“To Err is Human, Free Fiction is Divine.”

There's even more great, free speculative fiction than usual today.  Be sure to check out those that sound interesting, and save everything that you can.



[Art from "Creatures of the Abyss" by Murray Leinster in audio fiction below]






Fiction
• At AE: "Put Out Every One" by Rich Larson.
      "The petrol leaks, dripping small craters into cool sand. The smell burns up inside Elliot’s nose. There’s a half-man lying at his feet, blurry in the dark. He is breathing hard. He is staring upward. There’s no starlight, but the sand glistens radioactive and Beasley provides some light where he stands beside Elliot, his skin glowing like a tribal god."

• At Buzzy Mag: "A Meek And Thankful Heart" by Jeff Somers.
     "The other customers of the Morgue knew him and regarded him as a weirdo. They didn’t notice anything different about him aside from the fact that he was taking up valuable bar space he usually had the good sense to abandon."

• At The Colored Lens: "No More Horizons – Part 2" by Adam C. Richardson.
      "'I’ll tell you why.' She rolled over to glare at me. 'You wouldn’t tell me because you’re a reporter, because you have to be the first one on the scene, so you can get the scoop on everyone else. Your journalist’s instinct is one thing, but you could at least mention it to your wife.'"

• At HiLobrow: "The Comet - part 4" by W.E.B. Du Bois. Science Fiction. (1920).
      "She stopped. She was alone. Alone! Alone on the streets — alone in the city — perhaps alone in the world! There crept in upon her the sense of deception — of creeping hands behind her back — of silent, moving things she could not see, — of voices hushed in fearsome conspiracy."

• At Lightspeed: "Mono No Aware"  by Ken Liu. Science Fiction.
     "The world is shaped like the kanji for umbrella, only written so poorly, like my handwriting, that all the parts are out of proportion."

• At Lightspeed: "The Huntsman" by Megan Arkenberg. Fantasy.
      "It’s the best bargain you’ll get in this town,” the faery woman says. She’s standing by a cracked kitchen sink with mold between the tiles, rinsing diced tomatoes and crooked green jalapeño rings. “A heart for a heart. And my heart’s more than what she’s used to, I’ll tell you that. You couldn’t find better if you went door-to-door from every house in the tithe-projects.”

• At Tor.com: "A Visit to the House on Terminal Hill" by Elizabeth Knox.
     "Tom Teal and Albert Barnes are government employees tasked with visiting a hard-to-reach house and convincing its inhabitant, a member of the Zarene family that controls the whole valley, that a large dam project is a good idea. But the Zarenes have their own way of doing things, and they don’t take kindly to outsiders…."

Flash Fiction

• At Daily Science Fiction: "Note to Self" by Hans Hergot.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "An Offer He Couldn’t Refuse" by Clint Wilson. Science Fiction.

E-Books
At Free eBooks Daily:

• The Rainbow Z by Zaria Garrison. Science Fiction.
• Change by Melissa Stevens. Fantasy.
• The Rush by Rachel Higginson. YA Paranormal.
• Dissever by Colee Firman. Paranormal.
• Dust to Dust: Fangs For Your Memories by Eden Crowne. Paranormal Romance.
• Dark County by Kit Tinsley. Horror.
• Becoming Sarah by Miranda Simon. Coming of Age Fantasy.
• Justice by Rhiannon Paille. YA Fantasy.
• The Journey of Secrets by J Robberts. Fantasy.
• Dimensional Shift: Waters of Babylon by Michelle Stone. Science Fiction/
• The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw by Suzy Turner. YA Paranormal.
• Into Uncharted Seas by E. C. Williams. Science Fiction. 
• Faelorehn by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson. YA Paranormal Romance.
• Promise by Kristie Cook. Paranormal Romance.
• The Immortal American by L.B. Joramo. Historical Fantasy.
• Atazia by John Petts. YA Fantasy.
• The Vampires Of Livix Twin Pack by J Gordon Smith. Vampire Romance.
• Paranormal Legacy by Caitlin Hensley. YA Fantasy.
• Greenshift by Heidi Ruby Miller. SciFi Romance.
• Clandestine by Nicole Rae. YA Paranormal.

At Smashwords:

• "Blood Shadow: Book of Manuel" by Phil Wohl. Contemporary Fantasy.
• "Risky Enchantment" by Oona Roberts. Urban Fantasy.
• "Curse of Witch and War" by Matt Larkin. Epic Fantasy.
• "The Last Zoo" by Sara Zaske. Fantasy.
• "A Clone Of His Own" by Rik Hunik. Fantasy.
• "Feline Savior" by Kevin L. O'Brien. Paranormal.
• "Sky" by N. E. White. Fantasy.
• "Into the Weird: Nine Tales and then Four More" by Harry Kane. Weird.
• "The Final Flight of the Phaseship Lelantos" by Cory Mccoy. Space Opera.
• "The Hyacinth Rescue" by Rudolph Kohn, Jr. Science Fiction.
• "Wired For War" by J.D. Gallagher. Science Fiction. 66k words.
• "Ripples" by John Mc Caffrey. Horror. Ghost.
• "The Man Who Unzipped His Face" by Gareth Pryce. Horror.
• "Libertines: A Horror Story" by Grant Palmquist. Horror. Occult.
• "The Housefull Fear Room : The Journey" by Ridhwanul Haque. Weird.
• "The Boy Who Melted" by Travis McBee. Horror.
• "Heather" by Siobhan Harper. Horror.

