Dave Matthes

A Scorched and Mystified Wilderness Dave Matthes

With A Scorched and Mystified Wilderness: And Other Stories, author Dave Matthes brings together all of his short stories from over the last decade into one screaming, psychedelic volume. Included in the collection is the short story titled September 1996, detailing a single evening in the life of a serial killer. Other stories vary from tales of trippy, far out science fiction to post-apocalyptic warfare, from brief glimpses into the childhood memories of those afraid to grow up, to unconventional institutions of "education". The story Halloween in the Desert serves as a continuation of the shattered life of Lew Feranna, one of the main characters in Matthes' fourth novel Sleepeth Not, the Bastard. Also included is a new multiple-chapter story chronicling the immediate events following the novel No Old Souls At Fury Tavern, as Rocko Pitts takes his sabbatical from life and responsibility by spending some time in the woods with a pair of roughnecks who may be crazier than they originally let on.