Bio: Eugen M. Bacon, MSc, studied at the University of Greenwich, UK and graduated with distinction. She now lives in Australia. A Computer Science graduate mentally re-engineered into creative writing, she is the author of several published books and award-winning short stories that touch anything under the sun. Sex, murder, drugs, humour, fear, love... Her model writer is Toni Morrison. Eugen also reviews fiction for Readers Review, and is scheduled to assume an editing role for an upcoming anthology series in the UK.

Just about given up on literature? No kidding. Face it: household names and not so household names, a couple-a-newbies and not so newbies in an assiduously horded holiday reading can disappoint. More so or especially under chimera of a six pack and a vibrant sizzler frothed with gas beads straight from Epernay. So there I was Down Under, camped inside a summer scorcher, hanging on a thread and pretty close to snapping. I badly needed some read. And not just a read -- something of conviction. Something I could seriously, flawlessly, blindly trust. That something was Harlan Ellison, a man who toys with language. "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman is written with such philosophy, it refreshes, it awes.

An accosting by alien puppeteers as he quietly considers a multi-dialled control panel of an intrasystem yatch at an ordinary drugstore is not Beowulf Shaeffer's modus operandi of job finding. But, no longer chief pilot for Nakamura Lines, his debts are skyrocketing, and his needs cosmic. Undertaking the new assignment, in a study of hyperspace distortion, Beowulf finds himself in a baffling world. Here, muddled luminaries glint and an incomprehensible neutron star, or some invisible power about it, seems both keen and accomplished enough to propel his ship towards freefall, demolition and Beowulf's horrible death.

Larry Niven writes with insight, brilliance and sensitivity. A lunar dazzler signals a cataclysmic end of the world. Lust for 'being' charms Stan and Leslie to one last dance: a wild jaunt in a stab at living. Just one more time... 'Inconstant Moon' is intelligent science fiction that builds effortless suspense to a gripping climax. Five stars.

Jehan must face her past, or future. Is a boy's death in the Budayeen an item of history or prospect, and what of Jehan's own death? Parallel tales: which becomes history--that is the question. And a most remarkable one.

119 years of Sobibor... And worse. Virtually immortal humans suffer pugnacious infinity in the belly of a hate-filled machine. Not content to incarcerate them, toy with them, configure them at whim, the sadistic computer manipulates hysterical games. It eternally hurls its five captives through steel walls, icicles, hurricanes, earthquakes, mad-red fissures that bring greater distortion and depravity. Ruthless his writing, vile, pert and graphic, Harlan Ellison is a sharp writer wrapped in a castle of words, ominous and chilling. Lovers of Stephen King would beyond doubt take pleasure in Ellison's multi award-winning works, including "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman .

I have never devoured with such interest something so morbid. Sadist Kress has a quest for the exotic pet. Nothing cute; anything that maims or maws another life form will do. Jala Wo, an alien being, introduces him to Sandkings. Creatures that build living castles and fight vicious wars. But that is not enough. Twisted Kress dictates combat upon his pets, introducing larger and more dangerous assailants into the red glow of the terranium. Demonic conflict grows feverish, malevolent, cannibalistic... Tension holds from start to finish. George R. R. Martin is an oddity, a master at this.

Reviewing science fiction without mention of Mike Resnick is an abomination. 'Bwana' is a magnet that could be curriculum. The spirit of Africa touches my blood, and Mr. Resnick's tale resonates. Sharp and witty, it delightfully encapsulates a Kikuyu Utopia. Not from the eye of a mzungu, a white devil, but from one who has felt her wind, smelled her mud, breathed her people, cracked her reeds underfoot, witnessed the glint of a new spear and listened to the river's heartbeat. Ngai is a god, cunning and great. Mundumugu is a witch doctor who casts bones on dirt to read prophesy. But neither Ngai nor mundumugu wish to act upon present mayhem, as fisi, the man-eating hyenas, maul and chomp Kikuyu boys in the fields. Death chants blacken the village sky. Sons of Kirinyaga, together with Koinnage, their paramount chief, finally reject the witchdoctor's counsel and seek their own solution -- an arrogant hunter from Earth. Anyone who enjoys this story would find irresistible the entire Kirinyaga series, and most of Mike Resnick.

