"an unseen, unknowable monster lurking in the static on a screen." Mark Riechers/Midjourney (TTBOOK)
Jeff VanderMeer is one of the stars of a relatively new literary genre called weird fiction. He wrote "The Southern Reach Trilogy," a horror series set in a kind of mutant Southern wilderness. Although his work may seem to have a Lovecraftian influence, VanderMeer says that's not the case. He actually thinks weird fiction needs to move out from the shadow of Lovecraft's incredible influence. He introduces us to one writer who is doing that -- Thomas Ligotti, "the best kept secret in contemporary horror fiction."