"Shena Mackay is one of the very best short-story writers in the world. As the Guardian said, reviewing her last collection, Mackay s observational precision is outstanding; she writes like an angel wielding a scalpel, dissecting her characters with sublime, sharp-edged prose Her stories are grand entertainment. Or the Literary Review- The heart lifts at the prospect of a collection of stories by Shena Mackay. You can be certain of various elements- laughter, a touch of the blade, underlying shadows, wit, sharpness of perception. Her new book contains not only thirteen brilliant new stories, but a selection of twenty-three more from her previous collections, making The Atmospheric Railway a delight for her existing admirers and the perfect introduction to her work for newcomers."