Song of Kali

by Dan Simmons

a dense mass of houses so old they only seem to fall, through which narrow and tortuous lanes curve and wind. There is no privacy here and whoever ventures in this region find the streets—by courtesy so called—thronged with loiterers and sees, through half-glazed windows, rooms crowded to suffocation … the stagnant gutters … the filth choking up dark passages … the walls of bleached soot, and doors falling from their hinges … and children swarming everywhere, relieving themselves as they please." He stopped, closed the book, and raised his eyebrows in polite interrogation. I had made no great objection to continuing to act as a straight man if it amused our host. "It has its relevant parts," I said. "Yes." Chatterjee smiled and held up the book. "This, Mr. Luczak, is a contemporary account of London written in the 1850s. One