Wild Things

Finlay shows himself to be a versatile writer of imaginative fiction in his first story collection. A Lake Erie couple must deal with the aftermath of their kinky proclivities in the unusual vampire story "Lucy, in Her Splendor." A wrestling fan finds Lovecraftian weirdness in "The Smackdown Outside Dedham." The literate, if only slightly fantastic, "Still Life with Action Figure" explores the relationship between an artistic father and son. A theocratic future in which men and women never commingle is the basis of "Pervert." Examining the meaning of freedom, "We Come Not to Praise Washington" is set in an alternative past in which George Washington died in 1793, Alexander Hamilton is the new "Washington," and Aaron Burr pleads that Thomas Jefferson be allowed to return from his exile at Napoleon's court. The brief, teasing "Footnotes" consists entirely of footnotes. The title story takes a different look at a character from Arthurian legend as well as the world of faerie. Solidly told and occasionally memorable, these 14 tales display an insightful knowledge of human nature. (Sept.)