Just Some Good, Free Fiction Today

Some good free genre reads today from some great sites. Quite a variety, so hopefully there is something for everyone.


Today's illustration is from "The Cave" in the classic SF section.








@ChiZine: Dark fiction.


"Tiny Drops" by L. L. Hannett.
"Some parents use razor blades. Others try sewing scissors, or reinforced darning needles, or pieces of heirloom stained glass."

"Anna on the Threshold" by K. Z. Perry.
"For Anna fear was defined by its scent."

"Voodoo Child" by Jon Skovron.
"“So much like . . .” Poujean started to say, but when he saw the pain flash across Paul’s face, he stopped himself. He looked back down at Baby Jael and ruffled her curly black hair."

"By Appointment" by Leslie Claire Walker.
"Malek put the finishing touches on the compass rose and wiped freckles of blood off the woman’s pale belly. She’d chosen red instead of black and grey."

@Tor.com: "Time Considered as a Series of Thermite Burns in No Particular Order" by Damien Broderick. Science Fiction.
"My time machine was disguised as a Baronne Henriette de Snoy rosebush in full bloom. I left it in the Royal Botanic Gardens, next to a thicket of imported English foliage."


@Overland Literary Journal: "Finders Keepers" by Clare Strahan. Science Fiction.
"Last-Night’s eyes were green. Piercing. Minch had never been able to resist them. ‘Only three Complexes survived the paradigm wars,’ she said. ‘And you shouldn’t have done that.’"



@Kobo: "How To Slay a Dragon" by Bill Allen. For Kobo readers. Details at SF Signal.
"Greg Hart can't slay a dragon. He'd be lucky to win a fight against one of the smaller girls at school.His only real skill is that he can run faster than any other twelve-year-old boy in his class"


Classic SF
@The Internet Archive: "The Cave" by P. Schuyler Miller, from Astounding Science Fiction (Jan. 1943). [via Marooned - Science Fiction & Fantasy books on Mars]
"On Mars the laws and customs of existence must be different, and when a dozen of a dozen races seek shelter in a cave ..."


@Project Gutenberg and Munseys: "Spillthrough" by Daniel F. Galouye, from Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy (Jan. 1953).
"Ships switching from hyper to normal space had to do it in a micro-second—if the crews were to live. But it would take Brad suicidal minutes!"

@Project Gutenberg and Munseys: "The Standardized Man" by Stephen Bartholomew, from IF Worlds of Science Fiction (Feb. 1958).
The dilemma of "The Man in the White Suit" was but a minor irritation compared to Charles and his "all-weather" suit!


More Fiction
Just a reminder, Free SF Reader is one of the great resources for finding free SF, Fantasy, and Horror. Be sure to check it out frequently.







@Daily Science Fiction: "T is for Terpsichore" by Tim Pratt, Jenn Reese, Heather Shaw, and Greg van Eekhout.
@Daily Science Fiction: "The Do It with Robots" by Eric James Stone.
@Eschatology: "Unsettled" by Ron Bruno. Horror.
@Every Day Fiction: "Programming Bugs" by Gary Pattinson. Science Fiction.
@Flashes in the Dark: "To Look is to See" by Zach Owen. Horror.
@Flashes in the Dark: "Her Name is on Their Lips" by Lori Titus. Horror.
@Rabid Fiction: "I Want You To Want Me" by Ingrid Hardy. Fantasy.
@365 tomorrows: "Serial Killer" by Duncan Shields. Science Fiction.
@365 tomorrows: "Life Virus" by Steve Smith. Science Fiction.
@Weirdyear: "Dates" By Scott Cole. Weird.
@Weirdyear: [Poem] "My poem falters and falls" by Vivekanand Jha. Weird.
@ChiZine [Poetry]:

• "Darkside" by Colleen Anderson
• "How our heroine was made of porcelain" by Jana Phipps
• "Stellate Wound" by Jena Snyder
• "Freeloader" by Mildred Tremblay
• "My Mother Married Bigfoot" by Steve Vernon