Basil the demon king has come to a crossroads. He has grown tired of life underground and regretful of the atrocities he has committed to maintain his hold on power. Wanderlust leads him to the surface, to live freely among humans. Considering the state of the world, most humans seem unfazed by his arrival - but not all. A religious zealot with murderous intentions and a vengeful biker gang seek his end. Meanwhile, Basil must contend with two internal forces: the disturbing dreams that suggest he once walked the earth as a human; and the pull of the underworld, drawing him back to deal with the troubles he left behind - namely, a cunning foe who craves the throne, a monstrous kraken, and an ancient evil as cold and dark as the soil. 'Burn, Beautiful Soul is The Wizard of Oz with a demon Dorothy... It is a loving but unsentimental dissection of America and its people. It is a story you will never forget.' John Schoffstall, author of Half-Witch

Is there hope for humankind? Monsters the size of skyscrapers terrorize the mainland. Psycho-killers lurk in the shadows with glistening blades and cracked smiles. Salivating shape-shifters tap bony fingernails against first-floor windows. Reduced to the point of irrelevance, once-powerful men now cower behind reinforced doors rimmed with deadbolts.

In the nine gloomy tales of "Filthy Beast: Fiendish Lullabies," come face to face with undersexed fish-monsters, hard-drinking demons, superhuman ninjas, incompetent werewolves and other absurd antiheroes. Hope, it seems, has joined the endangered species list.

Take two parts horror, one part dark comedy and a pinch of erotica, let them fester in a stagnant puddle and serve chilled. That's the recipe for "Filthy Beast's" fiendish fables of love, death, sex and biological weaponry--humanity at its very worst.

Everybody's afraid of something snakes or spiders, God or the Devil, death or life. The list seems to unravel into infinity, spiraling into the abyss.