Free Fiction - Again!

 More goodies for all! And be sure to leave the light on for Regan Wolfrom, the free fiction maestro at SF Signal, who occasionally drops by to borrow a cup of links.












Fiction
• At Black Gate: "Assault and Battery" by Jason E. Thummel. Fantasy.
     "Chief Gunner Clap looked over the new detachment of soldiers, fresh from Portsway, and grumbled. How did he manage to get grouped with these turf-busters? Not a one looked seaworthy, and even the sunburned flesh of the men couldn’t cover the pallor of seasickness."

• At The Colored Lens: "China Island" by Julie Day. Speculative Fiction .
     That last day, Laurence slipped unnoticed from his home sometime between noon and three p.m., the three hour space between the meals-on-wheels delivery by Mrs. Heflin and the arrival of the nurse’s aide. Despite the tragic circumstances, no blame was ever cast on either woman. After all, Mr. Saunders had been found wandering numerous times before."

• At Daily Science Fiction: "Grief In The Strange Loop" by Rhonda Eikamp.
     "I lost my father when I was ten. His fault, everyone said. Shouldn't have left a boy of ten in charge of a machine like that. I'd lost my kid sister once already, a child's prank, the first day Pop ever allowed me near the dials, his hands that seemed too large for science guiding mine while Sis hovered in the background."

• At L5R: "Scenes from the Empire" by Robert Denton & Seth Mason. Fantasy.
    "“I cannot advise this course of action,” Takesaru said to his charge. They were crossing the sunset-shaded courtyard of the quiet temple, bands of pagoda-shaped shadows stretching long in their path. Voices were shouting from beyond the temple district, carrying even this far and steadily growing."

• At Strange Horizons: "My Lady Tongue" by Lucy Sussex. Speculative Fiction.
     "I was minding my own business, thinking of Honey, but cat curious I followed the groups of womyn drifting towards the clamour.  It was only when I was in the main square that I realised the offence was mine.  Ah well, I’d brazen it out—I’m nothing if not brazen."

• At Weird Fiction Review: "Rara Avis" by Bernard Quiriny.
     "What species is it?” I asked Doris. “A species that lays no eggs,” she replied. I stared at her, uncomprehending; there was something like fear in her eyes, as though the pale shell I held between my fingers terrified her. “Tell me what you mean,” I said, offering her a chair."

• At The World SF Blog: "Ratan Mirrors" by Geetanjali Dighe.
     "I am dying, Manohar. It’s been a long, hard life without you, but at least I met you in this life. Will I meet you on the other side? Will you be waiting for me, as you promised? thought Ratan, half-asleep, on the edge of death, in the middle of the night. Her old and wrinkled body lay on her warm bed."

Flash Fiction

• At Flashes in the Dark: "Ten Minutes" by C.T. Rock. Horror.
• At Strange Horizons: "That Sonnet Is a Fragment (Anagrammatic) of Constellation" by Sophie Mayer. Poem.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Balance of Power" by Bob Newbell. Science Fiction.

Audio Fiction
• At Author's Site: "The MVP Episode #29" by Scott Sigler. Science Fiction. Football.
      "The Krakens take on rival Wabash in a battle of playoff hopefulls. A victory gives Ionath a winning record; can they get the win? And off the field, John Tweedy's rage spills out into Ionath City's club district and puts the entire season at risk."

• At Beam Me Up: "No Great Magic ch.1" by Fritz Leiber. Science Fiction.
     "The truth is that although he loves every last fat part in Shakespeare and will play the skinniest one with loyal and inspired affection, he thinks Willy S. penned Falstaff with nobody else in mind but Sidney J. Lessingham. (And no accent on the ham, please.)"

• At Clarkesworld: "Finisterra" by David Moles.
     "She remembers what Dinh told her about the ways Sky could kill her. With a large enough parachute, Bianca imagines, she could fall for hours, drifting through the layered clouds, before finding her end in heat or pressure or the jaws of some monstrous denizen of the deep air."

• At Drabblecast: "Trifecta XXV"
     "Try My Shank" by  Kenton K. Yee - "Morning Espresso at the Church of Me" by Anthony J. Rapino - "Dead Jimmy and the Selkie" by Iseult Murphy.

• At 19 Nocturne Boulevard: "Dreams In The Witch-House" by H.P. Lovecraft. Horror.
     "Whether the dreams brought on the fever or the fever brought on the dreams Walter Gilman did not know. Behind everything crouched the brooding, festering horror of the ancient town, and of the mouldy, unhallowed garret gable where he wrote and studied and wrestled with figures and formulae when he was not tossing on the meagre iron bed. "

• At Strange Horizons: "My Lady Tongue" by Lucy Sussex. Speculative Fiction.
     Described Above.

