Will > Recent Status Updates

Finished The Tugging by Ramsey Campbell. I enjoyed it for the most part, but kind of lost it around the halfway point, but picked it up again at the end. My first Ramsey Campbell story I’ve read.

The Red Tower 1/5 - The least enjoyable story so far for me. Possibly one of my least enjoyable story ever from any author. Whatever Ligotti was getting at here went straight over my head. Maybe a more experienced reader of his works will understand and enjoy it more. For me, I didn’t get it.

The Clown Puppet - 3.5/5 - The strongest story so far in the collection, giving a glimpse of one of the topics Ligotti is well known for, puppets. There’s only one more story in the first part of this collection entitled Derangements. With the story being The Red Tower.

Sideshow, and Other Stories - 2.5/5 - short stories within a short story is a clever idea from Ligotti. The concept of these being passed from a handbook from a mysterious man is intriguing, with the short tales being a mix of decent and filler.

Finished the story ‘Girls Without Their Faces On’ - another good story with some cosmic horror, something at which Laird is a master.

The first story ‘In a Cavern, In a Canyon’ starts the collection off with a bang! An excellenctly creepy story, with Laird’s prose delivering vivid descriptions, whilst making this story effortless to read. Hoping for more of the same for the rest of the collection.

Just finished reading People of the Dark. A unique story spanning over different time periods, where each character seems to remember things from what I assume is their ancestors. Some Lovecraftian inspirations and nods in this one too. Really enjoyable!

Just finished the first story in the collection Andromeda Among the Stones by Caitlin Kiernan. A fantastic start to the collection and pleasantly surprised by it.

Just finished the story ‘The Horror on the Mound’ - I wasn’t sure where this story was going, but it ended with a bang. Really enjoyable overall. I then read the poem ‘A Dull Sound as of Knocking’.

Just finished the next story ‘Beyond the Black River’. Another really enjoyable story, that has a darker theme than some of the other Conan stories.