"I wanted to do things to Richard that would make the sun grow cold with horror."
Frank Dominio, a mid-rank supervisor for the company New Product, comes up with what he believes to be a fantastic idea for a, uh, new product. But when he brings it up in one of his weekly meetings with his higher-ups
The Seven, they quickly set about arranging his demotion. Swearing revenge, Frank suddenly finds himself in the possession of horrific supernatural powers, and wastes no time in using them. After all, the newly-christened Domino's
work is not yet done.A novella from the twisted mind of
Thomas Ligotti, noted for being different from his other works by (mostly) diverging from the
Cosmic Horror Story and focusing on a tale of supernatural revenge.
My Work Is Not Yet Done features examples of:
- And I Must Scream: Frank does this to a few of his victims.
- Anti-Hero: Dominio is a Type V.
- Arc Words: WORK NOT DONE.
- Baleful Polymorph: Barry is turned into a pig. Mary is turned into a mannequin, though she is soon smashed to pieces.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Richard and the rest of the Seven.
- Dangerously Genre Savvy: There are patches of darkness which Frank's super-senses can't penetrate, and since Richard can see them too, he knows to hide in them.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Pretty much all of Frank's executions come off like this. Except for Harry, who totally deserved it.
- Driven to Suicide: Three of Richard's former underlings, which is how he earned the nickname of "The Doctor." Frank realises this happened to him too, and he finishes the job in the end.
- Dual Wielding: Frank briefly considers doing this, noting that he is naturally ambidextrous.
- Fat Bastard: Barry.
- From Nobody to Nightmare
- He Who Fights Monsters
- I'm a Humanitarian: The Human Garbage Can.
- Karmic Death: It's hard to feel sorry for Harry.
- Reality Warper: It doesn't take long for Frank to realise that he's more than just a Flying Brick.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Deconstructed. Frank was all set to start his rampage until he's planning the notes he'll leave behind...and realises that all he can really say is, "They were mean to me, so I killed them all." This spurred him to throw himself into the path of a bus.
- The Reveal: Frank tried to kill himself. He's been a broken mess in a hospital bed the whole time.
- The Sociopath: Richard, pretty much by his own admittance. It's part of why he's not afraid of Frank.
- Super OCD: Much of Frank's motivation is derived from pure obsessiveness rather than anger.
- Theme Naming: Aside from Richard, the Seven's names all end with a '-rry' sound.
- Those Two Guys: The police officers.
- Ultimate Evil: The Great Black Swine, Frank's name for the intangible force of selfishness inside of everything.
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