Short Stories by Lou
Featuring:
“The Monoceros”
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Featuring:
“Matial”
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Featuring:
“The Tour Guide”
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Featuring:
“Just A Second”
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Featuring:
“Event at MileHiCon”
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Featuring:
“Nikki Dark and the Black Rust”
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Reviews:
Lou J. Berger, Author
"Just A Second", Galaxy's Edge Magazine, Issue #1, March, 2013
"The second original piece of this issue and the author's first published story. We're treading in urban fantasy here, with a trader that buys a magic potion that gains him time, making his life easier in every regard. I rather enjoyed this story, with its fluid style and interesting premise. Too bad the main character is a bit cliché (he's a trader, so he's obviously evil). Still, a very respectable first effort, and the best original story of the magazine."
- Xa4, March 2013
"The second original piece of this issue and the author's first published story. We're treading in urban fantasy here, with a trader that buys a magic potion that gains him time, making his life easier in every regard. I rather enjoyed this story, with its fluid style and interesting premise. Too bad the main character is a bit cliché (he's a trader, so he's obviously evil). Still, a very respectable first effort, and the best original story of the magazine."
- Xa4, March 2013
Lou J. Berger, Author
"Just A Second", Galaxy's Edge Magazine, Issue #1, March, 2013
"The second original piece of this issue and the author's first published story. We're treading in urban fantasy here, with a trader that buys a magic potion that gains him time, making his life easier in every regard. I rather enjoyed this story, with its fluid style and interesting premise. Too bad the main character is a bit cliché (he's a trader, so he's obviously evil). Still, a very respectable first effort, and the best original story of the magazine."
- Xa4, March 2013
"The second original piece of this issue and the author's first published story. We're treading in urban fantasy here, with a trader that buys a magic potion that gains him time, making his life easier in every regard. I rather enjoyed this story, with its fluid style and interesting premise. Too bad the main character is a bit cliché (he's a trader, so he's obviously evil). Still, a very respectable first effort, and the best original story of the magazine."
- Xa4, March 2013
Lou J. Berger, Author
"Just A Second," Galaxy's Edge Magazine, Issue #1, March, 2013
"Lou J. Berger's tale of potions sold in a dark bead-curtained shop, could've come from UNKNOWN."
- W. B. Glass, March 2013
"Lou J. Berger's tale of potions sold in a dark bead-curtained shop, could've come from UNKNOWN."
- W. B. Glass, March 2013
Lou J. Berger, Author
"Just A Second," Galaxy's Edge Magazine, Issue #1, March, 2013
"As far as the stories are concerned, there are many that are suitably memorable, including "Just a Second," by Lou J. Berger where Frederick Thomas sees a sign outside a shop that says "Buy a Second!" Most people who pass by don't understand what the sign means, but the main character walks in and the shop owner tells him what she sells. This story acts as a cautionary tale as Frederick is the sort of man who is never satisfied with what he has, whether it's women, money or anything else. He is the one whose cup is always half empty and he only wants more. Frederick wants to get ahead of everyone else as he has a high opinion of his own abilities when he is at work and uses women for his one-night stands, then discards them like trash when he gets bored."
- Sandra Scholes, March 2013
"As far as the stories are concerned, there are many that are suitably memorable, including "Just a Second," by Lou J. Berger where Frederick Thomas sees a sign outside a shop that says "Buy a Second!" Most people who pass by don't understand what the sign means, but the main character walks in and the shop owner tells him what she sells. This story acts as a cautionary tale as Frederick is the sort of man who is never satisfied with what he has, whether it's women, money or anything else. He is the one whose cup is always half empty and he only wants more. Frederick wants to get ahead of everyone else as he has a high opinion of his own abilities when he is at work and uses women for his one-night stands, then discards them like trash when he gets bored."
- Sandra Scholes, March 2013
Lou J. Berger, Author
"Just A Second," Galaxy's Edge Magazine, Issue #1, March, 2013
"One day, on his way to a meeting, Frederick Thomas steps into a small store with a sign in the window that says Buy a Second. Time for sale, $100 a vial. The results are more than satisfactory. His drive to work was shorter because he kept getting lucky at traffic lights and at stop signs. His trades executed faster and he spent less time filling orders and more time talking to happy customers. As a result, his sales had increased, creating a nice spike in his commissions. A very nice spike. He goes back for a second dose, and another, even when the proprietor expresses misgivings."
- Lois Tilton, March 2013
"One day, on his way to a meeting, Frederick Thomas steps into a small store with a sign in the window that says Buy a Second. Time for sale, $100 a vial. The results are more than satisfactory. His drive to work was shorter because he kept getting lucky at traffic lights and at stop signs. His trades executed faster and he spent less time filling orders and more time talking to happy customers. As a result, his sales had increased, creating a nice spike in his commissions. A very nice spike. He goes back for a second dose, and another, even when the proprietor expresses misgivings."
- Lois Tilton, March 2013
Lou J. Berger, Author
"Matial", Galaxy's Edge Magazine, Issue #9, July, 2014
"Matial must sacrifice a young virgin on the Day of Planting so that the sun will rise tomorrow. He makes the mistake of talking to her first. Nicely done little one-pager."
- Sam Tomaino, July 2014
http://www.sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=15562
"Matial must sacrifice a young virgin on the Day of Planting so that the sun will rise tomorrow. He makes the mistake of talking to her first. Nicely done little one-pager."
