The Hitchhiker's Guide to Free Fiction

Good morning!  There's some good text science fiction for you this morning, as well as good audio fiction in a variety of genres.  And there's some  interesting stuff in the "other genres" section, including some pulp fiction from which this post's art comes. More to come today.  Hat tip to the honorable Sir Regan Wolfrom of SF Signal for a couple good of links.





Fiction
• At Escape Pod: "Immersion" by Aliette de Bodard. Science Fiction.
     "You stand in front of the mirror–it shifts and trembles, reflecting only what you want to see–eyes that feel too wide, skin that feels too pale, an odd, distant smell wafting from the compartment’s ambient system that is neither incense nor garlic, but something else, something elusive that you once knew."

• At Omni Reboot: "The Landline" by Bruce Sterling. Science Fiction.
     "The teenage kids hanging out at my machine shop didn’t know why I wanted a telephone. A plug-in phone, with wires hanging out of it, was a joke to them. They’d never seen a fax machine in their lives."

• At Omni Reboot: "I Arise Again" by Rudy Rucker. Science Fiction.
     "At night, alone in my burrow, I’d rub my feelers over the emerging good reviews. My quill would stiffen, my ink-sac would fill. I wrote more beatnik SF novels."

• Flash Fiction at 365 Tomorrows: "Boundary’s Edge" by T.P. Keating. Science Fiction.

Audio Fiction
• At Escape Pod: "Immersion" by Aliette de Bodard. Science Fiction.
     "You stand in front of the mirror–it shifts and trembles, reflecting only what you want to see–eyes that feel too wide, skin that feels too pale, an odd, distant smell wafting from the compartment’s ambient system that is neither incense nor garlic, but something else, something elusive that you once knew."

• At Pseudopod: "Prisoner of Peace" by David Tallerman. Horror.
      "For all that, I can see every brick in the wall, and every crack in every brick. I think somehow that if I only looked hard enough I could even see into those cracks, and scrutinize their furthest depths."

• At Radio Drama Revival: "Dreaming Fire" and "The Lighted Bridge" by Kristin Cato. Fantasy.
     "A prehistoric woman falls into ice, then unexpectedly wakes up in a French museum thousands of years later."

• At WMG Publishing: "Time, Expressed as an Entrée" by Robert T. Jeschonek. Science Fiction.
       “to play with the nature of time itself, exploring the perception of time versus the reality of it.”

Other Genres

• Fiction at the New Yorker: "Meet the President!" by Zadie Smith.
• Fiction at Online Pulps: "Klump to the Rescue" by Joe Archibald (1943), "Emperor Blackmail" by Steve Fisher (1937), and "New Year's Decision" by Johnston McCulley (1949). Pulp, Noir, Humor, Western.
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "Up the Hill" by Heather Morris.
• Mythology at Project Gutenberg: The Golden Bough (Third Edition, Vol. 11 of 12). by James Frazier.

Tuesday Treats

 More great free fiction.



[Art from "Dinner in Audoghast" linked in fiction below]





Fiction
• At Author's Site: "Moments" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Science Fiction.
     "“We have to be prepared,” Hoa Nguyen said as she strapped on her laser pistol. She also carried a stun stick. She had attached an emergency aid patch to the inside of her left wrist. Her black hair was pulled back, and she wore a medium-level environmental suit. With a soft voice command, the suit would seal around her ankles and wrists, raise a hood that would cover her entire face, and protect her against a hostile environment. She hoped she wouldn’t have to use it. “Everything could change in an instant.”

• At Beneath Ceaseless Skies: "The Barber and the Count" by Michael Haynes. Fantasy.
    "With the first snip, the count spoke again. 'Filip's hand shook the last time I was in his shop. A man can't have his hair cut by someone he does not trust. Your hand will be true. Will it not, barber?'"

• At Beneath Ceaseless Skies: "The Mermaid Caper" by Rich Larson. Fantasy.
     "The Baron stared long at the tank, and Crane and Gilchrist saw for the first time an unfocused quality to his eyes, a faint gray fog. 'I want her to be real,' he muttered, folding his scarred hands together. 'She does look real.'"

• At The Black Gate: "The Cremator’s Tale" by Steven H Silver, Fantasy.
     "Hoggar, staggering home from Rathskill’s tavern, was blown sideways by the blast and instantly sobered up. He looked at Pargama’s Tower and saw the last remnants of the explosion fade to nothingness. A shower of brilliant stars rained down on the stone tower, leaving small green spots in his vision. He sat down on a rainbarrel and waited for his eyesight to clear."

