Free SF, Fantasy and Horror Fiction for 12/12/2014
This is it, SFSignalnauts (yes, that term will catch on)… I finally have a bonafide science fiction book released as of today. First Lights is the first book in the offplanet series, about Humanity’s first big push into outer space.
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What’s Special About Today’s Free Fiction?
- Apex Magazine #67 – December 2014
- Beneath Ceaseless Skies #161
- Clarkesworld Magazine #99 – December 2014
Written
- @AE – The Canadian Science Fiction Review: “Welcome to the Launch of the Adder5000” by Alexandra Elizabeth Harrison [Science Fiction]
- Apex Magazine #67 – December 2014 [Speculative Fiction Magazine]
- “Anthracite Weddings” by John Zaharick
- “Griefbunny” by Brooke Juliet Wonders
- “Henrietta’s Garden” by Rebecca Kaplan
- “Keep Talking” by Marie Vibbert
- Beneath Ceaseless Skies #161 [Fantasy Magazine]
- “Sweet Death” by Margaret Ronald
- “We Were Once of the Sky” by Yosef Lindell
- Audio Vault:“Armistice Day” by Marissa Lingen
- Clarkesworld Magazine #99 – December 2014 [Speculative Fiction Magazine]
- “The Emperor of Mars” by Allen M. Steele [Science Fiction – from 2010]
- “Fatima’s Wound” by Kali Wallace [Science Fiction]
- “The Magician and Laplace’s Demon” by Tom Crosshill [Science Fiction / Fantasy – also available in audio]
- “No Vera There” by Dominica Phetteplace [Science Fiction]
- “Now Dress Me in My Finest Suit and Lay Me in My Casket” by M. Bennardo [Science Fiction – also available in audio]
- “The Sledge-Maker’s Daughter” by Alastair Reynolds [Speculative Fiction – from 2007]
- “Tongtong’s Summer” by Xia Jia, Translated by Ken Liu [Science Fiction]
- @The Colored Lens: “Murphy’s Traverse” by John Conway [Science Fiction]
- @Daily Science Fiction:
- “Sardines in a Tin Can” by Wendy Nikel [Science Fiction]
- “There’s Always a Nuclear Bomb at the End” by Jennifer Mason-Black [Slipstream]
- @GigaNotoSaurus: “Dragon Winter” by Judith Tarr [Fantasy – also available as eBook]
- @Lightspeed Magazine:
- “Drones Don’t Kill People” by Annalee Newitz [Science Fiction – also available in audio]
- “The Faerie Cony-Catcher” by Delia Sherman [Fantasy]
- “Pay Phobetor” by Shale Nelson [Science Fiction – also available in audio]
- “Valedictorian” by N.K. Jemisin [Science Fiction]
- @Mad Scientist Journal:
- “Please Wait” by Robert Dawson [Science Fiction]
- “Self-Help for Super Villains” by Christopher Holmes Nixon [Superhero]
- @Mythic Delirium: “All the Tribes of the Earth Shall Mourn” by Nathaniel Lee [Dark Fantasy]
- @Nightmare Magazine:
- “Embers” by Tim Lebbon [Horror]
- “For These and All My Sins” by David Morrell [Horror – also available in audio]
- “Rules for Killing Monsters” by David Sklar [Horror]
- @Omni Reboot: “Thanksgiving” by Joyce Carol Oates [Post-Apocalyptic – from 1993]
- @Relic Radio: Inner Sanctum –“Dead Heat” [Weird / Horror Radio Drama – from 1949]
- @Short-Story.me: “Randall’s Clown” by Kenneth L. Gibbons [Horror]
- @Strange Horizons: “Kenneth: A User’s Manual” by Sam J. Miller [Science Fiction – also available in audio]
- @Tor:
- “Prompt. Professional. Pop!” by Walter Jon Williams [Science Fiction]
- “Skin in the Game” by Sabrina Vourvoulias [Zombies]
- “Where the Trains Turn” by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen, Translated by Liisa Rantalaiho [Fantasy]
- @Uncanny:
- “Celia and the Conservation of Entropy” by Amelia Beamer [Science Fiction]
- “Migration” by Kat Howard [Fantasy]
- “The Boy Who Grew Up” by Christopher Barzak [Fantasy]
- @Weird Fiction Review: “El Cocodrilos” by Leonora Carrington [Weird Fairy Tale]
- @The WiFiles:
- “A Mother’s Love and Other Intoxicants” by Russell J. Banzett [Speculative Fiction]
