I have not read Thomas Ligotti’s horror stories. Maybe I should. While I cannot determine if his flair for horror writing translates well to his philosophical musings, the dark pessimism that permeates this book is so strong that it will leave casual readers feeling depressed long after they have finished reading it.
I decided to check out this book after listening to an interesting interview with the author on The Jordan Harbinger Show Podcast. However, I came away underwhelmed and disappointed. Half the time, I can’t fathom what the author is rambling about, and why. It doesn’t help that the writing is bland and the author takes… Read More »
A lot of scientific and historical facts are explained in this book, which makes it a bit boring to read, a fact not helped by the extremely dry writing style. My brain went autopilot and skipped many paragraphs. There’s nothing smart about how the author tries to stitch together too many concepts and topics in… Read More »
The writing style and chapter format are typical of books in this genre, like the liberal use of crude language in a vain attempt to sound “brutally honest” instead of relying on genuine insights to do so. Assumptions, generalisations, stereotyping, and sweeping statements are also liberally sprinkled throughout the book. The tone is presumptuous and… Read More »
Very textbook style. No wonder. It’s from Marshall Cavendish. It would be a huge waste of time to read this book from cover to cover. Pick the topics that interest you and skip the rest. Sometimes the ideas are contradictory. For instance, one chapter suggests “Keep them (customers) waiting” and the chapter immediately after it… Read More »
Only when you know how to die will you understand how to live. Too bad I can’t understand the original Latin texts included in this book, but I would imagine it to be as enlightening as the English translation (or should it be the other way round?).