• At The Colored Lens: "Those Who Do Not Reap" by Kris Millering.
      "From horizon to horizon, water. Trade winds go from west to east, and carry weather and fish with them. Wind and weather bring us news of the world, in the form of all manner of things that float. A string of islands are our own, we and the cousins. Fifteen islands, from tiny Ike to the largest, Yuhime. Ours is the northernmost, Liipil, an island that catches the winds, the volcano beneath dead as our ancestors. As you go south, the land becomes more active, and the cousins become more numerous."

• At Daily Science Fiction: "Legerdemain" by Gabriel Murray.
       "When he looks at you it's obvious he has no idea what manner of fellow you are, and that is how you know that you've got him. No one likes knowledge, after all, least of all curious individuals like Spencer."

• At Lightspeed: "Dinner in Audoghast" by Bruce Sterling, Fantasy.
      "Delightful Audoghast! Renowned through the civilized world, from Cordova to Baghdad, the city spread in splendor beneath a twilit Saharan sky. The setting sun threw pink and amber across adobe domes, masonry mansions, tall, mud-brick mosques, and open plazas thick with bristling date-palms. The melodious calls of market vendors mixed with the remote and amiable chuckling of Saharan hyenas."

• At Lightspeed: "Deep Blood Kettle" by Hugh Howey. Science Fiction.
     "They say the sky will fill with dust in a bad way if we don’t do something soon. My teacher Mrs. Sandy says that if the meteor hits, it’ll put up enough dirt to block the sun, and everything will turn cold for a long, long while. When I came home and told Pa about this, he got angry. He called Mrs. Sandy a bad word, said she was teaching us nonsense. I told him the dinosaurs died because of dust in the sky. Pa said there weren’t no such thing as dinosaurs."

• At Tor.com: "Do Not Touch" by Prudence Shen.
     "Lane doesn’t understand why people have such a hard time following directions. All these paintings are clearly marked “DO NOT TOUCH” for a reason."

Flash Fiction

• At Every Day Fiction: "Wish Fulfillment" by Georgina Allen. Fantasy.
• At Quantum Muse: "Starry Night" by Roi Czechvala.  19
• At 365 Tomorrows: "The Loaner" by Dave Rigby. Science Fiction.

Audio Fiction
• At Author's Site: "The MVP Episode #28" by Scott Sigler, Science Fiction. Football. 
      "Quentin learns of a love triangle between John Tweedy, Rebecca Montagne, and a mystery person. The Krakens struggle to keep their playoff hopes alive as we head into the final three games of the season. It's not over yet, folks, can Ionath put together a late-season run and take a shot at the title?"

• At Beneath Ceaseless Skies: "The Barber and the Count" by Michael Haynes. Fantasy.
     Describes above

• At Clarkesworld: "Guest of Honor" by Robert Reed. Science Fiction.
     "One of the robots offered to carry Pico for the last hundred meters, on its back or cradled in its padded arms; but she shook her head emphatically, telling it, “Thank you, no. I can make it myself.” The ground was grassy and soft, lit by glowglobes and the grass-colored moon."

• At Lightspeed: "Deep Blood Kettle" by Hugh Howey. Science Fiction.
    Described above.

• At SFFaudio: "The Door In The Wall" by H.G. Wells.
    "Afterwards, as I sat up in bed and sipped my morning tea, I found myself trying to account for the flavour of reality that perplexed me in his impossible reminiscences, by supposing they did in some way suggest, present, convey--I hardly know which word to use--experiences it was otherwise impossible to tell."

• At Tales of Old: "The Book Box" by Roberta Branca. Ghosts.
      "Darts of arctic air puncture my skin through layers of underclothes, dress, coat, and wool blanket. Ari huddles against my bosom, his small arms wrapped tightly around my waist. Like my fellow passengers, I try to limit my movements so as not to rock the boat further. The waves around us all seem to defeat our purpose."

Other Genres

• Audio at Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine: "The Method in Her Madness" by Tom Savage.
• Audio at Classics On-the-Go: "The Tale of Two Bad Mice" by Beatrix Potter. 
• Audio at Protecting Project Pulp: “The Queen of Wheats” by Anonymous. Confession.
• Fiction at the New Yorker: "The Night of the Satellite" by T. Coraghessan Boyle.
• Fiction at Online Pulps: "The Frustrations of Wang Soo" by Wilbur S. Peacock [1949] and "Shadow of Fear" by Wayland Rice [1945]. Pulp-Western-Noir.

