The Imago Sequence and Other Stories

The Imago Sequence and Other Stories is the first collection I've read by Laird Barron, and overall I enjoyed these tales of cosmic horror. In these pages Barron tells rich literary stories loaded with ancient gods and cosmic terror. Some of these stories are very dark, even by the standards of someone who has read dozens of horror books this year. Some of these stories contain elements that could be considered sacrilegious or even blasphemous. Some characters in these stories use language or express attitudes that are not “politically correct.” Barron's stories find the darkness, both within humanity and imagined in the universe around us, and pose it to the reader to see, contemplate, wrestle, and perhaps cower before. There is no denying the quality of Barron's prose, it is excellent, but the content and themes did seem a bit repetitive between a few of the stories in this collection. My favorite entry in the collection was the title story, and I also particularly enjoyed Old Virginia, Hallucigenia, Parallax, and The Royal Zoo is Closed. I listened to this book on Audible (it's in the Plus Catalogue as of posting this review) and it's read by one if my favorite narrators, Ray Porter. Despite Porter's consistent brilliance, I will acknowledge that this is a book that required my full attention to follow. I chalk that up to Barron's prose, which is more literary than my standard audiobook fare. I might not recommend this book to a casual reader or someone new to the genre, but I think fans of H.P. Lovecraft, John Langan, and Philip Fracassi would probably really enjoy this collection. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)

Like many others I am drawn to Lovecraft and Lovecraftian stories. This is my first dive into Laird Barron's work, having come across others recommending it as some of the better Lovecraftian weird fiction. Laird Barron is quite the wordsmith, detailed in descriptive prose to say the least (perhaps overly so), but for the most part I found his character creations loathsome and their story arcs unsatisfying. Having some simpatico with the main protagonists in a story makes what happens to them more gut wrenching and that just doesn't happen here. Barron is very capable of building up dark dread, but never delivers the final punch in any satisfactory way. I often left with a feeling of frustration bordering on a headache finishing some of the stories in this anthology. Perhaps that is what the author is going for and, if so, he has succeeded.