Customer Reviews

Noctuary

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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.

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 that 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 all of Ligotti's writing, he's at his best when he writes in short chunks. Otherwise I find his writing sometimes 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 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. He hands us phrases that no one but he would conceive of, that almost cannot help but elicit a shudder:

"We witness the scene and, with what remains of our mouths, we smile."

But for those of us who enjoy it, it is a dread and harrowing pleasure - one that I would not give up. My only regret is that Ligotti is not a more prolific author.

To realise that for only a few dollars more I could have bought 'The Nightmare Factory' instead which contains all the stories in this book + many more! I guess I will end up owning them both. Ligotti is one of the few creditable horror writers working today and I could never get tired of his stories. They just seem to get deeper and deeper with each subsequent reading. However - if you are looking for blood/gore type horror don't bother - this is a deeply subtle writer at work ..

In _Noctuary_, Ligotti is at his finest. The short novella, "The Tsalal," in particular, is probably one of the most well written, psychologically twisted, disturbing tales I have ever read. If you buy no other horror short story anthology this year, buy this one. Though few people know Ligotti exists, those who have read him know that he is peerless in the field. For myself, I tremble in euphoric terror at the thought of what Ligotti's genius will turn out next. Fortunately, Ligotti's published stories have the lasting power of true classics, and I know I will continue to read them again and again as my life continues toward the inevitable.

Thomas Ligotti is easily one of the least known masters of modern fiction. His work transcends genre and his prose is most often poetic, his imagery haunting and atmospheric. For fans of any type of literature, Thomas Ligotti is a rare gem and a great talent in the field, though sometimes a difficult read, his work is always rewarding.

This book preceeded his most recent work, "In a foreign town, in a foreign land" and his one of his best collections to date. Even the last section, which are simply bits and pieces from his notebooks, nothing coming close to a finished piece, far outshine many popular and exhalted writers working in the field today. Ligotti can create entire worlds, set mood and instill any emotion he desires, with a masters skill in less than a page, something many current bestselling authors fail to accomplish in hundreds of pages, or their entire body of work.

For those new to Thomas Ligotti, this book is a great place to start, for those familiar with some of his other works, look for "Alice's last adventure" in Prime Evil, "In a foreign town, In a foreign land" a very rare novella, and "Songs of a dead dreamer" the mass market paperback is a highly revised version of the original small press release and his first published collection of stories. Any fan of great literature no matter the genre will not be disappointed by this great artist's work.

ENJOY........

Thomas Ligotti is easily one of the least known masters of modern fiction. His work transcends genre and his prose is most often poetic, his imagery haunting and atmospheric. For fans of any type of literature, Thomas Ligotti is a rare gem and a great talent in the field, though sometimes a difficult read, his work is always rewarding.

This book preceeded his most recent work, "In a foreign town, in a foreign land" and his one of his best collections to date. Even the last section, which are simply bits and pieces from his notebooks, nothing coming close to a finished piece, far outshine many popular and exhalted writers working in the field today. Ligotti can create entire worlds, set mood and instill any emotion he desires, with a masters skill in less than a page, something many current bestselling authors fail to accomplish in hundreds of pages, or their entire body of work.

For those new to Thomas Ligotti, this book is a great place to start, for those familiar with some of his other works, look for "Alice's last adventure" in Prime Evil, "In a foreign town, In a foreign land" a very rare novella, and "Songs of a dead dreamer" the mass market paperback is a highly revised version of the original small press release and his first published collection of stories. Any fan of great literature no matter the genre will not be disappointed by this great artist's work.

Everything I've read from this author outshines almost every writer working in the field today. His work, a literary treasure and a classic in the making that will far outlast many of the more popular authors published in recent years.

ENJOY........

...but it may be a nightmare of nameless horror. This book is so exquisite that I'd like to be buried with it, though not right now. All of Thomas Ligotti's works are music to my undeserving ears. Read them. Any of them you can get your hands on.

