Cat Rambo, Tobias Buckell, and Other Great Free Fiction.

Some great free fiction today, including a pair of eZines - Lovecraft eZine (great horror fiction in the tradition of H. P. Lovecraft) and Schlock Magazine (a speculative fiction magazine linked for the first time here today). Also short stories from Tobias Buckell, Cat Rambo, and Eric J. Juneau. Some cool audio fiction and flash fiction round out today's links.

On a personal note, I am proud to announce that I have rejoined the award winning SF Signal as their free fiction linker, for want of a better term.

"Ha Ha! It must be remembered that Dave sent them links before and they won no awards. Then he takes a long term leave of absence and they start winning awards while he is away. Coincidence? I think not!!"









@Fantasy Magazine: "The Immortality Game" by Cat Rambo. [Also in audio form]

"Decades later the music was what really tipped Glen off. He heard a song on the radio, a brand new release, and remembered the day he’d first heard it, twenty years earlier."

@Subterranean Press: "Mirror, Mirror" by Tobias S. Buckell. YA.

"Can you see yourself in these glasses? They’re called mirrorshades. They’re antique; I found them via someone in Topeka at an estate sale. They’re not replicas, they’re actual mirrorshades. I think a cop wore them. Like thirty years ago."

@Lovecraft eZine: The June 2011 is now posted.

"The Case of the Galloway Eidolon" by Bruce Durham.

"Two had received severe chest wounds, their cotton shirts blood-soaked and torn from multiple swings of some bladed instrument. The third had suffered a more ghastly wound, a crushed cranium; the blow slicing bone and opening the forehead down to the mouth. His glazed eyes stared obscenely in opposite directions."

"The Call of the Dance" by William Meikle.

"Right from the get-go I knew there was something dodgy going on. When he showed me round the workshop he tried to explain the machinery to me. I ain’t got the schooling for stuff like that – there something about ether and emanations but it was all gobbledygook to me. I was just happy to get paid."

"Unearthly Awakening" by W.H. Pugmire.

"You have been excited by its legend – but it’s just a story for you, not something that dwells in haunted reality. I was mesmerized as you spoke of it, that day of yellow light, and so I could not resist going to look at it after we had our little meal."

"Dreams of Fire and Glass – part 2" by Neal Jansons.

"Almost submerged in the bathtub, lay a shape. It had a head, two arms and legs, but at that point the resemblance to humanity ended."

"Darius Roy’s Manic Grin" by Brian Barnett

"The walls were adequately padded. However the material appeared to be grimy from age and lack of care. Dr. Johansson made a mental note to bring up the issue with the health board. The facility was under poor management and he could stand by no longer to watch the patients suffer."

@Kasma SF: "Influx Capacitor" by Eric J. Juneau.

"A man with a receding hairline appeared at the foot of his bed, wearing a green-collared shirt and black pants. His arrival was accompanied by a loud whirring noise coming from a black box on his arm. The man had a bigger nose and a saggy face, but Martin knew he was looking at his future self."

The June issue of Schlock Magazine ["works of speculative fiction, exploring various subgenres through experimental fusions in style and format. Schlock’s contemporary themes take a playful and irreverent look at genre fiction, given individual flair by a regular rotation of writers and artists."] is now posted [via SF Signal] with:

• Fingertips by Colin Meldrum
• Tale from a Save Point by Nick Tramdack
• Juliette & Justine: Dance of the Mummies by Krista Bonello Rutter Giappone
• #260: Dark Entomology by KC Wilder
• a summer haunting by David Massengill
• Jungle by Peter Farrugia and Teodor Reljic
• Pirate! by Rachel Agius
• Oneiros and I by Bettina Borg Cardona

@SFFaudio: "The Marching Morons" by C.M. Kornbluth, read by William Coon. [via SF Signal]

"The story is set hundreds of years in the future: the date is 7-B-936. Its protagonist is John Barlow, a man from the past put into suspended animation by a freak accident involving a dental drill and anesthesia. He is revived in a dystopic future where the dysgenic breeding of humans has, in combination with intelligent people not having many children, overwhelmingly populated the world with morons."

@LibriVox: Metamorphosis or The Golden Ass by Lucius Apuleius.

"The story of the Metamorphosis, the tale of a man turned into a donkey that goes through many adventures to become a man again, inspired many other similar ones later on."

Serial Audio
@Beam Me Up: Episode #265 "Memory" part 2 by Michael Merriam.

"In the conclusion this week, Lucza Antreus finds out that what she want and what she has to do are not the same thing. We learn the real reason that her home planet and the rest of known space has spiraled into chaos and the sacrifices that will have to be made to arrest and reverse what has taken centuries to build up to."

@Author's Website: "The Starter" Episode #18 by Scott Sigler.