- “David Forever” by Matthew Denvir [Science Fiction]
Written – Flash
- @365 tomorrows: [Science Fiction Flash]
- “365 Tomorrows” by J.D. Rice
- “Baby Names” by Martyn Dade-Robertson
- “Boarding Action” by Connor Harbison
- “Control” by Roger Dale Trexler
- “The Crossing” by Roger Dale Trexler
- “Crows” by Jae Miles
- “Fancy That” by Clint Wilson
- “The Modern Fauxmetheus” by Bob Newbell
- “Old Soldiers” by Jae Miles
- “Providence” by Ian Hill
- “Sunset” by Roy Upton
- “There Goes My Bonus” by Curtis Brown
- “This is Africa” by Feyisayo Anjorin
- “Unkept” by Steve Smith
- “Us” by Suzanne Borchers
- “Wasteland” by Michael Hughes
- “Whisked Away” by JT Gill
- @Daily Science Fiction:
- “Dear Jezzy: Sleepless in the Underworld” by Sarina Dorie [Fantasy Flash]
- “Dear Jezzy: Trouble with Trolls” by Sarina Dorie [Fantasy Flash]
- “Domotica Berserker!” by Paul G. Di Filippo [Science Fiction Flash]
- “Dream Logic” by Barbara A. Barnett [Magic Realism Flash]
- “Inscription on a Monument to the Star Explorer” by Ernesto Pavan [Science Fiction Flash]
- “One Hundred Years in Sushi City” by VG Campen [Magic Realism Flash]
- “Singularity Routines” by Luis M. Milan [Science Fiction Flash]
- “The Gate, My Beloved; My Story, Its Key” by Amanda C. Davis [Fairy Tale Flash]
- “The Reason We Can’t Have Nice Things” by Katina French [Fantasy Flash]
- “They Fell Like Comets” by Hans Hergot [Science Fiction Flash]
- @Every Day Fiction:
- “A Perfect Murder” by Jamie McKittrick [Fantasy Flash]
- “Hook, Line and Sink” by Robertson Klaingar [Surreal Flash]
- “I Remove My Fingernail Sheaths Before Feasting” by Gerald Warfield [Fantasy Flash]
- “Interview with the Van Buyer” by Sean Jones [Vampire Flash]
- “Shooting Stars” by Sarah Sotan [Science Fiction Flash]
- “Sleepwalker” by Julia Nolan [Science Fiction Flash]
- “What’s Good For the Ghost…” by Peter Wood [Time Travel Flash]
- “When Aziza’s Voice Lifted” by Sarah Crysl Akhtar [Fantasy Romance Flash]
- @Farther Stars Than These: [Science Fiction Flash]
- “The Bronze Shade “ by Brady Koch
- “Pocket Universe “ by Cyn Bermudez
- “Zxandra’s Summer” by Michael Rafferty
- @Flashes in the Dark: “The Transparent Bride” by Ryan J. Torres [Horror Flash]
- @MicroHorror: [Horror Flash]
- “A Teachable Moment” by Felicia Lee
- “An Elegant Solution” by Erin Charvet
- “Booga-Booga!” by Ken Goldman
- “The Children of Stanton Peck” by Ronin White
- “Christmas Wreath” by Julie Gilbert
- “The Cóiste-Bodhar Comes to Kildare” by Elizabeth R. McClellan
- “The Comedy Without” by Alexandra Erin
- “Eighty-Eight Keys” by M. E. Lerman
- “Emilie” by Samantha Ryce Curreli
- “Hargreaves” by Paul Chown
- “The Last to Know” by Grey Harlowe
- “The Misadventure of Justice Marshall” by Elizabeth R. McClellan
- “Wanna See a Ghost?” by Chris Allinotte
- “The Witching Hour” by Brigitte Winter
- “Woman in Visions” by Mark Reeves
- @Nature:
- “Ice and white roses” by Rebecca Birch [Science Fiction Flash]
- “Reversal of misfortune” by J. W. Armstrong [Science Fiction Flash]
- @Short-Story.me:
- “Blood for the Blood God” by Dylan Patel [Fantasy Flash]
- “Death by Diamond” by Erwan Atcheson [Science Fiction Flash]
- @Strange Horizons: “Once, Upon a Lime” by E. Catherine Tobler [Fantasy Flash – also available in audio]
- @Weirdyear: “Skin” by Kristina R. Mosley [Weird Flash]
- @Yesteryear Fiction:
- “A Future Bright “ by Linda M. Crate [Fantasy Flash]
- “Blood Ran through the River Softly “ by W. T. Paterson [Fantasy Flash]
Written – Serialized
- @Dark Futures: Blackgrave by Matthew X. Gomez – Episode 3 [Dark Science Fiction Serial]
- @Strange Horizons: She Commands Me and I Obey by Ann Leckie – Part 2 of 2 [Speculative Fiction – also available in audio]