Other Genres

• Fiction at Online Pulps: "Pierrot Pays Up"  [1932], "Morgue Reunion" [1946], and "Bloody Monkey Business" [1937]. Pulp/Noir.    
• Flash at Every Day Fiction: "Tomorrow We’ll Be Anything" by Chaz Salembier.

A Start.

Some good free fiction today, much more tomorrow (the rest of today's plus Tuesday's).






Fiction
• At Cast of Wonders: "The Long Cut" by Tom Howard. YA Speculative Fiction.
      "'Do you want me to drive for a while?' my mother asked from the front passenger seat.  It was the middle of the night but, unlike my older sister, I couldn’t sleep.  The desert streaked by just out of sight of the headlights."

• At Cosmos: "Gameplay" by Christos Callow Jr. Science Fiction.
     "I had only reloaded once when I saw the waiter bringing lamb chops to the nearby table. Lamb chops! I was so upset at the display of this mutilated CORPSE that my crystal eye popped and fell in my glass."

• At L5R: "There Will Be Blood, Part 1b" by Shawn Carman. Fantasy.
     "The idea of a Phoenix samurai stooping so low as to spy upon the Crab would have been completely laughable if it were not for the fact that it had actually occurred, and that it had denied a valued agent of the clan his freedom."

• At The WiFiles: "Van Helsing Escapes" by James Lewelling. Speculative Fiction.
     I couldn’t take it anymore—her “Harker this” and “Harker that.” I had to get out of that place. I didn’t even wait for her to start into it. As soon as she had stepped into the room, I rushed the door. It took her completely off guard. The last thing I saw was the “O” of her open mouth.

Flash Fiction

• At Daily Science Fiction: "Snippets" by K. B. Dalai. 
• At Flashes in the Dark: "Shoe In" by Cindy Rosmus. Horror.
• At Quantum Muse: "The Green Grass of Home" by Michele Dutcher.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon" by Clint Wilson. Science Fiction.
• At 365 Tomorrows: "Machine Justice" by Paul Williams. Science Fiction.

Audio Fiction
• At Cast of Wonders: "The Long Cut" by Tom Howard. YA Speculative Fiction.
     Described above.

• At Fantastic Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs: "Episode 16 - The Beasts of Tarzan"
     "Chapter XVI – “In the Darkness of the Night”  Tarzan is hot on the trail of Jane and Rokoff. He has caught up with Rokoff’s canoe as it heads for the Kincaid. Rokoff strikes Tarzan with a heavy canoe paddle just as Tarzan is attempting to climb aboard."

• At Toasted Cake: "Make Believe" by Kenneth Kao.
      "In which we try to blow out the candles. The therapist's waiting room was plain--white sterile walls and carpet floors that smelled of chemicals."

Other Genres

• Audio at CraftLit: "Jane Eyre, chapter 33" by Charlotte Brontë.
• Audio at Crime City Central: "Watchful Unto Death" by Hilary Bonner.
• Audio at Selected Shorts: "A Tribute to David Rakoff"
• Flash at Every Day Fiction: "The Book Club" by Alison Burgin.
• Flash at Every Day Fiction: "Everything Is Beautiful" by Mike A. Scalzitti.

It's Friday

Another good day for free fiction with several SF stories, as well as other genres, a couple of forgotten adventure stories from the Victorian era featuring intelligent apes (I haven't read these so if you read them remember, that era wasn't the most enlightened). Some good horror audio fiction, some good gaming material (including some free fiction in a couple of entries), Mortal Kombat, and Lt. Bob has a last word (I'm sure it will be relevant and thought provoking)







@Ray Gun Revival: "Suited for Command" by Adam Colston.
"For two hundred and forty years, only the barest whisper of power trickled through the space suit’s main processors as it tried to conserve its dwindling fuel cells."


@Daily Science Fiction: "The Elevator" by Erik M Igoe.
"The age of the Elevator did not ward curiosity. Dozens of lucky and wealthy were brought to its shadow every year, eager, anxious. Some thought they knew what to expect, others arrived readily content"



@Cosmos Magazine: "Act of Faith" by Fadzlishah Johanabas bin Rosli.
"The robot recited the call for prayer. 'Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar…' When he completed the call, and turned to face Daud, he saw tears streaming from the old man’s eyes."

