These lively and eclectic narratives, by the author of "Shadow Without a Name," move from the scorching heat of the Gobi desert to the glacial heights of Mount Everest: here, among others, are the stories of a Scottish engineer who builds an exact replica of the city of Edinburgh in the dunes; of a dying, cross-dressing pilot who allegedly climbs Mount Everest and then mysteriously disappears; and of a monk who conjures the devil to prove the devil's existence.
Based on history, legend, and an awe-inspiring power of invention, "Antipodes" delights, terrifies, and entrances.