- @Author’s Site: Musketeer Space by Tansy Rayner Roberts: [Space Opera Serialization]
Audio
- Beam Me Up! Podcast #432 [Science Fiction]
- Beneath Ceaseless Skies Audio Vault #10 – “Armistice Day” by Marissa Lingen
- Cast of Wonders #148 – “Shimmer” by Amanda Davis [YA Science Fiction]
- @Clarkesworld Magazine:
- “Cody” by Pat Cadigan [Science Fiction]
- “Now Dress Me in my Finest Suit and Lay Me in My Casket” by M. Bennardo [Science Fiction]
- “The Long Haul From the ANNALS OF TRANSPORTATION, The Pacific Monthly, May 2009” by Ken Liu [Science Fiction]
- “The Magician and Laplace’s Demon” by Tom Crosshill [Science Fiction / Fantasy]
- “The Vorkuta Event” by Ken MacLeod [Science Fiction]
- Drabblecast #343 – “Captain Confederation” by Jim Robb [Superhero Comedy]
- @Escape Pod:
- #469 –“Inseparable” by Liz Heldmann [Science Fiction]
- #470 –“The Transdimensional Horsemaster Rabbis of Mpumalanga Province” by Sarah Pinsker [Science Fiction]
- @Far Fetched Fables:
- @Lightspeed Magazine:
- “Drones Don’t Kill People” by Annalee Newitz [Science Fiction]
- “Pay Phobetor” by Shale Nelson [Science Fiction]
- @Nightmare Magazine: “For These and All My Sins” by David Morrell [Horror]
- @PodCastle:
- #337 –“Thirteen Incantations” by Desirina Boskovich [Fantasy]
- #338 –“Burying the Coin” by Setsu Uzume [Fantasy]
- #339 –“Help Summon the Most Holy Folded One!” by Harry Connolly [Fantasy]
- @Pseudopod:
- #412 –“Rule Of Five” by Eleanor Wood [Horror]
- #413 –“Variations Of Figures Upon The Wall” by Silvia Moreno Garcia [Horror]
- @StarShipSofa:
- #363 –“Old Paint” by Megan Lindholm [Science Fiction]
- #364 –“Schools of Clay” by Derek Kunksen [Science Fiction]
- @Strange Horizons:
- “Kenneth: A User’s Manual” by Sam J. Miller [Science Fiction]
- “Once, Upon a Lime” by E. Catherine Tobler [Fantasy Flash]
- @Tales To Terrify:
- The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine #166 – “Clean Up” by Josh Roseman [Vampires]
- Toasted Cake #129 – “Fixing Frank” by Sean Tanner [Speculative Fiction]
- Welcome to Night Vale #57 – “The List” [Fantasy Serial]
Audio – Radio Dramas
- @Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod:
- Alien Worlds – “The Isa Conspiracy”: [Science Fiction Radio Drama – from 1979]
- Dimension X –“Perigi’s Wonderful Dolls” [Science Fiction Radio Drama – from 1950]
- The Black Mass –“Boarded Window & Oil Of Dog” [Horror Radio Drama – from 1964]
- The Creaking Door –“Three Wishes” [Horror / Suspense Radio Drama – from 1950]
- The Hall Of Fantasy –“The Treasure Of Kublai Khan” [Ghost Story Radio Drama – from 1953]
- @Relic Radio:
- Creeps By Night –“The Six Who Did Not Die” [Horror Radio Drama – from 1944]
- Dark Fantasy –“Men Call Me Mad” [Horror Radio Drama – from 1941]
- Dimension X –“With Folded Hands” [Science Fiction Radio Drama – from 1950]
- Exploring Tomorrow –“Telepaths” [Science Fiction Radio Drama – from 1958]
- The Haunting Hour –“The Hands Of Mr. Smith” [Horror Radio Drama – from 1945]
Audio – Serialized
- @Cast of Wonders: #147 – “Thirty Minutes for New Hell” by Rick Kennett: [YA Science Fiction Serialization]
- Cthulhu Podcast #186 – Herbert West: Reanimator by H.P. Lovecraft [Horror]
- @Author’s Site: Ghost Train to New Orleans by Mur Lafferty: [Urban Fantasy Novel Serialization]
- @Strange Horizons: She Commands Me and I Obey by Ann Leckie – Part 2 of 2 [Speculative Fiction]
Free eBooks – Various Speculative Subgenres
@Smashwords: Black Treacle #8 – December 2014 by
[Dark Speculative Fiction Magazine – Smashwords]
Free eBooks – Science Fiction
Essentia, Part 1: Activate by G.M. Whitley
When Lucy, age 5, informs her mother that she is an alien, Maya does what any sensible mother would do: She asks what kind.