@Cosmos Magazine: "The Jesus Particle" by Dirk Strasser.
"The end of the world is never exactly the same twice - try explaining that to a bunch of Armageddon tourists..."

@Cosmos Magazine: "The Bio-Documentarian of the British Library" by Deborah Walker.
"The British Library was a derelict structure located next to a disused railway terminal. Apparently people once decoded symbols placed on paper. How strange, thought Alphonse."


@Kasma SF: "Fulghum's Synthitar" by Kevin Kvas.
"It was Uncle Vanya’s sincerest conviction that all the particles in the universe had conspired to make his life miserable, he having been born into the poorest family on the smallest, most worthless colony any harvest moon had ever seen."

@Kasma SF: "Ad Block" by Ken Liu.
"Every day, we get bombarded by intrusive and unwanted advertising, and we crave for something that will filter out the mess and give us our lives back. That's why products like ad blockers for web browsers, spam filters, commercial-skipping DVRs are so popular."

@Kasma SF: "For a Song" by Sunny Moraine.
"Andy Gaijin leans over the fire; he's drunk and leaning so close that I wonder if he might singe the fibers of his coat. But I don't worry about it. It's not my coat. And if he catches fire in here, in his drafty canvas shelter, I think I might just step outside as quickly as possible and wait to see how it all comes out."

The Edge of Propinquity has its 64th issue out with:
"Credencium - An Introduction to Belief" by Kaolin Fire.
"John Doe and Spike introduce Joshua to the power of belief; as Phoenix ails, he goes on a quest to gather materials to bring her health and mind back. Despite initial progress, Joshua manages to dig himself even deeper into the pit."

"Flotsam - Underpass" by Peter M. Ball
"Keith's been trying to work out what went wrong in Adelaide, but he's still got no answers. The ghost of the Crow Mage, Michael Wotan, may have the answer - but the deal he's offering isn't one Keith's ready to agree too."

"Idolwood - Little Dolls" by Ivan Ewert.
"As the Hanged Man suffers further setbacks, we begin to see the man beneath his many masks. Grey and Alexei confront Edie Allaway with their finds and suspicions. Despite a rocky start, once in her garden, Edie shows herself willing and eager to help the two navigate the strange world now unfolding around them - unless, of course, she's simply as mad as those who work against her."

"The Ones Who Call - The Lake That Whispers" by Alina Pete.
"Kyle Pawluk is dragged away from his home in the big city to the shores of the Qu'Appelle valley after his parents' messy divorce. While seeking solace and comfort in the waters of the lake, he is lured into the dangerous world of the Ones Who Call. Jenny must struggle to keep him from discovering her secret while still keeping him safe from her malicious cousin."

"Hatzuli" by Lillian Cohen-Moore.
"As Johanna mourns the death of her grandmother, she witnesses the robbing and shooting of a clerk. Although traumatized, she discovers her cousin needs comforting more than she does and takes comfort in the giving. However, when Johanna learns what has upset her cousin, she discovers she may have more in common with her grandmother than she thought."

Serial Fiction
@Kat and Mouse:"Payback" - Part Five by Abner Senires.
"I reached her in a knee-slide, just as she hit the ground curled in a fetal position, clutching her left shoulder, face twisted in pain."


Free Fiction Review
@BestScienceFictionStories.com: "The Shipmaker" by Aliette de Bodard. Reviewed and linked to a free online version.
"Dac Kien builds ships. But not any ordinary ships. The ships Dac builds are one of a kind, custom made, living, breathing works of art. Each ship is specially designed for its one and only passenger, a baby. An alien baby made of flesh and blood, metal and electronics called a 'Mind.'"



"Classic" Adventure Fiction
At The Hess Collection: Digital Dime Novel Highlight: Adventures with Intelligent Apes featuring Treasure of the Golden Crater "First published in 1893, protagonists encounter small apes who live inside a volcano and offer human captives for sacrifice."and "The Young Marooner (1908) "This story is billed as the "American Robinson Crusoe." Edgar Rice Burroughs cited earlier stories like these as his inspiration for Tarzan of the Apes."










@Pseudopod: Episode #226 "The Sound Of Gears" by Ferrett Steinmetz, read by Bob Eccles.
"Bit by bit, he took apart his wife’s murderer, hammering the cracked windshield behind his desk like a strange map, tacking the rubber hoses in snakelike trails around the room, carefully nailing every gear and fanblade to each of the four walls until he sat at his desk, surrounded by the guts of a dead car."

@Lovecraft eZine: "Beyond the Wall of Sleep" by H. P. Lovecraft.
"I have often wondered if the majority of mankind ever pause to reflect upon the occasionally titanic significance of dreams, and of the obscure world to which they belong."

