1998. Zapizdat Productions. Paperback. $14.95. Tales of Science Fiction*Fantasy* Horror. Cover by Charles H. Davis, III.

This time around the stories are divided into sections: Things That Go Bump In The Night; That Ol' Man River;The Once and Future Kings; I Am Dead, Egypt, Dead; and All Hell Broke Loose.

I love the idea; it works well with the fantastic and flavorful variety of tales and the evocation of Memphis, including its heat and its history and its landmarks.

The Midnight Show at the Palace: This features the biggest rock star to hit Memphis since Elvis." It's a meteorite, or is it? Well-done story about confused aliens in a planetarium. The ending was a bit disappointing.

The Homecoming: A unpleasant part of history comes alive. Good premise.

Taking the Night Train Out of Memphis: Well-written. Great premise and connection from Memphis to Memphis. Interesting. Open-ended; I wanted more.

What Slips Away?: Mood piece. Let the past go?

Yellowjack: It starts with an earthquake, and it's scary with its shadow beasts, and it has romance. This is a nice change of pace.

He Who Dwelleth in the Blue Sky: A historical tale with a DeSoto and Chickasaws prologue and flashbacks. Is the ending just revenge?

Vampire from Memphis: Vampire takes girl reporter looking for a story as companion. Old premise and weak ending.

Gentle Rain: Caitlyn and her mother in a story about love against black magic and fear. I liked the story and Quoth the raven (familiar).

Soft Snares: This had an unexpected ending. I didn't like Mss Cleo's butterfly collection, but who would have thought...

Haunted: Good ghost story; another one that surprised me. Well-done. I missed the dog too.

Urban Renewal: Old Memphis building out for revenge. Nicely done.

A Walk in the Dark: Well-done and scary.

Just Beneath the Surface: Excellent story. Well-written. Motives are revealing...

Old River Mouth's Seed: Mood piece. Unsatisfying.

From the River: Oh, oh, sirens on the river. Interesting, but I didn't care for it.

Until Hell Calls Our Names: Historical tale dating back to the Confederate Navy. Well-done with an interesting ending.

At the Mother's Breast: Delilah, you're a fool.

Mister Pigman: Another story with a Civil War background (the Sultana disaster). Weak ending.

Now or Never: An Elvis story with two Elvises and the Colonel. Good premise and well-written and fun. My favorite story.

Amazing Grace: Elvis story. I didn't understand it.

King: Interesting but pointless Elvis story.

The Stone and the Bullet: MLK, the other king. Very interesting and well-written. One of the best.

Anubis Has Left the Building: Story about the really old Memphis (captures the Egyptian flavor) transported to the new Memphis and one of the best titles.

Memphis on the Nile: A campfire tale about The Mummy with a The Joke's Over ending.

Walking in Memphis: Intriguing prologue and an enjoyable mystery with demons. This would make a good series.

Go Back to the Church: A Self story. Mood music piece. What does the ending mean? Why?

Confirmation: Short short. Poor devil.

Hell, Inc.: Demon and nightmares involving the Devil on vacation--Not! Good ending.

The Demon At Big Rock: Demon kills all the kids one by one. Pointless and cliched.

A Dybbuk in Dixie: A nasty Jewish demon's point of view. Memphis is too hot and there's no one worth corrupting. Well-written with a perfect ending and some phrases that stick in your mind--"the dead... rushed to the afterlife crushing and trampling each other" and "piss-yellow sky."

Blues-Born:White girl wants to sell her soul to play the blues. Good blues songs background and description. Well-done.

Masterpiece: Art thieves pick the wrong painting to steal.

The End

Reviewer: Pagadan