- Sam Tomaino, July 2014
http://www.sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=15562
Lou J. Berger, Author
"Just A Second," Galaxy's Edge Magazine, Issue #1, March, 2013
"Just a Second" by Lou J. Berger is the first story that really held my attention, even though it's predictable. A man asks for a potion, achieves success, but is never satisfied. In the end, he gets his comeuppance. The compelling prose and the colorful characterization pulled me in and didn't let go. I loved hating this guy!
-Ann Wilkes, "Science Fiction and Other ODDities"
http://sciencefictionmusings.blogspot.com/2013/06/galaxys-edge-issue-1-mixed-bag-mag.html
"Just a Second" by Lou J. Berger is the first story that really held my attention, even though it's predictable. A man asks for a potion, achieves success, but is never satisfied. In the end, he gets his comeuppance. The compelling prose and the colorful characterization pulled me in and didn't let go. I loved hating this guy!
-Ann Wilkes, "Science Fiction and Other ODDities"
http://sciencefictionmusings.blogspot.com/2013/06/galaxys-edge-issue-1-mixed-bag-mag.html
Lou J. Berger, Author
"The Tour Guide," Galaxy's Edge Magazine, Issue #7, March, 2014
Lou J. Berger's "The Tour Guide," has two time travellers who want to see the site where Christ was taken to be crucified and get the attention of a certain tour guide who seems to know more than he should. This is the sort of story that keeps the reader guessing until right at the end.
-Sandra Scholes, SF Site
https://www.sfsite.com/00a/ge7406.htm
Lou J. Berger's "The Tour Guide," has two time travellers who want to see the site where Christ was taken to be crucified and get the attention of a certain tour guide who seems to know more than he should. This is the sort of story that keeps the reader guessing until right at the end.
-Sandra Scholes, SF Site
https://www.sfsite.com/00a/ge7406.htm
Lou J. Berger, Author
"Full Skies, No Water", Galaxy's Edge Magazine, Issue #18, January, 2016
"Lou [J] Berger contributes "Full Skies, No Water," set on a terraformed world where rainfall is scarce and "projector[s]" ensure the water reaches the ground. But the [colony] has fallen behind on its payments and the narrator is there to dismantle the device[s]. He meets with a little girl. The story tugs on the emotions and works on that level, though I think it may just be a bit rosy-eyed. The resolution is no more than a postponement."
- Chuck Rothman, Tangent Online, January 2016
http://www.tangentonline.com/e-market-bi-monthly-reviewsmenu-266/263-galaxys-edge/3042-galaxys-edge-18-januaryfebruary-2016
"Lou [J] Berger contributes "Full Skies, No Water," set on a terraformed world where rainfall is scarce and "projector[s]" ensure the water reaches the ground. But the [colony] has fallen behind on its payments and the narrator is there to dismantle the device[s]. He meets with a little girl. The story tugs on the emotions and works on that level, though I think it may just be a bit rosy-eyed. The resolution is no more than a postponement."
- Chuck Rothman, Tangent Online, January 2016
http://www.tangentonline.com/e-market-bi-monthly-reviewsmenu-266/263-galaxys-edge/3042-galaxys-edge-18-januaryfebruary-2016
Lou J. Berger, Author
"Nikki Dark and the Black Rust," Galaxy's Edge Magazine, November, 2014
"Stepping back from all that I hoped to find in the series, “Nikki Dark and the Black Rust” from Lou J. Berger has drug smuggling and a Space Patrol out to crush it. The drug in question is the nasty Black Rust which makes its addicts worthless for doing the jobs the space colonies need doing. Nikki Dark is a smuggler caught up in the trade out of desperation, and the Space Patrol confronts her with her fugitive past. Not what I expected, but it kept me reading, and I liked it."
https://marzaat.wordpress.com/2015/06/06/sargasso-legacy/
"Stepping back from all that I hoped to find in the series, “Nikki Dark and the Black Rust” from Lou J. Berger has drug smuggling and a Space Patrol out to crush it. The drug in question is the nasty Black Rust which makes its addicts worthless for doing the jobs the space colonies need doing. Nikki Dark is a smuggler caught up in the trade out of desperation, and the Space Patrol confronts her with her fugitive past. Not what I expected, but it kept me reading, and I liked it."
- MarzAat, June 6, 2015
https://marzaat.wordpress.com/2015/06/06/sargasso-legacy/
Latest Natterings From Lou
11
Nov 2017
MORE ALTERNATIVE TRUTHS launches today!
Today is the launch of the “More Alternative Truths” anthology! From the foreword by David Gerrold, all the way to Jane Yolen’s cutting poem “Trickster Times,” this is an anthology of funny and... READ MORE
8
Nov 2017
Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest
I want to chat about the Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest. For many beginning writers (and illustrators, but I’m going to only talk about the writing side), the WoTF contest is... READ MORE
4
Nov 2017
More Alternative Truths (and my latest published story!)
Bob Brown, editor emeritus, asked me to contribute a story to his second anthology dealing with Alternative Truths, entitled “More Alternative Truths.” It gave me an idea to finally go ahead and write... READ MORE
27
Nov 2016
TRIALS, a Rogue Mage Anthology
If you’re reading this, you probably are aware that my latest story, “Epena’s Epiphany” is part of Faith Hunter’s TRIALS anthology. I’m not a fantasy guy, not really. If you’ve read my other... READ MORE