"Sunday Football on the UBS network brings you coverage of the Ionath Krakens' home opener against the Themala Dreadnaughts. It's Quentin on the field, while Chick McGee and Masarra the Observant bring you the action from the booth."

Fan Audio
@Misfits Audio Productions: "Green Lantern-Man Without Fear: It’s the Law."

"Sodam Yat says ‘Adieu’ to his loving parents on the planet Daxam while Sinestro gives Hal a few lessons in life on how to walk the straight and narrow path. Meanwhile, Lanterns gather on Oa as the Guardians hasten to make change!"

@Daily Science Fiction: "Sister" by Melissa Mead.
@Flashes in the Dark: "Balanced Breakfast" by Shawn El Naggar. Horror.
@Flashes in the Dark: "Cats and Dogs" by Henry Gribbin. Horror.
@365 tomorrows: "Last Supper" by Duncan Shields. Science Fiction.
@365 tomorrows: "Countermeasures" by Jessica Thomas. Science Fiction.
@365 tomorrows: "First Flight" by Andrew Bale. Science Fiction.
@Weirdyear: "The Non-Story of Sarah Hough and I" by Jake Sweet.
@Weirdyear: "The New Landlord" by Andre Farant.
@Weirdyear: "Whatever the Price" by Alan Zhukovski.
@Yesteryear Fiction: "The Mech-Maiden of Mesopotamia Part 5" by Nichole Beard. Fantasy.
@Yesteryear Fiction: "The Mech-Maiden of Mesopotamia Part 4" by Nichole Beard. Fantasy.
@Yesteryear Fiction: "The Mech-Maiden of Mesopotamia Part 3" by Nichole Beard. Fantasy.
@Eschatology: "Asher’s Ennui" by George Wilhite. Horror.
@The New Flesh: "The Whisperer" by Margie Hamilton. Horror.
@Quantum Muse: "The Tomato" DB Fuller.
@Brain Harvest: "Tincture of Regrets" by Kate Marshall. Speculative Fiction.

Innsmoth Free Press, Pathfinder Tales, Star Pirates, and More

There's some terrifyingly good Lovecraft inspired fiction today as the seventh issue of Innsmoth Free Press is out. And there's plenty more good free fiction (classic, new, and serial) linked below.

And there are some good free audio fiction and comic book stories.


Today's illustration is from "The Ironroot Deception" in the serial fiction section.











Issue #7 of Innsmoth Free Press is posted featuring:

"Cool Mist" by W.H. Pugmire.

"Night seeped into the early evening sky and made it black. I remember wandering that realm of ink in search of perfect solitude, hunting for one uninhabited place where I could sit undisturbed and weep for the soul of my young lover, dead by his own hand. "

"A Tour of the Catacombs" by Stephen Woodworth.

"And I hope there shall be no stragglers among you. As we say in the Abbey, only two sorts enter the Catacombs: the quick and the dead."

"On The Generation of Insects" by Byron Alexander Campbell.

"Democritus bears witness that men first appeared in the form of small worms, which little by little assumed human shape…After a long period of fertility, during which many monstrous and marvelous generations were brought forth, the Earth Mother became at last exhausted and sterile…."

"Nyarlathotep" Don Webb.

"I stood on the high balcony, looking eastward to the rising sun. The pillars were deep-red and the roof slightly curved, suggesting “China ” to me. But it was not China – at least, not the China of now. "

"Black Sand" by Regina Glei.

"Despite his many layers of clothing, Orin almost froze to death and cursed the Elders who had sent him on the journey through the plain to the Cone Islands in the Lake of Stone."

"Every Little Sparrow" by Melissa Sorensten.

"Phebe had overheard one of the nurses saying that Ruth White, Phebe’s 12-year-old best friend, would be the next to be lowered into such a lead-lined pit."

@Tor.com: "Six Months, Three Days" by Charlie Jane Anders .

"The man who can see the future has a date with the woman who can see many possible futures."

Classic Fiction
@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "Fly by Night" by Arthur Dekker Savage, from IF Worlds of Science Fiction (May 1954).

A young man and a young woman alone on the first over-the-moon ship. The world cheered them as the most romantic adventurers in all history. Do-gooders decried them as immoral stunters. Gaunt, serious militarists pronounced them part of the most crucial experiment ever undertaken....

@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "Mr. President" by Stephen Arr, from Galaxy Science Fiction (Nov. 1953).

He had been overwhelmingly elected. Messages of sympathy poured in, but they couldn't help ... nothing could.

@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "Death of a B.E.M." by Berkeley Livingston, from Amazing Stories (Oct. 1948).

The writer hated to create bug-eyed monsters, but they hated him too!

