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Free (and Legal) Science Fiction/Fantasy Reading

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I got into a discussion today about an online resource sharing books for people to read during the pandemic. Only problem is, they don’t actually have permission to share some of those books…

Rather than rehash the fight over online file-sharing here, I thought I’d put together a list of legit SF/F reading and listening material for folks to explore and enjoy. I put out a call to authors on Twitter, asking for links. The response was both gratifying and a little overwhelming.

The British Science Fiction Association is doing something similar here.

Online Magazines

Podcasts

Free Fiction from Authors

  • Bellet, Annie – Short stories
  • Berthiaume, Heidi – Microfiction stories
  • Bisson, Simon – Hummingbird Futures, short story collection
  • Blake, Polenth – Patchwork, short fiction collection. “Includes superheroes, space bees and moon mushrooms.“
  • Bonesteel, Elizabeth – Survival Tactics, short story collection
  • Buhlert, Cora – Twitter links to Evacuation Order (space opera) and several other stories
  • Cohen, LJ – Derelict. “When Ro tinkers with a broken ship, she doesn’t count on waking its traumatized AI.“
  • Connolly, Harry – A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark, “my pacifist urban fantasy w/ a sixty-five year old protagonist who’s a mix of Gandalf and Auntie Mame.”
  • Cox, Stephen – Short fiction, various genres
  • Crawford, Richard S. – “Burying Uncle Albert,” short story about “a family dealing with dark deeds, a hidden past, and zombies.”
  • Danley, Kate – “snarky, badass urban fantasy“
  • de Bodard, Aliette – The Dragon That Flew Out of the Sun, “anthology of my Xuya space opera stories, inspired by Vietnamese culture“
  • Dixon, Buzz – Free flash fiction every Tuesday
  • Downes, Sarah – Long Live the Tidal King, a parallel timeline novella around a manuscript on the life of King Cnut and the two men who authored it. (Free through 4/3.)
  • Duane, Diane and Morwood, Peter – Freebies at Ebooks Direct
  • Ermakova, Marina – Terrestrial Magic, “urban fantasy set in a post-apocalyptic Italy, where a scientist researches legendary animals and dodges assassination attempts“
  • Eudaly, Rhonda – Posts flash fiction on Fridays
  • Frasier, A. W. – Watcher, “about a genderfluid god and a Watcher going on ridiculous adventures and falling in love“
  • Hamill, E. M. – Dalí, a space opera/spy adventure, free until 3/31
  • Handley, Rachel – Twitter link to short story “Possible Worlds”
  • Hawkins, Jaq – The Goblin Trilogy (click author link on Smashwords for more)
  • Haynes, Simon – Peace Force: light SF adventure (Harriet Walsh Book 1), free on Amazon for the next 2-3 days.
  • Heartfield, Kate – Twitter thread with links to free fiction
  • Higginbotham-Hogue, Nicole – Don’t Tell Me Twice
  • Hines, Jim C. – My free stuff is linked from the right sidebar of my website.
  • Hutchinson, Dave – Now Wash Your Hands, a “collection of some old bits and pieces.“
  • Irvine, Alex – Short fiction
  • Johanneson, Patrick – Short fiction
  • Klein, Karen C. – Torin’s Legacy, “a magical adventure book. Impish apprentices, magical malfunctions and grumpy wizards included.“
  • Kwak, Jessie – Negative Return, “a sf heist along the lines of Firefly with some Godfather mixed in for good fun.“
  • Lawless, J. R. H. – Short stories at Curious Fictions
  • Lee, Fonda – Stories and excerpts at Curious Fictions
  • Logan, Michael – Wannabes, “a satire about music, demons, reality TV and God forming a rock band with departed idols”
  • Lord, Karen – Twitter thread with links to free fiction and nonfiction
  • Lyman, Paige – Two short SF stories
  • Marmell, Ari – Strange New Words (short fiction collection)
  • McColley, John A. – Short stories
  • McDonald, Sam – Twitter thread with links to free poetry, nonfiction
  • McGuire, Seanan – October Daye short stories. (Site also has Incryptid short stories.)
  • McKenna, Juliet E. – “The Wizard’s Coming”
  • McSweeny, Madison – “The Beast and the Hummingbird” (short story). “A young girl becomes judge, jury, and possibly executioner in an otherworldly trial, after stumbling upon a monster chained up in the woods.“
  • Meikle, William – Free stories and samplers
  • Moore, Tanya – Free stories
  • Novakova, Julie – Dreams from Beyond, anthology of Czech translated SF
  • Novy, Rick – Short stories
  • O’Connacht, Lynn E. – Sea Foam and Silence: The Complete Collection – “hopeful, low stakes SFF short stories and a soft queer verse novel retelling of The Little Mermaid”
  • Phoenix Fiction Writers – Free books from their member authors
  • Powell, Gareth L. – “Downdraught” (Novella)
  • Quackenbush, Thomm – Stories and sample chapters, “most of which are new weird, contemporary fantasy, horror, or science fiction.”
  • Rempt, Irina – “Two fantasy books set in the same world“
  • Samphire, Patrick – Twitter thread with links to free short stories
  • Slinde, Andrew – short and flash SFF
  • Swendson, Shanna – Spindled, serialized YA fairy tale riff
  • Tearmann, O. E. – The Hands We’re Given, “hopeful spec-fic audio-book here: a fight for freedom in the future America. Sex, drones, rock and roll!“
  • Thomas, Llinos Cathryn – F/F romance novellas
  • Thompson, Tade – Household Gods and Other Narrative Offences (a collection of seven stories)
  • Trent, Tiffany – “The Bargain” – Fey King who undergoes a career change
  • Underwood, Michael R. – Genrenauts: The Data Disruption, “a novelette about dimensional travelers trying to help a group of cyberpunk mercenaries rescue their missing hacker.”
  • Voss, C. A. – Genesis. “It’s like Independence Day meets Jurassic Park with a touch of Armageddon.“
  • Watts, Peter – novels and short fiction
  • Wendig, Chuck – the Mookie Pearl duology. “Urban fantasy about a dude who works the literal intersection between the criminal underworld and the actual-literal-monstery-underworld.”
  • Willis, Matthew – “Ascent,” a “multigenerational saga of a family’s relationship with a mountain“
  • Wolfe, Alexandra – Free fiction and excerpts
  • Ybabez, Gillian – Short stories

Other

I’ll update as I’m able, but this ought to keep y’all busy for at least a few weeks of social isolation!