Weekend reading.

A lot of good free reading came out this week and though I haven't had time to read much yet, you can bet that I've saved it all and am looking forward to reading it. And though the blog is now a weekly, I'll have an extra post in the next couple of days to highlight some more great genre fiction.

Ray Gun Revival has their latest bi-weekly issue of unabashed space opera, #37, out. This issue is available for PDF download and features:

"Pirates of the Rogue Asteroid" by James Hartley.
Squadron Captain Cassidy and his crew pursue pirates preying on space commerce.

"Ever Dark, An Aston West tale" by T. M. Hunter. Serial Fiction.
A solitary captain of a tramp freighter gets more than he bargained for when he finds an abandoned freight ship.

Featured artist larkin2

"The Pasadena Rule by" Ben Schumacher. Serial Fiction.
Jack has jumped down to the planet's surface to try to save Katya.

and "Deuces Wild, Season Two, Chapter One" by L. S. King. Serial Fiction.
An owner, a captain, and a woman spurned.

Strange Horizons has returned with another weekly issue including the short story "Still Living," by J. J. Irwin

The murals are butterflies of time, pinned to the wall in a semblance of life. When Carlo died they became silent for a time, watchful, but in the month since they have gone back to each other, back to love and joy and the sunshine coming down on them in thick, buttery strokes. They're paintings; they don't have space for prolonged sorrow.

And Project Gutenberg has several classic SF stories available. (These are probably also available at Manybooks.net but that site is currently down).

"Something Will Turn Up" by David Mason from Analog February 1963.

Err ... maybe it had to do with this being a non-Parity universe, perhaps? Some things can't be simply inverted, after all....








"Alarm Clock" by Everett Cole. From Astounding Science Fiction, September, 1960.

Most useful high explosives, like ammonium nitrate, are enormously violent ... once they're triggered. But they will remain seemingly inert when beaten, burned, variously punished—until the particular shock required comes along....







"Victory" by Lester del Rey. From Astounding Science Fiction, August, 1955.

It seemed Earth was a rich, and undefended planet in a warring, hating galaxy. Things can be deceptive though; children playing can be quite rough—but that ain't war, friend!







"A Transmutation of Muddles" by H. B. Fyfe From Astounding Science Fiction September 1960.

An experienced horse-trader, bargain-haggler, and general swapper has a very special talent for turning two headaches into one aspirin pill....














"A Spaceship Named McGuire" by Randall Garrett from Analog, July 1961.

The basic trouble with McGuire was that, though "he" was a robot spaceship, nevertheless "he" had a definite weakness that a man might understand....















"The First One" by Herbert Kastle from Analog July 1961.

The first man to return from beyond the Great Frontier may be welcomed ... but will it be as a curiosity, rather than as a hero...?













"The Untouchable" by Stephen Kallis from Analog, December 1960.

“You can see it—you can watch it—but mustn’t touch!” And what could possibly be more frustrating … when you need, most violently, to get your hands on it for just one second…