Thomas Ligotti is a truly unusual author. He has a fascination with “weird fiction,” with the unknowable, the macabre. This is paired with a knack for eloquent word-poetry, intelligence and complexity, and a sense of the chillingly unusual. When I finish reading several Ligotti stories, I find that the world looks different. The colors aren’t quite right any more, or the angles, or maybe people seem a little darker, a little stranger. The world has changed.

That is how effective Ligotti can be.

Ligotti is a master of madness. He makes use of the short story format to show us things and then leave again, without ever having to truly explain them to us. He doesn’t wrap things up in a neat little package; he doesn’t tie a ribbon around them. Oftentimes you’ll be left wondering just what on earth really happened.

I have several books of Ligotti stories, and “Noctuary” is my favorite. I have often wondered why, and the answer I eventually came to is this: most of the stories in here are shorter than those in other books. The longest one is less than 40 pages, and many are only two or three pages long. As much as I love Ligotti’s writing, he’s at his best when he writes in short chunks. Otherwise I find his writing occasionally drags a little.

Ligotti’s work is not for everyone. If you don’t like the weird or the macabre, you won’t enjoy his work. If you prefer your stories to be normal, with a beginning, middle and end, all wrapped up in a neat little ribbon, then this is definitely not for you. If you prefer your world to be its same, comfortable self when you close your books - don’t read a word of Ligotti. Ligotti’s style is definitely not for everyone.

But for those of us who enjoy it, it is a dread and harrowing pleasure - one that I would not in a million years give up.

Full review at ErrantDreams ( )