2012 World Fantasy Award Winner
In his first new collection since 2005, Tim Powers, the master of the
secret history, delves into the mysteries of souls, whether they are
sacrificed on the pinnacle of Mount Parnassus or lodged in a television
cable box.
With two new stories and short fiction only previously available in
limited editions, the cornerstone of the collection is a postscript to
his harrowing novel of the haunting of the Romantic poets, The Stress of
Her Regard. After Byron and Shelley break free of the succubus that
claimed them, their associate, Trelawny, forges an alliance with Greek
rebels to reestablish the deadly connection between man and the
nephilim.
Meanwhile, in a Kabbalistic story of transformation, the executor of an
old friend's will is duped into housing his soul, but for the grace of
the family cat. A rare-book collector replaces pennies stolen from Jean
Harlow's square in the Hollywood Walk of Fame?and discovers a literary
mystery with supernatural consequences. In a tale of time travel between
2015 and 1975, a tragedy sparked by an angel falling onto a pizza shop
is reenacted?and the event is barely, but fatally, altered.