I know that Ligotti is a fan-favorite, and he is one of the very few living writers published by Penguin Classics, but this book took me ages to get through. There were a few exceptional stories in here, but most of the rest were significantly weaker.

Some of my favorites included:

• The Frolic
• Les Fleurs
• The Chymist
• Vastarien
• The Last Feast of Harlequin
• The Mystics of Muelenburg

There were also a handful of others whose names I can’t remember.

Ligotti is at the best when dealing in truly cosmic horror: the world is a fundamentally alien place, but we shape it with our own minds. Once the fragile foundations come undone, we go mad.

Unfortunately, there are so many stories in here that don’t deal with this particularly effectively.

I’m glad I’ve read some of Ligotti’s stories now, but I’m not sure that I fully “get him.”