The Conspiracy against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror
Oct 2018 · Penguin
4.2star
15 reviewsreport
Ebook
272
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About this ebook
In Thomas Ligotti's first nonfiction outing, an examination of the meaning (or meaninglessness) of life through an insightful, unsparing argument that proves the greatest horrors are not the products of our imagination but instead are found in reality.
"There is a signature motif discernible in both works of philosophical pessimism and supernatural horror. It may be stated thus: Behind the scenes of life lurks something pernicious that makes a nightmare of our world."
His fiction is known to be some of the most terrifying in the genre of supernatural horror, but Thomas Ligotti's first nonfiction book may be even scarier. Drawing on philosophy, literature, neuroscience, and other fields of study, Ligotti takes the penetrating lens of his imagination and turns it on his audience, causing them to grapple with the brutal reality that they are living a meaningless nightmare, and anyone who feels otherwise is simply acting out an optimistic fallacy. At once a guidebook to pessimistic thought and a relentless critique of humanity's employment of self-deception to cope with the pervasive suffering of their existence, The Conspiracy against the Human Race may just convince readers that there is more than a measure of truth in the despairing yet unexpectedly liberating negativity that is widely considered a hallmark of Ligotti's work.
"There is a signature motif discernible in both works of philosophical pessimism and supernatural horror. It may be stated thus: Behind the scenes of life lurks something pernicious that makes a nightmare of our world."
His fiction is known to be some of the most terrifying in the genre of supernatural horror, but Thomas Ligotti's first nonfiction book may be even scarier. Drawing on philosophy, literature, neuroscience, and other fields of study, Ligotti takes the penetrating lens of his imagination and turns it on his audience, causing them to grapple with the brutal reality that they are living a meaningless nightmare, and anyone who feels otherwise is simply acting out an optimistic fallacy. At once a guidebook to pessimistic thought and a relentless critique of humanity's employment of self-deception to cope with the pervasive suffering of their existence, The Conspiracy against the Human Race may just convince readers that there is more than a measure of truth in the despairing yet unexpectedly liberating negativity that is widely considered a hallmark of Ligotti's work.
Ratings and reviews
4.2
15 reviews
Byron ****s (1O2)
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September 24, 2024
Ligotti is a superb writer. Assuming there really is a Thomas Ligotti, and he's not some social engineering psychological operation to depress and demoralize readers of literary horror. How can a man so depressed, so anhedonic, make it in the tough publishing industry without even going on book signings? There are only two or three photos of him online. Seriously? Something is rotten in Denmark. Is this a rich kid funded by a M.I.C. family? Is he affiliated with the golden-boy painter of the book cover, former pop star Chris Mars ("Reverse Status")? The message of this book is vile. The writer seems to realize that. His tongue is almost in the cheek of his poker face. But like Clive Barker, everything he writes is worth reading. QUESTION WHAT YOU READ though. Who wrote this? Why? Who funded it? Why? Does the guy's bio add up? Is he a committee? Is he a literary depop dose? Question everything. Make a hero, make a mistake.
I P
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March 22, 2021
Better than other pessimistic literature as it at least acknowledges that it isn't something that's totally universal, still is overwhelmingly negative and fails to appreciate the positives of life which would make it sensible to reject its pessimistic conclusions.
1 person found this review helpful
Bishop 0.1
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March 16, 2020
Engaging words from start to finish, thought provoking read.
6 people found this review helpful
About the author
Thomas Ligotti was born in Detroit in 1953. Among the most acclaimed horror writers of the past thirty years, he has received three Bram Stoker Awards, a British Fantasy Award, and an International Horror Guild Award. He lives in South Florida.
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