Free Friday Finds

A pretty good Friday for freebies. Highlights include, new free fiction from Harry Turtledove, classic fiction by Frederic Brown and Octavia Butler, new audio fiction, including two H. P. Lovecraft stories, new gaming items, fantasy art and cool comics, including Tara, Queen of the Space Pirates, from which comes the illustration to the left.

And a special thanks to the three (at least) blogs that have added QD to their links/blogrolls, it really helps attract readers, which in turn sends readers to all the great sites I link to, either directly or in the blogroll here.








@Tor.com: "Shtetl Days" by Harry Turtledove.
"Jakub Shlayfer opened the door and walked outside to go to work. Before he could shut it again, his wife called after him: 'Alevai it should be a good day! We really need the gelt!'"





@Ray Gun Revival: "Lifestealer" by Joseph Giddings.
"That you can actually steal the life from someone? Just by touching them? They say you just touch people and draw out their life, leaving them dead without so much as a weapon mark. It’s how you got your name, after all."

@Daily Science Fiction: "Outer Rims" by Toiya Kristen Finley.
"Six years earlier she'd thought of visiting NYC, the bistro where she met her husband, to honor his memory. But she fussed over the budget. Her last chance passed her by, after half of New York City had eventually been submerged by the encroaching Atlantic."

Classic SF
@Variety SF: A review and link to "The Waverlies" by Frederic Brown (1945).
"The opening guns of invasion were not at all loud, although they were heard by millions of people. George Bailey was one of the millions. I choose George Bailey because he was the only one who came within a googol of light-years of guessing what they were."

@BestScienceFictionStories: A review and link to "Blood Child" by Octavia E. Butler (1985).
"My last night of childhood began with a visit home. T'Gatoi's sister had given us two sterile eggs. T'Gatoi gave one to my mother, brother, and sisters. She insisted that I eat the other one alone. It didn't matter. There was still enough to leave everyone feeling good."

@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "A Gift For Terra" by Fox B. Holden, from If: Worlds of Science Fiction (Sept. 1954)
"The good Martian Samaritans rescued Johnny Love and offered him "the stars". Now, maybe, Johnny didn't look closely enough into the "gift horse's" mouth, but there were others who did ... and found therein the answer to life...."







@Escape Pod: Episode #288 "Future Perfect" by LaShawn M. Wanak, read by Dani Cutler.
"I saw you at a party once. You stood by the bookshelf, reading a tattered volume on Proust. You wore an orange and yellow XTC shirt beneath brown flannel. I bumped your elbow by accident and you looked up, your eyes startling green."

@LibriVox: Short Ghost and Horror Collection #13. "A collection of twenty stories featuring ghoulies, ghosties, long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night. Expect shivers up your spine, the stench of human flesh, and the occasional touch of wonder." Featuring readings of stories by Algernon Blackwood, Ambrose Bierce, H. P. Lovecraft ("Ex Oblivione" and "The Nameless City"), and others.

@Decoder Ring Theater: Red Panda Adventures - "The Wild West" "There are some situations that you just can't prepare for. You can be the cleverest mystery man on the block, there will still be days that you just never saw coming. Those are the moments that cry out for a firey horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty... well, you know..." Superhero/humor.


Video
Streaming at Hero (& Heroine) Histories: The Green Hornet Strikes Again "Flaming Havoc!" Classic superhero serial.







@Flashes in the Dark: "Frankenwad" by Neil Leckman.
@365 tomorrows: "Marcus Grillman, Culinary Artiste"by Steve Smith.
@Robot Trees: "Queen of Mars" by J. J. Ulm [Via Marooned]







@Greyhawk Grognard: "Adventures Dark and Deep Bestiary Now Available!"

"All of the monsters from the original Monster Manual (some in other guises for legal purposes)

Some of the monsters from the original Monster Manual II

A couple of the monsters from the original Fiend Folio

A few new monsters"

@Big Ball of No Fun: [Monster] "Mara"
@Blog on the Borderlands: [Monster] "Cthulhi (Starspawn)"
@Sea of Stars: [Magic Item] "Momus’ Mask"
@A Character for Every Game: [Map] "Erdea Manor (surface and level 1)"
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Spell] "It’s No Secret"
@The Land of NOD [Encounter] "Mu-Pan - Encounter XXII"







@Atomic Kommie Comics: Tara, Queen of the Space Pirates in "Fabulous Jewel of Morn" from Wonder Comics #15. Sci-Fi.

@Atomic Kommie Comics: SpaceBusters in "Mission to Baldor!" from SpaceBusters #2. Sci-Fi.

@Four-Color Shadows: "Mind Reader" by Bernie Krigstein (1957). Horror/Weird.

@The Comic Book Catacombs: Garo, Prince of the Jungle in “The Curse of the God Rama” from Ramar of the Jungle #2 (Sept. 1955). Adventure.

@The Fabuleous Fifties: "The Stranger from the Stars" from Strange Adventures #3: (1951?) Sci-fi. (and other unrelated comics).

@The Horrors of It All: "Beware the Graveyard Clay" from Baffling Mysteries #14 (March 1953).

Other Coolness - Art
@Golden Age Comic Book Stories: [Art] Lensman covers and interior art.
@Fantasy Ink: [Art] "Classic Science Fiction Art"
@The Land of NOD: [Art] Fantasy art gallery by Lizzy John - GraySaphire. (PG-13ish)
For more Dark, Surreal, and Fantasy art, check out Trixie's Treats. (PG-13ish)