And "The Horla" "Based on a 1887 short horror story written in the style of a journal by French writer Guy de Maupassant, and cited by some as a possible inspiration for Cthulhu. This audio drama was done by The CBS Radio Mystery Theater in 1974."







@Dark Valentine: "Still Life with Herbs and Flowers" by Mark Satchwill.
@Flashes in the Dark: "Dinnertime" by Rick McQuiston.
@Flashes in the Dark: "The Last Run" by Jim Bronyaur.
@365 tomorrows: "Ping" by Wasco Shafter.







Protodimension Magazine has up its seventh issue of fiction and gaming materials. This issue features adventures and extras for Dark Conspiracy and Call of Cthulhu, as well as fiction. In PDF download.



Altus Adventum 2nd Edition Primer. "It includes all you need to start your own adventures, but is limited to only those begining skills, monsters, and items needed to create new characters" Good Art. Completely different rules, but this has a similar flavor to the Holmes' Basic D&D that I started with long ago. In PDF download. [via DriveThruRPG]





@Netherwerks: "Found Objects: The Crystal Egg" a new, extremely detailed, magic item based on the item from the H. G. Wells story by the same name. The post also links to an online version of the story and the Tales of Tomorrow tv adaptation.





More Cool Gaming Items
@The Land of NOD: [Encounter] "Mu-Pan - Encounter XXV"
@The Land of NOD: "Schrodinger - New Villain for Mystery Men!"
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Magic Items] "Spores of Mayhem" and "Inciting Shield of Dursk"
@A Character for Every Game: [Map] "Erdea Manor – Secret Passages"
@Sea of Stars: [New Magic Items] "Quirinius’ Spear" and "Rumina’s Cup"
@Big Ball of No Fun: [New Monsters] "Roblon" and "Sciritae"
@Zalchis: [New Monster] "Quindra"
@A Field Guide to Doomsday: [New Monsters] "Howligator" and "Skyder" (Mutant Futures or Gamma World)

Video
@YouTube: Mortal Kombat: Legacy. Brand new live action MK series featuring Michael Jai White, Darren Shahlavi, Jeri Ryan and Tamoh Penniket! Two webisodes are already up with a new one added weekly. (Judging by the huge number of views, many of you likely already know about this) [via Beam Me Up]


Other Coolness
A big congratulation to SF Signal for winning SFX magazine's 2011 Literary Blog of the Year award earlier this week! It is an awesome site (far more so than the term "blog" would imply). Check it out frequently.




Last Word
Lt. Bob says
"It’s Friday, Friday / Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday / Gettin’ down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend

Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah) / Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun / Lookin’ forward to the weekend"

Ha ha humans! Bet you have that stuck in your head for hours. If you haven't heard it, consider yourself lucky and avoid it like it was written in the Necronomican!

Free Audio Fiction and More

Today was very good day for free audio fiction, including pirates (Arr!) , fantasy, and SF. We also have some good gaming freebies, classic SF, and a bit more. Have a good Wednesday, avoid Gnaerkieans, and whatever you do, don't lesnerize!




Fiction
Serial Fiction
@Paizo.com: The Walkers from the Crypt by Howard Andrew Jones. Chapter Four: The Pendant.
"Prince Dolandryn explained that in life he'd known only a handful of spells, for he had bent his concentration upon necromantic studies to the exclusion of almost all other magics."




Classic SF
"No Strings Attached" by Lester del Rey, from IF: Worlds of Science Fiction (June 1954).

Poor Henry was an unhappy husband whose wife had a habit of using bad clichès. Alféar was a genii who was, quite like most humans, a creature of habit. Their murder compact was absolutely perfect, with—

At Munseys and Project Gutenberg.

"Oogie Finds Love" by Berkeley Livingston, from Amazing Stories (November 1948).
"It took a fierce battle with the prehistoric Cro-Magnons, and a modern wrestling match with the Russian Bear, before Oogie, the Caveman, finally won beautiful Sala for his woman."
At Munseys and Project Gutenberg.

Brood of the Dark Moon by Charles Willard Diffin, from Astounding Stories (August, September, October, and November 1931).
"Once more Chet, Walt and Diane are united in a wild ride to the Dark Moon—but this time they go as prisoners of their deadly enemy Schwartzmann."
At Munseys and Project Gutenberg.

"Islands" by Eric Flint, from The Warmasters (2004).
"Calopodius went to war to win glory. But after he loses his sight, he is afraid that glory will not befall him. So he finds ways other than battle to make a name for himself."
Reviewed and linked at BestScienceFictionStories.


