Free SF, Fantasy and Horror Fiction for 9/25/2013

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What’s special about today’s free fiction?

1. Lightspeed has a story about stingers from Will McIntosh
   

   Josephine had been up all night, her heart pounding, thinking about this day, about whether she would survive it. Now, out on the road and exposed on all sides, she was so scared she could barely breathe.

   “Down,” Bella hissed.

   Josephine dropped into the weeds lining the road. She stayed perfectly still, except for her chest, which was rising and falling as quickly as a butterfly flapping its wings. Bella’s face was inches from hers, the barrel of her M16 between them. “On the hill,” she whispered. She moved her eyes to the right, to indicate direction.

   – “Dry Bite”

2. Tor has a short story from Charles Stross
   

    “Bob! Are you busy right now? I’d like a moment of your time.”

   Those thirteen words never bode well—although coming from my new manager, Iris, they’re less doom-laden than if they were falling from the lips of some others I could name. In the two months I’ve been working for her Iris has turned out to be the sanest and most sensible manager I’ve had in the past five years. Which is saying quite a lot, really, and I’m eager to keep her happy while I’ve got her.

   – “Equoid”

3. Check out a free Steampunk novella at Amazon

Written

• @The Colored Lens: “The Shallows” by Jarod K Anderson [Urban Fantasy]
• @Lightspeed:
  • “Dry Bite” by Will McIntosh [Post-Apocalyptic] (also available in audio)
  • “And Then Some” by Matthew Hughes [Fantasy] (also available in audio)
• @Tor: “Equoid” by Charles Stross [Lovecraftian Dark Comedy]

Written – Flash

• @Daily Science Fiction: “Virtually Human” by Melanie Rees [Science Fiction Flash]
• @Every Day Fiction: “Once Upon a Time in Deadbone” by Sam Bellotto Jr. [Science Fiction Flash]

Written – Serialized

• @HiLobrow: Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman – Part 11 [Science Fiction – from 1915]
• @Author’s Site: Tickling Butterflies by Guy Hasson – Part 12: The Magical Planet Earth – “Return of the Original Monster” [Epic Fantasy Serialization]

Audio

• @Lightspeed:
  • “Dry Bite” by Will McIntosh [Post-Apocalyptic]
  • “And Then Some” by Matthew Hughes [Fantasy]
• Protecting Project Pulp #61 – “The Servant Problem” by Robert F. Young [Science Fiction Comedy – from 1962]
• @Relic Radio: X Minus One – “Open Warfare” [Science Fiction Radio Drama – from 1957]

Audio – Serialized

• @19 Nocturne Boulevard: Atomic Julie’s Galactic Bedtime Stories #15 – “The Black Lamp” by Captain S.P. Meek – Part 1 of 2 [Science Fiction – from 1931]

Free eBooks (at time of listing)

• Science Fiction:
  • Below Mercury by Mark Anson
    [Science Fiction Adventure Novel – Amazon]
  • Déjà Vu (The Saskia Brandt Series Book One) by Ian Hocking
    [Science Fiction Novel – First of Series – Amazon]
  • The Egg Said Nothing by Caris O’Malley
    [Science Fiction Comedy Novella – Amazon]
  • Exodus (The Exodus Trilogy) by Andreas Christensen
    [Military Science Fiction Novel – First of Series – Amazon]
  • The Road to Hell by Peter Cawdron
    [Cyberpunk Novel – Amazon | B&N | Smashwords]
• Fantasy:
  • “The Artificer’s Apprentice” by DJ Edwardson
    [Fantasy Short Story – Amazon | B&N | Smashwords]
  • A God-Blasted Land: The Bastard Cadre #1 by Lee Carlon
    [Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Novella – First of Series – Amazon | B&N | Smashwords]
  • Crimson Dawn (Darklife Saga) by Ronnie Massey
    [Paranormal Fantasy Novel – First of Series – Amazon]
  • Keys to the Coven (A Hellfire Universe Novel) by Vicky Loebel
    [Contemporary Fantasy Novel – Amazon]
  • One Ghost Per Serving by Nina Post
    [Paranormal Mystery Novel – Amazon]
  • The Reluctant Amazon (Alliance of the Amazons) by Sandy James
    [Paranormal Fantasy Novel – First of Series – Amazon | B&N]
  • The Witch Hunter (The Witch Hunter Saga) by Nicole R Taylor
    [Paranormal Fantasy Novel – First of Series – Amazon | B&N | Smashwords]
  • Wizard Dawning (The Battle Wizard Saga) by C. M. Lance
    [YA Paranormal Fantasy Novel – Amazon | B&N | Smashwords]
• Horror:
  • Darkhouse (Experiment in Terror #1) by Karina Halle
    [YA Horror Novel – Amazon | B&N | Smashwords]
  • Wolfkind by Stephen Melling
    [Horror Novel – Amazon | B&N | Smashwords]
• Post-Apocalyptic and Dystopian:
  • Gray Skies by Brian Spangler
    [Dystopian Science Fiction Novella – First of Series – Amazon]
• Steampunk:
  • Nimbus (Part One) by Austin King and B.J. Keeton
    [Steampunk Novella – First of Series – Amazon | B&N | Smashwords]

Excerpts

• @io9: Excerpt from Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger
  [YA Steampunk Novel – Second of Series – Pre-Order Here]
• @Gollancz: Excerpt from On the Steel Breeze by Alastair Reynolds – Chapter 4[Science Fiction Novel – PDF]
• @Tor:
  • Excerpt from Altered by Gennifer Albin – Chapter One
    [YA Post-Apocalyptic Novel – Pre-Order Here]
  • Excerpt from Prodigal Son by Debra Mullins – Chapter One
    [Paranormal Fantasy Novel – Pre-Order Here]

For Post-Apocalyptic Lovers: The Post Apocalyptic Link Roundup for 9/25/2013

And For Writers: Speculative Fiction Writing Wroundup for 9/25/2013