Though I debated against it, here's a quick little post on my favourite story (so far) of the Grimscribe's Puppets anthology, a short story collection homage-ing Ligotti's body of work.
Furnace by Livia Llewellyn is so far the most original and arresting story in the collection.
If you're familiar with the name, then well done you, you pervert, but there's no erotica to be had here. It is a very good and horrifying little tale though.
It's about a young girl's experience of growing up in a town that has started to decay in an irrevocable sort of way. The theme will be familiar to Ligotti readers, but Llewellyn does some remarkable stuff with the premise. The above fragment is one of a series of anecdotes compiled by the girl's grandfather chronicling the weird goings-on in the town. They're pretty much all like that; horrifying , violent and shocking. And yet, there was quite a sweet nostalgic feeling at the story's start, reminiscent of Dan Simmons Summer of Night.
I'm unsure about what exactly the ending meant, what it implied and whether or not it held the key to all the town's happenings or whether what was being described was just the last of the town's happenings inevitably coming to a close.
Whatever it meant, this was a very good short story.
One to re-read.
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