Book Review: The Grimscribe's PuppetsThe Grimscribe's Puppets by Anthology

The Grimscribe's Puppets The Grimscribe's Puppets by Anthology
Pages 295
Year 2013

Another anthology which I didn't enjoy as much as I thought I would.
This anthology is a compilation of stories that want to homage Thomas Ligotti. Thomas Ligotti is one of the most writer-famous but not to general audience. Is an author that most writers know and revere but it's not well know to normal people. I believe the same parallel can be made with Gavriel Kay in fantasy that the vast majority of authors revere and look up to but then general audience and awards nobody/almost nobody knows. One of the reasons he is not well know (Ligotti) is that he is almost non-existent in terms of "normal" publishing houses and he is averse of making appearances, interviews of social media.

From Ligotti I have a couple of books, my favourite was My Work is Not Yet Done which deals with corporate nightmare. It's so awesome. It's very similar of Bentley Little the Store, but in this case imagine you are a store employee and not a visitor. Teatro Grottesco is also very good., but I also have Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe and conspiracy against human race.

The vast majority of these tales try to emulate that feeling of oddness and scary things from normal stuff that Ligotti tries to create and not from a "evil" person.

Good tales, Furnace is good tale, Cisco (secret's of the universe) is another unknown to normal audiance kind of author although I have several of his stuff. IT's a good tale and Cisco is probably the one that "mimicks" best Ligotti's words. Human Moth was one of my favorite but I don't think it's that "ligotti's" vibe. The “Pieces of Blackness” & "Blue Star" are also top. “Diamond Dust” is probably the most Ligotti vibe. Finally “Into the Darkness, Fearlessly” by John Langan which is one of those writers I Have several books since he dwell a lot on lovecraftian horror so I had great expectations which delivered.

Overall, there are some good stories and others not so good. I think it will depend if you are entering this anthology expecting pastiches of Ligotti or writers who love Ligotti and wanted to make homages. Some try to emulate while others try to make their own paths.

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