Audio Fiction
• 19 Nocturne Boulevard: "Survival Tactics" by Al Sevcik. Science Fiction.
      "The robots were built to serve Man; to do his work, see to his comforts, make smooth his way. Then the robots figured out an additional service—putting Man out of his misery."  - from Amazing Science Fiction Stories October 1958

• At LibriVox: Creatures of the Abyss by Murray Leinster.
      "'The things that listen', whispered the superstitious fishermen when the strange occurrences began off the Philippine coast. How else explain the sudden disappearance of a vessel beneath a mysterious curtain of foam? The writhings of thousands of maddened fish trapped in a coffin-like area of ocean?"

• At LibriVox:: Treasure Island (dramatic reading)  by Robert Louis Stevenson. Adventure.
      "When a rough old seaman calling himself "the Captain" appears at the inn owned by Jim Hawkins' father, young Jim little dreams what adventures will follow in the man's wake. Soon, the once-peaceful inn is threatened by pirates, Jim's father is laid in his grave, and Jim finds himself in possession of a map showing the location of treasure buried by the legendary and notorious Captain Flint" 

• At Lightspeed: "The Huntsman" by Megan Arkenberg. Fantasy.
      Described Above

• At Protecting Project Pulp: "The Problem of Cell 13" by Jacques Futrelle
     "'Let’s suppose a case,” he said, after a moment. “Take a cell where prisoners under sentence of death are confined—men who are desperate and, maddened by fear, would take any chance to escape—suppose you were locked in such a cell. Could you escape?'
     'Certainly,' declared The Thinking Machine".- first published in 1905.

Old Time Radio

• At Plot Spot: "The Other Man" - 2000 Plus, "The Signal-Man" - Columbia Workshop, "The Potters of Firsk" by Jack Vance - Dimension X, "The Moon Moth" by Jack Vance - Seeing Ear Theatre.
• At Relic Radio: "The Robot Killer" on 2000 Plus.

Comics

• At Atomic Kommie Comics: "Death on the Earth-Mars Run!" Sci-Fi. (1952)
• At Atomic Kommie Comics: "Mission into Time" Sci-Fi. (1952)
• At The Horrors of It All: "Burn, Miser, Burn / Money Hungry" Horror. (1953/1971)
• At Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine: "My City Is No More!" Sci-Fi. A-Bomb. (1947)

Other Genres

• Audio at Author's Site: "The Second Bat Guano War Chapters 1-5" by J. M. Porup. [via Scott Sigler]
• Flash Fiction at Every Day Fiction: "The Waitress’s Tattoo" by Daniel Schoonmaker.

Apex, Oz, Audio Fiction, and More Freebies

Great freebies from great sites!










Fiction
• At AE: "Captain Confederation" by Jim Robb. Superhero.
     "Captain Confederation was annoyed when he got off the elevator and it showed. It would have been so simple and logical for him to land on the roof of the Superhero Administration Centre, or in the ample grounds surrounding it, but these alternatives were no longer open to him. Last month Transport Canada had proposed a regulation requiring superheroes to take off and land from helipads unless actually fighting crime, and for some inexplicable reason the Department of Superhero Affairs had gone along with it."
    
• At Tor.com: "Fire Above, Fire Below" by Garth Nix. Fantasy.
     "'Fire Above, Fire Below' is about the crisis that the dying of a dragon living below a major city causes, and the pact made many years earlier to deal with such a situation."

• At WMG Publishing: "The Charming Way Written" by Kristine Grayson (Kristine Kathryn Rusch) Paranormal Romance.
     "But on the way to her protest at a book fair, she runs into a handsome man. A very handsome man who isn’t just her prince charming—he’s the prince charming. And he loves books."

• Now Posted: Apex Magazine Issue 48 — May 2013

“Ilse, Who Saw Clearly” by E. Lily Yu
     "Once, among the indigo mountains of Germany, there was a kingdom of blue-eyed men and women whose blood was tinged blue with cold. The citizens were skilled in clockwork, escapements, and piano manufacture, and the clocks and pianos of that country were famous throughout the world. Their children pulled on rabbit-fur gloves before they sat down to practice their etudes, for it was so cold the notes rang and clanged in the air."
“The Binding of Ming-tian” by Emily Jiang.
     "Hush, little baby, little kumquat, little bird. Ming–tian is sleeping. She has pruned the bitter melon vines and swept the porch while dancing with a broom. She has chased away the good luck fishes in the pond, where she has lost her shoe. Soon it will freeze over. Now Ming–tian is snoring."
“Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man’s Back” by Joe R. Lansdale.
     "The tight lines around her eyes and mouth, the emotional heat that radiates from her body like a dreadful cold sore looking for a place to lie down is voice enough for her. She lives only for the moment when she (the cold sore) can attach herself to me with her needles, ink and thread. She lives only for the design on my back."
“Come to My Arms, My Beamish Boy” by Douglas F. Warrick
     "The name of the ship he had served on. The name of his commanding officer. His daughters’ names, which husband went with which daughter, which grandchildren came from which marriage, which fiancé held hands with which granddaughter. That had mostly melted away."

