Hi everyone! I haven't finished all the stories in this book, but wanted to at least discuss a few of the ones I DID read: The Frolic, Alice's Last Adventure, Dr. Voke and Mr. Veech, and The Journal of J.P. Drapeau.
The Frolic: Didn't find disturbing during the reading as much as I did after. Ligotti has a very intelligent style to his horror writing. Somewhat like Poe, you must think and ponder what you are reading. It's not just horror thrown in your face, but woven in and out of the story. "John Doe" is a creepy enigma who has no name and says he is from nowhere. He says he can come and go as he pleases from the prison. His "frolics" involve the killings of children and on page 12, the psychologist explains to his wife,
"...nothing that he said was sickeningly graphic the way you might imagine. When he told me about his last frolic and "most memorable frolic", it was with a powerful sense of wonder and nostalgia shocking as that sounds to me now. It seemed to be a kind of homesickness, though his "home" is a ramshackle ruin of his decaying mine." He continues on for a while and with Ligotti's style and imagination, you really see this Doe person/supernatural entity as a complete evil monster. The end didn't surprise me, but it was still spine tingling, nonetheless.
Here is the trailer teaser to the short film:
I will be back later with the rest of my reviews!
I'm still reading this book. Had to take a break because of work but I'm looking forward to the discussion.
ReplyDeleteHi OB! No worries. I have been sick and busy and am finally getting back to this post.
ReplyDeleteDr. Voke and Mr. Veech:
ReplyDeleteDang crazy and grossly creepy. I actually had to search the web to find an analysis of it because I was sure I was missing something. Nope, just as weird as I thought. This story begins with a very good set up with great description of the impending scene. I didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't THAT. I thought it was very well written and fleshed out for such a short story. I'm still trying to figure out if it was Mr. Voke or some other evil design that disfigured that couple so...well. Mr. Veech got what he wanted and then some. I would love to see this story brought to film; most likely a short. I think it has tremendous potential as it is very clear in set design and characters. Also there is enough iimpending doom and thrill to get your psyche all twisted. My first thought after reading that story: "Ewwwww..."