This is Edward Fitzgerald's poetic version. As a work of English literature, it was a high point of the 19th century. As a work of accurate line-by-line translation of Omar Khayyam's quatrains, it is noted more for freedom than for fidelity. This collection of four line poems have provided later authors with a rich source of titles and allusions; "The Moving Finger writes: and, having writ, Moves on: ...", "A book of verse, a jug of wine, and thou....".

The story follows the development of Molly Gibson and her new stepsister Cynthia into womanhood within the gossiping and watchful society of Hollingford. It offers an ironic critique of mid-Victorian society disguised as a nostalgic evocation of village life.

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.

This collection veers into the weird side of the Old West, with punks, communists, crooked sodbusters, and a touch of slide guitar.

This story is excerpted from Kadrey's second novel Kamikaze L'Amour. The novel is described by Mac Tonnies' Cyberpunk/Postmodern Book Reviews as "mesmerizing...a surreal (and distinctly Ballardian) account of synesthesia and mutant desire set in the jungle-choked ruins of L.A."

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.