Nu-Evermore by Peter Magliocco (Trafford, 101pgs, $11.00 )

Nu-Evermore is a strange, trippy futuristic adventure. Equal parts science fiction and socio-political satire, Magliocco spins his yarn with aplomb and a prose style that walks a tightrope between literary and pulp without falling or missing a cue.

The novel is set in a not-so-distant future in which the avarice, Machiavellian ambitions of big business and the technocratic schemes of government have caused society to collapse into a new Ice Age. The plot follows T.K Keller, an ex-U.S. soldier, Raul Macon, his mentor/comrade-in-arms, and a revolving cast of miscreants as they become embroiled in the hunt for a chemical weapon known as Medulla Raze -- a scheme involving a kidnapping plot and a terrorist cell known as the Puma Band -- a cross between a Columbian guerilla group and the Bader-Meinhoff Gang.

I admit, I had a little trouble with the design of this book. The 8 1/2 X 11 layout is better suited to a trade manual than to a novel and the crammed, jammed printing was hard on my overworked eyes. Still, the first-rate writing of Peter Magliocco made it worth the struggle. This is a book that should appeal to fans of the new-wave science fiction and contemporary fringe literature alike.

-- Reviewed by JCE