The Imago Sequence and Other Stories [Hardcover]

Laird Barron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 24, 2007

To the long tradition of eldritch horror pioneered and refined by writers such as H.P. Lovecraft, Peter Straub, and Thomas Ligotti, comes Laird Barron, an author whose literary voice invokes the grotesque, the devilish, and the perverse with rare intensity and astonishing craftsmanship. Collected here for the first time are nine terrifying tales of cosmic horror, including the World Fantasy Award-nominated novella "The Imago Sequence," the International Horror Guild Award-nominated "Proboscis," and the never-before published "Procession of the Black Sloth." Together, these stories, each a masterstroke of craft and imaginative irony, form a shocking cycle of distorted evolution, encroaching chaos, and ravenous insectoid hive-minds hidden just beneath the seemingly benign surface of the Earth.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Horrors that defy description and challenge reader expectations charge the electrifying stories in this powerful debut collection. Barron synthesizes influences ranging from H.P. Lovecraft to hard-boiled crime fiction in nine ingeniously plotted tales whose many layers peel away to reveal highly original and viscerally unsettling premises. Old Virginia is narrated by a Cold War–era CIA agent, unaware that the chaos around him is due not to Communists but to occult forces escaping the control of the scientists he's guarding. In the period western Bulldozer, a Pinkerton agent discovers that serial killings are part of an elaborate occult ritual for placating a supernatural entity. The title story concerns a triptych of photographs used by a malign cult to snare acquisitive art collectors. Barron intensifies the emotional impact of his fiction by providing protagonists who ultimately realize that their doom is inevitable and drag the reader down with them. These vividly imagined and eerily credible stories herald a potent new voice in horror fiction. (Sept.)
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Review

"A very impressive array of stories from a distinctive talent." -- Don D'Ammassa, Critical Mass

"These tales, relentless in their nightmarish subjectivity, at the same time imply an objectively hostile surround that is the essence ofcosmic horror. Lovecraft is often emulated, but rarely with this conviction and psychological acuity." -- Nick Gevers, Locus Magazine, August 1, 2007

Product Details

• Hardcover: 239 pages
• Publisher: Night Shade Books; Reprint edition (July 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597800880
• ISBN-13: 978-1597800884
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,184,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laird Barron is the author of two collections: The Imago Sequence & Other Stories, and Occultation; both from Night Shade Books. His debut novel The Croning is forthcoming in 2011. His work has appeared in places such as The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Inferno: New Tales of Terror and the Supernatural, Lovecraft Unbound!, Black Wings: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror, Clockwork Phoenix, and The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy. It has also been reprinted in numerous year's best anthologies. Mr. Barron is an expatriate Alaskan currently at large in Washington State.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Modern H.P. Lovecraft Inspired Tales, September 18, 2009

By 

Jeremy S. Roby (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Imago Sequence and Other Stories (Paperback)

Out of all the books I've read, and all the stories I've enjoyed, I'm never really sure which one I'll sit down to review until I actually start typing. I read this book, The Imago Sequence and Others, a few weeks ago and it's really stuck with me.

This is the author's, Laird Barron, first collection of short stories. I'm always on the lookout for new horror, so when I saw this book on the shelf in the library it grabbed my attention immediately.

The collection starts with "Old Virginia ", a story about an over-the-hill CIA agent assigned to guard a strange experiment in the woods of West Virginia. Of course, something goes wrong and the experiment gets out of hand, leading inevitably to very bad things. I really liked the tone of this one, and it sets the stage very well for the stories that follow.

"The Procession of the Black Sloth" is a strange story about ghosts and witchcraft set in modern day China. I like the atmosphere and characters, but the ending was kind of a let down after such a good buildup.

"Bulldozer" is set in the Old American West, and follows a Pinkerton Detective on the trail of a murderous circus strongman with some very strange abilities.

"Hallucigenia" starts with a rich couple's encounter with a giant wasp nest in an old abandon barn. They both are attacked by something they don't remember. While his wife is in a coma, the husband investigates who owns the barn and tries to find out what really happened there. The imagery in this story really stuck with me, and this story is be my favorite of the bunch.

"Parallax" is another weird story, this time about a husband whose wife mysteriously disappears one day. The husband is accused of murdering her, but even though one police officer (the wife's ex-boyfriend) continually harasses him, nothing is proven. I don't want to give too much away about this one, because there's a twist ending or two.

