I am of the opinion that horror stories best work their dark magic by casting aside the veil of mundane reality to reveal just how ineffable and unknowable the universe really is. H.P. Lovecraft’s stories are fine exemplars of this kind of tale, as are Arthur Machen’s strange occult fictions; however, despite the acclaim that this branch of horror fiction often wins from modern genre authors, its themes are often either neglected or painfully underdeveloped by most contemporary writers. Enter Thomas Ligotti. Ligotti writes as though there were no topic other than the uncaring alienness of the cosmos that is worthy of his artistic fixation. And fixate he does. For Ligotti, what lies behind reality is not only grim, but essentially unspeakable and incomprehensible. Beyond that, a thorough reading of these stories reveals images and ideas that reoccur throughout Ligotti’s work. Ligotti expertly draws out the uncanny movement of marionettes and other automatons; he weaves a mighty narrative of the corporatization of evil. Stylistically, Ligotti owes a great deal to E.A. Poe and Lovecraft. While this adds an atmosphere of eldritch lineage to Ligotti’s writing, it also sometimes results in stultified language that can seem like an ill match to the credibility of Ligotti’s otherworldly terrors. Nevertheless, this affordable volume collects what should be considered the very fleur of modern horror fiction. Highly recommended for nocturnal reading.

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