Description:

Dawn Theocratis has been stuck for years. Her career is paused, her heart is stone and her dreams no longer breathe. Enter Bredmeyer Deed, co-worker.

When Dawn and Bredmeyer are assigned to fix the portal of the Director of Investigative Research, they witness an unprecedented system failure; apparently, each and every communication is revised, edited, changed before it reaches their computer screens. Are they living in a world of synthetic news? Are they in danger for discovering the truth?

Newly awakened, Dawn begins to question the world around her. Yet only when she explores the universe within her does she find the answers she seeks. Where will her hard-won knowledge lead her?

Where you can find it:

"The Deceptive Smiles of Bredmeyer Deed" is an eBook available on Kindle, Nook, iPad, and PCs at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

Praise:

“This [novella] paints a picture of a world where Multi’s rule, people are segmented into classifications by virtue of their health and genetic status, news feeds are strictly monitored, and environmental damage is to be managed at all costs. Need I say the obvious? Scutti’s sci-fi future is both fabricated and eerily familiar as we walk with Dawn through her world and sub-world. This is a love story, a quest, a peek into the next millennium, and believe it or not— it is about hope. The alluring Bredmeyer Deed, with all his weaknesses and strengths, takes us on his journey as he faces down the challenge of a lifetime during the year 3017. I would highly recommend this book to fans of Aldous Huxley, Harlan Ellison, and Ray Bradbury.” – Lori Malvey

Author Bio:

Susan Scutti’s stories and poems are published in anthologies and journals, including CURA: A Literary Magazine of Art and Action, The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry, The Christian Science Monitor, New York Quarterly, and Tamarind. In November 2011, Ravenrock Press produced her novella (with artwork by Sarah Valeri), "The Deceptive Smiles of Bredmeyer Deed". The Commute, her poetry collection, was published by Paper Kite Press. Susan grew up in New Jersey and lived in Alaska as well as the Boston area. Now she makes her home in New York City, where she often walks along the Hudson River.

Description:

Ellie Simmons lost the love of her life, her husband Daniel. And now, two years later, baby Daniel is born — a clone of the man she lost. But human cloning is illegal, and Ellie must be very, very careful. Daniel’s and Ellie’s friend Greg knows Ellie’s secret. And his feelings for Ellie should keep him from betraying her. In fact, he can keep Ellie and little Daniel safe — if Ellie can walk the tightrope between his feelings and her own. Which would be tricky — even if the tightrope held still…

Author bio:

Karen A. Wyle was born a Connecticut Yankee, but eventually settled in Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University. She now considers herself a Hoosier. Wyle’s childhood ambition was to be the youngest ever published novelist. While writing her first novel at age 10, she was mortified to learn that some British upstart had beaten her to the goal at age 9.

Wyle is an appellate attorney, photographer, political junkie, and mother of two daughters. Her voice is the product of almost five decades of reading both literary and genre fiction. It is no doubt also influenced, although she hopes not fatally tainted, by her years of law practice. Her personal history has led her to focus on often-intertwined themes of family, communication, the impossibility of controlling events, and the persistence of unfinished business.

Why readers should check out the story:

"The Baby" is the first of a planned series of stories dealing with issues that may arise if human cloning becomes feasible. For now, I’m offering these stories for free on Smashwords (and on Amazon when feasible).

The Nature Of Man. Since the days of Pinocchio, inanimate devices seem mesmerized by Man and obsessed with trying to discover the answer to what it is and what it means to be human.

This quirky yet wonderful novelette, written by Roger Zelazny in 1966, illustrates the frustratingly perplex struggle to correlate genius with folly, strength with frailty, and all the promise and pratfalls of what it means to be Man! (*)

Story Synopsis:

Long after the Last Man had perished from existence, the Earth is faithfully maintained by armies of robotized machines and computers dedicated to the rebuilding program initiated by humans before their demise.

Solcom orbits the Earth directing the effort .To aid him in this task, Solcom builds a super computer called Frost to rule the Northern Hemisphere and one called Beta to rule the Southern Hemisphere,

As a backup system, Man had created an Alternate to Solcom : Divcom. Divcom is activated prematurely and they have a constant battle to assert their claim to be the dominant force.

