LAIRD BARRON

[Whispers of Sorrow]

Quote Originally Posted by beakripped

Until I read his latest collection, Barron's name was enough to sell me on an anthology - not so anymore. I still appreciate, and in come instances adore, the stories of his I enjoyed way back, but my impression of his latest collection was that his Alaska tales aren't nearly as interesting as his anecdotes about living in Alaska. Having said that, quite a few weird fiction/horror writers I currently love (Slatsky, Llewellyn, Grau) came to my attention after reading interviews with Barron, so I'm grateful for that.

Meh... it was an excellent collection

[Dr. Locrian]

Published just yesterday:

PseudoPod 594: Mysterium Tremendum - Part 1 - PseudoPod

Read by me in three parts.

[The New Nonsense]

I'm not so sure Barron's work provides a new evolutionary step for Cosmic Horror as much as it broadens the diversity of the sub-genre. For over 100 years typical weird fiction protagonists have been scholarly, fragile (both physically and mentally), bookish types who live in a garret (your stereotypical Lovecraft character). I suspect this image was an extension of many of the writers themselves; nerdy types -- not that it's a bad thing. However, Barron's work seems to have a lot more testosterone than his predecessors. His protagonists are usually no-nonsense hard men with backcountry experience -- a whole different skill set than the typical Arkham alumni. In this regard his characters are closer to what you typically find in Westerns.

I'm drawn to horror/weird fiction that's a bit rugged (or a lot) and less urban. Names like Karl Edward Wagner, Jack Cady, Ambrose Bierce, Algernon Blackwood, and Manly Wade Wellman come to mind. I think Barron is carrying on the tradition and making the Cosmic Horror tent a bit bigger to accommodate a broader and more interesting variety of doomed characters.

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

Hodgson too surely.

[Christopher]

Quote Originally Posted by beakripped

...Having said that, quite a few weird fiction/horror writers I currently love (Slatsky, Llewellyn, Grau) came to my attention after reading interviews with Barron, so I'm grateful for that.

I'm certain Barron has never heard of me, much less read any of my stories. I've mentioned Barron in the few rare interviews I've given, but he has no idea who I am. I'm too obscure and unknown to be on his radar.
Cynicism aside, thank you for the kind words! It was nice to stumble across this. I appreciate it.

[T.E. Grau]

Quote Originally Posted by beakripped

Until I read his latest collection, Barron's name was enough to sell me on an anthology - not so anymore. I still appreciate, and in come instances adore, the stories of his I enjoyed way back, but my impression of his latest collection was that his Alaska tales aren't nearly as interesting as his anecdotes about living in Alaska. Having said that, quite a few weird fiction/horror writers I currently love (Slatsky, Llewellyn, Grau) came to my attention after reading interviews with Barron, so I'm grateful for that.

Thank you for including me in such august company, beakripped. Laird's recommendations in a few key places helped me establish myself in Weird fiction (and served as an early inspiration when I first discovered the contemporary scene), for which I will be forever grateful to him.

And Christopher, you're far too modest, and not nearly as obscure as you think. Trust me on this.

[Mr. Veech]

Quote Originally Posted by Christopher

Quote Originally Posted by beakripped ...Having said that, quite a few weird fiction/horror writers I currently love (Slatsky, Llewellyn, Grau) came to my attention after reading interviews with Barron, so I'm grateful for that. I'm certain Barron has never heard of me, much less read any of my stories. I've mentioned Barron in the few rare interviews I've given, but he has no idea who I am. I'm too obscure and unknown to be on his radar. Cynicism aside, thank you for the kind words! It was nice to stumble across this. I appreciate it.

I mentioned your name in an interview, although nothing is really known about me. But know that there are people out there who respect your work.

I finished The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All. My favourite story was The Redfield Girls, which lacked Barron's characteristic macho men protagonists and left me unsettled and moved, but I enjoyed most of the collection. I prefer less masculine characters and for stories to be fey and delicate, so I was surprised at how much I liked the pulpier and more hard-boiled stories, such as Hand of Glory or The Men of Porlock.

More Dark is too nasty about Ligotti (and too nice about Samuels given later events) to leave an entirely good taste, but otherwise I had a lot of fun with this book and appreciated the deliberate lack of pomp, even if I love my pomp. Far from my desired approach to the strange tale, but oddly compelling. Might make The Croning my next Barron if it's any good?

[Caliban]

Quote Originally Posted by James

I finished The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All. My favourite story was The Redfield Girls, which lacked Barron's characteristic macho men protagonists and left me unsettled and moved, but I enjoyed most of the collection. I prefer less masculine characters and for stories to be fey and delicate, so I was surprised at how much I liked the pulpier and more hard-boiled stories, such as Hand of Glory or The Men of Porlock. More Dark is too nasty about Ligotti (and too nice about Samuels given later events) to leave an entirely good taste, but otherwise I had a lot of fun with this book and appreciated the deliberate lack of pomp, even if I love my pomp. Far from my desired approach to the strange tale, but oddly compelling. Might make The Croning my next Barron if it's any good?

Barron has been vaguely on my radar for a while but I’ve never read anything.
Do I want to know about Samuels? and how can anyone be nasty about Ligotti?

The portrayal of Ligotti and his fans in the story is disappointingly savage. I get not liking Ligotti, but he is genuinely suffering and not a publicity seeking fraud. It seemed to be picking on him for things he can't help. I would have minded less if he were given some fake name and not 'Thomas L', which is just... his name. The story is otherwise well-written if you can look past the unpleasant parts. Barron seems like an overall nice chap.

More Dark can be read here: http://revelatormagazine.com/fiction/more-dark/