Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Tuesday Free Fiction

More good free fiction. I'm always amazed at how much good stuff is out there.  More soonish.
 




Fiction
At Daily Science Fiction: "What the Sea Wants" by P. Djeli Clark.
     "A few would remember that wasn't exactly true and that a string of shells circled his head like a crown, gleaming white in the light of the descending sun. As he walked onto the beach no one said a word. The sea after all, often brought in strange things."
At Lightspeed: "The Black Bird" by David Barr Kirtley. Fantasy.
     "The black bird on the mantelpiece spoke. It said, “Nevermore.” Spade looked up from cleaning his pistol. The bird, a black-lacquered falcon statuette, sat motionless. Spade placed the pistol down on his desk, pushed back the brim of his hat, and approached the bird. “You talk?”"
At Lightspeed:  "Nearly Departed" by Pat Cadigan. Science Fiction.
     “Three things,” I said, and held up a matching set of three fingers. “One—” I curled my index finger. “I don’t do empaths. Two—” I bent my ring finger. “I don’t get physical. Three—” I pointed the remaining finger at the old fox on the other side of the desk. “I don’t rob graves.”
At World SF Blog: "Valletta, City of Guilt" by Michael Vella.
     "The smell of thick bean soup made Mikiel’s mouth water as he crossed the courtyard. The tray he carried bore the soup, a hunk of sourdough bread, fresh goat’s cheese and an entire fresh sausage. Why do condemned men get hearty meals, he thought, I’m lucky when I get a slice of day-old bread with butter."

Audio Fiction
At LibriVox: "Beyond Lies the Wub & The Skull" by Philip K. Dick. Science Fiction.
      "Two stories in the inimitable Philip Dick style. What is a Wub? A 400 pound slovenly, fat, ungainly, drooling animal that looks like a cross between a walrus and an enormous hog?"
At LibriVox: The Emerald City by L. Frank Baum. Children's Fantasy.
At Lightspeed: "The Black Bird" by David Barr Kirtley. Fantasy.
At PodCastle: Miniature #71 "We Clever Jacks" by By Greg van Eekhout. Fantasy.
At Protecting Project Pulps: “Conjuror of the Clouds” by Muriel A. Pollexfen. Adventure.
      "He recalled the cry he strove in vain to stifle as he rushed like a reckless boy to the window, ran, ruthless of the consequences, on to the iron balcony where, hovering above, a dim shape swayed and balanced—Gray Ghost!"

Other Genres
 Audio at LibriVox: "A Study in Scarlet" (Version 4) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Mystery.
 Fiction at The New Yorker: "The Semplica-Girl Diaries" by George Saunders.


2 comments:

Reid Kemper said...

Thanks for regularly posting these links for free science fiction stories! The only problem is finding the time to read them all!

Dave Tackett said...

My pleasure, though no promises about being consistent or regular. I can certainly understand the time problem - I just try to save everything and hope to someday have time to read/listen to them all.

Thanks for commenting!