FICTION

The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All and Other Stories

by Laird Barron

Night Shade: Skyhorse. 2013. 276p. ISBN 9781597804677. $26.99; ebk. ISBN 9781597804684. HORROR

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Rendered in haunting, elegant prose, the nine interlinked tales in Barron's latest collection are intricate gems of cosmic horror that gleam with menace. Set in the eerie environs of Olympia, WA, each story presents an intimate character study of a deeply flawed yet strangely sympathetic protagonist whose (mis)adventures instill a mounting sense of dread in the reader before culminating in a shocking, often gruesome denouement.

VERDICT Intricate, subtly interconnected tales of terror will delight fans of H.P. Lovecraft.

Reviewed by ALA Rusa-Codes , May 15, 2014

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