Publisher's Synopsis
Gather 'round for 20 tales of science, magic, and horror from the author of Abattoir in the Aether and the Achilles & Swiss series! Storyteller L. Joseph Shosty delivers new takes on classic themes in this collection of hand-picked tales from a career lasting nearly two decades. The stories are authentic, charming, and at times darkly brutal. Old Wine & Black Hearts is a fine vintage of imagination sure to stay with you long after you've closed the cover. THE DIFFICULTY OF SAVAGES - Patrons at a cafe near Roswell, New Mexico wonder if the oddball among them is an alien with a purpose or just someone slumming through the universe. OF ALL BEAUTIFUL THINGS - A Vietnam vet stricken with PTSD meets a mysterious woman who holds the key to the gates of Paradise. WORMS - Religious dissension develops among worms in a graveyard when the gravedigger runs out of decaying bodies to feed them. STRINGS - A dark retelling of Pinocchio is the backdrop for introspection on the relationship between father and son. THE SOUL OF THE SEA - An ancient myth merges with the 20th Century in a capitalist- fueled fairy tale when a man with a destiny returns to an island resort near the Bahamas. THE GRACKLE'S PLAN - This Aesop fable goes off the rails when a bird decides morality does not apply to his ambition to be popular. THAT TIME OF THE MONTH - Three rowdy pipeline workers hook up with a good-time girl only to learn the rent has come due on a sinister contract.