She is wholly unprepared for Lucy’s response.
[Science Fiction Novella – First of Series – Amazon]
Interfaced by Emerson Doering
Brain-Machine Interfacing is making telekinesis a reality for a select few.
Three months ago Kristen Crede was a typical college kid looking forward to the weekend’s bonfire party at the beach. Now she’s a triple amputee, outcasted after an accident that shattered her body and spirit. Doc Prophet convinces her to be the first patient of triple prosthetics controlled remotely by a wireless neural implant.
Except the implant is not as it should be. Disquieting things happen as she learns to reach with her mind, and the only person who seems to know all she’s capable of is a menacing stranger. If Kristen doesn’t do exactly what he says, he’ll hurt her family. If she does what he wants, she’s as good as dead.
[Technothriller Novel – Amazon]
NanoStrike by Pete Barber
Terrorists attack a London Underground train, slaughtering two-hundred innocents in seconds with a nanoweapon small enough to hide in a hint of perfume.
First responder, Detective Chief Inspector Quinnborne, defies orders and hunts for the weapon’s unhinged genius creator. The authorities label Quinnborne a traitor, but when the nanotechnology spirals out of control, his grit and bloody-minded determination become humankind’s last thin hope of survival faced with a weapon of mass destruction that can be deployed at will and against which there is no defense.
[Technothriller Novel – Amazon]
Soldier of the Brell by David K Scholes
After the destruction of his race, a lone soldier of the super power empire of the Brell travels into the future in search of revenge. Carrying with him custodianship of all of the residual power and knowledge of the Brell.
In the long journey up through the well of time he witnesses the emergence of new powers for both good and evil. One of them the super power empire of the Tolden. Another the dark powers behind a vast inter-stellar network of subjugated worlds.
After a battle that takes him to both the beginning and end of time, his struggle against the nemesis of his race leads to a final confrontation in a place thought to be only stuff of myth and legend.
[Science Fiction Novella – Amazon]
The Missing Link by Brandon Meyers and Bryan Pedas
When the Internet collapses, society responds almost immediately…by having a meltdown.
While civilization is steadily destroying itself, IT cubicle-jockey and cyberspace junkie Brent Porter enlists the help of his grumpy office building security guard, Mickey, to find his missing computer gamer girlfriend, Molly. The trouble is, Molly’s fallen down her laundry basket and into a lewd and confusing world of nonsense, in a retelling of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with a twist: the heroine is dumped into the deepest, darkest bowels of the Internet.
So while Brent and Mickey are searching for Molly in a city that’s gone to complete chaos, and Molly’s fighting off porn freaks, viruses, and scammers, who’s going to save humanity from the Internet (and itself)? Well, that would be the Downriver Boys, a group of homeless people who’ve never had to rely on technology to survive. These vigilant vagabonds, led by a war veteran and a half-brilliant, half-insane madwoman, will have to rely on everything they know about survival so that Brent, Mickey, and Molly will even have something to come back to.
[Science Fiction Comedy Novel – Amazon]
@Nature via Concatenation: First Foot by Deborah Walker
[Science Fiction – PDF – Nature via Concatenation]
Free eBooks – Science Fiction – Young Adult
Starseed by Liz Gruder
Kaila Guidry has always known she is different. After all, her mother insists she hide her hair under a tin foil shield and a wig before leaving the house. When Kaila meets Jordyn Stryker one day at school, she begins to understand the origin of her mother’s seemingly irrational fears.
