The Imago Sequence by Laird Barron
icarp...@aol.com
have no idea why. James Ambeuhl mentioned Laird Barron before. The
Imago Sequence was published in 2007 as a lovely trade paperback from
Nightshade Books, with a very generous 239 pages of text. Mr. Barron
is known and respected by Lovecraftians but I cannot find much of his
previous work; the stories in The Imago Sequence were copyright (a
poor substitute for a publication history) from 2001-2007, and mostly
saw print in various magazines. I guess I could have missed them as I
don't read many magazines. List praice is $16.95 but there is a heavy
discount on Amazon to $11.53.
Once I started, however, I was absorbed. This prose is astonishing.
Like Kiernan or Webb or Pulver it is Lovecraftian, without being
overtly Cthulhu mythos, using these terms in the sense that Harms or
Joshi does. In fact, Ms. Kiernan uses more Lovecraftian geography and
critters than Mr. Barron does. These stories are all about HPL's
cosmicism, worlds beyond what we know, umanity swept before what it
does not comprehend. unfathomanle aliens lurking around the edges.
What the author does so well is put a human face on this intersection;
we really get tto know the people whose lives have been brushed aside
or twisted beyond recognition. The writing is truly marvelous. In
addition to the authors listed I can only think of one other, WH
Pugmire, who has such a mesmerizing style. Much of the activity takes
place in or about Olympia, WA, Mr. Barron's home region. While he
uses local geography, Mr. Barron does not create a new locale like the
Sesqua Valley. The local Mima Mounds make several appearances, using
the uncertainty about their origin to good effect ( visit .http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mima_mounds for information, and
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=mima%20mounds%20wa&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
for photographs). A few minor characters appear in a few stories.
Old Virginia - When I started the book I had no idea what to expect.
Old Virginia is stunning, an astonishing tour de force. It could
easily be read as a Delta Green story, as a washed out secret service
type has to provide security while some scientists interrogate an old
lady. We learn a little bit about the first European colony in
Virginia. I was simply amazed, and became a lifetime fan with this
story alone.
Shiva, Open Your Eye - Also brilliant, this story takes us into the
mind of a willing servant of a higher power.
Procession of the Black Sloth - The author hits his stride in this
story of a man who has reality warp around him, as he is unable to
comprehend until the end and he is helpless to do anything about it.
The use of an American industrial spy and the setting in China gives
an air of plausibility, a vividness to the setting that is quite
striking. Perhaps this work is better considered a novella than short
story?
Bulldozer - A Pinkerton agent tracks a man who may be responsible for
some gruesome murders to the edges of the California gold rush.
Finely crafted and marvelous, but I began to see an issue with this
collection. Bulldozer has some distinct thematic similaritites to
Procession of the Black Sloth and a few of the following tales. It is
not that the stories rehash each other, but I was less struck by the
originality perhaps.
Proboscis – Here a bounty hunter and writer becomes aware that reality
is bending, that humans may be nothing more than prey, and is perhaps
able to extricate himself from immediate danger. He could not save
his friends or his sanity, perhaps. Wonderful, like everything here.
Hallucigenia – Terrrific Lovecraftian tale. A real estate tycoon and
his young wife wander onto a property (we later find out) once owned
by a wizard of sorts and have a horrible encounter. The man spends
the rest of his days trying to figure out what exactly happened. This
story really ended up creeping me out. Maybe it’s better to cut and
run.
Parallax – The title is cleverly revealing! Alternate realities can
play havoc with your world view.
The Royal Zoo is Closed – Of all the stories, this is the one I was
least fond of. We follow a man who has a tenuous grip on reality, or
vice versa.
The Imago Sequence – More Lovecraftian brilliance, as a hired thug
tries to sort out the real object of a series of controversial
photographs. He finds out more than is good for his peace of mind.
Clearly Mr. Barron is a talent to be reckoned with. I think anyone
who considers themselves a serious Lovecraftian needs to read this
book. I loved it, and you should be completely captivated by his
writing. My one caveat remains some of the stores are so thematically
similar (The Imago Sequence, Hallucigenia, Proboscis and Bulldozer) I
think they would be better enjoyed if not read immediately together.
Perhaps sample one story every few weeks. However, I would never
follow my own advice and I devoured this book in two or three days.
Matt
james ambuehl
Indeed I did tell you about Laird Barron before, and I enjoyed his tales
so much that I gained his attention with my reviews / comments / raves
and received a gratis copy of the book from the author when it was
released! "Old Virginia: is my favorite, I think, not only Delta
Greenish, but also reminiscent of movies like THE EVIL DEAD and DOG
SOLDIERS -- I could easily see this one as a teleplay for something like
the old MONSTERS TV show (loved that one!).
Many of these stories did appear in the magazines, most notably THE
MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, and I'm sure it would not be
hard to assemble a Bibliography or track one down online. And Barron's
still hard at work with more tales, as I know I've read 2 or 3 post
IMAGO tales of his. The high quality remains!
-- Jim
"When the Big Sleep ends, the Nightmares begin!" -- HARDBOILED CTHULHU:
TWO-FISTED TALES OF TENTACLED TERROR, edited by James Ambuehl and out
now from Elder Signs Press! Available from Clarkesworld Books,
Shocklines, Amazon, and Elder Signs Press itself!
GeekGirl
> Hi Matt,
>
> Indeed I did tell you about Laird Barron before, and I enjoyed his tales
> so much that I gained his attention with my reviews / comments / raves
> and received a gratis copy of the book from the author when it was
> released! "Old Virginia: is my favorite, I think, not only Delta
> Greenish, but also reminiscent of movies like THE EVIL DEAD and DOG
> SOLDIERS -- I could easily see this one as a teleplay for something like
> the old MONSTERS TV show (loved that one!).
>
> Many of these stories did appear in the magazines, most notably THE
> MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, and I'm sure it would not be
> hard to assemble a Bibliography or track one down online. And Barron's
> still hard at work with more tales, as I know I've read 2 or 3 post
> IMAGO tales of his. The high quality remains!
Google Reveals All (more or less):
http://www.lairdbarron.com/biblio.html
or:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laird_Barron
GeekGirl