Four eZines, The Black Star Passes, and More.

More great free eZines today as well as a few more single stories. There are a few big-name writers as well as several promising newcomers. And for fans of classic SF, libriVox has a free audiobook of "The Black Star Passes" by John Wood Campbell Jr.. I'm still catching up, so it will probably be at least a week before some categories make more than a token appearance.

Today's illustration is from the serial linked below, "The Seventh Execution" by Amber E. Scott.








Now Posted: Flurb #12

• "Fjaerland" by Rudy Rucker and Paul Di Filippo.
• "The Onset of a Paranormal Romance" by Bruce Sterling.
• "The Curse of the Were-Penis" by Emily C. Skaftun.
• "Everything Is Broken" by John Shirley.
• "Pulped And Bound Monsters" by Adam Callaway
• "The Oyster and Alice O." by Anna Tambour.
• "The Robert Armstrong Syndicated Newspaper Strip" by A. S. Salinas.
• "Gertrude and Ludwig Spin A Web" by Justin Patrick Moore.
• "I Can’t Escape From You" by Brendan Byrne.
• "Xuanito" by Ernest Hogan.
• "Big Ripples Without a Splash" by Don Webb.
• "Concerning Tavia" by Martin Hayes.
• "Walls Between Worlds" by Will Ellwood.
• "After the Thaw" by Eileen Gunn.

Now Posted The Fifth Dimension Ed. 13, #3 Sept. 2011

• "God Felt Regret" by D.N. Calkins.
• "Ghost in Rock" by Ross Gresham.
• "A Return to Paradise" by Tony Peak.
• "Cold Comfort" by Jennifer Rachel Baumer.

Now Posted: New Myths #16. Speculative Fiction.

• "At the Center of the World" by Kenneth Mark Hoover.
• "Bread Crumbs and Thigh Bones" by Amy Sundberg.
• "Out of Frozen Shadow" by Sylvia Hiven.
• "Expiration Date" by Yeoryios Pantazis.

Now Posted: Electric Spec V. 6, #3 August 31, 2011. Speculative Fiction.

• "Monkey Talk" by T. Lucas Earle.
• "Justice Like a Mighty River" by Alter S. Reiss.
• "The Coincidence Factory" by Fredrick Obermeyer.
• "Tooth and Claw" by Rina Gonzales.
• "Stranded (with Porkchop)" by Rich Matrunick.

@Wiley Writers: "The Fortress of Solicitude" by Laura Givens. Superhero.

"Extra! Extra! Sex-crazed girls killing local lads in the streets of Newark! Read all about it! It’s 1938 and Kong the Avenger is out to solve the most bizarre case of his short career as a mystery man. He may need a little help from his friends."

@Ray Gun Revival: "Galactic Wonders" by Matthew Wuertz. Science Fiction.

"The unpretentious headquarters of Galactic Wonders is a suite of rooms in a one-story building in Naperville, just outside of Chicago. I think the space was designed for a dentist or doctor because there’s a lobby just inside the front door with a sliding glass window on the far wall."

@Aoife's Kiss: "The Suicide Inspector" by J. J. Steinfeld. Science Fiction.

"Though I wasn't a Rebel or a Weasel from the Underground, I once despaired totally of having a sensible place in society. My hopelessness was so thorough that thoughts of death occupied me night and day. My current work now bathes all my previous dark thoughts in the deepest irony. Just a year ago I wished to extinguish myself. I was simultaneously drifting and dangling, questioning the wisdom of the State, a breath away from curses and irrevocable acts."

Serial Fiction
@Paizo: "The Seventh Execution -Chapter Two: The Faithful False" by Amber E. Scott. Fantasy.

"We retreated into a network of side streets where we could escape if necessary and where we'd easily hear anyone approaching. The night was cool enough to frost our breath. The smell of refuse lingered beneath the familiar city smells of dirt, sweat, horse dung, and boiled potatoes."

@LibriVox: "The Black Star Passes" by John Wood Campbell Jr., read by "KirksVoice"

"A sky pirate armed with superior weapons of his own invention… First contact with an alien race dangerous enough to threaten the safety of two planets… The arrival of an unseen dark sun whose attendant marauders aimed at the very end of civilization in this Solar System."

