Cafe Purgatorium

Imaginative and moving, the three horror novellas collected here outline the redemptive powers of love. In ``Cafe Purgatorium'' by newcomer Anderson, a man falls in love with a dead woman who comes alive at night in the cafe where he lives. She is one of a group of people who died on the premises and who now return with darkness to dance and drink till dawn. Unable to endure existence without his inamorata, the suitor eventually makes a bargain with Satan. The couple in Garton's ( Live Girls ) ``Dr. Krusadian's Method'' isn't offered a choice. If the two do not cooperate with the good doctor, they will face imprisonment for abusing their son. After Krusadian gives them a taste of their own medicine, they begin to wish for death rather than deal with him. Death seems imminent for the young protagonist of ``Death Leaves an Echo'' by de Lint ( The Little Country ) as he careens off a highway. He wakes up from a dream, however, to find that his cherished wife and all her things are missing. As everyone around him denies her existence, he continues his search, watching helplessly as the threads of his life begin to unravel. Each of these works speaks to the importance of love in shifting the balance of power between the forces of good and evil. (July)