With no Man in existence to make the determination, Solcom and Divcom spend eons destroying each others’ rebuilding attempts.

Frost, having time and unused resources at his disposal, becomes interested in Man after unearthing some artifacts of this now extinct creature. Frost’s curiosity grows into a frantic obsession as his research produces more questions than answers.

In a parallel to God and Satan discussing Job, Solcom and Divcom make a deal between themselves based on the outcome of Frost’s insatiable desire to discern the Nature of Man.

(*) (If it’s any consolation, my dear Frost, we humans have pondered these very questions throughout our existence as well and have come away with pitifully few results.)

The Good:

• Very well written and does not suffer in the least for having no PEOPLE in the story.
• Provides us with a long hard look from the outside in, as it were, of ourselves.
• Suspenseful.

The Bad:

• Little action here and not a very complex topic.(**)
• The ending is a little corny but still a very enjoyable story.

This & That:

• Word count 11,249
• Page Count 28
• Similar Story: If you liked "For a Breath I Tarry" you’ll love “The Bicentennial Man” by Isaac Asimov!

Can be found here:

• The Last Defender of Camelot
• Science Fiction: A Historical Anthology
• You can read it free online here.

(**) This is the toughest part of doing these reviews…finding something negative to say! I agree with Rusty in his purpose for this site – namely ONLY THE GOOD STUFF! (I’m paraphrasing of course).

With very few exceptions, the only SF I read are short story anthologies and the only way I would review one here is if I feel it is one of the Best of The Best in the FIRST PLACE!

3 classic authors of short science fiction

When people think of science fiction, they usually imagine huge tomes with equally intimidating page counts and plot lines. Few people outside the sci-fi fan base consider the countless thought provoking sci-fi short stories produced every year by prominent and newfound writers. Below are three classic sci-fi authors with an impressive short story catalogue worth investigating.

Gene Wolfe

Throughout his prolific writing career, Gene Wolfe has quietly produced some of the best science fiction ever written. Neill Gaiman has famously touted Gene Wolfe as the greatest science fiction writer of our lifetime. He’s best known for his tetralogy The Book of the New Sun written in the eighties and more recently his novels The Knight and The Wizard, all of which showcase the author’s impressive vocabulary and his keen ability for constructing entirely new worlds that seem more real than our own.

But Gene Wolfe also has an impressive catalogue of short stories, including his 1979 collection titled The Fifth Head of Cerberus, a series of three novellas that chronicle the bizarre lives of characters ranging from mad scientists to jaded youths on dystopian landscapes. Though at first the novellas seem unrelated, the careful reader will unearth some chilling truths communicated about each world deftly drawn by Gene Wolfe.

Gene Wolfe also has a famous collection of sci-fi short stories called The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories, published to universal acclaim in the eighties. The title story concerns the mind of a young man reading a book loosely resembling The Island of Doctor Moreau with more than a few twists. The whole collection is a mesmerizing meditation on the art of storytelling, and definitely worth your time to read.

Isaac Asimov

Unlike Gene Wolfe, Isaac Asimov had long enjoyed material success for his writings, and rightly so. Considered by many to be the seminal sci-fi author for his Foundation series, Asimov made readers question the morals and motives that come into play when humanity creates ambitious new technologies.

But, like Wolfe, Asimov was also known for his impressive output of sci-fi short stories. The entirety of his short stories have been published in the span of two huge volumes, the first of which is simply called Isaac Asimov, the Complete Stories, Vol. 1. His stories focus on a variety of human social issues, often played out in a near future setting whereby superhuman technologies threaten to outmatch their human makers.  Among his best short stories are the classics “Nightfall”—which chronicles a planet, normally in a state of perpetual daylight, succumbing to darkness—and “The Last Question,” a morbidly amusing story about cheating death.

Greg Egan

More contemporary than the previous two authors, Greg Egan is a meticulous writer with a high threshold for detailed and technical prose. He’s somewhat of an enigmatic author, with little known about his personal identity since he rarely makes interviews and never attends sci-fi conventions. The ambition of his works only adds to his mystique, as Egan constructs entirely new planets with painstakingly explained ecosystems and technologies that in turn often work as commentaries on those present on Earth.

