Free Genre Audio Fiction and More Part One

Fire up your MP3 players, there's some quite good free audio fiction this morning with more to come later.  There are the usual Friday greats, Escape Pod and Pseudo Pod, as well as "Dagon" at SFFaudio, and there are some "new to QD" sites. And there's some quite good written fiction.

[Art from "The Ungreat Escape" linked below]




Fiction
• At Buzzy Mag: "Dance" by Laura Anne Gilman.
     "“It’s a beautiful tree.” Her brother came in from the garage, shaking the snow off his boots and dropping his overnight bag by the door."

• At Cosmos: "The Ungreat Escape" by Siobhan Gallagher. Science Fiction.
       "The most important part of a heist is getting away – and that’s where things go wrong."

• At Daily Science Fiction: "Seashells" by Lavie Tidhar.
       "Then it happened. Shell remembers it only in confused snatches of recall. Turbulence rising out of the sea. A man rising high in the air, his face contorted in--what? Agony? Ecstasy?--he looked silly and pitiful hanging there in his Speedo, his hairy back still glistening with sea water. The man's head exploding, like a ripe watermelon like they sold, here, by the side of the road. Red rain falling down."

Audio Fiction
• At Celtic Myth Podshow: "Faerie Days and Faerie Knights" (Welsh Mythology Ep. 3). Fantasy. Myth.
     "In this tale, Pwyll finds his way around the Court of Arawn, seeing many strange marvels and meeting many mysterious people. As the time of the evening Feast approaches, he finally gets to meet the Great Queen herself..!" [ Episodes One and Two]

• At Desert Gems Audio "Fisherman and the Djinni: - Parts One and Two" compiled by Sir Richard Burton. Fantasy. Myth.
     "Sherazade begins the tale of "Fisherman and the Djinni." A poor humble fisherman unearths from the bottom of the ocean 1800 year old brass jar containing  a malicious and wicked Djinni. The evil spirit offers him choice of deaths, and the fisherman engages in tricks and tales to outwit him. The first is the story of "King Yunan and Sage Duban."

• At Earbud Theater: "Beneath The Basement" by Doug TenNapel. Horror.
      "There's no better debunker than Dr. Fullbright. You've probably seen his website where he offers anyone $100,000 for proof of a spiritual entity. He and his trusty cameraman Neville Dylan have never encountered a case that can't be promptly dismissed as a hoax, a delusion or utter malarky. But a visit to one Natalie Jessup just might put the real deal right in their cynical laps"

• At Escape Pod: "Oubliette" by J. Kelley Anderson. Science Fiction.
     "The half-buried thing hadn’t moved once, but I didn’t have to include that in the story when I got back to base. The great, gray mass of it rose at least ten feet out of the red earth, tucked close to the sheer wall of the plateau. That part I’d tell. If there had been anything like a head, I would have shot it, but it just looked like a giant, lumpy football, oozing a viscous yellowy liquid here and there."

• At Pseudopod: "Feeding The Machine" by Hunter James Martin. Horror.
       "The atmosphere doesn’t help things either, the horrid gloom we work within. Even in my apathy I can taste it: the darkness that nestles within the oily depths of the shadows, the dull throb that resonates through the caverns, and the dreadful machine, always rumbling like an empty stomach."

• At SFFaudio: "Dagon" by H.P. Lovecraft. Horror.
     "The testament of a tortured, morphine-addicted man who plans to commit suicide over an incident that occurred early on in World War I when he was a merchant marine officer. First published in the November 1919 edition of The Vagrant (issue #11)."

Other Genres

• Audio at The Classic Tales Podcast: "The Chimes, Part 4 of 4" by Charles Dickens.
• Audio at Forgotten Classics: "The Sea Hag" by Charles Harry Whedbee. Folk Tale. 
• Audio at Forgotten Classics: "The Unforeseen Chapter 6" by Dorothy Macardle. Gothic (earlier chapters)
• Audio at LibriVox: Hans Christian Andersen: Fairytales and Short Stories Volume 3

Fantasy and Dark Fiction and Audio, and Classic SF - All Free

Some great free fantasy and dark fiction today as three of the premiere sites (Tor, ChiZine, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies) have new stuff. Classic SF, Flash Fiction and Poetry, and some cool audio (fantasy, dark, and wuxia). And now cool Comics.

Illustration for "Shannon’s Law" by Cory Doctorow, also added since the partial posting earlier.








@Tor.com: "The Iron Shirts" by Michael F. Flynn.
"To the battles of 13th-century Ireland come new warriors...from across the Western Sea."



Also at Tor.com: "Shannon’s Law" by Cory Doctorow.
"When the Way opened again, the day I turned seventeen, I didn’t hesitate. I packed everything I could carry—every scratched phone, every half-assembled laptop, every stick of memory, and every Game Boy I could fit in a duffel bag."


@Beneath Ceaseless Skies: Issue #68 featuring fantasy fiction:
"The Finest Spectacle Anywhere" by Genevieve Valentine.
"I could hardly keep from laughing at the rubes that panicked and then applauded three times as loud as they would have if it had all been perfect. Elena and the others had Boss's copper bones—what could happen to them that couldn't be mended?"

and "Buzzard's Final Bow" by Jason S. Ridler.
"They ran through the tumbles and bumps, grips and leaps, Buzzard tossing and turning with Razor as she barely noticed, thrashing about to make it look real."

@ChiZine.com: The Chiaroscuro: Volume 47, Week 5 featuring Dark fiction.
"Dogs Want to Eat You" by Ralph Robert Moore.
"Upstairs, in the bedroom, flat on his back, paralyzed, James heard, from below, his wife’s moans, her final scream."

"Fortune" by Shira Lipkin.
"A man, shuffling and reshuffling a deck of oversized cards . . . one leg extended, one folded, a mirror of Vegas Vic above him. He was talking to himself—no, singing, with the buzz and hiss of neon drowning him out almost completely."

"The Performer" by Philip Nutman.
"None of this came as a surprise: he had suggesting remaking Cammell & Roeg’s PERFORMANCE as a joke just to piss off the suits at Warners, who’d paid him $3 million for a two picture deal after his remake of Disney’s 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA had grossed $190 M domestically."

"Dirty Money" by S. E. Ward.
"Quick-change, one hand to the next, liquid far from its source. A bill, a suck; money, money, money. Pop the cap. Drink it down. Ooze, jet, scarlet, spray. Wait for the shudder of someone else’s sight to pass."

"The Spider House Rules" by Rain Graves.
"They had a club like important boys do, and there were secret words, secret things to keep in boxes like a candle and matches, secret handshakes, and secret things to do. It was important to be secret; no girls allowed."

and "Last of His Kind" by Sandra McDonald.
"Those of you who still explore graveyards and scour old records might as well hang up your wooden stakes, or use them to mark seedlings in vegetable gardens, or burn them in fires; the vampiri are gone, finito, they no longer swoop through the sky or glide before mirrors which do not show their reflections."

Classic SF
@The Internet Archive: "The Lost Machine" by John Beynon Harris (John Wyndham), from Amazing Stories (April 1932 ) [via Marooned - Science Fiction & Fantasy books on Mars].
"Psychologists -- and others -- are greatly concerned about the effects -- possible and assured -- of machines and the machine age, on human life and endeavor. But who has ever stopped to consider the possible reactions -- or thoughts -- of the advanced machine of the future?"

@Project Gutenberg: Four Philip K Dick science fiction stories have been updated with additional e-book options.

• The Crystal Crypt
  
• Mr. Spaceship
  
• Second Variety
  
• The Variable Man
  

Serial Fiction
@Paizo.com: "Two Pieces of Tarnished Silver" by Erik Mona, Chapter Three: Beyond the Demon Lens.
"For a long moment Korm Calladan felt only a pleasant warmth. Gone were the fears of starvation, the thrill of combat in the cramped underdeck of the Queen's Lament, the suspicion of the Lady Iranez and her imposing crew."







@Dark Fiction Magazine: Issue 7: "Sacred Fire" [via Free SF Reader].
"Dark Fiction Magazine is a monthly, short fiction podcast magazine, bringing [. . .] the very best that horror, fantasy, and science-fiction has to offer."

"Xenos Beach" by Graham Joyce, read by Danny Davies.
"The Winter King" by Liz Williams, read by Kim Lakin-Smith.
"Who Slays The Gyant, Wounds The Beast" by Mark Chadbourn, read by Marty Perrett.
"Paying For Rain" by Jaine Fenn, read by Emma Newman.

@Beneath Ceaseless Skies: "The Fairy Gaol" by Heather Fawcett, from Issue #66 (Apr. 7, 2011).
"I will fashion a dagger worthy of his jeweled throat."

@Kung Fu Action Theater: Kung Fu Action Tales, Episode Four - "The Inuyama Rebellion, Part 1- The Two Samurai"
"Knowing that the declaration of independence will surely bring the deaths of her sons, the clan lord’s wife, Lady Murasaki, has secretly dispatched two of the clan’s samurai -the elder Jiro and his apprentice Masato- to Kurokawa lands in an effort to rescue the boys"







@Every Day Fiction: "His Mother's Son" by JR Hume. SF.
@Flashes in the Dark: "La Muerte" by Cynthia (cina) Pelayo.
@365 tomorrows: "The Vendetta" by Patricia Stewart.
@Weirdyear: "Snowflakes" by Ian Chung.
@Eschatology: "The Icicle" by Rick McQuiston.
@Daily Science Fiction: "Vacuum Decay" by Ramon Rozas.
@ChiZine: [Dark Poetry]

• Mississippi Twilight by Chad Hensley
• Moon Ship Sailing by Robin Mayhall
• Bluebeard by Joanne Merriam
• Comet Flyby by John Park
• Lucan in Averno by Sonya Taaffe

Classic Comics

• @The Horrors of It All: "Demon from the Deep!" (1952). Horror
• @Crosseyed Cyclops!: The Green Planet #1 (1962). SciFi. and many issues of Ghostly Tales.
• @Ditko Comics: "Stranger In The House" (1957) and "Free" (1957). Horror.
• @Fantasy-Ink: "Has-Been" (1955) SciFi.
• @Secret Sanctum of Captain Video: The adaptaion of Dr. Who and the Daleks part 1 and part 2.

Online Comic
Escape From Terra "is a continuing story set in the late 21st Century. and concerns humanity's advance both through outer space and social evolution. People living in the frontier are liberated from traditional power structures and free to develop new customs and rules as may suit them -- although the United World government on Terra (Earth) is envious of colonial success and anxious to establish its grip on human lives and wealth as far as it can." Looks interesting.

Mike Resnick, Gaming Items, and Poetry?

A few cool fiction items, including one by Mike Resnick. There's been quite a few Resnick items lately, which I love since I've been a fan of his since I read Birthright: The Book of Man back in high school. Some genre poetry, including one by fantasy author and GURPS Celtic Myth co-writer Jo Walton. There are some very cool gaming items and a pair of fairy tale books - very well illustrated with fantasy art that is now public domain, which might interest fantasy/rpg bloggers looking for free, legal artwork. Today's illustration comes from Celtic Folk and Fairy Tales, listed below.


Fiction
@Daily Science Fiction: "Break" by Mishell Baker.
"When I shook Femi's hand in the office break room on my first day, everything faded: the snot-colored linoleum, the nauseous fluorescent lighting, the wheezy hum of the refrigerator. Instead of "Nice to meet you," I heard myself say, 'You are a fragment of heaven.'"

@Subterranean Press: "Treasure Island: A Lucifer Jones Story" by Mike Resnick.
"I’d been on the high seas for about a week after leaving my pal Capturin’ Clyde Calhoun on an uncharted island that seemed to specialize in apes with pituitary problems, and I figgered at the rate of speed I was rowing I’d arrive at Australia just in time to die of extreme old age."

