M.W. Fowler's Stale Omens depicts often witty, off-kilter characters navigating between the surreal, magical realism, and a contemporary, albeit dysfunctional Greek and Roman mythology based society. Stories such as the Pushcart Prize nominated "Space Father" provide bold imagery of a boy coping with the relationship with his supposed-astronaut father, whose mental disease drove him away from his family. In other stories, such as "When the Champions Left Us," teens of Olive Branch learn what it means to be human in a small town that still worships ancient Greek and Roman gods while attending the 24-hour marathon of the cult film, Tartarus. In "Grade A Omens," a woman purchases a dozen eggs that have ominous formed interiors. Throughout the collection, Stale Omens delivers us to the fates of these characters through stylized language that dares to explore our humanity.