One of his more famous short stories, “Oceanic,” concerns a young man named Martin in a futuristic society on an aquatic planet where a satirical religion plays a pivotal role. The human race exists on the oceanic body known as Covenant, and everyone’s on the lookout for the mythical land called Earth. The change in Martin’s religious beliefs from his childhood to his career as a scholar mark the focus of this story, as he discovers the disturbing realities of Covenant and the mythical Earth espoused by the world’s religion.

Byline:

This is a guest post from Jacelyn Thomas. Jacelyn writes about identity theft protection for IdentityTheft.net. She can be reached at: jacelyn.thomas @ gmail.com.

Time Travel. What a compelling, uniquely seductive science fiction theme! The chance to correct a wrong, witness an historical event first hand, or simply escape to a better time when the world made sense; you know – the “good old days”.

Often described as the “sequel” to H.G. Wells’ “The Time Traveler”, this 1976 short story by Richard Cowper breathes new life into the classic tale and extends the adventure.

Told in a rich, antiquated British literary style, Cowper adds an authentic feel to this masterful tale as he transports us back to 17th Century England.

The Story In A Nutshell:

Upon the death of his Great Aunt Victoria (a dealer in old books and antiquities), Francis Decressie is left the Hertford Manuscript – a volume written and produced in the late 17th century.

Serving mainly as an historical register, this boring volume would remain undisturbed, collecting dust if not for the inexplicable fact that, bound up with the original contents, Francis discovers several sheets of different paper, written in a different hand, outlining a journal of someone from the early 20th century!

The journal unfolds thus;

The journal goes on to detail his desperate attempt to effect repairs and return to his own time.

The Good:

• Very well researched and written.
• A vivid portrayal of the period is presented and our vicarious journey is enhanced greatly in 2 ways:
  1. The diary/journal format creates the belief that this is indeed a factual account.
  2. The overall style with which the story is told lends a degree of credibility for the period in which it takes place.

The Bad:

• Those who want great “Science” in their S.F. won’t find it here. Personally the Science factor is a non issue unless it is key to the story and THEN it better be at least good. A great plot, human drama, wonderful characters are all more desirable to me than the mechanics of how light speed or anti-gravity is achieved.
• For those who are NOT Dicken’s fans, the old British style used here may be a turn off.
• My absolute favorite Science Fiction theme is Time Travel so I am heavily biased in my love of this story!

Some Interesting Tidbits

• Word Count 13,493
• Page Count 18
• Appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction October 1976
• Included in Donald A. Wollheim Presents The 1977 Annual World’s Best SF

In the style of Mr Men and Thomas the Tank Engine (with a bit of Douglas Adam’s style reality) comes Alien Characters, a monthly series of science fiction short story ebooks for Kindle for children aged 6-10. Separate titles include Alien Bob the house grower, Alien Hamish the star mover and intergalactic navigator, Alien Robert the robot technician and child care worker, Alien Christine the crystal energy technologist and healer, Alien Tim the Time Minister, Alien Vince the air recycling plant and environmentalist, Alien Carla the Galactic biological communications channeller, Alien Rex the parallel reality trade specialist, Alien Amanda the galactic immigration minister, Alien Nathanial the electromagnatheric energy and First Contact specialist, Alien Anneke the galactic flash relocation accountant, and a number of other residents of the Large Magellanic Cloud. From series 2 most characters are somewhere on board the ship The Celestial Breeze along with its Companion Planet, collecting more Alien Characters before leaving for their journey to the Milky Way Galaxy.

Each short story focuses on a new Alien Character and whatever problem they need to solve on the way. For example, in Alien William, he decides to move some of his millions of descendants to multiple alternate realities where his race doesn’t exist so they can spread throughout infinite levels of reality, but is told by the consciousness of the galaxy that her other parallel selves won’t allow it, so he needs to find another way.

A few of the stories are available on Kindle with pictures. Most are available as text-only Kindle ebooks. These may be released with pictures by 2013. A new Alien Character story is available every month.

Find out more at www.AlienCharacters.com.

