The tide of the collection, Tabloid Dreams reflects the modish and sensationalistic premises of the individual story tides: they read like the headlines of the yellow journalism tabloids commonly available at supermarket check stands.

The often forlorn and isolated characters in the stories display in various ways the human need for a fulfilling relationship.

The need may be that of a son longing for an absent father and struggling with the role of "the man of the house" as shown in "Nine-Year- Old Boy Is World's Youngest Hit Man," or it may be the need of the boyfriend or girlfriend in a courting relationship, as in "Every Man She Kisses Dies," "Doomsday Meteor Is Coming," and "Help Me Find My Spaceman Lover," or it may be an overtly sexual expression of need as in "Woman Uses Glass Eye to Spy on Philandering Husband," "Jealous Husband Returns...