I knew it was too good to last; a solid week of sunny weather, and now it seems we’re back to grey skies and low temperatures. But hey, the sun always shines on the internet (provided you’re searching the right tags on Flickr), and there’s always free science fiction stories at Futurismic on a Friday afternoon…
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Via Jonathan Strahan, we discover that Night Shade Books have made Ted Chiang’s Hugo-nominated short story “Exhalation” available for free in a variety of formats: PDF, HTML, RTF and Mobipocket
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Mary Robinette Kowal is a Hugo nominee, too; go check out her “Evil Robot Monkey”
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Lou Anders of Pyr reveals that the short story “A Book of Silences” by James Enge is now gracing their free samples page; looks to be more in the fantasy line than we’re usually interested in here at Futurismic, but hey, nothing says you can’t read other stuff too, right?
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We’re up to chapter 4.1 with Jason Stoddard‘s Eternal Franchise
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A message from Lee Gimenez:
My science fiction story “The Wellness Center” was just published in the March edition of Aphelion Magazine.
Congratulations, Lee, and thanks for the tip-off!
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As we’ve thrown some fantasy into the mix, why not a soupcon of horror, too? Tim Lebbon announces an excerpt from his new novel Bar None:
It’s a novel of ‘chilling suspense, apocalyptic beauty, and fine ales’. So as a pre-weekend treat, the first ever extract is now available at Dread Central for your perusal and delectation. It reads with a soft fruity aromas, a smooth mouthfeel, and finishes with a dark and complex aftertaste.
Knowing Lebbon, he was probably half-cut when he wrote it, too…
[ Disclosure – Tim Lebbon is one of my clients, and is not really a heavy drinker. Or so he claims. ]
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The DVD Extras are coming thick and fast for Season 2 of Shadow Unit; this one’s called “Ice”
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Strange Horizons presents “The Spider in You” by Sean E Markey
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HUB Magazine presents “Hush a Bye” by Beverley Allen
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Mary Robinette Kowal pops up again, this time at BoingBoing in her capacity as editor of Shimmer Magazine:
“For Shimmer magazine’s 10th issue, we’ve got twelve fantastic new stories and an interview with none other than Cory Doctorow. In honor of Cory’s work with Creative Commons, we are giving away the pdf of issue ten as a free download.”
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Jayme Lynn Blaschke‘s Memory rolls onwards with its thirty-fifth chapter.
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The SF Signal crew have been gathering free fiction links like gangbusters this week, so it appears. There are two massive roundup posts as well as the following tidbits:
- “Article of Faith” by Mike Resnick has been added to the list of 2009 Hugo Award Finalists.
- An excerpt from Dan Abnett‘s Primeval: Extinction Event, based on the BBC series Primeval.
- The Cordwainer Smith Blog rounds up free Cordwainer Smith stories
- “Petrified” by Scott Edelman
- Charles Coleman Finlay‘s free online fiction as listed by the author himself.
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And finally, a fistful of Friday Flash Fiction:
- “Out of Mind” by Gaie Sebold
- “Ball & Chain” by Sarah Ellender
- “Mavis Beacon Teaches typing” by Sumit Dam
- “Still Rising” by Neil Beynon
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That should keep your eyeballs busy for a few hours… don’t forget to keep us informed if theres anything you think deserves a plug here at friday Free Fiction, and have a great weekend!