Astounding, Hub, Hobbit News, and More

 Even more good free fantasy and science fiction, both classic and contemporary.  And some interesting news of likely interest to many genre readers.

[Art from Astounding Stories of Super-Science]









Fiction
In Hub 145: "Incident on Oblomov" by Eric Brown. Science Fiction.
      "I turned to Ella, my co-pilot. She was lounging in her sling, reading from her com-screen. I tried to keep my gaze from her lustrous Venezuelan eyes. For a vat-grown premier grade AI, she was disconcertingly beautiful." 

At Adventures in Fiction: Thieves' Honor ep 17: "In the Enemy's House" by Keanan Brand.
     "What were you thinking, Bosko? Talking up the merchandise like that?" Using a torch so small he appeared to squeeze fire from his fist, a bondsman welded manacles around the wrists of the prisoner lying prone in the courtyard. "The Vortuna slave run teach you nothin'?"

At Project Gutenberg: Astounding Stories of Super-Science January 1930. Science Fiction.

"The Beetle Horde" by Victor Rousseau.
     "Only Two Young Explorers Stand in the Way of the Mad Bram's Horrible Revenge—the Releasing of His Trillions of Man-sized Beetles upon an Utterly Defenseless World. (Part One of a Two-part Novel.)"
"The Cave of Horror Captain" by S. P. Meek.
     "Screaming, the Guardsman Was Jerked Through the Air. An Unearthly Screech Rang Through the Cavern. The Unseen Horror of Mammoth Cave Had Struck Again!"
"Phantoms of Reality" by Ray Cummings.
     "Red Sensua's Knife Came up Dripping—and the Two Adventurers Knew that Chaos and Bloody Revolution Had Been Unleashed in that Shadowy Kingdom of the Fourth Dimension. (A Complete Novel.)"
"The Stolen Mind" by M. L. Staley.
       "What Would You Do, If, Like Quest, You Were Tricked, and Your Very Mind and Will Stolen from Your Body?"
"Compensation" by C. V. Tench.
      "Professor Wroxton Had Disappeared—But in the Bottom of the Mysterious Crystal Cage Lay the Diamond from His Ring!"
"Tanks" by Murray Leinster. 
      "Two Miles of American Front Had Gone Dead. And on Two Lone Infantrymen, Lost in the Menace of the Fog-gas and the Tanks, Depended the Outcome of the War of 1932."
"Invisible Death" by Anthony Pelcher. 
     "On Lees' Quick and Clever Action Depended the Life of "Old Perk" Ferguson, the Millionaire Manufacturer Threatened by the Uncanny, Invisible Killer."

At Strange Horizons: "The Three Immigrations" by Rose Lemberg. Speculative Poem.

Audio Fiction
At SFFAudio: "The Queen Of The Black Coast" by Robert E. Howard. Sword and Sorcery.
     "Hoofs drummed down the street that sloped to the wharfs. The folk that yelled and scattered had only a fleeting glimpse of a mailed figure on a black stallion, a wide scarlet cloak flowing out on the wind. Far up the street came the shout and clatter of pursuit, but the horseman did not look back"

E-Books
Via Pixel of Ink: Beyond Hades (The Prometheus Wars) by Luke Romyn. Fantasy.
At Free eBooks Daily: Spell Checked by C.G. Powell. Paranormal.
At Smashwords:

• "Little Boy Blue" by G.M. Reinfeldt. Horror. 5k.
• "The Wood Sprite's Tale" by Lachelle Redd. Fantasy. 16k.
• "Watching Over Her" by Bliss Addison. Paranormal. 15k.
• Hourglass by Karina Crandon. Paranormal. 79k.
• "Deception: The Prequel" by Stacy Claflin. YA Fantasy. 25k.
• The Evanescence Chronicles: Volume I by Alexandra Pelaez. Fantasy. 152k.
• "Arcane Genesis: Depression Lock" by Sean Roney. 3k.
• "Next Door" by Lori R. Lopez. Horror. Ghost. 5k.
• "Horrendus" by Lori R. Lopez. Horror. 3k.
• "Second Chance" by Ardy. Horror. 10k.
• "Little Boy Blue" by G.M. Reinfeldt. Weird. 5k.
• "Ghoulgirls Files Number One, Sting of the Master" by David Johanek. Horror. 11k.

Science News

• "Life abounds in Antarctic lake sealed under ice"
• "Do Aliens Use Hairspray?"
• "Chemistry That Sparked Origin of Life"
• "Jikes! NASA Backpedeling!"
• "Pluto Atmosphere Larger Than Thought, Study Shows"
• "Failure Of India's Big Rocket Project Is Symbolic Of Deep Structural Problems"
• "One Year After Launch, Curiosity Rover Busy on Mars"

 Palaeontology/History

• "Giant Eocene bird was 'gentle herbivore', study finds"
• "Nordic Witchcraft in Transition: Impotence, Hersery and Diabolism in 14th-century Bergen"

 Fantasy Film News

• "Hobbit - Production video #9: what bird is that?"
• "Latest 'Hobbit' video diary offers a sneak peek at CG goblins and trolls: Watch"
• "James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz – OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Movie Preview"
• "Watch a Video From the Thor: The Dark World Set!"
• "'Twilight,' Bond Dominate Fruitful Thanksgiving"

 Misc.
"A Visual Timeline of the Future Based on Famous Fiction" Via Popular Science.