This is only Laird Barron's third collection of works, yet
his name is widely known and respected. In a short time he
has made a name for himself, taking the genre reigns in hand
and leading readers on a barbaric and primitive ride through
the dark recesses of his imagination. His short stories have
been nominated for various awards including the Crawford,
International Horror Guild, Shirley Jackson, Theodore
Sturgeon, and World Fantasy. His supernatural horror stories
bridge the gap between noir, espionage and science. He
writes with confidence and aplomb and a delicate but
sharp-edged prose that stays with you, making you think and
bringing with it a barrage of sometimes frightening imagery.
Barron has a way of bringing a distinct, but sometimes
ephemeral, Lovecraftian element to a story, bringing his own
take on the mythos. The stories are rich, sometimes gothic,
contain depth and meaning, and I found myself rereading my
favorites to savor the prose and images they create. I revel
in the terror, and Barron's brand is one to read slowly,
relishing each word. "Blackwoods Baby", "The Men from
Porlock", and "Hand of Glory" reached the top of the bunch.
His hauntingly gorgeous prose compliments the horror
beautifully. He employs a slow build that artfully grows
tension and terror, effectively snagging the reader in his
snares. His fiction is dark and unflinching, and I highly
recommend you check out THE BEAUTIFUL THING THAT AWAITS US
ALL, or one of his
earlier collections, to discover this talented new writer if
you haven't already.
Over the course of two award-winning collections and a
critically acclaimed novel, The Croning, Laird Barron has
arisen as one of the strongest and most original literary
voices in modern horror and the dark fantastic. Melding
supernatural horror with hardboiled noir, espionage, and a
scientific backbone, Barron’s stories have garnered critical
acclaim and have been reprinted in numerous year’s best
anthologies and nominated for multiple awards, including the
Crawford, International Horror Guild, Shirley Jackson,
Theodore Sturgeon, and World Fantasy awards.
Barron returns with his third collection, The Beautiful
Thing That Awaits Us All. Collecting interlinking tales of
sublime cosmic horror, including “Blackwood’s Baby,” “The
Carrion Gods in Their Heaven,” and “The Men from Porlock,”
The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All delivers enough
spine-chilling horror to satisfy even the most jaded reader.
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