While making dinner I listened to “The Frolic,” a short story by Thomas Ligotti. Having read it before, I only kinda liked it both times. For various reasons I always bounce off Ligotti’s fiction. Specific to this story, the dialogue is workmanly at best.
Full disclosure, I’m tired of Ligotti being used as a cudgel to beat TRUE DETECTIVE season one. But I swear I don’t hold that against Ligotti himself. THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE is probably his only book that I enjoy without reservation.
I didn’t finish all of Teatro Grottesco, but what I read of it I liked a lot more than Songs of a Dead Dreamer. The newer book felt a little less desperate to impress me.
I love Nathan Ballingrud, especially Wounds. His mythology surrounding hell is evocative of all the previous hell stories but still feels really fresh. What weird authors do you recommend?
I don’t know jack about newer weird, that’s why I asked lol. All my experience is with the oldies. Clark Ashton Smith is probably my fave.
Thanks for the Ballingrud tip, Libby app had “The Strange” available on audiobook!
I should finally read some Clark Ashton Smith. Where’s a good place to start? Also, let me know how The Strange is. I’ve gone over his short fiction a bunch; I wonder how he is as a novelist.
Same, though I've read more of his philosophical works which -- someone take away dude's thesaurus. How can you be that purple in a work of non-fiction?
His antinatalist book of essays is probably his only thing that I really click with. Because I expect a book of pop-philosophy to be a bit up its own ass. But when I read a horror story I wanna be grabbed by the throat, not dazzled by conceptual meta-commentary.
