Ann K. Schwader, who has already distinguished herself by an array of meticulous and imaginative poetry that elaborates upon themes in H. P. Lovecraft's work, has in the past decade and more written some of the most scintillating tales of any author of Lovecraftian fiction. In a number of stories, Schwader has written interconnected narratives that bring Lovecraftian terror to the remote regions near her native Wyoming, with Native American characters drawing upon their spiritual resources to battle the cosmic forces. Several of these stories-"Twenty Mile," "Experiencing the Other," "Paradigm Wash," "Night of the Piper," "The Wind-Caller"-feature an amateur anthropologist, Cassie Barrett, as a recurring character and constitute some of Schwader's most vivid narratives. Other tales-such as "Her Beloved Son," a plangent account of Lavinia Whateley's relationship with her cosmic twins, and "The Death Verses of Yian-Ho," a tale of psychic possession that draws upon the Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan-display the full range of Schwader's sensitive adaptations of Lovecraftian elements.
With this volume of sixteen stories (four of them unpublished), Ann K. Schwader establishes herself as a leading voice in Lovecraftian fiction, uniting Lovecraft's sense of place and cosmic vision with a delicacy of character portrayal and carefully crafted prose that is all her own.
Ann K. Schwader is the author of the poetry volumes "The Worms Remember" (2001), "In the Yaddith Time" (2007), and the omnibus "Twisted in Dream" (2011). Her earlier prose fiction was collected in the volume "Strange Stars & Alien Shadows" (2003).