Ligotti is undoubtedly the only living master of terror. The truth is that Thomas Ligotti has come out of seemingly nowhere in just the last ten years and has, in that time, set a new standard in literature of the supernatural. I picked up _Songs_ in 1992, initially for the Washington Post's declaration, "Put this on the bookshelf between Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft where it belongs." My hopes were more than realized. Ligotti is not only as good as the nineteenth and twentieth century masters of the macabre. For the select few who have read his material, he is simply one of the finest authors of the terrifying and disturbing short story and novella ever to grace the English language. Do I exaggerate? Read this compilation of masterworks and ask yourself afterwards whether Ligotti will be considered the groundbreaking Poe or Lovecraft of the late twentieth century. When the likes of King and Straub are mostly forgotten in a century, it is my firm opinion that Thomas Ligotti's stories, such as the terrifying "Dr. Locrian's Asylum", will still be read by those students of the genre who will still appreciate the authors subtlety, flowing eloquence, and his chilling originality and detail of plot and character. In _Noctuary_, Ligotti is at his finest. The short novella, "The Tsalal," in particular, is probably one of the most well written, psychologically twisted, disturbing tales I have ever read. If you buy no other horror short story anthology this year, buy this one. Though few people know Ligotti exists, those who have read him know that he is peerless in the field. For myself, I tremble in euphoric terror at the thought of what Ligotti's genius will turn out next. Fortunately, Ligotti's published stories have the lasting power of true classics, and I know I will continue to read them again and again as my life continues toward the inevitable.

As a vampire craves blood, Thomas Ligotti's readers will enjoy Noctuary. The stories are complex, at least some of them. I read one of them over the phone to a woman I know and she laughed a few times. At least at the beginning of the story. Makes me remember the line, "Be careful what you laugh at." The wonderful thing about the stories in Noctuary is that you don't have to understand them to enjoy the writing.

Ligotti shuns the spotlight. But that's okay because he certainly didn't shun the dreams and nightmares that I experienced while reading this book that I consider a masterpiece.

It's a haunting piece of work and my only warning is that Ligotti will take you to a place -- hidden in your mind -- that you don't even know exists.

Flawless. Highly recommended.

...we smile." -Autumnal, from Notebook of the Night.
Thomas Ligotti is one of the most original and unsettling horror writers of this day and age, only somewhat rivalled by his predecessors, Poe and Lovecraft. (One writer who does come very close, however, is Ramsey Campbell.) He is the epitome of the horror writer, thinking of ideas a great deal of us wouldn't even be able to think of: In Part One, we meet Lucian Dregler, an obsessive searcher for the Medusa; Samuel, the deranged postman, descending into his mind on each successive All Hallows' Eve; Arthur Emerson's encounter with a god who may realise his dreams; and Mrs. Rinaldi's ancient wooden chest, home to something infinitely pure and equally corruptable. Part Two take a darker tone. Here we meet Andrew Manning, destined to bring about the end of earthly life; a scientist turned leper messiah and his marvelous machine; a painter determined to become part of his landscapes; and a man pursued by puppet-like horrors, written in the shades of a nightmare. The final section is entirely devoted to vignettes showcasing Ligotti's talent at using very few words to pull off the same effect. The micro-narratives range on subject matter from the unreal ("New Faces in the City") to the Gothic ("Salvation by Doom") to the premundane ("Primordial Loathing"), from the eyes of demons ("The Demon-Man"), from the mouths of the the dead ("One May be Dreaming", "Autumnal"), of the sum of all days ("The Interminable Equation"), on dark, rainy nights ("The Nameless Horror"), ponderings on the mystique of things ("The Mocking Mystery") and the sardonic beauty of it ("The Order of Illusion"). These and many more can be found here. The only piece that came even close to disappointing me was "The Physic", but, thankfully, even that is worth every word.

ligotti is the most disturbing horror writer i've ever encountered, hands down. after i finished "noctuary" i was hungry for more, but unfortunately could not find "grimscribe" anywhere, and am still fiending for a copy. the stories in this book resonate with a kind of sickly unreality (maybe best articulated in "the tsalal") and one gets the sense that while ligotti is on the one hand the impassioned horror writer trying desperately to communicate his vision to the reader, he is on the other hand the avant garde artist in the tradition of duchamp, laughing openly at our pathetic and delusory attempts to impose meaning and order on a universe that in the final equation has neither. it is almost as if he makes a point of pointing out the pointlessness. in this way, he is like his idol hp lovecraft, who constantly added subtle layers of philosophical nihilism and the most extreme forms of pessimism to his work. for those who love tasting the dark, you can't live without this