Thomas Ligotti

[Randy M.]

To be honest, I'm not sure. Perhaps JD could comment. Both novels get mentioned whenever cosmic horror comes up and there's some thought that Lovecraft would have approved -- they were published not long after this death. But my reading of To Walk the Night when I was younger and much, much less critical left me less than overwhelmed. I recall a combination of okay but not great writing and a kind of sentimentality that I'd pinpoint as very 1930s.

I think I'll read The Edge... sometime fairly soon and if that works out, reread the other to see if the older me likes it more. Still, both books hold a place in sf/horror literary history. They seem to be landmarks, though whether they hold up, I'm not sure.


Randy M.

 

[j d worthington]

I've not heard of William Sloane. Worth reading I take it?

Most definitely. Not a "spectacular" novel in the sense of sensationalistic, but a very haunting piece, nonetheless.

To be honest, I'm not sure. Perhaps JD could comment. Both novels get mentioned whenever cosmic horror comes up and there's some thought that Lovecraft would have approved -- they were published not long after this death. But my reading of To Walk the Night when I was younger and much, much less critical left me less than overwhelmed. I recall a combination of okay but not great writing and a kind of sentimentality that I'd pinpoint as very 1930s.

I think I'll read The Edge... sometime fairly soon and if that works out, reread the other to see if the older me likes it more. Still, both books hold a place in sf/horror literary history. They seem to be landmarks, though whether they hold up, I'm not sure.


Randy M.

Yes, they do. It's been many a year since I read them, but unless my memory fails me, I think you'd find To Walk the Night worthy of a more mature reconsideration. On the whole, though, I think that yes, they both deserve their reputation and their honored place in the genre(s).

 

[Randy M.]

Hi, J.D.

I have a vague notion of what I hope to read after October and the Sloane novels are in consideration (especially since I finally found my old Ballantine copies). If I should follow through, I'll be certain to mention it on the forum.


Randy M.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Could someone please recommend a novel by Ligotti?

I'm not a huge fan of short stories, prefer novels or novellas. I'm a fan of horror but haven't read anything by Ligotti so recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Randy M.]

From my reading, Ligotti is not really a novelist. Grimscribe has connective vignettes between stories rather like Bradbury does in The Martian Chronicles; individual stories are quite good, but the effect as a whole isn't as successful as with the Bradbury.

My Work is Not Yet Done is a short novel combined with two shorter pieces. It's a later work, not bad, but with a greater amount of overt violence than I've seen in his other work. I still haven't gotten to Noctuary; perhaps someone else can comment.


Randy M.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Thanks for the advice Randy, in that case I might give him a miss. I used to read King's short stories and Barkers Books of Blood but they're not my cup of tea as my tastes have evolved over time.

I like Bradbury and love Something Wicked This Way Comes, but The Martian Chronicles really didn't do it for me.

 

[Randy M.]

Hi, Crooksy.

Just to be clear, I wouldn't liken The Martian Chronicles and Grimscribe in any substantive way, merely in format.

I haven't read Barker -- he was just gaining renown when I was moving away from genre for a time -- but Ligotti's terrors would eat King's for lunch. (*cough*) More seriously, where King starts from quotidian reality and often returns to it, Ligotti's tales start from a psychologically more subjective reality, a place already off-register with what most of his readers experience daily. And then they get strange.

In a different way, Ligotti is rather like Poe, Ellison or Borges in that what he has to offer probably wouldn't work as well at novel length (I didn't find My Work Is Not Yet Done entirely successful, though it sure has its moments) but in the compressed, distilled form of the short story has amazing power to disturb.


Randy M.

 

[Fried Egg]

Could someone please recommend a novel by Ligotti?

I'm not a huge fan of short stories, prefer novels or novellas. I'm a fan of horror but haven't read anything by Ligotti so recommendations would be appreciated.

As has been noted, he has mainly written short stories but I would try "My Work is Not Yet Done"; a novella length piece which I thought was superb. Definitely give you a good introduction to his style.

More generally though, I think it's a shame you avoid short stories, particularly in the horror genre. It is my firm belief that much of what's good in horror in recent years is happening in the short story form. I wouldn't let short stories put you off as you might well miss much of the "good stuff".

 

[Fried Egg]

Having now finished this Penguin edition of Ligotti's first two collections I am left feeling that I actually prefer his later work. Don't get me wrong, there are many great early stories but I tend to think that Ligotti has improved as a writer over the years in various ways. His prose became less ornate, simpler and more elegant. And the horrors themselves tended to be less esoteric in essence, more arising from the absurdity of the everyday.

