Havoc Swims Jaded? What the hell kind of title is that? What does it mean? It sounds vaguely...threatening, doesn't it?

Havoc musters another lucky 13 short stories into the seventh collection of same by David J. Schow, who has won awards for this sort of behavior.

Havoc reigns, as a Halloween Horror Night goes "horribly" wrong, and its featured creatures turn out to be the real thing. Meanwhile, a slimy Lovecraftian monstrosity deals with its daily routine of punching a clock to raise, well, havoc.

Havoc ensues, as a time-displaced trio of friends find themselves lost in a trackless desert zone where there are no "signposts up ahead" at twilight. As your friendly TV remote control displays disturbing new functions. As changing your body image becomes as simple as donning a zip-up human suit.

Havoc cries forth the ghosts of the dogs of war as the Berlin Wall falls, in the novella-length "Dismantling Fortress Architecture."

These and other dark tales of modern disturbance await the pleasure of your discomfiture. You will find, as Peter Straub said, that "Here, all of Schow's glittering weapons are sharper than ever before."

But what does Havoc Swims Jaded mean, exactly?

You'll just have to read the entire book to puzzle that one out for yourself.

Sounds vaguely...threatening, doesn't it?

• Hardcover: 301 pages
• Publisher: Subterranean Press (October 30, 2006)
• ISBN-13: 978-1596060670