Welcome to Litsy!

I‘m not sure why I finished this one—maybe out of spite? It‘s a collection of short stories in a style that is a mixture of the worst aspects of hard-boiled detective stories, Lovecraft, and sometimes Hemingway. Very macho characters who are very proud of their penises. The stories are not even scary, just annoying.

This collection of short horror stories is one of my favorite books this year so far. A lot of horror I read is “slash slash, kill kill,” but Barron‘s horror is more-allow and forgive me for ripping off a George RR Martin character- “for the night is dark and full of terrors.” Can someone be a horror nature writer? I‘m gonna say yes. Barron grew up in the wilds of Alaska and it shows. There was a paragraph describing a malignant shadow of a 👇🏼

From the first story, Blackwood‘s Baby. The drama already.

Had I read this collection two years ago, it probably would have impressed me more. There are some truly great stories here (and some so-so ones) and the writing is spectacular. But having read Barron's later collection (Swift To Chase) and a great novella (Xs For Eyes), my expectations were just set too high. This one still gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, but if you're looking for a truly phenomenal collection from Laird Barron, check out Swift To Chase instead.

Snatched this one up immediately 👍

It's #reccomendsday ! *kermit flail* Have I told y'all about Laird Barron yet? Guys, this book of short stories is so good. I call Barron the Hemingway of Horror, and this is full of bracing, satisfying, masculine stories of adventure and terror. But wait, there's more - Barron writes playful metatextual stories and tales of female friendship as well. If you like Thomas Ligotti, True Detective, or the Vandermeers, you must read this!