His flawed reaction to the damning doping revelations taught a valuable personal branding lesson: Never let your story become such a fable that the fall is so steep.

FORBES: What Does Lance Armstrong's Scandal Teach Us About Personal Branding?

The scope of "Thirst" keeps expanding with each story: Here Kalfus deftly executes a realistic depiction of the vacillations of a young husband contemplating adultery with his wife's close friend, there he's spinning a Borges-like fable about a tribe of refugees who have been on the road so long their nomadism has evolved into a culture of its own.

CNN: 'Thirst' marks debut of 'major talent'

The presence of movie stars helps: their authority is part of what keeps us fascinated by the gruesome fable, juicing it a bit, so that we can actually enjoy it.

NEWYORKER: Call the Doctor

And so in the fable mentioned above, when the lion is hopelessly ensnared in a net, it is the lowly mouse the lion once spared, that nibbles through the ropes and sets him free.

FORBES: The Tenth Golden Rule on Living the Good Life

But so far, this is worlds ahead of Fable 3, and if he could capture a little bit of the magic that made him a gaming name with Populous, he might just become relevant again.

FORBES: Could Kinect Finally Make Fable Not Boring?