@Wiley Writers: "The Fortress of Solicitude" by Laura Givens. Superhero. [See above]

Yuri Gagarin and Cool Free Items

Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's famous flight, the start of humanity's greatest accomplishment. Just wanted to take a moment to join countless others honoring his accomplishment.

As usual, some cool free items follow.



Fiction
@Lightspeed: "Maneki Neko" by Bruce Sterling.
“It’s only a career,” said Tsuyoshi, sitting up on his futon and adjusting his pajamas. “You worry too much.”
And don't miss the "Author Spotlight" on Bruce Sterling by Erin Stocks.


@The Author's Website: "The First Conquest of Earth" by David W. Goldman, from Analog Science Fiction and Fact (Jan/Feb 2011). [via Free Speculative Fiction Online]
"When the alien fleet was first sighted just beyond the asteroid belt, end-of-the-world riots broke out in cities around the globe. But when astronomers calculated that the huge, silent ships would take nearly three weeks to reach Earth, all but the most committed rioters felt their enthusiasm wilt."

Free Speculative Fiction Online has added several more additions to its massive database of online speculative fiction.

And Free SF Reader has new additions daily to its ginormous collection of free genre links.






@PodCastle: Episode #152: "The Hortlak" by Kelly Link, read by Eric Luke
"Recently Batu had evolved past the need for more than two or three hours’ sleep, which was good in some ways and bad in others. Eric had a suspicion he might figure out how to talk to Charley if Batu were tucked away"

Serial Audio:
@Drama Pod: Journey to the Centre of the Earth Part Nine.
Jules Verne's classic SF adventure.






@Flashes in the Dark: "Laughing Dragon" by Jim Mountfield.
@365 tomorrows: "The Interview" by Jason Frank.
@MindFlights: [Poem] "Starship Astronaut" by Martin Elster.
@The World SF Blog: "The Man Who Was Stronger Than God" by Guy Hasson.
@Daily Science Fiction: "The Rules of the Regeneration Manual" by Andrew L Findlay.
@Daily Science Fiction: "Wings for Icarus" by P. Djeli Clark.

Gaming
@The Land of NOD: "Monsters of Mu-Pan III"
Gyuki - Ox-Ogre, Kasha, Ninja, and Shamshir.


Underworld Ink: [Art] "An online portfolio consisting of old school rpg illustrations, maps, and diagrams lovingly handcrafted by John Larrey and Jason Sholtis" [via The Land of Nod]



@Emerald Press: Combat Advantage #21: Power Surges. [4e] 50 pages.
"digs deeper into the rules of 4e and offers up the opportunity to bend, twist, and assume control of your campaign." (also has some potentially convertible new monsters) [Via DriveThruRPG]

Short But Sweet Gaming Items
@A Character For Every Game: [Adventure] "Infinite caves of the Shroom Goblins – Final Entry"
@The Land of NOD: [Encounter] "Mu-Pan Encounter XXI"
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Monster] "Watcher in the Woods"
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Spell] "False Tome"
@Blog on the Borderlands: [New Spell] "Alizaar's Arc of Lightning"
@Big Ball of No Fun: [New Monsters] "Ieles"and "Jaculus"
@Sea of Stars: [New Spell] "Iris’ Cape" and "Janus’ Doorway"
@The Zhodani Base: "Traveller inspiration - free e-books"

Other Coolness
@My Star Trek Scrapbook: "1978 Article on Trek's Computers" scanned from Science Fantasy Film Classics

Tanith Lee Fiction, Galaxy Magazine, Scott Sigler, Monks, and More.

Another Monday and another good haul of free genre items. Good fiction, highlighted by a Tanith Lee! short, audio fiction, though I'm sad to see The Witch Hunter Chronicles reach its conclusion, gaming goodies, and more.




Fiction
@Fantasy Magazine: "The God Orkrem" by Tanith Lee.
"To a man bereaved of all as I was, distance and time are only words. For me then, and also now, only one word any more can exist: God. The god Orkrem."





@Ray Gun Revival: "The Giants" by J. Chant.
"At the age of sixteen the great Champollion had mastered a dozen languages; at the age of ten Oyla had mastered two dozen languages from eight different worlds. At the age of thirty-two Champollion translated the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt. At the age of twelve Oyla translated the language of the people she named the Dancers."

