Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5 stars Noctuary and The Spectral Link by Thomas Ligotti (Audiobook narrated by Jon Padgett) Where to begin. This was my first Ligotti. And damn, it will not be my last. This was a fever dream of a reading experience. Comprising of 29 shorts, it’s hard to put into words what this book is about. These are not stories where you have the usual plot beginning, middle and end. There are no heavy character developments, with the protagonists (victims?) often remaining unnamed. These are snippets of dream sequences and nightmares. Don’t go into this thinking of the usual fare of storytelling. You will flow through these stories as if you floating on gently moving river. This book is an event, an experience, an epiphany. Prose and Themes. Thomas Ligotti’s prose is something else. It’s very beautiful and poignant. I’m not the biggest poetry fan, but these words and phrases flow so eloquently, it’s what I imagine poetry enthusiasts feel when they are blown away by a beautiful verse. I would almost call it poetry in of itself. He makes the macabre and nightmarish subject matter of these stories something you want to be immersed in and never leave. The themes are always dark and existential. What happens to your soul in the moments after your passing. Purgatory worlds and hellscapes that end abruptly or never at all. I often found myself lost or out of my depth, not quite feeling smart enough to grasp the true meanings of stories. But I didn’t care. It did not detract from the wonderful experience I had. It’s something you just have to let happen to you. Is this horror? The subject matter certainly pertains to it. But it is not in the usual sense of horror. It’s definitely weird, which is one of my favourite ‘genres’. The audiobook is narrated by Jon Padgett. His voice pairs perfectly with Ligotti’s poetic prose. His soft and leathery tones are gentle and guiding, as if a scholar is instructing you on the meaning of life. Or afterlife. Padgett and Ligotti combine to make one of the best damn reading experiences I’ve ever had. Luckily Padgett has narrated Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe. He has also just finished recording The Conspiracy Against the Human Race. So I have plenty more to look forward to. If you have never read Ligotti, I wholeheartedly recommend doing so by audiobook. If anything I’ve described appeals to you, you will not disappointed.