs you can’t quit.
I wanted to like these stories a lot, but they’re really limp compared to the horrific beauty of “Songs of a Dead Dreamer,” or “My Work is not Yet Done.”
I wanted to like these stories a lot, but they’re really limp compared to the horrific beauty of “Songs of a Dead Dreamer,” or “My Work is not Yet Done.”