@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "Forsyte's Retreat" by Winston Marks, from IF Worlds of Science Fiction (May 1954).

Sextus Rollo Forsyte had his trouble with the bottle, but nothing out of a bottle ever produced such a hotel as the Mahoney-Plaza: only 260 rooms ... only two guests to a room ... but accommodating 5200 guests—all at the same time!... Floor please?

@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "Uniform of a Man" by Dave Dryfoos, from IF Worlds of Science Fiction (May 1954).

After rescue, revenge was uppermost in Chet Barfield's mind; the hideous, bestial Agvars had to be taught a lesson they'd never forget. His rescuers seemed to disagree, however—until Chet learned his lesson too!

@The Internet archive: "The Blonde from Barsoom" by Robert F. Young, from Amazing Stories (July 1962). [via Marooned - Science Fiction & Fantasy books on Mars]

"The Tarks were attacking, the bosomy princess was clinging to him in terror, and Harold smith realized he was at the end of his plot line. What a dilemma! And what an opportunity!!"

@The Internet archive: Amazing Stories Volume 01 Number 01 (April 1926). [Via Triplanetary]

"Scanned copy of a pulp magazine published by Experimenter Publishing Co. and edited by Hugo Gernsback."

Serial Fiction
@Pathfinder Tales: "The Ironroot Deception - Chapter Two: The Hole" by Robin D. Laws.

"On massive, clawed legs, the forest-beast bounds toward the elves and their captives. Its beady eyes, shielded by rootlike extrusions, seem to lock onto Gad. It stops to snort and paw the ground."

Reviewed Free Fiction
@BestScienceFictionStories.com: "Spider The Artist" by Nnedi Okorafor.

"A Nigerian woman escapes from her abusive husband to the quiet land behind her house where she plays her guitar and finds a bit of peace and solitude. However, this is dangerous because she is so near the fuel pipeline that is guarded by Zombies"

Serial Audio
@The Drama Pod: "Journey to the Centre of the Earth: Part Thirteen" by Jules Verne.

"The story involves a German professor who believes there are volcanic tubes going toward the center of the Earth. He, his nephew Axel, and their guide Hans encounter many adventures, including prehistoric animals and natural hazards." - Wikipedia.

Classic Serial Audio
@Triplanetary: The adventures of Superman "Looking For Kryptonite" Parts 1-5."

"In this story arc Superman once more teams up with Batman and Robin to hunt down the remaining pieces of kryptonite."

Fan Audio
@Pendant Audio: "Star Trek: Defiant -Episode 57 - Wednesday Night Regatta"

"Darcy races to unravel a mystery as Task Force Defiant joins the games!"

@Digital Comics Museum: "Star Pirate Archive Pt.1" Sci-Fi from Planet Comics 12-39.




@The Bloody Pulp: " "Torture Garden" & "The Living Dead" B&W. Horror.
@The Horrors of It All: "Vampires Two" 1954. Horror.
@Atomic Kommie Comics: "Barbarella 3.1" Sci-Fi.

Monday Free Fiction

Another batch of great free fiction today! Lots of fantasy, a couple of H. P. Lovecraft audio stories, and much more. I hope to have a comics and/or gaming post later today or tonight.

The illustration is for "A Prince of Thirteen Days" by Alaya Dawn Johnson.







@Fantasy Magazine: "A Prince of Thirteen Days" by Alaya Dawn Johnson, Originally published in Welcome to Bordertown. Fantasy.

"I clear my throat. “Mister Statue Man,” I say, because I haven’t grown up on the Border without learning to be polite around magic. 'Do you think you might have sex with me?'"

@The author's site: "The Quickening" by Jeff Vandermeer, from The Third Bear (2010). [via SF Signal]

"Sensio was, of course, a rabbit, and in the photo, Aunt Etta’s stance confirms this bestial fact—she holds the end of the rope that binds Sensio to the post, and she holds it, between thumb and forefinger, with a form of distaste, even disdain? Such a strange pose, delicate against the roughness of Sensio; even a gentle tug and his humiliation would be undone."

@DargonZine: Vol. 24, No. 1. Fantasy.

"Facing Fears" by Jim Owens and Naomi Owens.

"'How have they driven away their fear?' Cefn an'Derin paced back and forth in his small library. His gaze swept back and forth across his collection of books, scrolls, tablets, and other documents. He knew that the answer he was looking ..."

and "Undercurrents" by Rena Deutsch.

"Nilson kicked a piece of wood the size of his fist with his right foot as he made his way along Main Street. It flew several feet forward and nearly hit a bulky man walking in front of him. When ..."

@Aoife's Kiss: "Best of Enemies" by D. Moonfire. Fantasy. Up until July 2011?