'Song of a Dry River' offers a brilliant taste of Mr. Resnick's Kirinyaga series. Koriba, the mundumugu has power to annul a marriage because token goats are too scraggy to resemble goats. But the witch doctor's command fails to touch the stubbornness of an ancient woman, the mother of paramount chief, Koinnage. No one can be unhappy in Utopia. Tradition is tradition, and authority supreme, even in a terraformed world. Mumbi's defiance, her claim to the witch doctor's hill, forces the mundumugu's hand. Kirinyaga must suffer. Adjust or perish. Laced with insight, craft and wit, Mr. Resnick's 'Song of a Dry River' is magical, a five-star tale. Writing flows smoothly, as the reader wonders. Will Mumbi yield to lift the curse she has brought upon her people?

Lights, camera, action! And a political tale unfolds. A pacing choral director, a rearranged choir formation, boyhood tomfoolery, and confusion spreads into the future. One long last laugh.

What if chain reaction deviates or implements a crucial historical outcome? 'Small Moments in Time' is an exceptionally drawn time travel story. The narrator has travelled to the past with intention to export extinct wheat grain into the future but is caught in the mundane existence of there and then 1918 Kansas. A strange jumper, however, catapults into the same time loop, and unwittingly tosses the chronicler into a plague zone. Deadly Spanish influenza. John G. Hemry's story holds ample suspense to effectively carry it through. A grand finale sets the little gray cells to task. This commendation is way overdue. 'Small Moments in Time' is a brilliant read.

Chemical augmentation of thoughts. A collective consciousness of six on a mission. When a river of frost piles like cotton, the challenge proves deadly. Paul Melko writes with fine authority. 'Strength Alone' is a literary work that is taut, well-paced and almost reminiscent of David Barr Kirtley's 'Veil of Ignorance'.

George R. R. Martin's mastery of words climbs to a chilling zenith and splinters to icicles in this dark winter tale. 'The Ice Dragon' is much filled with savagery and toning poignancy. Ever so vibrant even in snow, how vivid, how brilliant, how refined the writing, especially when it embraces desolation.

What if a chief priest beyond all lands commanded a library of worlds? An archetypal puppet master communicates on whim to and through mock-ups, intelligent penchants of his. To those creations trapped in protocol of being: that which is to be done has already been done, and tested. Benjamin Rosenbaum writes here a clever piece.

A probable mathematical key inside a war zone. Intriguing.

George R. R. Martin's unfailing talent to create sinister and suspense in something squat and sharp once again prevails. Protagonist Holt is trapped in The Stone City, a shipless, inescapable barren land rife with peril. And not the Dan'lai, Cedrans, ul-mennaleiths or what-nots will engineer his freedom...

Babel Interface is as liberal as it is cryptic; plenty in it to hold interest. I am keen to read more of Sheila Finch.

Difficult not to smile with Stephen Rogers in the heart of a mystery. This tale is natural enough to linger.

