Vastarien: Vol. 3, Issue 1

Vastarien #7

by Jon Padgett (Editor), Matt Cardin (Editor), Michael Cisco (Editor)

Vastarien: A Literary Journal is a source of critical study and creative response to the corpus of Thomas Ligotti as well as associated authors and ideas. The journal includes nonfiction, literary horror fiction, poetry, artwork and non-classifiable hybrid pieces.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories

210 pages, Paperback

First published May 18, 2020

About the author

Jon Padgett is a professional–though lapsed–ventriloquist who lives in New Orleans. He is the Editor-In-Chief of Grimscribe Press, which publishes Vastarien: A Literary Journal , a source of critical study and creative response to the work of Thomas Ligotti. Padgett’s first short story collection, The Secret of Ventriloquism, was named the Best Fiction Book of the Year by Rue Morgue Magazine.

Padgett’s voice has also become synonymous with the works of Thomas Ligotti. Padgett has lent his voice to numerous Thomas Ligotti works, including the recently released Penguin Random House audio version of Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe and various Cadabra Record releases, “The Bungalow House,” “The Red Tower,” “The Small People,” “Gas Station Carnivals,” “The Clown Puppet,” “Pictures of Apocalypse,” and “Mrs. Rinaldi’s Angel.” In addition to his work as a Ligotti narrator, Padgett has also narrated two Cadabra Records releases of his own work, “20 Simple Steps to Ventriloquism” and “Origami Dreams.” With his ability to channel Ligotti’s prose and poetry via the spoken word, Padgett is a singular figure in the world of weird storytelling.

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contents:

i =Acknowledgments
001 -Moriya -Dean Paschal
023 -The Querent - Samantha Bolf
039 -To her Lord, the Almighty, upon the reviving of Ezekiel’s bones -M. Christine Benner Dixon
043 - Objects of Desire and Dreams of Objectification in Thomas Ligotti’s Short Stories - Deborah Bridle
061 - Common Plants of Southern Pennsylvania -Jill Winsby-Fein
075 = Mus Musculus–Wet Specimen, Felis Catus–Full-Body Mount - Avra Margariti
079 - Judas Goat - Elliott Gish
091 - The Hollow Songs of Father Prester - S. L. Edwards
105 - The Way of Silence - Ramon Elani
121 - The Book - Amar Benchikha
131 - The Mania of the Unforgotten - Pete Rawlik
139 - Thomas Lovell Beddoes: Marginalia in a Cadaveric Atlas - Wade German
143 - The Prettiest Girl - Christopher Ropes
149 - The Aspen Wretch - Daphne Gem Host
165 - We’ve All Gone to the Magic Show - Todd Keisling
183 - The Park of Eternally Loitering Fathers - Adrian Van Young
189 - Contributors

art by Dan Sauer (including cover)

[Des Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE ASPEN WRETCH by Daphne Gem Host
“, eyes ticking like clockwork in the sterile glow that scrolled down my face.”
Hi! from on high.
A miraculously prose-poetic act of relationship with every part of one’s body and gender, every age from birth to death, through, say, surgeons working on you or some form of spiritual reverse-ventriloquism of the vocal cords in tune with this journal, plus self-perception, and synaesthetic perception of others outwards — and comparison with animals, say, a snake or yellow perch that I call a tench. A mutual flensing. An epiphany of words. Too much to quote as quotable quotes to last a life time, so as to do full justice to it. Amazingly or preternaturally meant to be, it also resonates with a story I read only yesterday: ‘The Sorting Out’ by Christopher Priest, both stories with an explicit reference to Donne, there the ordered disrobing of his mistress, now seen here in the Host more as a cathartic methodical delving of ones metaphorical fingers into self as each divestment is made.

The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Mania of the Unforgotten” by Pete Rawlik is one of the first Dream Cycle stories I’ve enjoyed in quite some time, largely due to the lush style and the delightfully unreliable narrator. Probably my favorite of the issue was “We've All Gone to The Magic Show” by Todd Keisling which evokes many of the same unsettled feelings as Ligotti’s “The Town Manager.”

Nihilistic approaches to religion is something I’ve come to expect from Vastarien. “The Hollow Songs of Father Prester” by S. L. Edwards is a bleak weird west that chases a preacher with apocalyptic visions. I particularly enjoyed “The Book” by Amar Benchikha and its twisty postmodern structure exploring different aspects of faith in one family.

“Moriya” by Dean Paschal is a supremely uncomfortable story about obsession and objectification. Such shadows rule the world. “Common Plants of Southeastern Pennsylvania” by Jill Winsby-Fein is a claustrophobic isolation horror that inhabits 2020 with all the doors locked and all the lights turned on.

“The Querent” by Samantha Bolf feels like fanfic about Theo from The Haunting of Hill House, but in the best possible way. “Judas Goat” by Elliott Gish is a nice bit of creepypasta. I rather enjoyed our taxi driver protagonist, although I would have liked them more with a bit of nihilistic impending doom of employment extinction due to autonomous vehicles.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vastarien does it again. Stories, poems, artwork, poems, and non-fiction of the highest order. Always my favorite purchase when released. Great reads and rereads!

[Ryan Croke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every issue. Clear theme running through around what it means to be human and dealing with the thoughts of ceasing to be alive. Ipso facto, dolls. Creepy, fun, thought-provoking, and always a page-turner.

[Claus Appel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The highlights for me were "The Hollow Songs of Father Prester" and "The Way of Silence" and "We've All Gone to the Magic Show".

[Danny Benoit · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first time reading Vastarien.
Really enjoyed reading this. Couldn't put it down.
I'm already looking into what to get next from Grimscribe Press.