I
n his outstanding second short story collection (after 2002's The Ogre's Wife
, a World Fantasy Award finalist), Parks blends wry wit and profound insight with myths and folklore from around the globe. Noteworthy selections include the darkly lyrical and melancholic “The Plum Blossom Lantern,” about Michiko the ghost and her nocturnal trysts, and the whimsical title story, which pits an overzealous saint against a laid-back mountain god. The most compelling entry, “Voices in an Empty Room,” features a recurring character in many of Parks's stories: intrepid ghost hunter Eli Mothersbaugh. Ten years after a suicide terrorist killed more than a hundred people at an Independence Day ceremony in Canemill, Miss., Mothersbaugh investigates a haunting. What Mothersbaugh uncovers will change his view of the world forever. Blurring the lines between science fiction, fantasy, horror and spiritual speculation, this compilation of 14 magical and supernatural tales is as entertaining as it is edifying. (June)
