Freebies on a Gorram Monday

Your friendly space captain has a busy day today so today's post was made last night. We have some new fiction, including a variety from Absent Willow. Some classic fiction (Weird Tales and Galaxy ruled in their eras), some great gaming items, Art, and more. Have as good a day as possible on a gorram Monday! [Today's illustration is for the poem "When Wizards Clashed" by Richard H. Fay in Absent Willow]







@The Absent Willow Review:

• "As Martha Waits" by Edward Turner III.
• "Abigail" by James C. Bassett.
• "Emergence" by A.J. Faust.
• "Caught in a Trap" by Terry Light.
• "Lonestar" by John Richard Albers.
• "Desolation Dreaming" by Sean A. Lusher.
• "Wildman" by Richard Marsden Meatte.
• "Touch of Death" by BV.
• "From the Field" by Nick Medina.
• "Human Resources" by Gregg Chapman Nerves.
• "Appetites" by Pamela J. Jessen.
• "When Wizards Clashed" by Richard H. Fay.

@The author's Site: "All the Clowns in Clowntown" by Andrew J. McKiernan. (only until the 22nd of April) [via SF Signal]
"Binko stood his ground, white-gloved fingers twitching into nervous fists. The warmth from the overhead street-lamp drew sweat from his brow, sheening his greasepaint until it shone like fine-glazed porcelain."


Classic SF/Weird Tales
@Two-Fisted Tales of True-Life Weird Romance: "The Last Three Ships" by Margaret St. Clair, from Weird Tales (May 1950). (jpg scans).
"The best of it was that it wasn't really stealing. Everybody knew that the ships had been moored in the estuary because mooring them was cheaper than cutting them up for scrap would have been."


@Project Gutenberg: "The Rotifer" by Robert Abernathy, IF Worlds of Science Fiction (March 1953).
"Beneath the stagnant water shadowed by water lilies Harry found the fascinating world of the rotifers—but it was their world, and they resented intrusion."

@Two-Fisted Tales of True-Life Weird Romance: "Second Childhood" by Clifford D. Simak,
from Galaxy Magazine (Feb. 1951). (jpg scans).
"Achieving immortality is only half the problem. The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible -- and inescapable."







@Every Day Fiction: "Vestige" by Yvette Managan.
@Flashes in the Dark: "The Bottom Step" by Thomas Scopel.
@365 tomorrows: "The Mad Cow Special" by Marlan Smith.
@365 tomorrows: "What Happened to San Francisco?" by David Bastin.
@Tor.com: [Poem] "Ragnarok" by Paul Park.







@Free Listens: "The Library of Babel" by Jorge Louis Borges, reviewed with an MP3 download. Magic Realism.
"The universe (which others call the Library) is composed of an indefinite and perhaps infinite number of hexagonal galleries, with vast air shafts between, surrounded by very low railings."

Serial Audio:
@Triplanetary: Superman "The Atom Man" Parts 13-16.
"Superman confronts his nemesis, Atom Man, as the transcription feature continues."







@DriveThruRPG: Blackmarsh from Bat in the Attic Games.
"Blackmarsh is a complete, ready to run setting for your campaign. It can be run as its own setting or an expansion of your existing world. Contained in Blackmarsh are 17 geographical entries, 78 described locales, and one detailed town; Castle Blackmarsh. Each entry provide one or more adventure hooks to use in your campaigns." For early editions of D&D and retro clones.

[free membership required]


@Earthdawn Blog: Tableau Infractus #7. A fan generated Earthdawn zine with "an interview with Andrew Ragland wherein he talks about his authorship on the new RedBrick release “Burning Desires”. Further chapters include descriptions of Iopos, several selection charts which explain the methods of spell casting in Earthdawn and of course is a chapter with miniatures included."

Smaller But Still Cool:
@The Land of NOD: [Encounter] "Mu-Pan - Encounter XXIII"
@Big Ball of No Fun: [Monster] "Nuberu"
@Sea of Stars: [New Magic Item] "Naenia’s Flute"
@The Grand Tapestry: [Monster] "Cephalomalian"
@A Character for Every Game: [New Spells] "Level 1 Diablo Necromancer Magic"
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Magic Item] "Mind Gems of Athra-Kla"
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Spell] "Fatestone"


Other Coolness
@Monster Brains: [Art] A gallery of SF art by Paul Lehr.
@Golden Age Comic Book Stories: [Art] A gallery of Ace Books covers for Andre Norton Books.
@Two-Fisted Tales of True-Life Weird Romance: [Art] Ed Emshwiller SF gallery.