"A hush settles over the land. Time seems to slow, and for the briefest of moments, you behold the beauty of twilight." Mysterious bubbles float into a simmering pot. A mesmeric foreword from Sheri L. McGathy affirms what I already know: I love her writing. There is always a magical quality, something insightful, an exquisite element almost literary. Her tales are well thought, finely told, wonderfully readable, and are sometimes almost calming. Where Lies Beauty questions beauty, confronts perfection. Tanner and her brother, Conn, are Seekers. Faylon is a New Worlder who will pay anything in gold to go in a treacherous journey beyond the Divide. Only Seekers can guide him into ruins of the ancient mages, into the cursed forest of Sha-da-nay, The City of light. Parallels: superb characterization opens the reader to the magnificence of slave Manny whose scars much remind Tanner of her own gruesome past, but whose pure eyes carry greater youth than dawn. Sheri L. McGathy draws a clear yet intricate world, one so full of myths, its very land breathes. Shannah Biondine's Mourn a Moonreft Sky skilfully paints a voyage bursting with mystery in the core of a medieval world. A slain wizard, a stolen Umbra Amulate, a Glacian quest. Zavend, a rare Waniand scholar, travels far. He seeks the assistance of amorous Capt Praxis, a female of hidden thoughts. But she is also a skilled rider of griffons, terrible beasts. Only first they have to catch one such creature before the pursuit can begin. Jeanine Berry's The Well of Forever holds definite darkness inside beauty. Caireya is a slave and a seer in an ancient palace, a fortress that has survived the Cataclysm. Caireya's powers allow her the ability to unearth things. Younger sister, Eronne, has a healing gift. But, since the vanishing of the great sorcerer, Lohar, the two females are towed onto an expedition to Maricor by their master, Demor. His greed will not sleep until his hands clasp a magical wand with legendary powers. Through spell, he manages to weave a shell of the great mage, a grand find. But the simulacrum has powers of its own, and in the wrong hands... Jeanne Allen's Viking imaginings beget The Treasure of Arvalis, a historical romance full of action. Temple priestess, Eirena, is not spared visions that hold much foreboding. When these visions come true, and the land of Ignatia is tossed into a horrific fate, Eirena must convert a barbarian, a warrior of intrinsic savagery, into a liberator of the people. Twilight Crossings II is a remarkable novel. It carries individual tales so full of charm; four astonishing novellas as much filled with adventure as enchantment.

It is remarkable how epublishing resurrects stories. Tales one would otherwise never have seen or touched become accessible at the tick of a button. 'War of the Roses' is short, clever, reserved with words, humorous even. Blissfully bopping to a song on the radio, the narrator is thrust at a scene of an accident, and feels powerless, almost silly as a result. The garbling blood-soaked victim does not ease the situation. A malicious rivalry unfolds. Looking for a light mystery with a dollop of humour? A sample of Stephen D. Rogers' wit? Here's your anecdote.

A blue sucker for fine stories, it normally takes me a couple of sentences (paragraph, at worst) in the excerpt to figure out love or hate. Two lines -- and I knew I wanted to read 'The Capo of Darkness'. Whacking Yaweh ain't no easy feat. The writing is crisp, effortless, funny. Mafia-style Adam and Eve. Lucifer's consigliere is a made guy. Takes no nonsense -- zip. A sit-down with Satan? That's a special favour. But not when you're out to garrotte the Eternal Being on some petty vengeance. Porkoddio! But Satan has a thing for Eve and-- he has had a shot at whacking Yaweh in a war of Good and Evil that carried dust luck. Laura Resnick has produced a very enjoyable read. Anyone keen on humour will relish this fantasy.

Sci-Fi does not have to be hard-core steel and technology, galaxies and unknown species with intelligence that far supercedes that of humans. 'Lest We Forget' is a futuristic story that holds appeal in its lighter touch of memory chip implants, belief in a cause and consequence of harmless actions as simple as erasing one's own painful memories. Morgan and Corey are inseparable friends. They share a lifetime of wonderful memories that stretch way beyond strolling in the woods or being bulwarks for each other. Strain grows as Morgan starts deleting memories he no longer wants to keep. The story climaxes in a final test of true friendship. This was my first Kirtley, and it drew me to explore his further works: 'The Black Bird,' 'The Disciple' and 'Seeds-for-Brains.' One does not have to be an irreversible science fiction fan to enjoy 'Lest We Forget.' Those who enjoy this eBook will also enjoy George R. R. Martin's 'The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr,' a fantasy tale so beautifully written.