"Two statues flanked the only entrance into the pitch black tower of the dire mage Rathim. Three yards tall and crudely shaped from granite. A hand-written sign on one said 'these are not golems!' in a manner indicating that someone might actually want you to believe they were not golems. Ten thousand runes glowed brightly across the surface of each one, implying they were more than just decoration."

@Sam's Dot Publishing: The Fifth Dimension Edition 13, #2--June 2011 SF and Fantasy.

• "The Children of Nod" by Kevin Gordon.
• "The Taste of Victory" by Thomas Canfield.
• "Beauty, or the Beast" by Mary A. Turzillo.
• "Oddly Perfect" by Richard S. Levine.
• "Not an Iota of Doubt" by Rory Steves.

@Sam's Dot Publishing: Spaceports & Spidersilk Vol.4 No. 2 The "SF, fantasy, and eww gross zine for kids" is now posted.

Serial Fiction
@White Wolf: "Silent Knife, part 7" by David Nurenberg. Horror. Vampires.

"'It doesn’t matter that Roarke knows Liliane is on to him,' Ariadne told her squad before their departure for the assault. 'The Prince has negotiated with the wizards and with the Princes of the surrounding demesnes.'"

@Legend of the Five Realms: The Destroyer War, Part 13 and Part 14 by Shawn Carman. Fantasy.

"The battle for the Fortress of Blackened Sight raged out of control. It was a chaotic fury, a maddened struggle between the dug-in Scorpion forces and a massive force of Destroyers that had returned more than three times larger than they had been at their last defeat here. As the Destroyers always did."

@19 Nocturne Boulevard: "The Facts Concerning..." by H.P. Lovecraft, adapted by Julie Hoverson. Horror.

"The 'Lovecraft 5' - Warren, Herbert, Charles, Edward, and Richard - gather again for another night of tall tales. Tonight, Warren regales the group with a history of a noble house that ... went downhill."

@Cast Macabre: "Episode 40, Blue and Gray & Black and Green" by Alethea Kontis, read by Barry Northern. Horror.

"Daniel was seven-and-three-quarters. He'd been seven-and-three-quarters forever. Daniel resided at Green Bottom, the one-armed General's big house on the river in Virginia. He liked tin whistles and marbles, especially the red ones."

Serial Audio
@Cthulhu: Episode #103 "The Fire Of Asshurbanipal, part1" by Robert E. Howard. Horror.

" the Lovecraft mythos gets a ping from another author. Robert E. Howard mentions the Necronimicon and the arab Al Hazred in this tale of the scarey and mysterious."

@The author's site: "The Starter Episode #17" by Scott Sigler. Science Fiction.

"Quentin hangs out with John Tweedy, and meets John's brother Ju. Quentin gets a hefty fine and discovers a lovely thing called "taxes." So why does the GFL use yards instead of meters? Why does an entire galaxy use English to play the game?"

@Beam Me Up: Episode #264 featuring:

"Memory pt1" by Michael Merriam "Chaos had come to her planet. In the

Publish Post

centuries that had past, the once beautiful and vibrant culture that had existed here had crumbled, turned on itself and had died. Nothing now survived except mutated dogs and a few equally mutated humans" and "Fertilizer" by Duncan Shields. "Earth is making a massive push to terraform Mars. Bio domes are up and machines are generating oxygen for a breathable atmosphere in the future"

Fan Audio
@Lightningbolt Theater of the Mind: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Episode 1 The long way Home Part III" Vampires.

Seven Kick-Butt Free E-Zines and Much More

An overwhelming amount of free goodness today! Three great free fiction magazines (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Clarkesworld, and Redstone Science Fiction) have new issues out today. And a couple more good free stories are up. There is an interesting variety of audio fiction today to check out. Four (Really!) free gaming magazines are available for PDF downloads. And if all that isn't enough, there are more gaming itemes, and several free comic book stories - heavy on adventure today.








Clarkesworld Magazine has its June issue out with

"Semiramis" by Genevieve Valentine.

"Ever since Svalbard had been put under review, it had been hell and a half trying to figure out how to recruit a domestic cover who could carry seeds off the island."

"Trickster" by Mari Ness.

"The god came to me on a night when both moons were dark, allowing us to see the stars. Not that I could, hidden as I was behind mats and screens and hangings, but I knew the stars were there, one of the rare nights we could be sure of this."

The audio version of "Semiramis" by Genevieve Valentine, read by Kate Baker is HERE.


@Redstone Science Fiction: The June 2011 issue is out with fiction:

"An Infallible System of Roulette"by Christopher Miller.

"The first time I died might’ve been back in ‘65 on a community farm up in Forest River, North Dakota. Although there was an earlier summer where I’d tiptoed out to a Lee Street beach sandbar and gotten stranded by Lake Michigan’s tide, or maybe wind swells"

"Love and Anarchy and Science Fiction" by Angela Ambroz.