 

[Toke]

I too read Penguin's edition of Ligotti's first two collections. Songs of a Dead Dreamer was fantastic. A unique experience unlike anything I had ever read. The scenes generated images so vivid that I thought about them for a long time. At times the language was a bit challenging for a non-native English reader but usually it didn't take but a short reread of the paragraph or sentence. The Dude really likes his words. The Griscribe wasn't as good as the SoaDD. The stories didn't suck me in quite as easily and they seemed to wander a bit more. I have couple of books by him on my shelf, I just have to wait for the right feeling. I can't force myself to read these. It wouldn't give them justice somehow.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Just bumping this thread. I've been enjoying some Ligotti and found it quite a muddle to see what is 'inspired by' and what is actually written by him. This is down to Amazon's imprecise or downright misleading blurbs.

I shifted to Kindle last year and don't want to start buying real books, but I've really enjoyed SODD so far.

pH

 

[Sargeant_Fox]

My copy of My Work Is Not Yet Done arrived today; I haven't read him since I bought Teatro Grottesco in 2009.

 

[paeng]

Remarkable, and very much counters the techno-optimism of various sci-fi works.

See also non-fiction like Conspiracy Against the Human Race.

 

[BAYLOR]

I've not heard of William Sloane. Worth reading I take it?

Rim of the Morning Two tales of Cosmic Horror are well worth reading.

I wish he'd written more than he did.

 

[Phyrebrat]

He’s rapidly become one of my favourite authors. I really wish he had more output as I think I’ve read all his stuff now.

 

[Sargeant_Fox]

See also non-fiction like Conspiracy Against the Human Race.

I'm pretty sure I don't need it.

Although I vaguely remember enjoying Teatro Grottesco in 2009 (while vividly remembering my complaint that it was too repetitive), I'm afraid I belong to the minority of those who didn't think they had crossed paths with a life-changing god. I just expect the book to entertain me, nothing more.

 

[Randy M.]

I'm pretty sure I don't need it.

Although I vaguely remember enjoying Teatro Grottesco in 2009 (while vividly remembering my complaint that it was too repetitive), I'm afraid I belong to the minority of those who didn't think they had crossed paths with a life-changing god. I just expect the book to entertain me, nothing more.

You might be entertained by some of his earlier stories like, "The Frolic', "Les Fleurs", "The Last Feast of Harlequin," "Conversations in a Dead Language."

That said, for some readers he's an acquired taste rather than one you are instantly drawn to. I think that's true of Lovecraft and Robert Aickman, too. I admire all three writers for what they could do, but there's an eccentricity and/or a limit of range and/or an obsession with certain themes or approaches that I've seen energize some readers, put off others, and leave the rest of us intrigued enough to read them occasionally, but not enough to make us diehard fans.

 

[Sargeant_Fox]

You might be entertained by some of his earlier stories like, "The Frolic', "Les Fleurs", "The Last Feast of Harlequin," "Conversations in a Dead Language."

If memory serves me, I did look up more books back in 2009, but by then the majority was out of print; and then my attention went after other authors. I was startled a few years ago to learn that his first two books were now available via Penguin and made a note to get it; but priorities have gotten in the way.

Why is so much of his work oop and expensive though? Given his status he should be one of those authors kept perpetually in print.

 

[Randy M.]

He only recently attained that status outside the horror community. The Penguin edition came out in 2015, a year after the first showing of the first season of True Detective. If you don't recognize the show, it was a huge success, it's basic plot a police chase of a serial killer, but the presentation flirted with the supernatural and somewhat philosophical. In interviews the show runner/writer cited both The King in Yellow and Ligotti as influences.

Ligotti, once a fringe writer, was now being mentioned in what constituted mainstream publications in 2015. Maybe Joshi (a fan of Ligotti) was already pushing Penguin for the collection, or maybe Penguin recruited him because of his track record with HPL, Lord Dunsany, Machen and Blackwood. As a side benefit, The King in Yellow started was selling, too; I recall seeing at least five different editions in the local Barnes & Noble shortly after the show ended.

What I'm not sure of is, once mainstream readers read him, would they want more? And that might be why that one Penguin edition is available but little else has been reissued.

 

[paeng]

I'm pretty sure I don't need it.

Although I vaguely remember enjoying Teatro Grottesco in 2009 (while vividly remembering my complaint that it was too repetitive), I'm afraid I belong to the minority of those who didn't think they had crossed paths with a life-changing god. I just expect the book to entertain me, nothing more.

It's about Ligotti's beliefs and what underlies all of his works. It's also based on the artists and philosophers that inspired him. For me, it's the work that's mentioned many times but rarely discussed.

This reminds me of Lovecraft, who's one of those artists. The main theme of his fiction is cosmic horror, which turns out is not meant to be entertaining.