Dead is Balla's most recent book and marks a glorious return to the short story form. The stories are very topical dealing with the theme of masculinity, how that is expressed in different forms of aggressive nationalism, Slovak 'nativism' and delusional male interior monologues. There is also a commentary on the proliferation of US-style Christian extremism in Balla's satirical re-writing of 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'.