Friday Free Fiction

It's another roundup of fantastic free fiction from some of the internet's great sites.  There's a new issue of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly and more spellbinding short stories, several fun flash fiction stories and cool comic books stories, as well as awesome audio fiction from three of my many favorites.  There's also non-genre audio from some small press 'zine called The New Yorker. 

More to come barring disaster or exhaustion, your servant, Dave Tackett.

Today's QD Radio is the 1950 Dimension X adaptation of a classic story by the dean of Science Fiction, Jack Williamson, "With Folded Hands." This story is described, but with spoilers, at Wikipedia.

 Today's illustration is from "Morgan's Run" which is linked below.


Fiction
• At Aurora Wolf: "When Grandma Came to Tea" by Frances Gow.
       "I glanced at Gran over the rim of my can and sucked the cold baked beans into my mouth, swallowing without bothering to chew. They slid down my throat with slimy satisfaction. I belched loudly and she winced. Ratman looked up and grinned, as he fumbled with another can."

• At Cosmos: "Morgan's Run" by Richard A. Lovett. Science Fiction.
      "The speaker implant behind her ear had been the one that really hurt. Though the fuel cell powered by her blood glucose had run a close second."

• At Daily Science Fiction: "When She is Empty" by Damien Walters Grintalis.
      "Kat knew something was wrong the moment she opened the front door. There was a change in the weight of the air and divots in the rug where Iriana's wingback chair should be."

• At Silver Blade: "The Guild of Swordsmen: Part 3" by Kristin Janz. Fantasy.
      "Zuvius.left them soon after the parade had passed by. From that point on the afternoon passed in a blur of drinking, snacking on street food, and being accosted by Saulius’s relatives, friends, and ex-girlfriends. Towards evening, Saulius and Alzadin left to attend the Swordsmen’s Guild feast in honor of the Emperor’s birthday, leaving Lida alone with Merolliay."

• Now posted: Heroic Fantasy Quarterly – Issue 15

"Dusts of War" by Ben Godby. Fantasy.
        "Get your new year started with the kind of moral ambiguity that only this tale of sorcery noir can deliver!" 
"Shadows and Hellfire" by R. Michael Burns. Fantasy.
      "The warrior Hokage and his cursed blade are back for a descent into the afterlife that will try the iron of both! 
"Kingdom of Graves" by David Charlton. Fantasy.
       "Last but far from least, fantasy newcomer Charlton delivers some solid S&S half-orc action! A mysterious plague means extra coin in the pouch for Rakhar, but in perilous times even a gravedigger can rise to the level of hero."

Flash Fiction
• At Heroic Fantasy Quarterly: "Yashub-Geb" by James Hutchings. Fantasy. Poem.
• At Heroic Fantasy Quarterly: "The Bull of Conflict" by Lorna Smithers. Fantasy. Poem.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Cavale" by Clint Wilson. Science Fiction.
• At Weirdyear: "Lazy Ghosts" by Tyler Gates. Weird.
• At Kazka Press:

• "Brane Surgery" by David L Clements.
• "Act of Penance" by Michael Haynes.
• "Higher Walls, Sharper Wire" by Lyn Thorne-Alder.
• "The Beholder of Io" by Laura Mae Dunlap.
• "The Hum of Refuge" by Anna Ilona Mussmann. 

Audio Fiction
• At Classic Tales Podcast: "The Wizard of Oz, part 1 of 4" by L. Frank Baum. YA Fantasy.
      "Come along, Toto,” she said, “we will go to the Emerald City and ask the great Oz how to get back to Kansas again.”

•At PodCastle: "Everything You Were Looking For" by Samantha Henderson. Fantasy.
     "Never explore a cave alone like I just did. Here at the entrance, the roof domes high in the weak light, but at the back you’ll see it starts to narrow. I just went half a mile in."

• At Tales to Terrify: "Triumph" by Damir Salkovic. Horror.
      No description found.

Comics

• At Digital Comics Museum: The Thing #11. Horror. (1953).
• At Digital Comics Museum: Jumbo Comics #162. Adventure. Sci-Fi. (1952).
• At Four-Color Shadows: "Solar Patrol" Sci-Fi (1939).
• At Four-Color Shadows: "The Frozen Death" Horror. (1954).
• At Four-Color Shadows: "The End" Sci-Fi (1957).
• At The Horrors of It All: "Oh, Baby! / The Man Who Meddled!" Horror. (1954).
• At The Horrors of It All: "Horror Show! / Nightmare!" Horror. (1952/1951)
• At Pappy's Golden Age: " Tarzan - "The Reptile With a Heart" Adventure. (1955).

Other Genres

• Audio Fiction at The  New Yorker: "Love" by William Maxwell.
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Basic Rules of Public Transportation" by Hashim Hassan.