There are a number of notable science fiction writing competitions open for the new year so whether you have a new story to tell, want to polish up something you wrote back in high school (or even if you’re actually in high school), or simply want to challenge yourself to try something new, start getting your manuscripts ready! It doesn’t take a master’s degree in writing to get your science fiction writing recognized and even published through sci-fi competitions. These open contests for writers with varying experience and ability can provide that gateway of opportunity for talented sci-fi storytellers.

WillyCon Short Story & Poetry Contest: The Wayne State College Science Fiction and Fantasy Club holds a short story and poetry contest in conjunction with WillyCon. All entries must be original works in English. Entry is free. All types of science fiction, fantasy, dark fantasy or horror with fantastic elements are welcome. All rights in the story remain the property of the author. The story or poem winning first place in each category will be published on the WillyCon E-Zine and awarded prize money.

PARSEC Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Story Contest: This contest — now in its sixteenth year — is open to non-professional writers of sci-fi and fantasy who want to tackle the theme, “the morning after.” The best story using the theme as a key element will be published in the Confluence 2011 program book, and the author awarded the first prize of $200. Second and third prize win $100 and $50, respectively. Submission to the contest implies consent for publication, but all rights revert immediately to the authors upon publication. Entry is free. Multiple submissions (maximum of 4) are allowed. Contest opens January 1, 2012 and closes April 30, 2012.

L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest: Here is an opportunity for new and amateur writers of short stories or novelettes of science fiction or fantasy that offers its winners with big cash prizes. No entry fee is required, entrants retain all publication rights to their work, and all awards are adjudicated by professional writers only. Prizes are awarded every three months to first, second and third place winners at $1,000, $750 and $500, respectively; a $5,000 Grand Prize is awarded annually in addition to original cash prize. Read the contest’s official guidelines for complete submission information.

The James White Award: This prestigious annual short story competition is open to non-professional writers of science fiction under 6,000 words. Stories entered into the competition must be original and previously unpublished. Entry is free. The James White Award was instituted to honor the memory of one of Ireland’s most successful science fiction authors, James White. The prize for winning this year’s James White Award 2011 is £200 plus publication in Interzone, the leading UK science fiction magazine. All stories must be in English, though entrants may be from any country. The contest deadline is January 31, 2012, and the winner will be presented with their award at BSFA Awards ceremony at Eastercon 2012.

Alliance for Young Artists & Writers: This cash prize contest for middle and high school students (grades 7-12) invites young science fiction and fantasy writers to submit their best stories, 600-3,000 words, which use supernatural elements or invented technologies. Students should note that they are not to base characters or plots on already published works (including books, movies, comics, etc.). Winners receive a variety of prizes, including regional and national awards, recognition and museum exhibition, publication in prestigious magazines and anthologies, as well as monetary awards and National Medalist scholarships through partnerships with esteemed colleges and universities.

Emily Matthews is currently applying to masters degree programs across the U.S., and loves to read about new research into health care, gender issues, and literature. She lives and writes in Seattle, Washington.

Wow!  It’s been 4 years since Rusty let me know he was starting this website, and I started spending countless hours at work reading the science fiction short stories he reviewed.  (I’m sure none of you have ever done that…)  Happy 4th Anniversary BSFS!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO CIN

And how time flies.  I have been part of BSFS for a little over a year!  It’s been a great year for me, and I just want to say “THANK YOU!!” to Rusty, for inviting me to be part of the team.  Thank You also to the readers that make this site a success!  I am consistently blown away by the quality of writing that is out there.  There is no end to imagination, and I have been pleasantly surprised at the ability people have to get those images down on paper.  I’ve had my eyes opened a bit, learning that there are many varieties of science fiction, and it’s been fun to delve deeper into the genre.

A GREAT STORY STAYS WITH YOU

Rusty asked me to come up with a Top 10 List, and instantly, without hesitation, I knew my #1 story.  How lucky that it is the first story I read and reviewed?  It’s been over a year since I read it, and I still remember the haunted feeling it left me with, I even still remember specific phrases.  Rachel Swirsky’s A Memory of Wind set a high standard for quality.  And although I spent time looking back through the stories I’ve reviewed over the last year, the other nine on my list were also stories I didn’t need to be reminded of to know they would be on my Top 10 List.  I think that says it all: if you don’t need a memory jog to remember how fantastic a story was, it’s worth reading over and over.

