The Conspiracy Against the Human Race
The Conspiracy Against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror is a 2010 non-fiction book by American author Thomas Ligotti.[1] Better known as a horror fiction author, with Conspiracy Ligotti offers a series of essays exploring his philosophical pessimism and antinatalist views. Among others, Ligotti cites Peter Wessel Zapffe (1899–1990) and Emil Cioran (1911–1995) as inspirations for his philosophical outlook. The book is noted for its repeated usage of the phrase "malignantly useless."
Author | Thomas Ligotti |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Non-fiction |
Publisher | Viking Press |
Publication date | 2010 |
Pages | 132 |
ISBN | 9780982429693 |
Awards
The book was nominated for the 2010 Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction.[2]
In popular culture
In 2014, the HBO television series True Detective attracted attention from some of Ligotti's fans because of the striking resemblance between the pessimistic philosophy espoused in the first few episodes by protagonist Rust Cohle (played by Matthew McConaughey) and Ligotti's writings in The Conspiracy Against the Human Race. Prior to accusations that dialogue from Cohle's character in True Detective were lifted from The Conspiracy Against the Human Race,[3][4] the series' writer, Nic Pizzolatto, confirmed in The Wall Street Journal[5][6] that Ligotti, along with several other writers and texts in the supernatural horror genre, had indeed influenced him. Pizzolatto said he found The Conspiracy Against the Human Race to be "incredibly powerful writing".[6] On the topic of hard-boiled detectives, he asked: "What could be more hardboiled than the worldview of Ligotti or [Emil] Cioran?"[6]
References
- Poole, W. Scott (October 25, 2018). "'The Conspiracy Against the Human Race' Is a Therapuetic Work of Hardcore Literary Pessimism". PopMatters. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- "2010 Bram Stoker Award Winners & Nominees". The Bram Stoker Awards. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
- Leopold, Todd (August 8, 2014). "'True Detective' writer accused of plagiarism". CNN. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- Davis, Mike (August 1, 2014). "Did the writer of "True Detective" plagiarize Thomas Ligotti and others?". Lovecraft eZine. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- Calia, Michael (January 30, 2014). "The Most Shocking Thing About HBO's 'True Detective'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- Calia, Michael (February 2, 2014). "Writer Nic Pizzolatto on Thomas Ligotti and the Weird Secrets of 'True Detective'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 1, 2020.