"Of course, he has changed since prison. His hair is whiter. His jowls droop; he’s filled out. But I don’t see a big difference. And I’ve known him for years; I’ve known him longer than anyone else in the empire has."

@Beneath Ceaseless Skies: "From the Spices of Sanandira, Pt. I" by Bradley P. Beaulieu.

"Uhammad ben Yazr woke with someone nudging his shoulder. By the pale light of the moon through the open window of his dhoba he could see his friend of twenty years, Jalaad, holding a finger to his lips."

"The Nine-Tailed Cat" by Michael J. DeLuca.

"I arrive at the door of my house in the dark with lamp and spade, jungle mud caked past my ankles, thickets of scratches streaking my limbs. I set the lamp on the step, sling the sack of stinking goat’s meat off my shoulder, and reach for the knob. "

@Dark Valentine: "Fine Fire" by Richard Godwin.

"She was always there. In the corner of the bar with her cigarette burning in her hand, her long and slender holder tapering at the enhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifd and oozing smoke like dry ice."

Serial
@Pathfinder Tales: "The Ironroot Deception" by Robin D. Laws. Chapter One: The Snare.

"Gad feels the roughness of the burr-oak's bark as its branch constricts tighter around his ankles. Though he is upside down, blood rushing to his head, his face retains its symmetry. A roguish skiff of stubble softens his jutting jaw. Gray-peppered hair clings closely to his scalp. Blue eyes sear out at his elven captor."

@LightningBolt Theater of the Mind: "The Swamp" [via Radio Drama Revival]. Horror.

"When Rachel sleeps, the swamp awaits her. Every night, the dreams of something pursuing her through the twilight-lit marshland, come. Her real life isn’t much better."

@PodCastle: PodCastle Special: The Alphabet Quartet (A Primer) by Tim Pratt, Jenn Reese, Heather Shaw, and Greg van Eekhout. Fantasy.

“D is for De Gustibus,” read by Norm Sherman (of The Drabblecast).

“F is for Flotsam,” read by Dave Thompson.

“L is for Luminous,” read by Rish Outfield (of The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine)

“N is for Nevermore Nevermore Land,”

@Pseudopod: Pseudopod Special: The Alphabet Quartet (A Primer) by Tim Pratt, Jenn Reese, Heather Shaw, and Greg van Eekhout. Horror.

“Q is for Quit,” read by Graeme Dunlop.

“F is for Flotsam,” read by Dave Thompson of PodCastle.

@Lovecraft eZine: "Fungi from Yuggoth" by H. P. Lovecraft. Horror.

"Fungi from Yuggoth is a sequence of 36 sonnets by cosmic horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Most of the sonnets were written between 27 December 1929 – 4 January 1930; thereafter individual sonnets appeared in Weird Tales and other genre magazines. "

@ScottSigler.com: Tuesday Terror: "Lefty and the Boxcar" Part 2 of 2 by Steven Gomez, read by Arioch Morningstar. Horror.

@Kung Fu Action Theater: KFATales 05- "Gen San-Mi Yorimasa- The Knight" by Yei Theodora Ozaki, read by Richard Bartok III. Adventure.

A "look instead at one of the legendary Samurai from Japanese history- Gen San-Mi Yorimasa. This story is from the collection Warriors of Old Japan and Other Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki, which was published in the early 20th century"

@Beneath Ceaseless Skies: "Cold Iron and Green Vines" by Wendy N. Wagner. Fantasy.

"Most people didn't bother replacing teeth; they all went wicker-and-cogwork as young as they could."

@Beware the Hairy Mango: Episode 79 – "A Question of Benefits" by Matthew Sanborn Smith. Weird.








@DriveThruRPG: Rite Publishing's Pathways #4

"Rite Publishing continues its free e-zine with templates, new monsters, domains, feats, encounters, and reviews all bundled together with a Greg A. Vaughn (Pathfinder Chronicles: Into the Darklands and Slumbering Tsar) interview about Tome of Horrors Complete!"




@DriveThruRPG: Infinite Horizons #2.

"The second issue of Avalon Game's great Sci-Fi e-zine, Infinite Horizons will bring to you all the great Sci-Fi stuff you have been wanting, and more."





@DriveThruRPG: Game Geek #18.

This free 55 page PDF contains free gaming articles, reviews, serial fiction, comics and more.






@Mongoose Publishing: Signs & Portents #93 featuring
Traveller - "the fully updated classic adventure Annic Nova. Your players will discover a strange ship floating in deep space."
Lone Wolf - "We are talking Giak this month - who need Klingon?"
RuneQuest II - "A brand new cult to insert into your campaign"
RuneQuest II Vikings - "A complete adventure for north men with horned helmets."

