Monterra's Deliciosa & Other Tales &

"Exuberant Decadence brought into the twenty-first century ... verve, style, and an endless appetite for succulent detail. Rapacious, intelligent and witty."

--Jeff VanderMeer

More than 30 stories and poems from an author described by SF Site as "one of the most delightful, original, and varied new writers on hand".

A landmark collection of short fiction from a dazzling new talent. The stories range from sharp satire, through fairytale and tall tale, science fiction and fantasy, to passionate mainstream studies of life in modern Australia. Reading these stories, you quickly come to realise that you will be surprised, and surprised again.

Follow the seven scientists in search of a great theory, naturally enough (and it does seem natural in this author's hands) in a forest teeming with great theories; follow Werner, who creates intricate living machines while Gretina knits for the needy, a quite extraordinary love story where the everyday is always juxtaposed with the fantastic and real magic is never far from the surface. Flip from the whimsy of Robert Louis Stevenson's travels through Cévennes, as told by his donkey, to the fears and distorted sense of scale seen as only a child can see. Journey from tough Australian farming community to seaside retirement colony, to a 1970s alternative community, to rural Iowa and beyond.

Prepared to be unprepared. Be careful in here: there is an author at play within these pages. Anna Tambour is having fun with you and she has a wicked sense of humour.

Includes 17,000 words of bonus material unavailable in the print edition.

Chosen in two categories (Collection and Novelette) in the Locus 2003 Recommended Reading List.