A list of dark, weird, and southern gothic books that every fan of HBO’s True Detective should read.
Via hbo.com
Unless you've been watching TV under a rock, you probably know that HBO's dark and gritty True Detective is the best show airing. The series, which may be the most gorgeously shot TV show of all time, follows detectives Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson) as they try to solve a case of brutal murders with occult overtones in Louisiana. The show is fairly unique in having only one director (Cary Joji Fukunaga) and one writer (Nic Pizzolatto). This has allowed the show to be more stylistically daring than even other great HBO shows, and has allowed Pizzolatto to infuse his Southern gothic noir narrative with two literary traditions that rarely make it to the mainstream: weird fiction and pessimistic existentialist philosophy.
Viewers and critics have been puzzling about the strange references to "Carcosa," "the yellow king," and "black stars," as well as Cohle's rambling depressing comments about the horror of existence and the aberration that is humanity. The former are direct references to a book called The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers that was a huge influence on writers like H. P. Lovecraft. The latter are not, as some critics have said, incoherent freshman dorm-room nonsense. Instead, Cohle's comments are infused with a strain of existentialist philosophy that runs from Friedrich Nietzsche to E.M. Cioran to Thomas Ligotti.
Below, I recommend readings to understand the mythology and philosophy of True Detective, as well as some other works in the Southern gothic, noir, and/or weird fiction vein that fans might enjoy.
The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers
This cult classic of supernatural horror is the source of the cult references on the show. The interlinked stories circle around a fictional play, titled The King in Yellow, which drives its readers insane. There is also a creepy supernatural entity referred to as the King in Yellow and references to the mysterious city of Carcosa. Attentive True Detective fans will recognize those names from the show. Ledoux’s rambling comments about “black stars” and “twin suns” are also taken from the fictional play. The crooked spiral tattooed on the back of the murdered Dora Lange is likely an interpretation of the “yellow sign” of the King in Yellow. This is the center of the weird fiction mythos that haunts the edges of True Detective. (For longer literary analysis of how The King in Yellow relates to True Detective, check out these essays on io9 and ThinkProgress.)
Via blogger.com