Flash Fiction:




@Flashes in the Dark: "Fiona's Story (Part One)" by Lori Titus
@Everyday Fiction: "Serves Him Right" by K.C. Ball.
@The Daily Cabal: "The Fragile" by Jason Erik Lundberg.
@365 tomorrows: "Final Exam" by Ian Eller.
@Daily Science Fiction: "K is for Kinky" by Tim Pratt, Jenn Reese, Heather Shaw, Greg van Eekhout.


Audio Fiction:





@LibriVox: Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates by Howard Pyle.
"Swashbuckling tales of legendary pirates, buccaneers, and marooners, terrors of the Spanish Main." In MP3 and ogg downloads.

@PodCastle: Episode 149, Honing Sebastian by Elizabeth Engstrom, read by Kane Lynch.
"Sebastian found the paper sack at 0217 hours on Monday, the sixteenth of Aout, the day of our Lord Hammersmith 12. He saw it in the corner of the doorway of an old apothecary, and made note of all the details in his journal before he approached it."

@The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine: Episode 96, Sides by Clay Dugger.
"Carl Stanley has survived the Zombie Apocalypse so far, but that’s not to say he’s escaped unscathed. As a matter of fact, he was bitten by a little girl zombie, and now, he’s starting to feel and act strangely…"

@StarShipSofa: Episode #181, highlighted by Arvies by Adam Troy Castro.
"Expect cute plush animals and amniotic fluid and a more or less happy ending for everybody, though the definition of happiness may depend on the truncated emotional capacity of those unable to feel anything else."

@ScottSigler.com: Tuesday Terror Episode #03, Loyalty Part 1 of 2
"'Loyalty' is written by Renee Jordan; edited and performed by Arioch Morningstar. It is an alternative future-history of The Rookie."

@19 Nocturne Boulevard: A Date With Dana, by Julie Hoverson, performed by a full cast.
"An AI and a blind date ....what could go wrong?"

Gaming
@Trollish Delver: A short Tunnels and Trolls GM adventure, The Forest of the Treelords.
"The town of Oakblade is an attraction to a great many adventurers looking to make a name for themselves as well as a sackful of treasure. You see, Oakblade is home to the Darklight Forest, a place of secrets where deadly creatures dwell. "






Small, But Cool, Gaming Freebies
@Daddy Grognard: An Adventure for Every Monster - Bears.
@The Land of NOD: [Encounter] Mu-Pan - Encounter VIII.
@Blog on the Borderlands: [New Monster] Scavenging Crawler.
@A Hamsterish Hoard of Dungeons and Dragons: [New Monster] Khetirr.
@The Savage AfterWorld: [New Monster] Soulrider.
@A Character for Every Game: [Magic Items] 6 Magic Potions.
@A Character for Every Game: Enchanters, a Labyrinth Lord Magic-User Subclass.
@A Character for Every Game: [New Spells] Enchanter Spells.
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Spell] Breath of the Gorgon.
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Magic Item] Spellsap.

Other News

TheOneRing.Net notes that Production Begins on the Hobbit movies. [via Greyhawk Grognard]

Saturday Free Fiction and More

It's Saturday and there are some very cool free items today. Time for some space R&R.





Fiction
At Subterranean Press: "The Crawling Sky" by Joe R. Lansdale.
"Wood Tick wasn’t so much a town as it was a wide rip in the forest. The Reverend Jebidiah Mercer rode in on an ebony horse on a coolish autumn day beneath an overcast sky of humped up, slow-blowing, gun-metal-gray clouds; they seemed to crawl."

Online HERE.


At Daily Science Fiction: "Shark's Teeth" by T. A. Pratt.
"Marla Mason, sorcerer in exile, looked over the railing of the balcony, down at the lavish resort hotel's pool with its swim-up bar and tanned, happy people lounging on chairs, and thought, I can't take another day of this."

Online HERE.



Aphelion reached an impressive milestone with its 150th issue. This issue featured fiction by Frederick Rustam, Tristan Kloss, B. A. Hartman, Rob Hunter, Martin A. Ramos, Jeffrey Sorensen, Richard Tornello, David Garlock, Sergei Servianov, David Alan Jones, E. A. Moore, and Jeff Williams with Elizabeth Markham. All these, along with poetry, features, and more are HERE.






@Dark Valentine Magazine: "Bait" by Alexander Douglas.

