Thomas Ligotti's two short-story collections, Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe, are indispensable reading for fans of weird fiction. Ligotti's work is not only influential in fiction, but also in philosophy, where the speculative realism and accelerationist communities frequently quote his works. I chose to read Ligotti after seeing his work referenced in a work by Ray Brassier, one of the key members of the speculative realist movement.
Ligotti is one of (as of 2015) only ten living authors to have his works collected in a Penguin Classics volume. This edition includes his first two short-story collections, as well as a foreword by fellow weird fiction author Jeff VanderMeer. VanderMeer is the author of the Southern Reach Trilogy, the first book of which, Annihilation, was recently adapted as a film starring Natalie Portman. VanderMeer's foreword is insightful and demonstrates the influence Ligotti has had in weird fiction.
My initial impetus to read Ligotti's work was provided by his frequent appearance in the accelerationist and speculative realism canons. Ray Brassier begins his book Nihil Unbound with a quote from Ligotti's The Conspiracy Against the Human Race, in which Ligotti discusses philosophy and humanity. Ligotti is also recognized as a huge influence on the Netflix series True Detective. As such, Ligotti's work is not only entertaining, but very important for a reader of these other works. His works are important background material for anyone interested in accelerationist or speculative realist philosophy.
The influence of H. P. Lovecraft on Ligotti's work is obvious, though Ligotti has managed to draw from Lovecraft without simply reproducing his work. As Jeff VanderMeer puts it in a footnote in the foreword,
H. P. Lovecraft is a self-admitted early influence on Ligotti's work. However, in a kind of metaphysical horror story of its own, Ligotti early on subsumed Lovecraft and left his dry husk behind, having taken what sustenance he needed for his own devices. (Most writers are, by contrast, consumed by Lovecraft when they attempt to devour him.)
Some of Ligotti's works are more strongly influenced by Lovecraft than others. The story “The Last Feast of Harlequin” is very clearly inspired by Lovecraft's story “The Festival”. “The Last Feast” could be read as Ligotti's reimagining of that very popular Lovecraft story. The story is dedicated “To the Memory of H. P. Lovecraft”. Another readily apparent influence is Vladimir Nabokov. Nabokov's influence appears primarily in the dialogue of certain characters, particularly the eponymous character in “The Chymist”, whose dialogue is very reminiscent of Humbert Humbert in Lolita.
One of the best stories in the collection is “The Lost Art of Twilight”, which is a quite inventive reimagining of the classic vampire story. It manages to tell an original tale, even though vampire stories are some of the most commonplace in horror fiction. Plus, it's quite scary and fun. The main character makes an allusion to the French painter Odilon Redon, with whose work I was hitherto unacquainted.
Ligotti's work is often billed as “philosophical horror”. That characterization seems to hold, to my view. Lovecraft most frequently writes about creatures, about terrible entities from out of space or from other dimensions that have terrible effects on any humans unfortunate enough to encounter them, or foolish enough to seek them out. Ligotti, on the other hand, seems to trend more towards powerful forces rather than creatures. Instead of Cthulhu or Nyarlathotep, Ligotti has the nebulous malice of Nethescurial, or the temporal anomalies of Muelenburg, or the unexplained power of the spectacles from “The Spectacles in the Drawer”. One of my favorite stories from the collection, “The Night Class”, is reminiscent of the dark, oozing aesthetic crafted by Reza Negarestani in Cyclonopedia. Although it would actually be the other way around, with Ligotti influencing Negarestani.
Ligotti is a fascinating and original writer, as well as being very entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of his works, and was glad to see that he distinguished himself from Lovecraft despite being so clearly influenced by him. I want to read The Conspiracy Against the Human Race, but unfortunately, my local library doesn't have a copy, so I'll have to order it at some point.