The name of Poppy Z. Brite is well known to most horror fans. What some do not know, though, is that Brite hit the ground running as a fiction writer, and some of her best work so far is right here in this collection of a dozen tales (originally published as Swamp Foetus) she wrote between ages 18 and 24. The exigencies of long plot development and evolving characters that sometimes bog her down in the novels are absent from the short story form, where Brite's extraordinary talent for compressed, redolent imagery combines with her keen sense of narrative structure to create perfect little objets d'art. Stories like "His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood," "Calcutta, Lord of Nerves," and my favorite, "The Sixth Sentinel," are too exquisite to be missed.

ANNOTATION

In this intoxicating collection, Poppy Z revels in her favorite form--the short story. From the gaudy drunken landscape of New Orleans to the marshy graveyards of the Bayou, Brite takes readers on a dark tour of the American South. Each tale of lost souls living on the fringe of existence brings forth a world of passion, violence, and unforgettable images.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Poppy Z. Brite combines the sensibilities of a poet, the unflinching eye of a surgeon￯﾿ﾽ Brite's vision is disturbingly dark, deliciously erotic, sweetly savage, and uniquely her own.
 — Dan Simmons