Few writers can continuously span the chasms of prejudice that divide literary writing from science fiction and horror. The Fallen West unites Douglas Thompson’s mainstream poetry with his often outlandishly surreal short stories. The distorting mirrors of the tales focus on how the human condition oscillates between boredom and terror. The poems explore how the forces of decay and destruction in our lives are part of a continual cycle of the natural world. Troubled characters grapple with hidden openings into fantastical worlds. Their revelations are metaphors for the problems of our society at large, and for the state of heightened awareness essential for each of us to stay creatively alive.