David Benioff burst onto the literary scene with The 25th Hour, a debut praised by Janet Maslin of The New York Times for its “pungent, funny urban tableau full of shrewd operators and unfulfilled desires.”

Now, with When the Nines Roll Over, Benioff uses humor and rich characterizations to explore the sometimes thrilling, sometimes pathetic state of the American urban male. Over the course of eight stories, some with an appealing touch of the surreal, we are introduced to a faded football star, soldiers in a Russian winter, a punk rocker, and other young men on the cusp of discovery and loss. As he evokes the various states of agony and pleasure—humiliation, rebellion, camaraderie, and desire— Benioff displays a profound understanding of the contemporary male psyche. With its knowing, often amusing stories, When the Nines Roll Over confirms the promise of a gifted writer emerging as a storytelling force.