@Wolfsbane Publishing: "Dark Secrets" by Cast Macabre editor, Barry John Northern. (horror short story). [via Cast Macabre]

Classic SF:
@Two-Fisted Tales of True-Life Weird Romance: "The Tree of Life" by C. L. Moore. (1936).
"A gripping tale of the planet Mars and the terrible monstrosity that called its victims to it from afar - a tale of Northwest Smith." Scanned JPEGS from Weird Tales vol. 28. #. 3.

@BestScienceFictionStories: "18 Fantastic Robot Stories" 18 robot stories reviewed and linked to, many of them free.


Audio Fiction:





@Escape Pod: Episode #284 "On a Clear Day You Can See All the Way to Conspiracy" by Desmond Warzel, read by Joshua McNichols. Streaming and in MP3 download.

@Pseudopod: Episode #221: "Lives" by John Grant, read by Eric Luke.

@Cast Macabre: "Two in the Morning" by Kella Hanna-Wayne, read by Barry J. Northern.

Serial Audio:
@The Guild of Cowry Catchers: Cowry Catchers Book 3 – Episode 5


Flash Fiction:



@Every Day Fiction: "The Perfect Song" by Christopher Lockheardt.
@Flashes in the Dark: "Lessons from Grandma" by Michael A. Kechula.
@365 tomorrows: The Things Between Us by Jason Frank.
@Every Day Fiction: "The Strange Fate of George Morris’ Brother's Dirty Old Shoe" by T.C. Powell.
@365 tomorrows: "Seeding" by John Wallace.


Gaming
At Peril Planet: FU: Free, Universal Roleplaing Game.
"FU is a game of action, adventure and fun! It is a roleplaying game of grand proportions and stupefying simplicity. FU lets you create exciting stories in any setting imaginable, with a minimum of fuss, or even preparation."

In a free PDF download HERE. [via DriveThruRPG]





At A Character for Every Game: "Ruins of the Gorgon" a fully stocked dungeon map. Essentially a small module with all the crunchy bits, just leaving the flavor text for the DM. (I sounded like Brian from KoDT there).

Online HERE.



At The Land of NOD: "League of Groovy Gentlemen (and Ladies). " "Essentially ... something like the League of Extraordinary Gentleman using only '70s television" Interesting, with some unusual choices. For Mystery Men! (available as a free PDF here).


Online HERE.



Small, But Cool, Gaming Freebies
@Strange Magic: [Monster Makeover] The Flail Snail.
@Strange Magic: [New Class] Bene Gesserit.
@Strange Magic: [New Class] Mentat.
@ChicagoWiz's RPG Blog: [New Monster] Zombie Shrieker.
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Magic Item] Infernal Shield of Count Blackfire.
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Magic Item] Devilstone.
@The Land of NOD: [Encounter] Mu-Pan - Encounter VI.
@A Character for Every Game: [Map/Encounter] Ochre Rock – a level 2-3 encounter.
@Blog on the Borderlands: [New Magic Item] Wand of Pain.

St Patrick's Day

A fairly quiet Thursday, but still some good stuff. See you sometime in the next couple of days.





Fiction
At The Absent Willow Review: Several new SF, Fantasy and Horror stories online.

Fiction:
"Gnawing at the Root" by Kevin Pinkham.
"Enki" by Richard Beland.
"Digital Embrace" by Joe Jablonski.
"Something to be Said for a Little Drama" by Naomi Bergner.
"Falling Upwards" by S.G. Rogers.
"All That Was Left" by Sylvia Hiven.
"Aria" by Chris Stevens.
"Letters to Chelsea" by Oscar Connell.
"Mickie’s Stars" by AJ Brown.
"The Cursed Man" by C.B. lovas.
"The Bridge" by Steven Avila.
"Pins and Needles" by Shannon Marcello.

And an interview with Michael Moorcock.


At Book View Cafe: "The Hermit and the Sidhe" by Judith Tarr.
"In which the last hermit in Ireland meets the last of the Sidhe, and gets rather more than he bargained for."

Online HERE.


At BestScienceFictionStories: a review and link to the recent SF story "In-fall" by Ted Kosmatka.
"Two men have a thought provoking discussion as their ship falls into a black hole."

The review and link are HERE.

Classic SF
At Marooned - Science Fiction & Fantasy books on Mars: "The Foreign Legion of Mars" by Frederic Arnold Kummer Jr. from Amazing Stories (May 1939).
"IT happened when I was just a youngster, holding down a trading station on Mars. I was a sergeant in the Alien Legion at the time. You remember the Legion. Scum of the cosmos, picked up in gutters throughout the Solar System, and supposed to keep the Martians in order while our traders stole the fillings out of their teeth."


