The Imago Sequence and Other Stories

Like many others I am drawn to Lovecraft and Lovecraftian stories. This is my first dive into Laird Barron's work, having come across others recommending it as some of the better Lovecraftian weird fiction. Laird Barron is quite the wordsmith, detailed in descriptive prose to say the least (perhaps overly so), but for the most part I found his character creations loathsome and their story arcs unsatisfying. Having some simpatico with the main protagonists in a story makes what happens to them more gut wrenching and that just doesn't happen here. Barron is very capable of building up dark dread, but never delivers the final punch in any satisfactory way. I often left with a feeling of frustration bordering on a headache finishing some of the stories in this anthology. Perhaps that is what the author is going for and, if so, he has succeeded.