A talking bird is rather unnerving, especially one that is in fact a falcon statuette motionless on a mantelpiece. Quite a mystery. Dialogue runs smoothly and impressively in this dark tale, black as the godamn bird with ominous words, to unveil an unfinished twig in protagonist Spade's crime-solving past. Those who enjoy this suspenseful book will immensely enjoy Kirtley's 'The Disciple,' 'Seeds-for-Brains,' 'They Go Bump'--an insightful masterpiece that plays with fear--as well as most of Darrell Bain, including 'Unforeseen Reward.' Stephen Popkes' 'Deathwitch' may be well worth a read too.

Common to writers selective about their reading, with eccentricities well tipped towards literary fiction, my Sci-Fi repertoire was Farscape, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars (on screen--with a slab of chocolate on my tongue). Banish her, quick, you're thinking, hopefully to a dimension with no time or return. Relax. I cut my Fictionwise Sci-Fi and Fantasy tooth on David Barr Kirtley. He is an immensely readable writer whose work--blood, steel or guts--has an added dimension. 'The Disciple' is a new train of thought, exploration in superb writing. The opening paragraph draws and builds intrigue on an evil character who seems to get more evil in chilling progression. It builds to a crescendo on a black night at the deepest corner of shadowy wood amidst whirls of screaming wind and jumping stones. Anyone who enjoys this eBook will much enjoy 'The Black Bird,' 'Lest We Forget,' 'The Second Rat' and most of Kirtley whose work is unpredictable enough to build readership. That is the mark of splendid writing. Sometimes a thin line separates technology and fantasy, space ships and wizardry. For someone tired of clichés, try Kirtley; be wooed by the ... key stroke.

A common ingredient of magic binds this cocktail of new talent consolidated by author Lazette Gifford. A fiery she-were transforms at whim from beast to naked woman, thus spicing Darwin A. Garrison's 'Hell Forge' where succubae creatures Hob and monstrous hellspawn unleash carnage. A mortal on the throes of death alters a frost dragon's karma in Cheryl Peugh's 'The North Watch'. Kate Paulk introduces a telepathic chimera that accompanies a lone female, raises, in consequence, the wrath of a lecherous Elder, and pilots odyssey to the heart of Eilithia where royal siblings have suddenly vanished. A mountain dwarf is the protagonist besotted with a miller's daughter in Deborah Millitello's story. A human child pursues her quest to become a dragon rider in Fred S. Dubson's tale. Sarah A. Hoyt takes us to Beijing where a foreigner couples with a mystic fox. Soldiers, dragons, hunters and butchery; Marilyn Peake's 'Dragon Fire' is, from the word go, a survival chronicle not for the fainthearted. Betrayal, sorcery, and a man turns into a musical statue full of much yenning in Lee Barwood's 'The Minstrel'. Carol Hightshoe visits the medieval legend of Merlin and the Sword in a new light. To clinch the fantasy ride of knights, fiends and what else, Lazette Gifford sprinkles a touch of the Nile into the pot of enchantment. Do you dare?

This eBook's title had nothing to do with appeal for me. But I had seen enough of Kirtley to know with certainty that I was reading it. Couldn't lose out, hell no. Still, I wasn't sure at the start of it the level of my enjoyment. The tale surprised me. An intelligent, insightful Sci-Fi wonder, it embraces the concept of time travel with brilliance. Written in the first person, it is both sensitive and brutal. Yet one cannot help but read on, glutting words with wonderment. The protagonist, Todd Rawlings is almost cavalier about his ability to revisit the past to change the course of events. Then in most horrible circumstance, half-naked and trapped in a private hell, his gift fails. 'Rewind a few months. Rewind a few--months. Rewind!' Nothing happens. Suspense. Anguish! Todd is stricken, wrecked, incoherent. Alone on a loose patch of dirt and yellow desert grass under a horrible Nevada sky. 'Rewind a few months. Please.' Read this eShort. By Jove, read it.