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This collection of Don Webb's short stories (and a couple of quasi-fictional essays) is rather slim. However, it houses some of the most unforgettable stories that one could come across anywhere. For those with more than a cursory interest in the history of modern English literature, "The Literary Fruitcake" is a must-read. In this piece, Don Webb connects the dots between unlikely famed writers with his characteristic biting wit. "A Medical History" is potentially one of the saddest science fiction stories. One can vividly feel the protagonist's utter despair, loneliness, and isolation as if they were one's own. (The fate of "the doctor" remains a mystery; one can only surmise that he and the boy had merged into one organism through the surgical process.) The collection also features several humorous and light-hearted pieces like "Nine Games You Can Play". In "After Abish", Webb employs the lipogram technique pioneered by Walter Abish in Alphabetical Africa. Every single word in this story starts with A. Despite this severe constraint, Webb manages to craft a crazy space opera involving treacherous angels and android alligators. But the pièce de résistance is "Mark 6:14 - 29, Matthew 14:1 - 12", a haunting retelling of the story of Salome and her Dance of Seven Veils. The vivid imageries from this story simply refuse to be erased from one's mind. It's a story that will linger on, forever!