Jordyn Stryker was born and raised far from Earth, a starseed, one of six new students sent undercover to Louisina’s Bush High to learn human ways. When Kaila is pushed to her limit by high school bullying and cruelty, Jordyn steps in and awakens her to a new reality, and to love. Out of loyalty to him, Kaila looks the other way when the real purposes of the starseed begin to unfold.
As the horrific plan behind the starseed visit to Earth moves forward, Kaila and Jordyn, caught in an impossible love, must face who they really are and decide where their true loyalties lie.
[YA Science Fiction Novel – Amazon]
Free eBooks – Post-Apocalyptic and Dystopian
Darkness by John Griffin
Edmund moves across the desolate landscape lumbering towards home. He arrives, overjoyed to discover that his family is dead – they did not have to live through The Fall, did not have to fight cannibals and bandits, did not have to survive the apocalypse. They did not suffer. Like millions of others they got caught up in pandemic flu and died. Satisfied, after nine-years of traveling, Edmund can get on with what is left with his life. He finds a local cluster of fellow survivors, including a friend from his past, and joins the difficult task of rebuilding a world undone by disaster.
His comfort is short-lived. Not long after settling into his new home, he discovers that he has become unstuck in time. Through an unknown mechanism, he oscillates between past and future, hope and despair. He rushes to determine how this is happening, and to do something – anything – to save the world he knew, while contemplating whether what he is experiencing is real or madness brought on by a decade of looming extinction.
[Post-Apocalyptic Novella – First of Series – Amazon]
Tethered Twins by Mike Essex
A world filled with twins, tethered together in life and in death.
[Dystopian Novel – Amazon | Kobo]
Free eBooks – Alternative History
Time Change (Time Travel Series #1) by Alex Myers
It’s 157 years ago in Norfolk, Virginia and Jack Riggs has no money, a nearly dead iPhone in his pocket, and no idea how he got there. He must assimilate if he’s to have any hope of getting back. Tormented, he tells his tale to Frances Sanger, a woman with trust issues who nonetheless trusts Jack to stop a war that’s been brewing for over a hundred years. He alone holds the key to saving nearly a million people, and he’s got to do it in three and a half years.
[Alternative History / Time Travel Novel – First of Series – Amazon]
Free eBooks – Fantasy
@GigaNotoSaurus: Dragon Winter by Judith Tarr
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[Fantasy – EPUB and MOBI – GigaNotoSaurus | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Smashwords]
Free eBooks – Fantasy – Young Adult
Cloak by James Gough
Thirteen-year-old bubble boy Will Tuttle lives a boring, friendless life trapped in a sterile Bronxville mansion, suffering from mysterious allergies no doctor can explain. Fed up with his pointless existence he breaks free of his bubble to explore New York City, not expecting to return alive. Along the way, Will discovers that his myriad allergies have a single, bizarre source.
Suddenly Will is a target. When he’s chased through Central Park by a cloaked assailant, a misfit team of bodyguards shows up to keep Will Tuttle alive… And teach him how to blend into a society that isn’t supposed to exist.
[YA Urban Fantasy Novel – Amazon]
The Bindings of Fate (The Child of the Stars Trilogy #1) by Michael DeAngelo
Heroes Will Rise. Cities Will Fall.
The realm of Tellest is filled with bloodlust, greed and violence. Long has the world been thrust into turmoil, driven by the insatiable urge of man’s conquest, and whatever rewards can be earned from the end of a blade.
But so, too, are the lands a place of courage, valor and sacrifice. Brave men and women across the world will stand up to the tyranny of the power-hungry kings, or be swept away by it.
Kaos Kreegan is a man haunted by memories of the past. To survive in the harsh world that evolves around him, he needs to rely on his wits and his friends to bring evil to justice, and avenge the wrongs that have been done to him. Along the way, he will discover that Tellest carries many surprises – and so does he.
[YA Epic Fantasy Novel – First of Series – Amazon]
Free eBooks – Vampires
Vampire Superhero (Volume #1) by H.T. Night
Josiah Reign is a lover and a fighter. He’s also the leader of a group of warrior vampires.
[Vampire Superhero Novella – First of Series – Amazon]