s/t: The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket & The Raven & Other PoemsOne of the World's greatest and most influential masters of the short story, Edgar Allan Poe has also claimed as the originator of such important styles of fiction. Poe's singular ability to probe into the caverns of the psyche and reveal, through the medium of imaginative prose and poetry, that combination of fear, guilt and obsession common to mankind has insured his permanence...

Paul James Watson is the writer of mid-list paperback novels. He escapes from his humdrum life by being absorbed in his novels and his character, Toby McKenna, a highly successful detective. It is not long before the lines of reality, fiction and imagination become so entwined that the real Watson threatens to become lost.

"In 1933 New York, there are two kinds of magic, the all powerful sorcerers who use their abilities to acquire wealth and fame, and the runewrights who scratch out what meager spells they can to make a living. Decidedly in the latter category, Alex Lockerby uses his magic to aid him in his work as a private detective, consulting for the police on cases with mystical ties. When a lethal magical plague is released in a Manhattan soup kitchen, the police...