It's been a while since I felt really challenged by fiction to think harder, make the right connections.  I am here for the mythology and history of Cross River, it's quickly become something I know, the way I know my own landscape, irrespective of its physical truth.  But I struggled with the second collection, the story of the professor.  I just... didn't connect something.  I appreciated the writing, all these big ideas and the fact that the author didn't wait for me to catch up.  I wish I'd had a moment of clarity and synthesis, but I didn't.  I'll keep thinking about it.