From the best-selling author of the novels Gods of Aberdeen and Losing Graceland comes this new collection of short fiction. The characters in these nine stories share a common thread as they come to terms with their misfortunes-a Jewish screenwriter is hired to write a blockbuster Holocaust romance in “The Mensch”-or their misdeeds-a husband and father returns to his family after leaving them in the care of a mere copy of himself in “Simulacrum.” This eclectic collection culminates in the epic, Kill Bill-esque “Jack the Bastard,” with its samurai and spaghetti western references. Illustrations by famed comic book artists Phil Noto, Tradd Moore, Russ Nicholson, and Michael Allred complement Nathan’s compelling prose.