This mesmerizing collection demonstrates perfectly Ballard's extraordinary writing talent. All the concentrated power and imagination that distinguish his novels are demonstrated here: the iron strength of his stories lies in the juxtaposition of a recognisable physical word with an inner, complex dream landscape. Within this Disaster Area you'll find: The Concentration City – where the world creaks under one unimaginably vast megalopolis. there is no free space, and there is no way out ... The Subliminal Man – come face to face with the ultimate advertisement, then wish you hadn't ... Manhole 69 – a group of surgically altered men try to do without sleep. But permanent consciousness turns out to be worse than any nightmare.