And other articles in the free PDF download.


Other Cool Gaming Items

• @A Field Guide to Doomsday: [monsters] "RANAbot" and "Apocra" Mutant Future.
• @Sea of Stars: [magic item] "Dress of Assignations"
• @A Character For Every Game: [maps] "Random Dungeon Entrances I (d8)"
• @Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [monster] "Hornet, Limbo"
• @Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [spell] "Frogtrap"

@The Horrors of It All: "Miser in the Coffin" Horror (1953).
@The Comic Book Catacombs: Kara the Jungle Princess in "Shrine of the Moon God" Adventure. 1945.
@The Comics Reading Library: Adventures Into the Unknown #120. SF/Adventure.
@Digital Comics Museum: Sheena and the Hawk in Jumbo Comics #27. Adventure and Tiger Girl in Fight Comics #34, #44, and #45. Adventure.
@Ditko Comics: "You Can Make Me Fly" (1957). Science Fiction.
@Four-Color Shadows: an untitled "Stuart Taylor in Weird Tales of the Supernatural" story. SF.
@Atomic Kommie Comics: Space Western "Hank Roper and the Riddle of Skull Valley"
@Hero (& Heroine) Histories: Cave Girl "Ape God of Kor" Adventure.

Free Audio and Flash Fiction.

Some good audio and flash fiction for now, likely more later. Having the retrorockets on the starship worked on this morning.










@StarShipSofa: Episode #188 featuring "Creation" by Jeffrey Ford, narrated by Rajan Khanna. And other interesting bits.
"a coming-of-age fable of a boy on a quest for knowledge."



@LibreVox: The Grey Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, read by many readers.
A collection of Faerie Tales for younger listeners (or a source of ideas).
"The tales in the Grey Fairy Book are derived from many countries—Lithuania, various parts of Africa, Germany, France, Greece, and other regions of the world."

Serial Audio
@The Drama Pod: Journey to the Center of the Earth Part eleven by Jules Verne.
Continuing Verne's classic novel.

Free Audio Reviewed
@SFFaudio: "A Shadow over Innsmouth" by H.P. Lovecraft, read by Sean Puckett. Reviewed with download links.
"While on a architectural tour of New England, a man visits the isolated port of Innsmouth. Locals from neighboring towns view the place with suspicion and treat the odd-looking Innsmouth natives with disgust."







@Flashes in the Dark: "Venus Returns to The Sea" by Zach Smith.
@Flashes in the Dark: "Brand New Wolves" by Lori Titus.
@365 tomorrows: "La Longue Carabine" by Eric Poch.
@Weirdyear: "Houses Out of Boxes" by Kathleen Radigan.
@Eschatology: "Down for the Count" by Diane Dooley.
@Daily Science Fiction: "R is for Raffle" by Tim Pratt, Jenn Reese, Heather Shaw, and Greg van Eekhout

Classic SF, Lovecraft eZine, Fantasy Magazine

Some good fiction today, and much more.











@Fantasy Magazine: "Creation" by Jeffrey Ford.
"I learned about creation from Mrs. Grimm, in the basement of her house down the street from ours. The room was dimly lit by a stained-glass lamp positioned above the pool table. There was also a bar in the corner."



@The May issue of Lovecraft eZine is up

"Introduction to Issue #4" by Mike Davis.
"All the Gold" by Joseph S. Pulver/
"Run. Carry the pain. Pine. Slide. Trip. Stumble. Run. And keep moving. You can outrun a horse in this terrain. Snow. Cold. No camp. Maybe later. Maybe take to the water. Pay for it downstream"

"Dreams of Fire and Glass" by Neal Jansons.
"Coding was a dream for me. Ever since I was twelve years old, I could see the beauty of the byte. Pure, ordered, predictable."

"O, Lad of Memory and Shadow" by W.H. Pugmire.
"I crept like a frightened girl on silver-sandalled feet beneath an arc of moonlight, toward the House of Shadows."

"Dragon Star Lucky Food" by John Medaille
"So, I went to that Chinese grocery store, that one you don’t like to go to because you think it smells weird."

and "Curse the Child" by David J. West
"The black vault of night fell and the starry cosmic serpent whirled overhead, tail in mouth, as the queen of Sheba’s retinue entered Jerusalem through the southeastern fountain gates."


Serial Fiction
@Kat and Mouse: "Payback" Part Eight by Abner Senires.
"I took the pistol and slipped her back in my shoulder rig. 'Thanks,' I said. 'Now--those guys you saw. Do you remember what they looked like?'"


