With illustrations for each chapter heading, plus a fully illustrated version of the story Dread, by indie musician and comic artist Zak Sally, this collection could break Brian Evenson out from cult status to a real pop culture phenomenon (ala early Stephen King and George Saunders), while still keeping him firmly in the literary ranks-indeed, some of the post-apocalyptic stories in this collection feel very much like shorter versions of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. On the genre front, Evenson's last novel, The Open Curtain, received Edgar and International Horror Guild nominations, his new horror novel Last Days, will have been the first book published by Underland Press (scheduled now for January 2009), and his new fans should be legion by the time Fugue State is released. This collection contains the story Mudder Tongue, which was read at Symphony Space and broadcast on numerous NPR affiliates by actor David Strathairn, who played Edward R. Murrow in George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck.