More good fiction for the huddled masses yearning to read free.
Art for Starfall, linked below.
Fiction
• At Lightspeed: "Prayers of Forges and Furnaces" by Aliette De Bodard. Fantasy.
"The stranger came at dawn, walking out of the barren land like a mirage—gradually shimmering into existence beside the bronze line of the rails: a wide-brimmed hat, a long cloak, the glint that might have been a rifle or an obsidian-studded sword. Xochipil, who had been scavenging for tech at the mouth of Mictlan’s Well, caught that glint in her eyes—and stopped, watching the stranger approach, a growing hollow in her stomach."
• At Lightspeed: "Starfall" by Saundra Mitchell. Science Fiction.
"KV-62 went supernova today. Well, according to the news, it went supernova on March 14, 1592, but we’re just now finding out about it. Other things that happened on this day in history: Eli Whitney got a patent for the cotton gin, Charles I granted a royal charter to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and I was fished out of a trash can in the Union Square subway station." Text and audio.
• At Strange Horizons: "Never the Same" by Polenth Blake
"When I was younger, people assumed I was nice. I knew when to smile and when to cry. They never believed it was me who stole the biscuits or set the cushions on fire. Until they ran the routine scans and I failed. Then every tear was viewed with suspicion. Every smile was cause to check for smoke. My sister was the only one who disagreed." Text and audio.
Flash Fiction
Audio Fiction
• At Beam Me Up: BMU #422. Science Fiction.
"Phillippe and His Rather Boring Time Travel (pt1)" by Michael Juby and part two (ch 2+3) of Isaac Asimov's "The Last Question."
"The last question was asked for the first time, half in jest, on May 21, 2061, at a time when humanity first stepped into the light. The question came about as a result of a five dollar bet over highballs, and it happened this way:"
• At Protecting Project Pulp: “Defense Mech” by Ray Bradbury, read by Fred Himebaugh. First published in Planet Stories, Spring, 1946. Science Fiction
"Halloway stared down at Earth, and his brain tore loose and screamed, Man, man, how’d you get in a mess like this, in a rocket a million miles past the moon, shooting for Mars and danger and terror and maybe death."
Art for Starfall, linked below.
Fiction
• At Lightspeed: "Prayers of Forges and Furnaces" by Aliette De Bodard. Fantasy.
"The stranger came at dawn, walking out of the barren land like a mirage—gradually shimmering into existence beside the bronze line of the rails: a wide-brimmed hat, a long cloak, the glint that might have been a rifle or an obsidian-studded sword. Xochipil, who had been scavenging for tech at the mouth of Mictlan’s Well, caught that glint in her eyes—and stopped, watching the stranger approach, a growing hollow in her stomach."
• At Lightspeed: "Starfall" by Saundra Mitchell. Science Fiction.
"KV-62 went supernova today. Well, according to the news, it went supernova on March 14, 1592, but we’re just now finding out about it. Other things that happened on this day in history: Eli Whitney got a patent for the cotton gin, Charles I granted a royal charter to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and I was fished out of a trash can in the Union Square subway station." Text and audio.
• At Strange Horizons: "Never the Same" by Polenth Blake
"When I was younger, people assumed I was nice. I knew when to smile and when to cry. They never believed it was me who stole the biscuits or set the cushions on fire. Until they ran the routine scans and I failed. Then every tear was viewed with suspicion. Every smile was cause to check for smoke. My sister was the only one who disagreed." Text and audio.
Flash Fiction
- At Daily Science Fiction: "The Rocketeer" by Rebecca Hodgkins. Science Fiction.
- At 365 Tomorrows: "The African Mystery" by Charles E.J. Moulton. Science Fiction.
Audio Fiction
• At Beam Me Up: BMU #422. Science Fiction.
"Phillippe and His Rather Boring Time Travel (pt1)" by Michael Juby and part two (ch 2+3) of Isaac Asimov's "The Last Question."
"The last question was asked for the first time, half in jest, on May 21, 2061, at a time when humanity first stepped into the light. The question came about as a result of a five dollar bet over highballs, and it happened this way:"
• At Protecting Project Pulp: “Defense Mech” by Ray Bradbury, read by Fred Himebaugh. First published in Planet Stories, Spring, 1946. Science Fiction
"Halloway stared down at Earth, and his brain tore loose and screamed, Man, man, how’d you get in a mess like this, in a rocket a million miles past the moon, shooting for Mars and danger and terror and maybe death."