Classic Science Fiction and Adventure
@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "The Golden Amazons of Venus" by John Murray Reynolds, from Planet Stories (Winter 1939).
"Dakta death, horrible beyond the weirdest fever-dreams of Earth-men, faced Space Ship Commander Gerry Norton. The laconic interplanetary explorer knew too much. "


@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "Accidental Flight" by F. L. Wallace, from Galaxy Science Fiction (April 1952).
"Outcasts of a society of physically perfect people, they couldn't stay and they couldn't go home again—yet there had to be some escape for them. Oddly enough, there was!"

@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "Stalemate" by Basil Wells, from If Worlds of Science Fiction (Nov. 1954).
"The rules of a duel between gentlemen are quite different from the rules of war between nations."

@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "Henry Horn's X-Ray Eye Glasses" by Dwight V. Swain, from Amazing Stories (Dec. 1942).
"Henry Horn had a new invention; a pair of glasses that worked on the x-ray principle. But he didn't expect them to reveal Nazi secret agents and their works of sabotage!"

@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "Let There Be Light" by Horace Brown Fyfe, from If Worlds of Science Fiction (Nov. 1954).
"No matter what the future, one factor must always be reckoned with—the ingenuity of the human animal"

@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "The Old Martians" by Roger Phillips Graham, from If Worlds of Science Fiction (March 1952).
"They opened the ruins to tourists at a dollar a head but they reckoned without The OLD MARTIANS."

@Two-Fisted Tales of True-Life Weird Romance: "The Alien Vibration" by Hannes Bok,
from Avon Science-Fiction Reader # 5. Science Fiction.
"Frank Rogers heard the tortured wailing on a night in scarlet F autumn, when he was sitting alone in his cottage, cosily woolgathering before a dying fire. Instinctively he glanced around, then chuckled—for of course he was alone"

@Two-Fisted Tales of True-Life Weird Romance: "Matto Grosso Fury" by Gordon MacCreagh, from Jungle Stories vol. 4. #. 11. Adventure.
"Dave snapped a shot at Laredo over his log . . . as surely as shooting meat."







@Every Day Fiction: "A Dance to End Our Final Day" by Beth Cato.
@Flashes in the Dark: "Milepost 44" by Tammy A. Branom.
@Flashes in the Dark: "A Mother’s Day Visit" by Nancy A. Cavanaugh.
@365 tomorrows: "Indiana Girl" by Roi R. Czechvala.
@365 tomorrows: "Come On Out" by Jason Frank.
@Weirdyear: "Big Brother" by Harris Tobias
@Quantum Muse: "The Apple did not Fall" by Paul Clint.
@Brain Harvest: "Space Falling" by Jon Hakes.
@Mindflights: [Poem] "Upon the Leviathan's Back" by WC Roberts
@Daily Science Fiction: "Her Old Man" by Chuck Rothman.







@Fantasy Magazine: "Creation" by Jeffrey Ford, read by Rajan Khanna.
[Description above]

@The Drabblecast - linked earlier as streaming only "Boojum Part II" by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette is now available in MP3 download (Part One is Here).
"The first sign was the chief engineers frowning and going into huddles at odd moments. And then Black Alice began to feel it herself, the way Vinnie was… she didn’t have a word for it because she’d never felt anything like it before"

Serial Audio
@The author's site: "The Starter Episode #13" by Scott Sigler.
"Tier One season kicks off. Do you have money on Coranadillana Cloud Killers start the season against the To Pirates. And your own Ionath Krakens prepare for their opener against the Isis Ice Storm. "

Fan Audio
@Misfits Audio: Green Lantern Man Without Fear: “Questionable Motives”
"The Guardians are preparing to make a few announcements to their Green Lantern Corps. Guy and Sodam say goodbye to their lives as they knew them while John punches in at his new job."









Encounter Magazine has its fourth issue out for PDF download (older issues available). [via Star Frontiersman]. Among the highlights
"A Darkened World" by Jesse Walker. The Dark Crystal™ for Classic D&D® Part I
"DM’s Toolkit: Random Curiosities" by Howard Olsen. Oddities for your Labyrinth Lord™ game
"Dragons of Lore" by Thomas Daly Put some Norse myth into your Classic D&D® dragons
"Quest for the Enchanted Sword" by Jimm Johnson - adventure for young players of D&D®

Looks very good.

