Nightscape

For more than thirty years, David Morrell has been known as a master of the literate, high-adrenaline novel of action. But Morrell is equally at home in shorter forms, as this splendid new collection-his first since 1999's Black Evening-amply demonstrates. Nightscape contains an emotionally revealing introduction, five stories, two novellas, and a never-before-published script written for the syndicated television series, Monsters. Together, these expertly constructed narratives explore universal themes of guilt, grief, and obsession. The subjects range from the personal to the apocalyptic and feature a gallery of fully realized characters, including: an Elevis-obsessed professor ("Elvis .45"), an aging screenwriter cast adrift in a youth-oriented culture ("Front Man"), a loyal, third-world revolutionary determined to complete his mysterious mission ("Remains to Be Seen"), a father undone by his daughter's murder ("Nothing Will Hurt You"), and a son determined to preserve-and care for-a father frozen in cryogenic sleep ("Resurrection"). The two long stories that conclude this volume rank with their author's finest work. "Rio Grande Gothic" is a "mini-novel" in which several pairs of discarded shoes provide enigmatic clues to a series of shocking, ritualistic crimes. "If I Should Die Before I Wake" is a powerful, poignant re-creation of the great influenza epidemic of 1918, an epidemic so devastating that it actually seemed to presage the end of the world. Whatever his subject, David Morrell remains the consummate Storyteller, investing his tales with passion, sympathy, and an irresistible narrative drive that make Nightscape one of the most compelling collections of this or any other year.