An Empyreal Retinue

"Expanding upon the world of The Books of Babel, this collection of short works builds upon the Tower in directions both acquainted and strange. Herein, readers will find a heartbreaking account of the Sphinx as she prepares to receive expected but unwelcome guests. Intrepid bibliophiles will be dazzled by Byron's bravery as he charges headlong into a paperwork labyrinth and locks horns with a misanthropic minotaur. Sensitive witnesses will delight in John Tarrou's evolution from romantic nïaf into sickly waif languishing upon porcelain shores in the grips of a theatrical cure. Devotees of poetic justice will find satisfaction in Finn Goll's grasp for redemption with hands caked in gun powder and book glue. In addition to these familiar sagas, this volume contains a number of new meditations upon the spire's innumerable facets: a bookseller tries his hand at racing airships; a youthful orphan seeks sanctuary in a ruin; an ambitious vendor of fleece is reacquainted with the value of his own pelt; and two explorers of the cruising Nebos stumble upon an unexpected stowaway. To guide visitors, the author supplies a preamble in which he attempts to account for these tales that seek to enrich tourists, zealots, and hods alike."--Provided by publisher.