Long out of print, a classic of progressive horror fiction. Paul Meloy published his first story in The Third Alternative (now Black Static). 'The Last Great Paladin of Idle Conceit' was a truly remarkable debut, and he followed it with stories like 'Raiders', 'Don't Touch the Blackouts', 'Dying in the Arms of Jean Harlow' and the British Fantasy Award winning 'Black Static'. We decided to publish a later story, 'Islington Crocodiles', in Interzone, which gained Paul a lot of new fans. All these stories are collected here, along with several others published elsewhere and three that are previously unpublished: 'The Vague', 'The Last Place on Earth for Snow' and 'An Ocean by Handfuls'."Paul Meloy is unique. No other writer plumbs the dream pool to such depths and sculpts addictive fiction from the awful things he finds there. He is the comedian that Hieronymous Bosch never was, the philosopher that Tommy Cooper failed to be. Make no mistake: Meloy is one of the most relevant writers in the world today. And these stories are pure gold. Treasure them" Charlie Williams. "Meloy's voice is startlingly original, his stories both shocking and beautiful, and this book is destined to become a classic" Tim Lebbon "In the stories of Paul Meloy – where walk the living dead, genetically modified pandas, and the mad and terrible Nurse Melt, among others – raw, tell-it-like-it-is comedy brawls with trippy horror in a cage match for the human soul. Take a front row seat. Try not to get any blood on you" Joe Hill "Crisp and inventive, fresh and distinctive. Really, an unmissable gig!" Graham Joyce