Cirrus@Austlit

Six writers: no rules. Six journeys beyond the borders of the real. The Unknown raised to the sixth power (publisher's blurb).

X6 is a collection of novella-length journeys beyond the borders of the real from six of the most exciting speculative fiction authors working in Australia today - Margo Lanagan, Terry Dowlng, Cat Sparks, Paul Haines, Trent Jamieson and Louise Katz.

'These are the last days ...

'Travel the blood-stained trails of Kathmandu.

'Explore doorways to other worlds.

'Fight for humanity’s darkening soul.

'... when the powers of the Gods wane and evil walks the Earth.

'The Last Days of Kali Yuga is urban fantasy at its darkest. You won’t find traditional vampires or werewolves in Paul Haines’s stories. Instead, you will stare deep into the heart of the cruelest monster of all: man.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'From a searing caricature of John Howard's white picket fence to a Canterbury tale of 21st century Britain; from a parable of life in a city skyscraper to a futuristic Western set in an impossible desert; from the end of the Earth to and Earth surviving under alien rule; from an adult fairy tale of a plague ridden Europe to the future. The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy fifth annual volume represents the best of Australia's writers for the fantastic, at the peak of their form' (Amazon).

'In Your Face will be made up of original and reprinted speculative fiction stories that deal with very provocative themes. These stories will be provocative and/or confronting but with a firm purpose – they are pieces that will perhaps make readers uncomfortable because they are a bit too hard-hitting or close to the bone, but which interrogate these themes and ideas, and make a point about the world we live in.'

Source: Publisher's website (Sighted: 19/2/2016)