@Goblin Fruit: The Spring 2011 issue is now posted, featuring fantasy poetry (most with MP3 downloads) including, "A Silver Splendour, a Flame: Act I" by Catherynne M. Valente, "Crowfunded" by J. C. Runolfson, "The Making of Witches" by Paul McQuade, "Kelpie" by Cheryl Ruggiero, "The Catfish Woman" by Joshua Gage, "Mora" by Nina Pelaez, "Grey-Eyed" by Emily Jiang, "Ride of the Robber Bride" by C.S.E. Cooney, and "Icarus" by Shawna Lenore Kastin.

@Stone Telling: Issue 3 is now posted, featuring "literary speculative poems with a strong emotional core ... [that] focus on fantasy, science fiction, surrealism, and slipstream" including
"The Weatherkeeper's Diary" by Jo Walton, "Newton's First Copy of Euclid" by Benjamin Cartwright, "11:40PM" by Sara Saab, "Jonah's Widowed Wife" by Susan Rooke, "A Dreamed Zodiac" by Michael Roderick Fosburg, "Firefly Girls" by Caitlyn Paxson, "Rice Cooker Dreams" by Emily Jiang, "Self-Portrait as Mushroom" by William Doreski, "Sodom Gomorrah" by Eliza Victoria, "Persephone in Hel" by Sonya Taaffe, "Moving to Enceladus" by Mary Turzillo, and "The Secret of Being a Cowboy" by Catherynne M. Valente. [via Goblin Fruit]

Classic Adventure:
@Munseys and Project Gutenberg: "Warrior of the Dawn" by Howard Browne, from Amazing Stories (Dec. 1942 and Jan. 1943)
"From the forest deeps came brutal killers, and Tharn, the Cro-Magnon, vowed that vengeance would be his...."






Mythology:
@Project Gutenberg: Celtic Folk and Fairy Tales selected and edited by Joseph Jacobs, illustrated by John D. Batten.
@Project Gutenberg:Japanese Fairy Tales by Grace James, illustrated by Warwick Goble







@The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine: "Spider Hunt" by Kenneth Yu.
"Lysel was attacked and bitten by a giant venomous spider, now Leyton must collect dozens of venom sacs to make the antidote for the poison, or his sister will perish. Can he get them in time…"








@Flashes in the Dark: "An Attack" by Jim Bronyaur.
@365 tomorrows: "The Application" by Ian Sweeney.
@The New Flesh: "Trimming Hedges" by Randall E. Cunningham.








@RPG Creatures: "Johrlars" a monster for most fantasy RPGs.
"Like strange lizard-like gnomes, the Johrlars move through the woods with their hands in constant contact with the ground. Their fingers work nimbly through the moss, grass, and leaves of the forest floor, to feel out the kind and energy of the undergrowth." (The original illustration looks MUCH better than this thumbnail)



@DriveThruRPG: Nemesis by Arc Dream Publishing.
"Nemesis: Roleplaying in Worlds of Horror is a free game using the One Roll Engine (also seen in Godlike, Wild Talents, Monsters and Other Childish Things, Reign, and A Dirty World) for modern-day horror, particularly the Lovecraftian horror of the Cthulhu Mythos."

Shorter But Still Very Cool:
@Sickly Purple Death Ray: [Map] "Tomb of Yekelil"
@Daddy Grognard: [Encounter Table] "Woodland Dangers" PDF download.
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Magic Item] "Livery of the Elder Cavalry of the Northern Stars"
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Monster] "Thelg"
@A Character for Every Game: [Tables] "Lost Cities of the Fallen Empire"
@Sham's Grog 'n Blog: [Table] "Monster Business"
@Sea of Stars: [New Magic Items] "Libertas’ Pileus (hat)" and "Keres’ Charm"
@DriveThruRPG: [Encounters] "The Chamber of Fire" and "The Hall of Spiders" (both 4E)
@Big Ball of No Fun: [Monsters] "La Chusa" and "Kludde"
@Rather Gamey: [Monster] "The Croucher"