buffcoat: do tell as ye proceed!
dan b: i liked "invitation to a beheading" plenty but it still sits below the rest of his books for me. a second read will probably remedy my ranking! (it's been a bit but the descriptions of the soon-to-be-beheaded's family - his wife, in particular - i recall as being awfully funny and also so so sad at the same time; that's what sticks with me. also, the warden, and the STBB's fellow prisoner.)