Bibliomancy is a collection of four novellas by Elizabeth Hand:

Cleopatra Brimstone
As a baby Jane had a beautiful butterfly mobile hanging over her crib. And it seemed that this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. As she grew older she developed into a beautiful young woman and began to study entomology. After being raped at college she took the opportunity to travel to London where she worked at Regents Park Zoo cataloguing butterflies and moths.

One night she finds an unusual nightclub, Hive, and after her first visit she begins to undergo a few changes and, in the guise of Cleopatra Brimstone, finds a whole new way of increasing her butterfly collection.

Pavane For A Prince Of The Air
When Carrie returned from visiting her family at Christmas she found a dreadful message waiting on her answerphone – one of her best friends, Cal, had been diagnosed with brain cancer and was dying.

When Carrie finally got to see Cal he was a shadow of the man she had known. Having made a decision not to undergo surgery Cal was determined to beat his disease using alternative therapies. However as time passed it became clear that his health was deteriorating. Soon Cal, his wife Tina, and Carrie knew the only thing they could do would be to plan for his passing.

Chip Crockett's Christmas Carol
Brendan had grown up watching Chip Crockett on TV so when Tony phoned to tell him that Chip had died Brendan was stunned. At the same time Brendan was struggling to come to terms with having an Autistic son, Peter. Although Peter had been a normal baby he was diagnosed as being Autistic at the age of two. Two years later Peter had withdrawn almost completely into himself. He was uncommunicative and even the slightest physical contact was enough to send him into hysterics. When a Christmas Tree caused a particularly harsh episode Brendan swore that he would never observe Christmas again.

The Least Trumps
Ivy's mother, Eleanor, was the author of the popular children's Wise Ant books. When she had an illegitimate daughter she went to live on a private island, claiming that Ivy was her adopted niece. When Eleanor retired she went to live in an assisted-living community with her partner, Katherine. Ivy inherited the island house where she set up business as an exclusive tattoo artist.

One day, whilst travelling to see her mother and Katherine, Ivy found an old scarf in a jumble sale. Tied in the centre of the scarf was a set of "The Least Trumps", a subset of Tarot cards. However as she looked at the set most of the cards were blank with the exception of two. These two were illustrated with the most brilliantly coloured exquisite designs. Soon she finds herself compelled to transfer the design from one of the cards into a tattoo - and shortly after she is contacted, out of the blue, by a childhood friend.

Bibliomancy is a very unusual collection of novellas. The first, "Cleopatra Brimstone", is essentially a horror story, but it's also a tale detailing the experiences of a beautiful young woman undergoing a series of changes as she immerses herself deeper into her entomological studies and as she becomes a dark sadistic predator.

This story is followed by "Pavane For A Prince Of The Air". This novella is essentially the story of a young woman watching a close friend die from cancer. She struggles with seeing a vital energetic man become a shell of his former self and them has to help his wife plan a Pagan funeral. Pavane is a heart-wrenching story of a man's gradual decline. Carrie feels helpless as her friend's health deteriorates so she tries to help his wife come to terms with the inevitable. There is a definite feeling of desperation as Cal and Tina try everything they can to find a cure for his disease.

"Chip Crockett" is written in a similar vein to Pavane. In this novella we meet Brendan, a divorced father of an autistic boy. Brendan has become a Scrooge-like character as he refuses to acknowledge the existence of Christmas. When he finds out that Chip Crockett, a childhood hero, has died he sees his old friend, Tony, become obsessed with seeing "Chip Crockett's Christmas Carol". The story details the guilt Brendan feels about his son's condition, his divorce and his battle with Alcoholism.

The final story, "The Least Trumps" is the story of Ivy a young tattoo artist who is virtually crippled by panic attacks. Her mother was a world famous children's writer who, due to the stigma of illegitimacy, told the world that Ivy was her niece. Ivy also experienced a series of unsatisfactory relationships and had turned herself into a virtual recluse. The writing details the psychological torment that Ivy goes through and the breakthrough that comes with the discovery of "The Least Trumps".

I hate to pigeonhole a book as horror, science fiction or anything else for that matter as I worry that I may stop possible readers from considering a book due to a clumsy categorisation. In the case of Bibliomancy I am delighted to say that it completely defies categorisation. It is a collection of novellas that leave you feeling breathless, stunned and slightly disconcerted.

In fact, in all four cases I would turn the final page, finish the last chapter, come to the end and just say "Woah!" The writing is compelling and truly gets inside the psyche of the characters. This author's writing ability is of a standard that is rarely seen in modern fiction.

Truly one of the finest books I have read this year.

Synopsis
From Elizabeth Hand, one of America's leading literary fantasists, comes a collection of extraordinary novellas of damnation and dark revelation, epiphany and redemption. Written in the author's characteristic poetic prose, and rich with the detail of lives traumatic yet luminously transformed, these stories form a remarkable tapestry interweaving the supernatural and the mundane.

'Cleopatra Brimstone' -- a young woman's obsession with winged insects achieves a dangerous climax in the streets and nightclubs of London's Camden Town.

'Pavane for a Prince of the Air' -- a reflection on death and attendant neo-pagan rituals commits a much-loved soul to something other than eternal rest.

'Chip Crockett's Christmas Carol' -- the strange innocence of old TV shows mysteriously redeems existence in the bleak and haunted present (Appearing here for the first time in print)

'The Least Trumps' -- a lonely woman sees the world anew through the intricacies of tattooing and the complex symbolism of a most unusual Tarot deck...

"I emerged from Bibliomancy with my mind full of colors. You do not find this sort of cohesion, this linguistic inevitability, except in the very best writing."
    Lucius Shepard (from his Introduction)