CIN’S TOP 10 LIST

A Memory Of Wind, by Rachel Swirsky, about the last memories of a girl that is turned into wind because her father sacrifices her to a goddess.

What Makes The Grass Grow, by David Monette, about a warrior who arrives for battle on an alien planet.

Epinikion, by Desmond Warzel, about a “cleaner” that travels to planets after a battle to clean up the bodies.

Seven Sexy Cowboy Robots, by Sandra McDonald, about a woman who received a truck load of robots as part of her divorce settlement.  Sex toy robots…

Little Gods, by Tim Pratt, about a man that has some unusual visitors following the death of his wife.

In Fall, by Ted Kosmatka, about two men that have a thought provoking discussion as their ship falls into a black hole.

The Shipmaker, by Aliette de Bodard, about a woman that builds ships for an alien race.

I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You In Reno, by Vylar Kaftan, about two people who obviously are in love, but take extraordinary amounts of time and space to figure that out.

Adjustment Team, by Philip K. Dick, about a man that stumbles upon a reality altering process that he is not supposed to see.

The Veldt, by Ray Bradbury, about a family that lives in an automated house with a virtual nursery.

Ahem…

First, thanks to Cin who has helped me review science fiction short stories during the past year. She has done an excellent job, and I am looking forward to what she finds in the coming year.

Also thanks to the many people who submitted guest posts for me this year. They are some great people, and have helped me discover some truly amazing stories.

And most of all thanks to the many of you who read what we write, leave comments, share stories with us, give suggestions and email us with your thoughts. We really appreciate you. Here’s to another great year in 2012!

My Favorite Stories

As I did for this site’s 1st, 2nd and 3rd anniversaries I am listing my favorite stories I read during the past year. Click on the links to read my full review of the stories, and if you haven’t read them yet be sure to do so! Enjoy!

1. "Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain" by Yoon Ha Lee. An ancient woman possesses a powerful and unique weapon.
2. "Diamond Dogs" by Alastair Reynolds. A group of highly specialized people travel to a deadly alien tower on a remote planet.
3. "The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen’s Window" by Rachel Swirsky. A powerful dead woman’s soul is summoned for many years by living people who seek her knowledge.
4. "Rappaccini’s Daughter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. A young man falls for the strange daughter of a mad doctor.
5. "Outside The Box" by Brian Winfrey. A man must give a strange, magical object to an unknown person everyday at the exact same time and place.
6. "The Mad Scientist’s Daughter" by Theodora Goss. The story of 6 remarkable women who all have crazy fathers.
7. "Stone Wall Truth" by Caroline M. Yoachim. A woman whose job is to torture and then heal the enemies of her state.
8. "Mirror Girl" by Paul Carlson. A brilliant girl begins to question the strange world in which she lives.
9. "The Radiant Car Thy Sparrows Drew" by Catherynne M. Valente. A famous Documentarian goes to Venus to film strange, sea-dwelling life forms.
10. "Century to Starboard" by Liz Williams. A luxury liner gets lost at sea during a bizarre storm.
11. "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates. A powerful robot’s master is killed while visiting Earth.

What about you? If you have read any stories in the past year that you really liked please share them with us!

My Christmas List Gets Longer and Longer…

• Spider by Duncan Shields – A young girl investigates strange noises downstairs on Christmas morning.
• The Best Christmas Ever by James Patrick Kelly – Robotic servants throw a Christmas party for the last man on Earth.
• Christmas Wedding by Vylar Kaftan – 3 women get married in a snowy, crime-ridden, post-apocalyptic Miami.
• Harnessing the brane-deer by Robert Billing – a physics teacher discovers the secret of Santa’s success.
• Brass Canaries by Gwendolyn Clare – Precision made finely tuned metal birds are being sold at Christmas time.
• All Seated on the Ground by Connie Willis – glaring aliens have landed in Denver during the Holiday season.
• A Woman’s Best Friend by Robert Reed – an alternate reality George Bailey shows up on a strange world.
• Julian: A Christmas Story by Robert Charles Wilson – the President’s nephew and his friend celebrate a far-future Christmas.
• ‘Tis the Season by China Miéville – a man takes his teenage daughter to the one official Christmas party in London’s highly privatized holiday season.