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[solarpsychedelic]

I was in a reading slump and decided to get out of it by reading celeb bios and fluffy romances. Once I re-established my reading habits, I was ready to move toward books with an edge.

So I picked up The Imago Sequence by Laird Barron.

WHOA. Talk about a changeup! Surreal literary horror is an awesome niche genre. Or maybe this is more like weird detective noir? Either way, definitely a read with impact.

Reviews make comparison with Stephen King and Lovecraft. I also see a kinship with Clive Barker and Thomas Ligotti. Like Ligotti, Barron’s stories have a definite heavy vibe of foreboding and like HPL, Barron relies inference and events happening off stage, which leaves the reader puzzling over what exactly happened long after closing the book.

The stories in Imago have linked ideas and themes and often feature a detective or private investigator type of figure whose investigation leads them to weird places and situations. Much like dreams, the story edges don’t quite match up, leaving jagged edges that scratch at the corners of the mind that suddenly make intuitive sense in a rather terrible way, again like dreams. And of course, the stories leave the reader thinking about the relation between the dual meanings of the word imago. 

The challenge in reading Barron’s fiction is carefully following the clues and hints he provides through flawed and often tragic characters. My favorite stories are, “Shiva, Open Your Eye,” “The Procession of the Black Sloth,” “Bulldozer,” and the title story.

“Bulldozer” is simultaneously a satire of penny dreadfuls and an examination of how capitalism exploits the working class, immigrants, and the disabled. It’s also a grim interpretation of the already grim saying, live long enough and you’ll see yourself go from hero to villain, a warning against hubris.

One story that is brilliant and disturbing is “Hallucinogenia.” I went into that story not knowing how long it actually was and probably read it too quickly, but oh, it was devastating.

And as for the title story, it impresses me as a study of addiction, obvious addictions like alcoholism but also addiction to thrills and sensations. There’s a progression (or maybe regression) of consumption, hedonism, decadence, addiction, corruption. The Lovecraftian creatures can draw these characters in because they’ve already shown signs of corruption: Marvin’s violence, alcoholism, and self pity, Mrs. Chin’s thrill seeking, Wallace’s multiple marriages and financial greed and Helen’s carelessness make them candidates for the creatures’ interest.

Anyway, I’ve put Barron’s other books on my TBR and look forward to reading them.