A collection of eight thematically linked fantasy, horror and science fiction tales, Spira Mirablis employs a variety of storytelling techniques, styles, lengths and genres to re-invent a wide range of ancient myths and legends. Violent, funny, poignant and romantic, they are also about the act of telling the story, and the storyteller, too. The stories: a golem for hire, taking on an agent of God – Picasso’s tragic bargain with a satyr – sex, bugs and academia, on the edge of the apocalypse – Gilgamesh as a tall tale of the old west – robot love on a mining asteroid – a Japanese wizard at the Battle of Saipan – the last flight of a phoenix – and Merlin’s tale presented in a Lovecraftian world...