So much good stuff today! There's a two great new stories at
Tor.com, and a great new story at
Baen. Two serials reach there conclusions -
"The Comet" by (A co-founder of the NAACP) and
"A Matter of Knives" by Ed Greenwood (The creator of
Forgotten Realms).
Nightmare Magazine and
StarShipSofa have their latest stories up - both sites always awesome. A new issue of
Planetary is posted and there are great e-books, flash fiction, and comics!
A hearty hat tip to two cool Canadian bloggers, Jesse Willis of
SFFaudio from which I found a cool audio fiction site
The Moon Lens to link to now and in the future, and Regan Wolfrom of
SF Signal which I swiped an e-book link from today.
Today's art is for
Star Soldiers a classic by SF/Fantasy legend Andre Norton! Get it while it is still free.
Fiction
• At
Baen: "
Haunts of Guilty Minds" by John Lambshead. Science Fiction.
"He held the gun in two hands at a low chest height using the fast
“double tap” pistol technique developed by the SOE, Churchill’s Special
Operations Executive. Urban encounters with the SS
proved speed and firepower more useful than target-shooting accuracy.
Holographic targets flicked in and out around him as he moved through
the battle range, an exercise area rigged out like an office suite. The
targets weren’t exactly human but he didn’t really look at them. This
was a free-fire exercise where everything that moved was hostile."
• At
HiLobrow: "
The Comet - part 5" by W.E.B. Du Bois. Science Fiction. (1920)
"He did not glimpse the glory in her eyes, but stood looking outward
toward the sea and sending rocket after rocket into the unanswering
darkness. Dark-purple clouds lay banked and billowed in the west. Behind
them and all around, the heavens glowed in dim, weird radiance that
suffused the darkening world and made almost a minor music."
• At
HiLobrow: "
The Clockwork Man - part 14" by E.V. Odle. Science Fiction. (1923)
“I’m afraid I put you to great inconvenience,” murmured the visitor,
still yawning and rolling about on the couch. “The fact is, I ought to
be able to produce things — but that part of me seems to have
gone wrong again. I did make a start — but it was only a flash in the
pan. So sorry if I’m a nuisance.”
• At
Nightmare Magazine: "
The God of the Razor" by Joe R. Landsdale. Horror.
"Richards arrived at the house about eight. The moon was full and it was a very bright night, in spite of occasional cloud cover; bright enough that he could get a good look at the place. It was just as the owner had described it. Run down. Old. And very ugly. The style was sort of Gothic, sort of plantation, sort of cracker box. Like maybe the architect had been unable to decide on a game plan, or had been drunkenly in love with impossible angles."
• At
Paizo: "
A Matter of Knives - Chapter Three: An End to All Skulking Games" by Ed Greenwood. Fantasy.
"From her hiding place behind a stack of shipping crates, Tantaerra leaned forward, trying to get as close to the conversation as possible without being seen. Bendrar was Loryn Garldrake's son, and the woman giving orders had to be Semdeira Sarpent."
• At
Tor.com: "
The Stranger" by Anna Banks.
"The Syrena don’t trust many humans. Rachel is one of them. The story of how Galen met her—and how they bonded—is both exciting and heartbreaking."
• At
Tor.com: "
Burning Girls" by Veronica Schanoes. Dark Fantasy.
"about a Jewish girl educated by her grandmother as a healer and witch growing up in an increasingly hostile environment in Poland in the late nineteenth century. In addition to the natural danger of destruction by Cossacks, she must deal with a demon plaguing her family."
• Now Posted:
Planetary #28. Science Fiction.
"Krax Delivered" by Joel Zaptman.
"She fought for freedom!"
"Incident on Titus Thirteen" by J Eckert Lytle
"He went fishing and caught aliens"
"Dragon Sword" by Jerry Johns
"Was he using the dragons...or were they using him?"
Flash Fiction
- At Daily Science Fiction: "City of Chrysanthemum" by Ken Liu.
- At Every Day Fiction: "The Game" by Tiffany John. Science Fiction.
- At The Moon Lens: "Shadwell Stair" by Wilfred Owen. Audio Horror. Poem.
- At 365 Tomorrows: "Dis’ Country" by James Zahardis. Science Fiction.
E-Books
• At Amazon:
Province Five (The Golden String) by Al Vickers. Science Fiction. [Via
SF Signal]
At
Free eBooks Daily:
At
Smashwords:
Audio Fiction
• At
The Moon Lens: "
The Man Who Went Too Far" by EF Benson. Horror.
"The little village of St. Faith's nestles in a hollow of wooded
till up on the north bank of the river Fawn in the country of
Hampshire, huddling close round its grey Norman church as if for
spiritual protection against the fays and fairies, the trolls and
"little people," who might be supposed still to linger in the vast
empty spaces of the New Forest, and to come after dusk and do their
doubtful businesses."
• At
StarShipSofa: "
Philosophy of Ships" by Caroline M. Yoachim. Science Fiction.
"The philosophy of ships being the question : if a ship has its planking
replaced plank by plank over a period of years, when does it become a
new ship? Yoachim applies this to humanity – once we have ultimate
control of the biological self, and can engage and share/merge with
others in virtual space, what is it that is the essence of humanity."
Comics
