Jj Toner

A collection of short stories for the Science Fiction connoisseur. If you're looking for fun, surprises, and thought-provoking satire, read these stories. Originally published in 2011, this third edition contains 9 original stories and 4 flash fiction pieces released from my story vault, all written in the tradition of R. A. Lafferty, Robert Sheckley and Douglas Adams.

A collection of short stories for the Science Fiction connoisseur. If you're looking for fun, surprises, and thought-provoking satire, read these stories. Originally published in 2011, this third edition contains 9 original stories and 4 flash fiction pieces released from my story vault, all written in the tradition of R. A. Lafferty, Robert Sheckley and Douglas Adams.

Androids never cry. The year is 2326. Ten planets in Six Systems of the galaxy have been colonized, and are run jointly by a loose Federation of the two superpowers. When a freighter is seized by space pirates, delicate trade negotiations between the superpowers break down and the Federation teeters on the brink of war. Carla Scott, a gifted android engineer, is working on a project to improve military androids by giving them pain sensors. The trouble is android responses to pain range from apprehension through terror and even extreme rage. While Carla races to complete her project and stop a galactic war, the pirates strike again.

Androids never cryThe year is 2326. Ten planets in Six Systems of the galaxy have been colonized, and are run jointly by a loose Federation of the two superpowers. When a freighter is seized by space pirates, delicate trade negotiations between the superpowers break down and the Federation teeters on the brink of war. Carla Scott, a gifted android engineer, is working on a project to improve military androids by giving them pain sensors. The trouble is android responses to pain range from apprehension through terror and even extreme rage. While Carla races to complete her project and stop a galactic war, the pirates strike again.

Berlin 1944. Inge, a 14-year-old Jewish girl is in hiding. She fears the Gestapo more than she fears the advancing Soviet troops. As the Red Army encircles the city, the remains of a defeated German army face overwhelming odds. But the fanatical SS refuse to give up, recruiting boys and old men to man the trenches. Led by a baker's assistant and a one-legged ex-soldier, a ragtag collection of friends makes desperate plans to help Inge escape. They are up against a continuous day-and-night Allied bombing campaign and Anton, a 12-year-old Hitler Youth, who can't wait to join the battle and have his moment of glory.

Berlin 1944. Inge, a 14-year-old Jewish girl is in hiding. She fears the Gestapo more than she fears the advancing Soviet troops. As the Red Army encircles the city, the remains of a defeated German army face overwhelming odds. But the fanatical SS refuse to give up, recruiting boys and old men to man the trenches. Led by a baker's assistant and a one-legged ex-soldier, a ragtag collection of friends makes desperate plans to help Inge escape. They are up against a continuous day-and-night Allied bombing campaign and Anton, a 12-year-old Hitler Youth, who can't wait to join the battle and have his moment of glory.

Soon after its founding in 2011, Noir Nation: International Crime Fiction became the globally recognized home of international crime fiction. With this issue, it will also be a home for noir poetry. Noir Nation's content is often dark, sometimes creepy, and sometimes humorous but always at the service of the literary imagination as it explores the darker regions of human experience, where the only crime is weak writing. In this issue: Fiction by Deborah Pintonelli, Nahary Hernandez, JJ Toner, Barbie Wilde, David James Keaton, Ava Black, Simon Rowe, D. V. Bennett, Frauke Schuster, Gerald Heys, and BV Lawson;Poetry by Bianca Bellov , Adam Ward, Juleigh Howard-Hobson, Bonny Finberg, and Shawn Stibbards;Nonfiction by Michael Gonzales; and a staff interview with police detective and writer George Beck;And the winners of the First Golden Fedora Poetry Prize: George Perreault, Michael Zimecki, Timothy Ryan, J. D. Smith, Craig Kenworthy, Frank De Blas , James Gardner, Joe Cortinas, Barry Nathan, and Timothy Tarkelly.

WW2 Germany. The German war machine has invaded Poland and is advancing west toward France. In Berlin Kurt Muller, an Abwehr signalman, discovers a colleague lying dead at his radio receiver. The criminal police dismiss the death as suicide, but Kurt is not convinced. Kurt follows a trail of mysteries, witnessing several atrocities that expose the Nazi regime for what it truly is. When the trail leads him to the German resistance, he faces the most difficult choices of his life. He must choose between his duty and his conscience, between his country and his family, between love and death.