 Flash Fiction

• At Apex Magazine: “The Busker, Broke and Busted” by Shira Lipkin. Poem
• At Beware the Hairy Mango: "Matty Dread" by Matthew Sanborn Smith.
• At Daily Science Fiction: "Persephone at Arm's Length" by Bridget A. Natale. 
• At Every Day Fiction: "Competition For Ice Wizards" by James Reinebold. Fantasy. Humor. 
• At Flashes in the Dark: "In the Event of My Demuse" by Sara-Jane McGeachy. Horror.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "The Common Threat Doctrine" by Bob Newbell. Science Fiction.

Audio Fiction
• At Classics On-the-Go: "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Chapter 1" by Lewis Carroll. Children's Fantasy.
     "Alice decides to follow the white rabbit and falls down the rabbit hole. She lands in a room filled with doors but she is too large to fit through the small door that she is able to open with a small key. What will she do?"

• At Drabblecast: "Liane the Wayfarer" by  Jack Vance. Fantasy.
     "Through the dim forest came Liane the Wayfarer, passing along the shadowed glades with a prancing light-footed gait. He whistled, he caroled, he was plainly in high spirits. Around his finger he twirled a bit of wrought bronze—a circlet graved with angular crabbed characters, now stained black."

• At PodCastle: "The Great Zeppelin Heist of Oz" by Rae Carson and C.C. Finlay. Fantasy.
     "Scraps, the patchwork girl, witnessed the wizard’s arrival. She sat beneath a tree watching the most spectacular show ever performed by a summer sky. White clouds swirled above an emerald colored sky like whipped marshmallow topping on a glass bowl full of lime jello spinning round and round and round on a potter’s wheel. She didn’t think it could get any more amazing when the clouds cracked open and sunlight burst through so blinding that she lifted one patchwork arm to shade her button eyes."

• At StarShipSofa:   “On 20468 Petercook” by Andy Duncan.
     "Alone in the black void, the ship thrust forward, then pivoted as it slowed to a stop. Motionless, it awaited the next flyby, the next ship-killer, the next opportunity."

Good Morning

Some good ones this morning!  More to come soon.



[art from Nightmare Magazine - linked below]



Fiction
• At Nightmare Magazine: "Chew" by Tamsyn Muir. Horror.
      "Anton’s American soldier had whipped out the torn front page of the newspaper for him to translate the headline. His German was very bad and Anton’s English worse, but they worked it out anyhow, repeating it back and forth to each other until they were satisfied with the results. He admired the headline mainly because the American was his friend, then asked for chewing gum."

• At Silver Blade: "The Guild of Swordsmen: Part 4" by Kristin Janz.
     “So anyone who doesn’t want to be in a Guild better not try to get into the Imperial Guard through this contest, is that it?”  Filipe used a fork to sharply stab a chunk of sweating cheese on the tray between them as if the cheese were responsible for the contest rules."

• At Tor.com: "When We Were Heroes" by Daniel Abraham. Superhero.
      "an affecting examination of celebrity, privacy, and the different ways people deal with notoriety and fame—problems not made easier when what you’re famous for are superpowers that even you don’t fully understand."

Flash Fiction

• At Every Day Fiction: "Carpe Ianua: Seize the Door" by Maura Glynn-Thami. Fantasy.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Be Patient, Brethren" by Patricia Stewart. Science Fiction.
• At Yesteryear Fiction: "Order and Chaos" by David Edward Nell. Fantasy.

Audio Fiction
• At PodCastle: "Tiger in the BSE"  by E. Lily Yu. Fantasy.
      "There was once a tiger in Mumbai, a Kshatriya and a ruthless trader of stocks, who lived in a glossy high-rise the color of the sea. His suits of slick poplin and seersucker were confected by two tailors in Milan; his bath was cut from marble as rich as soap, and always drawn warm and fragrant for him at the end of each day; and his suppers"

• At StarShipSofa: "The Moon Moth Part 1" by Jack Vance. Science Fiction/\.
     "Edwer Thissell, the new consul from Earth to the planet Sirene, has trouble adjusting to the local culture. The Sirenese cover their faces with exquisitely crafted masks that indicate their social status or strakh. They also communicate by singing, accompanying themselves with one of a dozen musical instruments, selected based on the social situation. Furthermore, errors of etiquette may prove fatal. Thissell is a maladroit musician and lacks confidence in the alien society, so he is forced to wear a lowly Moon Moth mask." - Wikipedia.