@The Canadian Science Fiction Review: "Don't Move a Muscle, Mr. Liberty" by Jordan Ellinger.
"Crumpled leather the colour of a fisherman’s tan, it sits on its head in the middle of the cobblestone plaza. It is a great fisher of men, my hat. It sweeps up passing tourists and holds them before me, their jowls hanging loose like gasping catfish as I ply my trade."

@MindFlights: "Let My Ship Sail Like Brendan's" by Joseph C. Romano.
"A monk's cargo holds the key to Earth's salvation. "

@Dark Valentine Magazine: "A Coral Pillow" by G. Wells Taylor.
"Yes, there on the salted sea breeze, he saw a golden coil of hair. It danced in the air and beckoned, but he could see nothing more."

@BestScienceFictionStories: "The Exterminator’s Want-Ad" (2010) by Bruce Sterling. Reviewed with a link to the story online.

Serial Fiction:
@Kat And Mouse: Guns For Hire: "Payback" Part One by Abner Senires.
"Franco Bianchi, Righetti family consigliere, stood in the middle of the Red Dog's back hallway near the rear entrance, hands folded in front of him, and looked at us from beneath bushy eyebrows. 'We have a problem, ladies,' he said."

Classic SF:
@Project Gutenberg: "Palos of the Dog Star Pack" (1918) by J. U. Giesy. [via Triplanetary]
"He stood on the side of a mountain in the midst of an almost tropic vegetation. Giant trees were about him, giant ferns sprouted from the soil. But here, as on earth, the color of the leaves was green."

"Keep Your Shape" by Robert Sheckley. (from Galaxy Science Fiction November 1953.)
"Only a race as incredibly elastic as the Grom could have a single rule of war" At Munseys and Project Gutenberg.

and "Wheels Within" (from Galaxy Science Fiction May 1952.)
"Never ask 'Who am I and where do I come from?' The answers may not be what you'd expect!" At Munseys and Project Gutenberg.


Audio Fiction:





@Beam Me Up: Episode #253 featuring stories by David Steffen & Jason Kahn.
Audio fiction and SF/Science news.

@Podcastle: Miniature #60 "Cranberry Honey" by Amal El-Mohtar, read by Marguerite Croft.
There is fire in his wrists, fire in his walk, fire beneath his fingernails. He is red, redder than rowan berries, for rowan doesn’t bleed as cranberries do, and it is cranberries that he gathers and stews and crushes, cranberries in which he steeps his skin.

Serial Audio:
@Scott Sigler's website: "The Starter" part six.
"The free agents have arrived at the Touchback, and this season Quentin gets input on personnel decisions. What kind of talent will he add to the Krakens roster?"

@The Witch Hunter Chronicles: The Final Episode – "Requiem"
"The end of our series. It’s been a long time in the making and we are very happy to be able to present it to you at last."


Flash Fiction:



@Every Day Fiction: "And That's Uncle Thom" by Loren Arthur Moreno.
@365 tomorrows: "Anthropic" by Ian Rennie.
@Trollish Delver: "Markings" by Scott Malthouse.
@Daily Science Fiction: "The Cloud Dragon Ate Red Balloons" by Tom Cardamone.
@Every Day Fiction: "Impish Balance" by Douglas Pugh.
@365 tomorrows: "Biding" by Steve Smith.


Gaming
@RPG Creatures, another extremely well illustrated monster, The Mingossi, easily adaptable to nearly any fantasy RPG.
"In this case the mushroom is nothing like the delicious or toxic little things found in the forest, but a living, hungry entity, very similar to a cephalopod mollusk – an octopus."


Online HERE.


@A Character for Every Game: Dodecahedron #3 featuring, Uniquely Undead, - Undead Guardians of Veroth, Reskinning Dragons, Ruins of the Gorgon, And 48 Random Curses.



Issues one through three are in PDF downloads HERE.




@Dragonsfoot: "The Monastery of the Order of the Crimson Monks"
An Adventure Module for Original and First Edition Roleplaying Games & Their Simulacra. Suitable for a Party of 4 to 8 Player Characters, Level 5 to 9. (Early edition D&D or retro clones).



In PDF download HERE.



Small, But Cool, Gaming Freebies.
@The Land of NOD: [Encounter] Mu-Pan - Encounter VII.
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Magic Item] Trickster’s Parchment.
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Spell] Watery Ensnarement.
@Axe & Hammer: [Price Guide] Paying the Troops: Officers.
@Jeff's Gameblog: [New Spell] Desanguinate Foe. - Gross