Dead Neon, edited by Todd James Pierce and Weekly contributor Jarret Keene, has been published by University of Nevada Press (183 pages, $20).

Summary (from publisher):

Las Vegas is considered a modern icon of excess. It offers every imaginable extreme of greed, pleasure, and despair, supported by technology that enhances fantasy and allows residents and visitors alike to forget reality and responsibility. The authors of the fourteen stories in Dead Neon imagine Sin City in the near future, when excess has led to social, environmental, or economic collapse. Their stories range from futuristic casinos to the seared post-apocalyptic desert, from the struggle to survive in a repressive theocracy to the madness of living in a world where most life forms and all moral codes have vanished. Dead Neon explores the possible future of America by examining the near future of Las Vegas. The authors, all either Vegas-based or intimately familiar with the city, capture its unique rhythms and flavor and probe its potential for evoking the fullest range of the human spirit in settings of magic, horror, and despair.

Author Bio (from publisher):

Keene has taught creative writing and literature courses at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has authored several poetry collections and a rock-band biography, and has edited or co-edited several books about Las Vegas. He also covers the city's underground music scene for national and regional magazines.