This novella collection is powerful, sexy and very, very deadly.

'The Five Loves of Ishtar': Kaaron Warren

Follow the path that the goddess Ishtar takes through the eyes of her most devoted worshippers, her washerwomen. Sharokin, Atur, Ninlil, Shamiran, Ninevah and Ashurina share in their goddess' loves, losses and triumphs, as kingdoms rise and fall in the Land of Rivers.

'And the Dead Shall Outnumber the Living': Deborah Biancotti

In modern-day Sydney, male prostitutes are dying. Their bones have turned to paste and their bodies are jelly. As Detective Adrienne Garner investigates the deaths, she finds rumours of strange cults and old gods whose powers threaten her city and, ultimately, her world.

'The Sleeping and the Dead': Cat Sparks

Dr. Anna remembers little of her life before the war, merely traces of the man she used to love. When three desperate travellers rekindle slumbering memories, she begins a search that takes her to Hell and beyond. A search for love and, ultimately, enlightenment.