26 Jun
Free Short Stories
Here are some free short science-fiction stories that I enjoyed reading:
- Maneki Neko by Bruce Sterling is an interesting story about a networked gift economy, I’d like to join such a network!
- The Exterminator’s Want Ad by Bruce Sterling is another good story about the gift economy, not as positive as Maneki Neki though.
- Barge Over Black Water – strange
- The Death Trap of Dr Nefario – amusing
- Anda’s Game by Cory Doctorow
- Futuristic Tales of the Here and Now by Cory Doctorow – in comic book form, download the CBZ file as the CBR file seems corrupt.
- I Robot by Cory Doctorow
- Appeals Court by Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross – unusual Christian sexual references
- The Things that Make Me Weak and Strange Get Engineered Away by Cory Doctorow – I didn’t like the ending but it has some good concepts
- The Jammie Dodgers and the Adventure of the Leicester Square Screening by Cory Doctorow, an amusing story of art in a dystopia
- Failed Utopia 42 from OvercomingBias.com
- Understand by Ted Chiang – interesting concept about brain improvement.
- True Names by Benjamin Rosenbaum and Cory Doctorow, about two galactic-scale hive organisms.
- Down on the Farm by Charles Stross – one of his “Laundry” sci-fi-fantasy stories set in a Lovecroftian universe
Robert Reed has released enough great free sci-fi stories that he deserves his own section:
- Hexagons – interesting ideas about simulating social development, if someone was developing such a program I would contribute some code
- Man for the Job – bit of a surprise ending
- Hidden Paradise
- The Dragons of Summer Gulch
- Like, Need, Deserve – interesting ideas about soul creation
- Melodies Played upon Cold, Dark Worlds
- The Children’s Crusade – that might be a viable concept, maybe children could pay for scientific research
- Birdy Girl
