"A perfect, powerful deck of tarot cards weaves through this slightly haphazard assortment of eight fables from World Fantasy Award — winner Pollack (Unquenchable Fire). The underwhelming title story sets the stage for tales that run the gamut from charming to disturbing and alternate rhythmically between modern magical realism and surreal high fantasy. Pollack's fairy tales are the strongest pieces: 'The Fool, the Stick, and the Princess' details the virtues of eschewing skepticism for happiness, while 'Carolina in the Morning' is a grim but uplifting parable of domestic abuse and the persistence of children. The powerful final story, 'Master Matyas,' reveals information that ties earlier pieces together. This collection is probably most meaningful to those with a strong background in fortune telling, but enough stories stand alone to entertain an amateur tarot enthusiast." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

A collection of wildly imaginative tales of tarot, divination and desire from an award-winning author of fantasy and science fiction. Profound, touching and outrageously funny, these stories will open new ways of seeing and meditating on the cards, and provide a provocative new fiction (with more than a touch of spiritual truth) on the origins of the familiar archetypes of the tarot deck. These are vivid, dreamlike fantasies that ask us to consider new realities and ways of seeing. But they also invite us simply to play with our own expectations and to have fun imagining the impossible.

Profound, touching, and outrageously funny, these wildly imaginative tales of the Tarot open new ways of seeing and meditating on the cards, and provide a provocative new interpretation on the origins of the familiar archetypes of the Tarot deck.