In the early 1980s, when Gianfranco Manfredi's first novels were published, they were seen in part as the expression of a general movement of rejuvenation in Italian fiction, which had experienced a long period of stasis in the 1970s. With Manfredi a new generation of novelists was coming into its own. These mostly young writers sought to distance themselves from the introspective, often lyrical works of the recent past. Manfredi's work in particular marked a return to an emphasis on plot, frequently disregarded in postwar Italian fiction in favor of character analysis and psychological and social issues.

Manfredi, one of the few contemporary Italian writers interested in the fantastic, uses time-tested formulas such as quest, adventure, mystery, and horror to create dynamic narratives unburdened by digressions that stand in the way of building a climax and a resolution. His fiction is generally dark, ranging from a focus on...