In PDF download HERE.



Flash Fiction
@Daily Science Fiction: "Tuna Fish" by Andrew Kaye.
@Every Day Fiction: "The Next Ice Age" by Paul Friesen.
@Flashes in the Dark: "Help." by Jim Bronyaur.
@Flashes in the Dark:"Of Darkness and Memory"By Lori Titus.
@365 tomorrows: "Traveler" by Duncan Shields.

Video
At The Internet Archive: Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules (1962).

"Wandering strongman Maxxus comes upon two warring tribes, the Sun worshipers and the Moon worshipers. He saves the leader of the Sun tribe from a sea monster, then later on when the Moon tribe attacks and kidnaps the Sun tribe's women, they call upon Maxxus for help." - IMDb.


In low-res downloads HERE.


Gaming
At RPGNow: "Escape From Khosht" by Fabled Worlds.

"Everything had gone according to plan. The Eye of the Beast---a cut, polished diamond the size of a hill giant's fist rests in your hands. It is worth 200,000 gold pieces! Escape from Khosht is a solitaire adventure written by Andrew Greene, and illustrated by J. Freels for the Tunnels and Trolls game system."

In PDF Download HERE (free membership required).



Small, But Cool, Gaming Freebies
@Blog on the Borderlands: [New Monster] Demon Boar.
@Blog on the Borderlands: [New Magic Item] Ring of Darkness.
@Axe & Hammer: [Price Guide] Paying the Troops: Cavalry.
@Axe & Hammer: [Price Guide] Paying the Troops: Footmen.
@A Hamsterish Hoard of Dungeons and Dragons: [New Magic Item] Greysoul Shards.
@The Land of NOD: [Encounters] Mu-Pan - Encounter IV/V.
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Magic Item] Conjuring Flute of Korabal.


Comics
At Savage Tales: Wulf the Barbarian #4: "Death-Night in the Darkling Forest!"

Atlas Comics' answer to Conan online HERE.


Also online are issues one, two, and three.


Noir/Suspense
At Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: Agatha nominees "So Much in Common" by Mary Jane Maffini.
"Luck was with her that day or Willa Bennington might never have encountered Cliff and Leann Capshaw at the Towne Center Gourmet"

Online HERE.

And "The Green Cross" by Elizabeth Zelvin.
"I had never thought to be a sailor, but my father knew the admiral."

Online HERE.

Audio
@CrimeWAV: Mark Coggins - The Immortal Game - Episode Five.
@SFFAudio: "The McWilliamses And The Burglar Alarm" by Mark Twain.

Comics
@Two-Fisted Tales of True-Life Weird Romance: "Screenplay For Murder" from Crime Illustrated. #. 2.
@The Horrors of it All: "The Rose!" from Spellbound #16.
@ Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine:"A Short Step to Oblivion" from Suspense Detective #1

St. Patrick's Day
In honor of the day, a short fantasy poem by the Irish poet William Butler Yeats.

"The Stolen Child"

WHERE dips the rocky highland
Of Sleuth Wood in the lake,
There lies a leafy island
Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water rats;
There we've hid our faery vats,
Full of berrys
And of reddest stolen cherries.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim gray sands with light,
Far off by furthest Rosses
We foot it all the night,
Weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight;
To and fro we leap
And chase the frothy bubbles,
While the world is full of troubles
And anxious in its sleep.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star,
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Away with us he's going,
The solemn-eyed:
He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast,
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest.
For he comes, the human child,
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than he can understand.

Free Fiction Smuggled Past the Gnaerkieans

Another decent sized haul of free coolness from around the web. Brought to you by wandering starship QuasarDragon and its friendly, though quite deranged, captain. As always hailing frequencies are open for comments and suggestions, moderated to prevent hijacking by Gnaerkiean space pirates.





E-Fiction
At Lightspeed Magazine, "Breakaway, Backdown" by James Patrick Kelley. Originally published in Asimov’s Science Fiction (1996)

"I had…have this friend, Elena, who could make a krill and tomato sandwich with her feet, but she had that operation that changes your big toe into a thumb."

Available online and in an MP3 download HERE.



Beneath Ceaseless Skies has its 63rd issue out with:

"The Ghost of Shinoda Forest" by Richard Parks
"I didn’t know how Kenji found me. I didn’t know what possessed him to look. Yet there he was, coming up the mountain trail to what was left of Enfusa Temple. "

Online HERE.

