The Birdcage Heart & Other Strange Tales

Description

The Birdcage Heart & Other Strange Tales gathers together twelve wild and genre-bending fantasy tales from the pen of Peter M Ball, the Ditmar and Aurealis Award-winning author of the cult hit Horn and the Keith Murphy urban fantasy thrillers.

These scintillating tales draw inspiration from myth, pop-culture, magic realism and Lovecraftian horrors, showcasing Peter M. Ball’s talent for blurring the line between genres and finding the sublime in both the everyday and the extraordinary.

Come meet a man with a birdcage where his heart should be, the resident of Isla Tortuga’s most dangerous bordello, clockwork goats and smokestack magi, dragonkeepers, vengeful musicians, and frustrated public servants. Walk paths through briar-choked cities, deceptively ordinary towns, and an endless stairwell populated by tourists. Prepare yourself for the wickedly inventive magic and startlingly human moments.

Whether you’re already a fan of Peter M. Ball, or you’re just about to become one, The Birdcage Heart & Other Strange Tales is a debut collection that shouldn’t be missed.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

– The Last, Great House of Isla Tortuga
– On the Destruction of Copenhagen By the War-Machines of the Merfolk
– The Seventeen Executions of Signore Don Vashta
– It’s Not A Bad Job, Really
– The Dragonkeeper’s Wife
– On the Finding Of Photographs Of My Former Loves
– The Clockwork Goat & The Smokestack Magus
– The Birdcage Heart
– On the Cliffs, By The Sea
– Briar Day
– L’esprit de L’escalier
– On the Arrival of the Paddle-Steamer on the Docks of V—