In Paradoxes from Hell, the legendary Thomas Ligotti breathes fresh life into three of his rarest pieces.

The opening section, “I Have a Special Plan for This World,” is a metaphysical poetry cycle in which its visionary protagonist is driven by his loathing of existence. His plan, which seeks no less than the unmaking of the universe itself, seeks to “envision a darkness/That was long before the dark of night/And a strangely shining light/That owed nothing to the light of day.”

The second section offers up “This Degenerate Little Town,” another poetry cycle likewise out of print since 2006, which represents the titular town as an allegory for human consciousness. Ligotti paints a vivid picture of a universe in endless decline, a realm where “diseased faces that gaze/Behind the glass of grimy windows” are as inescapable as the town’s “decaying ground and rotting sky.”

The concluding sequence, “Paradoxes from Hell,” is an array of prose vignettes featuring a decayed mystic, a stricken philosopher, a deranged poet, and a complete madman. These dread-inducing yet often humorous prose reflections are a treasure trove of existential exploration.