Though highly regarded and widely heralded, Albert Cowdrey's short stories have mostly appeared in digest magazines and reprints have been sporadic. This collection gathers fourteen of his finest tales.
These narratives show much of the breadth and all of the appeal of Cowdrey's fiction. They vary from historical fantasies set six hundred years ago to science-fictional adventures in the distant future. The characters are a wondrous crew of sheriffs, soldiers, academics, bookstore owners, government agents, and a ne'er-do-well nephew and the stories vary in tone from the comic to the creepy, from the pensive to the pulse-pounding.
Among these stories are: "Queen for a Day," the World Fantasy Award-winning tale of murder in the Crescent City. "Twilight States," a dark story about brothers, psychologists, and an old pulp magazine. "The Tribes of Bela," in which Colonel Kohn journeys to the planet Bela to investigate a death in the mining colony . . . only to be drawn into something much bigger. "The Overseer", wherein the glories and hardships of Reconstruction come to life amid deep secrets.
With ten more tales that range from the World War battlefront to the halls of academe, from Scandinavia to outer space, this book keeps the reader in anticipation of what will come next. While Albert Cowdrey's fiction has been likened to that of Saki and Bloch, of Tiptree and Dahl, the wit, adventure, philosophy, and supernatural investigations here are uniquely Albert Cowdrey, and they're sure to delight his many fans and bring many more into the fold.
