The Conspiracy Against the Human Race – After Dark

In the genre of horror literature, most plots revolve around the protagonists contending with a threat that is trying to kill them. In Thomas Ligotti’s works, however, the threat is not necessarily an external one, but that of existence itself. In his characteristically pessimistic way, Ligotti’s view is that with suffering outweighing the joys of…

Death Cast Down from the Proud Tower – James LaFond

In small societies, such as hunter-gatherers, warrior tribes, or rural farmers, honor and reputation form a large part of one’s personal stock and trade. In larger civilizations, however, where power is measured in money and influence, honor becomes an inconvenience to accumulating wealth for the unscrupulous. The last honorable man – in a society of…

Years of Lead

In the aftermath of the Second World War, Europe – particularly the Axis Power countries – was the prime battleground for dominance between the emergent superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union. Along with East and West Germany, Italy was similarly divided along ideological lines, with pro-American, typically business-oriented interests, pitted against mostly…