LAIRD BARRON

[ChildofOldLeech]

Of the two I prefer Imago Sequence, probably because on one hand it was my first encounter with Barron's work, and secondly because most of the stories it contains are of the overtly 'cosmic horror' type; the work Barron has produced since is probably more mature and complex in tone, but it comes down to personal preference. Now without further ado, here are my picks for the top ten Laird Barron tales:

1. Old Virginia
2. The Imago Sequence
3. Occultation
4. Vastation
5. The Men from Porlock
6. The Broadsword
7. Bulldozer
8. Hallucigenia
9. Procession of the Black Sloth
10. Shiva, Open Your Eye

Of course, now that I've made the list, I feel bad for leaving out the likes of '-30-' and 'Mysterium Tremendum' and 'Proboscis' , all indubitably excellent too. The only Barron stories I've never much cared for are 'Lagerstatte' and 'Strappado'; the former just seemed too gentle to be an LB tale, and the latter because it reminded me of the 'torture porn' subgenre that was then starting to explode, and my own preference for supernatural/otherworldly horror over conte crueles.

[Druidic]

ChildofOldLeech, your list is a good one. I, too, prefer Barron’s first volume over Occultation, fine as that work might be. (I haven’t had time to read the new book yet which just arrived yesterday.) My list would be somewhat similar to yours but with “Blackwood’s Baby” replacing “Procession of the Black Sloth”. I just don’t have much enthusiasm for that particular story. I know it’s highly regarded by many readers and was even singled out by a critic or two as the best story in Imago…
But it would be a boring world if we all agreed on everything!

[mgriffin]

I enjoy reading these lists of favorite stories, and preferences of one collection over another. I suppose this has to do with me being such a big fan of this particular writer's work. There are other writers I enjoy, and about whom I've never given much thoughts to favorites, rankings, or lists.

[ramonoski]

Still working my way through his catalog, but so far I'm loving it. I've yet to read any of his novels, but his short stories are great and his command of language is almost too elegant for weird fiction. One of the blurbs in The Beautitul Thing... compares his style to Cormac McCarthy (among others) and I think that's rather spot on.

[Murony_Pyre]

The comparison between McCarthy and Barron, is certainly an apt one. Though, I don't believe Barron is quite at McCarthy's level of proficiency. Yet. And yet, if there were another weird fiction writer verging into the territory, it would surely be Mr. Barron. I could distinctly detect notes of Blood Meridian in the story "Blackwood's Baby" which I read yesterday morning---Barron's Luke Honey is practically a doppelganger for McCarthy's "The Kid" of that novel; cursed hayseeds another motif common.

From what I've managed to lay hands on so far, the two novels and the two most recent collections, I would say that he seems to be continually honing his sacrificial literary scalpel, which is to say getting better and better.
That having been said, I'm happy to hear from Druidic and others that Imago is a favorite collection among Barron fans, of which I now firmly count myself one.

Wow! Just got through the novella length "Hand of Glory" which is surely among his best work. The style bears comparison to The Light is the Darkness in that it is ostensibly a hard-boiled noir. However, everything that I felt was not quite right about The Light...: the curious lack of that pithy yet detailed descriptive quality which certainly characterized The Croning and most stories of Occultation, entertaining, dark and confusing though The Light... was, has been sewn up here in "Hand of Glory" and I am happy to report that, in my opinion, Barron has now practically perfected this style of story. I do hope he does more in this style and if you like it, I heartily recommend "Falling Angel" by William Hjortsberg.

Anyway, back the beautiful thing which awaits me...

[mgriffin]

I agree, Murony_Pyre, about the lack of Barron's usual rich, sometimes baroque detail in The Light is the Darkness. I have to figure this was by design. I know he said something along the lines of "channeling Robert E. Howard" about that one.

As far as the comparison to McCarthy, I know Laird's a huge fan, particularly of Blood Meridian. I half-remember him mentioning in an interview that he'd taken inspiration from this for "Blackwood's Baby," but I'm not sure where.

Apparently my contribution to this thread will be to mention Laird Barron interviews I believe I read once, but can't remember when or where.

[mgriffin]

And... maybe Laird read this thread? Today's post on his blog:

Luke Honey Miller | Laird Barron

[Murony_Pyre]

I feel relieved that I'm not going (even more) nuts, in making these links. Thanks, M Griffin. Also, I wish there was a "laugh" button rather than a "thanks" one, as I found your last sentence very amusing (I've been there, too). Anyway, "thanks" for the laugh!

[Murony_Pyre]

Holy FRUITCAKES! His first sentence! I was RIGHT!

<unwarranted hubris ensues>

Ps. You're too fast on the draw Griff, my last post refers to your second last post.

[mgriffin]

I figured you were laughing about my comment about vague memories of interviews, rather than the new link... and I also figured you'd celebrate when you saw the new blog post.