An heroic epic poem where Beowulf, a hero of a Germanic tribe from southern Sweden, travels to Denmark to help defeat a monster named Grendel. It is sometimes called "England's national epic". J. R. R. Tolkien of Lord of the Rings fame was a Beowulf scholar and many parallels can also be drawn between Beowulf and The Hobbit. The work has served as the inspiration for many books and films including Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead.

"Kessel proves himself again a master not just of science fiction, but also of the modern short story, crafting compelling characters and following them through plots that never fail to please - or to defy prediction." --Metro Magazine

"Kessel's blend of dark humor and reality-stretching scenarios is consistently mesmerizing." --Booklist

"One of the best collections of the year." --Locus

"These well-crafted stories, full of elegantly drawn characters, deliver a powerful emotional punch." --Publishers Weekly

"The book is titled Blind Shrike. It's not a rotten book, I think. In fact, it's a pretty traditional fantasy quest, just one that, to me, makes sense in George W. Bush's America. The hero of the story is on a quest for his own lost ignorance and innocence. He really doesn't want to know too much because, as many of us have learned, too much information is a soul-sucking pain in the ass. In the book you'll also find magic and monsters, angels and demons, magical swords and forbidden books. And blimps. Every fantasy novel should have at least one blimp." -- Richard Kadrey

Lewis Shiner is a two-time finalist for the Nebula (Frontera, Deserted Cities of the Heart), a finalist for the Philip K. Dick (Frontera), and won the World Fantasy award for Glimpses.

In Missing Persons we collect three of Lewis's own favorite suspense / mystery short stories, written between 1998 and 2004.

Don Quixote's imagination has been captured by tales of chivalry, to the point where he becomes quite mad and believes that he is a knight errant. Together with his sidekick Sancho Panza, and filled with misguided chivalric impulses, he embarks on travel and adventure. Don Quixote is a humorous parody of chivalric romance literature. Its characters and language have become widely entrenched in western language and literature. Groundbreaking and influential, it is considered by many to be one of the greatest books of all time.