Multiplex Fandango

Ochse (Scarecrow Gods) builds a "multiplex" of 16 stories (six original to this volume) for his impressively diverse first collection. The creepy, Lovecraftian "Fugue on the Sea of Cortez" features a disillusioned American soldier searching for existential enlightenment in the waters near a Mexican fishing village. "The Crossing of Aldo Ray" fuses zombie fiction and social commentary. "Catfish Gods" tells the poignant tale of a 13-year-old Tennessee boy, his recently deceased grandfather, and an ill-fated fishing trip. The standout is unarguably the profoundly moving novella "Redemption Roadshow," in which a guilt-ridden Arizona highway patrol officer seeks a necromancer in hopes of finding redemption%E2%80%94and gets something else entirely. Horror fans will be drawn in by Ochse's cool, collected writing style and then blown away when he peels back reality's skin to uncover the supernatural terrors lurking just beneath the surface. (Aug.)