Monday, December 10, 2012

Leinster, Black Gate, and More

It's a good batch of free fiction today with a variety, fantasy, science Fiction, and horror, of stories, both new and old.  Enjoy, and don't forget to tell these excellent sites that you appreciate them.  More tomorrow.



[Art from "The Red Dust" blow]






Fiction
At Black Gate: "The Trade" by Mark Rigney. Weird Fantasy.
     "Gemen the Antiques Dealer arrived in Andolin late in spring, the year after that nation’s disastrous civil war had lumbered to a close. He spoke the language tolerably well, but always with an accent that some claimed hailed from the far west, while others insisted it smacked of the South: Melony, or even the Thornlands, where the sun burned people’s eyes the color of molten copper."

At Interstellar Fiction: "Gobblefunk" by Thomas Lambert. Science Fiction.
     “Yeah.” He sparked the cigarette and exhaled, shrouding us both in thick blue smoke. “It’s like… clearing your mind, man. Focusing on a single thought that….isn’t.” He leaned back again, and rolled the cigarette between his thumb and forefinger, making the ember dance in the gloom of the bar. It trailed light and I knew the drugs were finally kicking in.

At L5R: "Scions of the Colonies, Part 1" by Shawn Carman. Fantasy.
     "In the distant realm once known as the Ivory Kingdoms, the samurai of Rokugan set into motion events that will change the face of the world they have so recently conquered and added to their own." 

At Mindflights: "The King's Passing" by Lindsey Duncan. Fantasy.
      "The summer palace was radiant, the courtyard bedecked with lanterns like teardrops of the gods. The royal masks of my ancestors wore hollow smiles as they watched from the walls. Around me swirled a labyrinth of opulence, nobles of the south, master mages, wild kindred – all here to witness the announcement of my future husband."

At Project Gutenberg: "The Red Dust" by Murray Leinster. Science Fiction. 1927.
    "Burl raised his spear, and plunged down on the back of the moving thing, thrusting his spear with all the force he could command. He had fallen upon the shining back of one of the huge, meat-eating beetles, and his spear had slid across the horny armor and then stuck fast, having pierced only the leathery tissue between the insect's head and thorax." Sequel to The Mad Planet.

At Shadow Unit: "Single Bullet Theory" Part 1" by Chelsea Polk. Science Fiction
    "That bit about bartenders being confessors is true, so Dice usually kept an eye on that one stool when a new person came in. But he didn't expect Tyler to ignore his favorite seat by the window to sit up at the bar."

At Wily Writers: "Nihil Est" by Fosco Graves. Urban Horror.
     "this story uses the point of view of an educator to limn an urban world so fatally flawed that those born into it sometimes prefer to be simply 'unmade'."

Flash Fiction
Audio Fiction
At Wily Writers: "Nihil Est" by Fosco Graves. Urban Horror.
     Described above.

Other Genres
  • Audio at Crime City Central: "Hidden Gifts" by Steve Hockensmith.
  • Flash Audio at Toasted Cake: "The Poinsettia" by L. Lambert Lawson.
  • Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Never Again" by Michael T Schaper.

2 comments:

David Scholes said...

Hi Dave

I'm never sure of the best way to contact you. I'm making my "Essential Reading in Science Fiction" collection of short stories free on Amazon for 5 days from 12.01am Friday 14 December (US Pacific Time). There's an excerpt from the book currently on the Bewildering Stories site:
http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue506/essential_ex.html

Cheers

Dave Tackett said...

I'll definitely link it. The best way to contact me is probably though my e-mail (listed under my profile) but her is OK too.