Rick DeMarinis possesses a power and an originality unique in contemporary American fiction.These tales imply a chilly, brilliantly lit world on the brink of absolute darkness, chronicled with speedy, black-hearted ?lan.Compelling, incendiary concoctions . . . the kind of collection lesser writers yearn to create and readers long to return to. DeMarinis is a wizard shaking to its literary roots the short-story genre. Matthew Gilbert,