Short Science Fiction Audio, Pulp Covers, and More.

Running late today, but there's some stuff that's definitely worth the wait.

E-Fiction
Afterburn SF has a new story up "The Magic Menagerie" By Yvonne Eve Walus.

"Tradition and celebration. What lengths will we go to preserve them? What price are we willing to pay to keep our ceremony and status quo?"

Online HERE.

At Flogging Babel, flash fiction "Like the Boiled Eggs in Isaac Asimov" by Michael Swanwick.

"Janet Kagan had simply woken up one morning and there it was: the ability to detect patterns in other people's fiction. Things like the giant cheese wedges in Norman Spinrad. The Barney imagery in Joanna Russ. The shaved mice in Larry Niven"

Online HERE. [via SF Signal]



And Every Day Fiction has "Death is a Weird Shade of Pink" by M.Sherlock.

"Death washes over you in the same way icy water does–initially the shock is painful, but the refreshment afterwards is worth it. I felt the searing pain of my mangled body melt away until my existence changed completely. I felt disembodied; it was like my consciousness was floating in an infinite space of warm cotton wool."

Online HERE.

Audio Fiction
At LibriVox, Jimbo by Algernon Blackwood, read by Adrian Praetzellis. 6 hours.

"Fantasy novel about the mystical adventures of a lonely English boy, Jimbo. It’s really quite beautiful and can be enjoyed by both older kids and adults, though parts may be too scary for younger children (who’d probably be bored anyway)."

In ogg and MP3 HERE.




Also at LibriVox, Short Science Fiction Collection 007 featuring,

"2 B R 0 2 B" by Kurt Vonnegut - 00:17:59
Read by: Alex Clarke

"… After a Few Words …" by Gordon Randall Garrett - 00:17:52
Read by: Corey M. Snow

"The Beast of Space" by F. E. Hardart - 00:29:53
Read by: Bryden Jones

"The Bell Tone" by Edmund H. Leftwich - 00:11:36
Read by: Alex Clarke

"Cat and Mouse" by Ralph Williams - 01:02:34
Read by: Betsie Bush

"Cry from a Far Planet" by Tom Godwin - 00:34:30
Read by: Bryden Jones

"Droozle" by Frank Banta - 00:17:24
Read by: Mooseboy Alfonzo

"An Incident on Route 12" by James H. Schmitz - 00:10:05
Read by: James Christopher

"The Man Who Hated Mars" by Gordon Randall Garrett - 00:31:34
Read by: David N. Castle

"The Mightiest Man" by Patrick Fahy - 00:11:15
Read by: David N. Castle

All available in ogg and MP3 downloads HERE.


At Escape Pod, "Silence" by Rachel Swirsky, read by Ann Leckie. 3 minutes.

"Whatever the midwife told you, it’s not true. I cannot walk through walls. I cannot conjure a chicken and make it dance or start a fire with my fingers. I cannot shape familiars from fog or examine entrails to see if a man will die. I cannot resurrect your son."

Streaming and in MP3 HERE.


And at Spider on the Web, Spider Robinson reading his story "The Magnificent Conspiracy."

Haven't heard this yet but Spider's a very good writer and a very good reader, so it's a pretty safe bet.

In MP3 HERE.





Gaming
Kellri has a cool "off-the-cuff terrain generation system." for any system. Online HERE.

The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope has some good advice on dungeon construction HERE.

New old school art at Curmudgeons & Dragons.

Greywulf’s Lair has a 4e zombie template HERE.

And The Core Mechanic has a weekly RPG blog round up HERE.

Art
Golden Age Comic Book Stories has a very cool collection of pulp magazine covers - a mix of adventure and sci-fi. Very cool.



Online HERE.






Comics
The Horrors of it All has "Chant of the Dead" (or is that "Restless in Peace") from Strange Fantasy #2.

If this one starts to seem a bit mild for THOIA, wait for the cool last page.

Online HERE.


Grantbridge Street & other misadventures has a classic Jack Kirby sci-fi story "Omac."

Classic, surreal, and fun.

Online HERE.




And Crosseyed Cyclops has a pack of post-code issues of the comic book version of the classic TV show, The Twilight Zone.


In one large RAR file HERE.











Other Cool
The Cimmerian has a lengthy, and very informative, post "Saluting the First Lady of Howardom: Joan McCowen."

A must read for REH fans.

Online HERE.



And Variety SF reviews and links to a free online copy of Vishu Sharma's "Kaulik & the Princess"

" Among the ancient precursors to science fiction"


The review and link are HERE.





In Memorium
Forrest J. Ackerman, the king of science fiction fandom, has died at the age of 92. His enthusiasm will be missed.

Just a few of the many announcements and remembrances are at SF Signal, io9, Scifi.com, SF Scope, The One Ring, Pulp Sunday, Grantbridge Street & other misadventures, Crosseyed Cyclops, Geek Orthodox, Greyhawk Grognard, and the LA Times.

Perhaps the best way to honor his memory will be to follow the advice he gives at the end of Forrest J. Ackerman's World of Science Fiction. "Go out and read the greats. Not just the Doyles and Wellses and Vernes, who are taught in school and already well-represented on film, but the lesser-knowns as well. The pulps may be collectors' items, but good paperback anthologies remain in print. Worlds of great imagination are waiting on bookstore shelves, anxious to jump out at you and cry, 'You will love me!'"