More Cool Gaming Items
Adventure Dark & Deep Players Manual v 1.1 (errata fixed and other updates) [via Greyhawk Grognard].
@Rule of the Dice: [Magic Items] "Three of Swords" Three detailed magic swords.
@The Land of NOD: [Table] "Portal Destination"
@The Land of NOD: [Class] "Jack of All Trades"
@Of Pedantry: [Charts] "Tolls and Traveling" and "Wilderness Travel System" [via RPG Bloggers]
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [Magic Item] "Anvil of Drang-Zhor"
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [Spells] "Punchdoor" and "Laughing Pillar"
@Underworld Kingdom: [Magic Item] "Memory Crystals of the Shapers"
@Netherwerks: [Monster] "Miasmagaster"
@Netherwerks: [Spell] "Processions of the Damned"
@Zalchis: [Table] "More Damned Things"
@A Field Guide to Doomsday: [Monster] "Bearcuda" Mutant Future.
@WotC: [Art] "Beholder Art Segmentation"
@Kobokd Quarterly: [Monster] "Astral Capreae" 4E
@DriveThruRPG: [Battle Map] "The Hall of the Well"
@DriveThruRPG: "108 Terrible Character Portraits"
@DriveThruRPG: "Raven Downs Dungeon Virtual Table Top Map Set"

Wednesday Freebies (Fiction, Flash Fiction, Audio Fiction, and Gaming)

Free SF, Fantasy, and Horror. Enough said.










@The author's site: "Red Man" by Scott Sigler.
"It’s as if she’s tuned out everything but me. I’m a focus for hatred born from protective, aggressive fear for her child."

@Lightspeed Magazine: "The Harrowers" by Eric Gregory.
"Christ, I thought. And then: Of course—P.K.: Preacher’s Kid. Should’ve caught that earlier. I finished off the Yanjing, then opened the cooler and unscrewed a jar of whiskey. I’d heard of harrowers before, but never met one alive"

@Subterranean Press: "Queen of Atlantis" by Sarah Rees Brennan.
"The poison tides came in one burnt evening in late summer, and everybody knew it was time for the princess to be sacrificed."

Classic SF
@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "Rich Living" by Michael Cathal, from Science Fiction (Feb. 1955).
"No other planet in the entire Galaxy was at all like Rejuvenal ... it was the only world worth one's whole fortune for a short visit!"

Serial Fiction
@Legend of the Five Rings: "The Destroyer War, Part 9" by Shawn Carman.
"Kakita Hideshi’s arm was numb to the shoulder, but he did not pause in his kata. The ranks of the Destroyers were noticeably thinner, with many of the beasts having been killed or retreated from the fierce fighting near the heart of the village."

Reviewed
@BestScienceFictionStories.com: "I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You In Reno" by Vylar Kaftan (2010). Reviewed with a link to the free story.






@StarShipSofa: Episode #187 featuring "Larisa Miusov" by Lucius Shepard.
"He would tell me stories. I think now they were true. They all take place in a huge room, an underground room bigger than a city, with machines and laboratories…but no walls dividing them. And always there were prisoners. Hundreds of prisoners."

@PodCastle: Episode #155 "Tending the Mori Birds" by Caroline M. Yoachim, read by Rajan Khanna.
"A Mori bird waited for him on the railing, its claws wrapped around the wood. The dying light accentuated the patch of red feathers at the base of its slender neck, the only color on an otherwise black bird."

@Dunesteef: Episode #101 "Becoming Brother" by Leo Godin.
"Billy is an outer, the lowest of the low. No respect from anyone. When his mother sends him out to gather weemer mushrooms for a recipe she’s cooking up, he has no idea just how much his life will be changing."

@Lightspeed: "The Harrowers" by Eric Gregory, narrated by Stefan Rudnicki.
See above in fiction.

@Cast Macabre: "Going West" by Elizabeth Creith. Horror.

@Lovecraft eZine: "The Rats in the Walls" by H. P. Lovecraft. Horror. Audio Drama.

• @Flashes in the Dark: "Lessons" by Lori Titus.
• @365 tomorrows: "Flare"by Asher Wismer.
• @Weirdyear: "The Man Who Fell Out of His Head" by Evander Arnage.
• @Daily Science Fiction: "Q is for Quit" by Tim Pratt, Jenn Reese, Heather Shaw, and Greg van Eekhou.
  

Signs and Portents #92 is available for free download with highlights including:
Traveller - "A sequel to Otherworld Blues."
Lone Wolf - "While escorting dangerous criminals, the players find their ship wrecked by a storm..."
RuneQuest II - "A haunted gulch for any RuneQuest setting."




Other Gaming Gems

• @Daddy Grognard: "An Adventure for Every Monster - Black Pudding"
• @A Field Guide to Doomsday: [Monsters] "Sluggernaut" and "Prowlasite" Mutant Future.
• @Zalchis: [Table] "Damned Things From the Skies"
• @Sea of Stars [Magic Item] "Hovering Hornet Bolts"
• @The Savage AfterWorld: [weapon] "Chainsaw Nunchucks"
• @A Character for Every Game: [Spells] "Elven Warder Magics"
• @Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [Magic Item] "Teeth of the Great Lizards"
• @Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [Spell] "Shadowleash"