"Dirt Witch" by Eljay Daley.
"The house was bigger on the inside, as Dorota expected from a witch. What she didn't expect, in the flickering candlelight, was the filth."

Online HERE.

And in the Audio Fiction section, "Silent, Still, and Cold" by Kris Dikeman (from issue #62)
"The place where Ameos should stand is taken by another boy. We are fewer now."

In Mp3 download HERE.



Kindle Only. At Amazon.com, Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith #6 Sentinel is now available as a free Kindle download.

"Cast into slavery by the machinations of the Sith, Ori Kitai believes she’s found her way back into the Lost Tribe—and perhaps a whole lot more. Ori’s discovery of a second starship gives her the opportunity to avenge the humiliations heaped on her family by the decrepit Grand Lord."

Available HERE [via SF Signal]





At Munseys and Project Gutenberg, "First Man" by Clyde Brown from Galaxy Science Fiction (April 1958). Illustrated by comic book great Wally Wood.

"He obstinately wanted no part in achieving the goal of generations—but the goal with equal obstinacy wanted all of him!"

Online and in ebook downloads at Munseys and Project Gutenberg.




At Daily Science Fiction, "Tonight With Words Unspoken" by Jeff Samson

"I was always the first to fall asleep. Sometimes she'd have to lay awake with me for hours. Stroking my hair. Rubbing my temples. Reading to me from old books we'd find in stores that smelled of leather and dust. Or singing to me in whispers. Her breath a gentle, sweet current on my ear. Quieting my stubborn head."

Online HERE.


At Wizards of the Coast, Eberron fiction "Arena of Shadows" by Sarah Zettel.

It had started out well enough. Gaining entrance to Duke Arisor's palace had proven trivial. This was peaceful, ordered Fairhaven, after all. The duke trusted the queen's law and the governor's vigilance. Kalev only needed to bribe one guard to leave one gate in the outer wall open.

In a free PDF download HERE.



Didn't know how far back to go on this one, so here is the cool world sf that they have posted so far this year.

• Dance Dance Revolution, by Charlie Human, South Africa (February 22nd, 2011)
• Borrowed Time, by Stephen Kotowych, Canada (February 15th, 2011)
• Sand, Crushed Shells, Chicken Feathers, by Eliza Victoria, Philippines (February 8th, 2011)
• Seas of the World, by Ekaterina Sedia, Russia/US (February 2nd, 2011)
• LAPINS, by Michael Haulica (translated by Adriana Mosoiu), Romania (January 25th, 2011)
• An Orbital Flight With A Small Surprise, Pyotr Kowalczyk, Poland (January 18th, 2011)
• Thirstlands, by Nick Wood, South Africa (January 11th, 2010)

All are free online at The World SF Blog.


Audio Fiction
At Scott Sigler.com, TUESDAY TERROR Episode #01 "a podcast of Sigler fan-fiction stories. These are not stories by Scott. They are written by Junkies just like you, and are about elements from all over the Siglerverse."

In MP3 download HERE.


Serial Fiction
At Pathfinder, part four, the conclusion, of "The Ghosts of Broken Blades" by Monte Cook.

"Roubris had no idea what to do with the information he'd just gained. The spirit trapped in the sword leading them to the temple in the Worldwound was not that of a slain warrior, but instead a demon. Can you trust a demon? Ever? It seemed like a bad idea."

Online HERE.



At Book View Cafe, episode 22 of "Fires of Nuala " by Katharine Eliska Kimbriel.

"A lost colony founded by stranded scientists, the people of the planet Nuala have battled high levels of ground radiation and mutated microbes. After stabilizing their technology and their genes, they reached back into space in search of traders to buy their rare materials and sell them healthy genetic swatches."

Online HERE. or start from the beginning here.



At Kat and Mouse: Guns For Hire, part four of "Date Knight" by Abner Senires.

"I looked back at Kitchen Man. He was reciting something about a lake of fire. His left hand still held the deadman's switch."

Online HERE. Or star with part one here.




Video
At the Internet Archive, two episodes of the 1950's horror anthology Lights Out. Less than perfect quality files, but watchable.

"Devil in Glencairn" is available streaming and for download HERE.

"Dark Image" is available streaming and for download HERE.



Other Coolness
I know this has been around a little while, but it's the first time I've seen it. A very cool photoshop of the Firefly crew dressed in Starfleet uniforms. Mega-Nerdgasm! Love It - My wall paper. I found this at Helgas Galactische Funkbunde.

Also Nerd Bastards continues along this line with Ten Fights Between Firefly / Star Trek characters Nerdbastards Want to See. Both are PG-13ish.