Tobias Buckell, Theodore Sturgeon, and Hot Elf Chicks.

It's Saturday and we (the royal "we" apparently) have a googleplex of chores to do, but here are a few rather cool free items from the digital multiverse.




Fiction
At Subterranean Press: "The Fall of Alacan" by Tobias S. Buckell.
"Mynza clung to the side of a stone tower like a bug to a wall. He was hundreds of feet above the dirt street below, halfway up to the bulging copper-plated dome at the very top of the tower. From here he could see the last few merchants of the day who camped out in front of the Mayor’s Mansion leaving their brightly colored stalls."


Online HERE.



At Munseys: "Hoiman and the Solar Circuit" by Gordon Dewey, from If: Worlds of Science Fiction (July 1952).

In e-book downloads at Munseys HERE and Project Gutenberg HERE.



Audio Fiction
The latest episode, number 88, of Spider on the Web is up featuring SF great Spider Robinson hosting readings of "Bianca's Hands" and "Godbody" by another SF great, Theodore Sturgeon.


In MP3 download HERE.




Fetidus is a complete online audio-book, "FETIDUS: The Damned Heir by James Durham. This "future-noir" urban fantasy features a talented cast and original music score, and can be freely downloaded and shared. Join us in the post-apocalyptic world of Art Blanchard, as he takes on a thrilling, twisted case set in the fetid alleys of Washington, DC, circa 2034." Likely R rated.


All twenty episodes are available streaming and in MP3 download HERE. [via The Guild of Cowry Catchers]



The Guild of Cowry Catchers is a series of serialized audio books (now on book three Ashes ). It is "a dark, nautical fantasy for people who shop in the grown-up section of the bookstore." I listened tp book 3, episode one and thought it quite well done, though I would recommend starting from book 1.

The latest episode is Book 3 – Episode 4. Streaming and in MP3 download HERE, or start with Book 1 – Episode 1 HERE (approximately R rated). This a good site to look around in as there are lots of extras.



Episode 11, Ignis, of The Witch Hunter Chronicles is now available.
"What awaits now? The kindling flame of hope? Or the destructive fires of punishment and vengeance? The final hours approach and the skies redden over Sevenpeaks…"

Streaming and in MP3 download HERE.

Flash Fiction
@Every Day Fiction: "God Machine" by Ajit Dhillon.
@Flashes in the Dark: "She Took in Silence" by Matthew C. Funk.
@365 tomorrows: "Incarnate" by Ian Rennie.

Gaming
At DriveThruRPG, Salvage Crew: Star Mogul Game.

"The focus of this game is on running a salvage crew operation and earning money. If your company goes broke, you simply open a new one and continue playing your opponents. A two or more player table top game. Future menacing alien encounters will be controlled by all players involved so no DM is necessary for this system."

In a free PDF download HERE. (free membership required).




At Earthdawn Blog: 255 Earthdawn Spells. "The Tableau Infractus Internet Archive released a collection of spells in four brand new fanzine Ebooks. The four books about elemental, illusionary, nethermantic and wizardry spells were collected from various internet sources. The layout of the Ebook spells is based on the editable Spellcards of Maskhim, which I introduced some time ago over here on the Earthdawn Blog."


In four PDF downloads HERE.




At Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets, for D&D or Labyrinth Lord:

"[New Spell] Encounter Iconic Nemesis" online HERE

and "[New Monster] Crimson Arbiter" online HERE.




At A Character for Every Game, "[Friday Map] the Ancient Temple of Torrel"

A nice ruined temple map for any fantasy rpg - HERE.




And at A Rust Monster Ate My Sword, "Hot Elf Chicks with Swords!" A must see -- Trust me, this is as safe for work as it gets (assuming it's safe to look at gaming sites at your work).

Online HERE.

Comics
At Crom!: "From Star-Studded Comics #14 (1968), comes this old-school adaptation of Robert E. Howard's 'Gods of the North'!"



Available in CBR download HERE.