Classic SF, Lovecraft eZine, Fantasy Magazine

Some good fiction today, and much more.











@Fantasy Magazine: "Creation" by Jeffrey Ford.
"I learned about creation from Mrs. Grimm, in the basement of her house down the street from ours. The room was dimly lit by a stained-glass lamp positioned above the pool table. There was also a bar in the corner."



@The May issue of Lovecraft eZine is up

"Introduction to Issue #4" by Mike Davis.
"All the Gold" by Joseph S. Pulver/
"Run. Carry the pain. Pine. Slide. Trip. Stumble. Run. And keep moving. You can outrun a horse in this terrain. Snow. Cold. No camp. Maybe later. Maybe take to the water. Pay for it downstream"

"Dreams of Fire and Glass" by Neal Jansons.
"Coding was a dream for me. Ever since I was twelve years old, I could see the beauty of the byte. Pure, ordered, predictable."

"O, Lad of Memory and Shadow" by W.H. Pugmire.
"I crept like a frightened girl on silver-sandalled feet beneath an arc of moonlight, toward the House of Shadows."

"Dragon Star Lucky Food" by John Medaille
"So, I went to that Chinese grocery store, that one you don’t like to go to because you think it smells weird."

and "Curse the Child" by David J. West
"The black vault of night fell and the starry cosmic serpent whirled overhead, tail in mouth, as the queen of Sheba’s retinue entered Jerusalem through the southeastern fountain gates."


Serial Fiction
@Kat and Mouse: "Payback" Part Eight by Abner Senires.
"I took the pistol and slipped her back in my shoulder rig. 'Thanks,' I said. 'Now--those guys you saw. Do you remember what they looked like?'"


Classic Science Fiction and Adventure
@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "The Golden Amazons of Venus" by John Murray Reynolds, from Planet Stories (Winter 1939).
"Dakta death, horrible beyond the weirdest fever-dreams of Earth-men, faced Space Ship Commander Gerry Norton. The laconic interplanetary explorer knew too much. "


@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "Accidental Flight" by F. L. Wallace, from Galaxy Science Fiction (April 1952).
"Outcasts of a society of physically perfect people, they couldn't stay and they couldn't go home again—yet there had to be some escape for them. Oddly enough, there was!"

@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "Stalemate" by Basil Wells, from If Worlds of Science Fiction (Nov. 1954).
"The rules of a duel between gentlemen are quite different from the rules of war between nations."

@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "Henry Horn's X-Ray Eye Glasses" by Dwight V. Swain, from Amazing Stories (Dec. 1942).
"Henry Horn had a new invention; a pair of glasses that worked on the x-ray principle. But he didn't expect them to reveal Nazi secret agents and their works of sabotage!"

@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "Let There Be Light" by Horace Brown Fyfe, from If Worlds of Science Fiction (Nov. 1954).
"No matter what the future, one factor must always be reckoned with—the ingenuity of the human animal"

@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "The Old Martians" by Roger Phillips Graham, from If Worlds of Science Fiction (March 1952).
"They opened the ruins to tourists at a dollar a head but they reckoned without The OLD MARTIANS."

@Two-Fisted Tales of True-Life Weird Romance: "The Alien Vibration" by Hannes Bok,
from Avon Science-Fiction Reader # 5. Science Fiction.
"Frank Rogers heard the tortured wailing on a night in scarlet F autumn, when he was sitting alone in his cottage, cosily woolgathering before a dying fire. Instinctively he glanced around, then chuckled—for of course he was alone"

@Two-Fisted Tales of True-Life Weird Romance: "Matto Grosso Fury" by Gordon MacCreagh, from Jungle Stories vol. 4. #. 11. Adventure.
"Dave snapped a shot at Laredo over his log . . . as surely as shooting meat."







@Every Day Fiction: "A Dance to End Our Final Day" by Beth Cato.
@Flashes in the Dark: "Milepost 44" by Tammy A. Branom.
@Flashes in the Dark: "A Mother’s Day Visit" by Nancy A. Cavanaugh.
@365 tomorrows: "Indiana Girl" by Roi R. Czechvala.
@365 tomorrows: "Come On Out" by Jason Frank.
@Weirdyear: "Big Brother" by Harris Tobias
@Quantum Muse: "The Apple did not Fall" by Paul Clint.
@Brain Harvest: "Space Falling" by Jon Hakes.
@Mindflights: [Poem] "Upon the Leviathan's Back" by WC Roberts
@Daily Science Fiction: "Her Old Man" by Chuck Rothman.







@Fantasy Magazine: "Creation" by Jeffrey Ford, read by Rajan Khanna.
[Description above]

@The Drabblecast - linked earlier as streaming only "Boojum Part II" by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette is now available in MP3 download (Part One is Here).
"The first sign was the chief engineers frowning and going into huddles at odd moments. And then Black Alice began to feel it herself, the way Vinnie was… she didn’t have a word for it because she’d never felt anything like it before"

Serial Audio
@The author's site: "The Starter Episode #13" by Scott Sigler.
"Tier One season kicks off. Do you have money on Coranadillana Cloud Killers start the season against the To Pirates. And your own Ionath Krakens prepare for their opener against the Isis Ice Storm. "

Fan Audio
@Misfits Audio: Green Lantern Man Without Fear: “Questionable Motives”
"The Guardians are preparing to make a few announcements to their Green Lantern Corps. Guy and Sodam say goodbye to their lives as they knew them while John punches in at his new job."









Encounter Magazine has its fourth issue out for PDF download (older issues available). [via Star Frontiersman]. Among the highlights
"A Darkened World" by Jesse Walker. The Dark Crystal™ for Classic D&D® Part I
"DM’s Toolkit: Random Curiosities" by Howard Olsen. Oddities for your Labyrinth Lord™ game
"Dragons of Lore" by Thomas Daly Put some Norse myth into your Classic D&D® dragons
"Quest for the Enchanted Sword" by Jimm Johnson - adventure for young players of D&D®

Looks very good.

More Cool Gaming Items
Adventure Dark & Deep Players Manual v 1.1 (errata fixed and other updates) [via Greyhawk Grognard].
@Rule of the Dice: [Magic Items] "Three of Swords" Three detailed magic swords.
@The Land of NOD: [Table] "Portal Destination"
@The Land of NOD: [Class] "Jack of All Trades"
@Of Pedantry: [Charts] "Tolls and Traveling" and "Wilderness Travel System" [via RPG Bloggers]
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [Magic Item] "Anvil of Drang-Zhor"
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [Spells] "Punchdoor" and "Laughing Pillar"
@Underworld Kingdom: [Magic Item] "Memory Crystals of the Shapers"
@Netherwerks: [Monster] "Miasmagaster"
@Netherwerks: [Spell] "Processions of the Damned"
@Zalchis: [Table] "More Damned Things"
@A Field Guide to Doomsday: [Monster] "Bearcuda" Mutant Future.
@WotC: [Art] "Beholder Art Segmentation"
@Kobokd Quarterly: [Monster] "Astral Capreae" 4E
@DriveThruRPG: [Battle Map] "The Hall of the Well"
@DriveThruRPG: "108 Terrible Character Portraits"
@DriveThruRPG: "Raven Downs Dungeon Virtual Table Top Map Set"