"The Imago Sequence" is about a group of pictures that slowly drives everyone mad if they stare at them too long. This story is told so well one has to wonder why it wasn't done before (maybe it has, though, and I just don't know about it). This is my second most favorite story of the collection.

Three other selections, "Shiva, Open Your Eye", "The Royal Zoo is Closed" and "Proboscis" are your standard the-world-ends-with-a-whimper-not-a-bang type of stories. Their protagonists aren't really fleshed out and there is no real plot to get hooked into.

While this is a very strong collection of tales, there are a few things that did annoy me about many of them. The first is that old trope of giving away the ending as the start of the story. I know many writers use this because it's a good way to grab the reader and suck them quickly into the story, but if used too often it can be confusing and hackneyed. Secondly, Barron's characters all take way too many drugs. I don't have a problem with drug use, per se, it's just so blatant and pervasive in these stories that it gets a little hard to believe after awhile.

Overall, this collection is a very good read, and I would love to have a copy for my shelves. I'm always on the look out for new authors who write in the milieu made famous H.P. Lovecraft. In this book, Laird Barron has managed to create the same feeling of cosmic horror, without resorting to outright imitation.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Strong Horror Short Story Collection, January 17, 2010

By 

Z. Perry "Amazon Fan" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Imago Sequence and Other Stories (Paperback)

The Imago Sequence is a collection of short stories and vignettes dealing with horror, perception, and sanity. There is a certain pulp factor in the characters, locations, and situations but these stories aren't just Lovecraft pastiche. Yes, these stories often deal with entities or forces beyond human understanding and perception and the consequences on the human psyche when the protagonist stumbles upon the unseen. Yet the better stories in the collection also more vividly portray the shift from skepticism to revelation to horror than much of the original Lovecraft mythos ever did. Some of the stories are weaker than others - some plots get too abstract or too formulaic.

Some readers might enjoy that many of these stories take place in a modern-era type reality. It's a double-edge sword. It is sometimes challenging to feel suspense when you consider that most of these protagonists have access to cell phones, laptops, and GPS.

The best stories in the collection are probably Old Virginia, Hallucigenia, Parallax, and The Imago Sequence. I felt Procession of the Black Sloth was the weakest - too long, without enough of a payoff at the end.

This collection includes:

Old Virginia: As President Eisenhower prepares to leave office, a retired CIA agent is tasked to protect scientists experimenting in an isolated West Virginia cabin.

Shiva, Open Your Eyes: An old man and a state property assessor begin a dangerous cat-and-mouse - neither are what they seem - in a remote Eastern Washington farm.

Procession of the Black Sloth: A corporate espionage expert is sent to Hong Kong but stumbles upon the surreal and mysterious in gate communities of the Hong Kong expat community.

Bulldozer: A Pinkerton agent hunting a supernaturally strong killer in the American Old West stumbles upon a mystery of cosmic significance.

Proboscis: A failed actor tags along with some bounty hunter buddies to catch a killer yet quickly the situation changes.

Hallucigenia: A wealthy playboy and his new young wife stumble upon a dangerous secret that forces the man on a journey of desperate research and discovery to understand what is happening.

Parallax: A grieving widower tries to comprehend his wife's disappearance and his life's decline.

The Royal Zoo is Closed: A young professional develops a sense of emotional paresthesia about his life and the world around him as he tries to understand why.

The Imago Sequence: A surreal photo leads a local tough-guy to investigate the photographer, gallery owner, and an isolated cult involved in the painting.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, impressive debut collection of weird fiction, September 13, 2011

By 

M. Griffin (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Imago Sequence and Other Stories (Hardcover)

A powerful collection of short fiction, all the more impressive as it's Barron's first. In fact, when I try to think of a better debut collection in recent years, I can only come up with Kelly Link's as a rough equivalent.

Overall I'd rank it a tiny notch below Occultation, Barron's follow-up collection, only because some of the earlier stories don't have quite the same richness and complexity as the rest. Still, there's not a single piece here that's less than impressive.

The stories "Procession of the Black Sloth," "Hallucigenia" and "The Imago Sequence" rank up there with the best stuff in Occultation. This is a vital collection by one of the handful of most important writers of the fantastic (encompassing fantasy, science fiction or horror) currently active.