Good resolutions are useless attempts to interfere with scientific laws. Their origin is pure vanity. Their result is absolutely nil. They give us, now and then, some of those luxurious sterile emotions that have a certain charm for the weak. That is all that can be said for them. They are simply cheques that men draw on a bank where they have no account

- The Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde, 1890

This traverse may the poorest take
without oppress of toll;

… how frugal is the chariot
that bears a human soul!

Atrocitas Sui Generis

The company that employed me strived only to serve up the cheapest fare that its customers would tolerate, churn it out as fast as possible, and charge as much as they could get away with. If it were possible to do so, the company would sell what all businesses of its kind dream about selling, creating that which all our efforts were tacitly supposed to achieve: the ultimate product – Nothing. And for this product, they would command the ultimate price – Everything.

- My Work Is Not Yet Done
by Thomas Ligotti
via Steve Dekorte

Quoque tractus; EGO mos non lego

First off, let me honestly say that I am very unhappy to be writing a negative review of a Ligotti book. I was infatuated with Shadow at the Bottom of the World; after Teatro Grottesco, it was love. So I pre-ordered this book months in advance and squealed with glee when it arrived.

. . .

In short, I would NOT suggest this book to a first-time Ligotti reader. It is not only bad, it is a poor representation of Ligotti as a writer. He can do, and has repeatedly done, much better. Go get Teatro Grottesco, NOW, and see cosmic horror at its contemporary best.

- I LOVE Ligotti, but I hated this book review at Amazon.com
by Alice Lander (2 stars)
2009-05-31

It bothers me when I see reviews which present information which is both critical and incorrect – given that Alice is reviewing a work originally published in 2002 approximately seven years after its initial publication, I would hazard a guess that she is not following Ligotti’s work closely enough.

The third story, “The Nightmare Network”, is a fairly radical departure in Ligotti’s style. It reminded me somewhat of the condensed novels of J. G. Ballard. Frankly, I found the story of two megacorporations seemingly warring across time, largely incomprehensible . . . another Ligotti parable for life I suspect. An interesting failure.

- My Work is Not Yet Done Reviews at Amazon.com
by Randy Stafford (4 stars)
2009-08-08

… and then there is the spoiler review… don’t read the spoiler review in its entirety.

I found The Nightmare Network to be one of my favorite Ligotti tales of all, in no small part because it is so loosely strung together.

Consider it a series of drugged flashbacks, the prophetic walkabout vision of a man wearing a “The End Is Nigh!” sandwich board, or a half-remembered nightmare that ebbs from memory just slowly enough to demand your acknowledgment and ruin your day.

Ligotti again transcends the horror genre with this influential piece of contemporary horror. If you have enjoyed Ligotti’s work in the past this book will be right up your alley. For newcomers this is a good place to start and I guarantee you will be searching for more of this brilliant author’s work. This re-release along with Teatro Grottesco helps bring newcomers into Ligotti’s diluted reality. Buy it! Read it again and again and share with everyone you know!

- My Work is Not Yet Done Reviews at Amazon.com
by Jacob E. Snead (5 stars)
2009-05-02

Ah, finally – someone who gets it.

Ligotti at his worst remains stellar (five-star-stellar) in comparison to the rank-and-file hack-and-slash throes-of-agony-and-torment horror author… the lingering malaise and the insufferably real anhedonia his work inspires may not change your life, but it will resonate with the Reptilian complex of your brain and, perhaps, inspire you to give up joy for just a moment and succumb to the problems of your own existence.

How does the world appear through the eyes of the disaffected monster…
… what do you see?

Researchers have demonstrated that though in the short run it appears preferable to act responsibly and choose virtue over vice, over time such righteous behavior generates increasing regret. It has been argued that the passage of time attenuates regret about choosing vice and accentuates regret about choosing virtue because of the decay of indulgence guilt and the intensification of feelings of missing out on the pleasures of life.

- Remedying Hyperopia: The Effects of Self-Control Regret on Consumer Behavior
American Marketing Association
Anat Keinan & Ran Kivetz

Though, ironically perhaps, anhedonia is a demonstration of myopic focus (flat emotional affect to the exclusion of potential enjoyment) and the malaise of purely rational analysis.

Reason doth make misers of us all.

Earlier today I was struck by an aspect of myself which left me at a loss for words – I knew there was some description for what I was experiencing which would sum up my thoughts on the matter and allow me to better understand myself (cue the immediate reaction to mouseover the “Back” button as you encounter another horrible, introspective blog post).

I envied the ability others seems to exhibit as they genuinely enjoy experiences – I cannot claim to be utterly disabled in this respect, though years of displeasure and hardship have failed to exercise my capacity for joy; cynicism is the ultimate kill-joy. Why is it so hard to simply enjoy life?

I completed reading The Nightmare Factory in my room (rather than outdoors, as I had originally intended) and found an interview with Thomas Ligotti which found the words I had misplaced:

I’m completely detached from anything, including myself and anyone around me. Doing anything just seems plain stupid, which in my opinion it ultimately is. This is the lesson of anhedonia, which is an eminently rational state. But if you’re going to do anything, you must be in an irrational state of emotion, and without this irrationality your life is just numbers: how long, how much, how many, how far. Emotion gives an illusory focus and meaning to our lives.

… I could say that it’s like being emotionally blind, deaf, dumb, mute, and totally paralyzed, but such similes aren’t effective unless you’ve gone through the experience yourself.

- “It’s all a matter of personal pathology”:
An Interview with Thomas Ligotti