Lord of Darkness

1

November 23, 2013 by Laird

Thomas Ligotti is one of the finest horror writers alive. His imagination is a wickedly powerful engine. It rumbles with enough force to shake the bones of HPL himself. From what I understand, Ligotti is also a kind and good man. This said, I am far less enamored of his pessimist/antinatalist philosophy. His indulgences in that arena smack of sophistry. The self-obliterating darkness that works in his fiction becomes appalling in reality, moreso in the context of the sort of cultish veneration that pessimist philosophy and antinatalism enjoy.

It is interesting that for me Ligotti presents a similar dichotomy as Lovecraft. In both cases, the untenable nature of their world view is the precise element that makes their art so potent.

If you’re interested in Chambers, Smith, and Lovecraft, Ligotti should be on your list. This is a good place to start.

Courtesy of Sergiy Krykun