Free SF ebooks

[Hobbit]

Thanks for sharing that one, Periboob. Didn't know it was available free, now: it was quite an expensive p-book edition when I looked for it a while back.

I have got quite a few of these in the Analog magazines, though it is interesting seeing them altogether.

Campbell liked to say often deliberately controversial things to provoke responses: and some of those are collected here.

Thanks again.

Mark

[Periboob]

...
I have got quite a few of these in the Analog magazines, though it is interesting seeing them altogether.

Campbell liked to say often deliberately controversial things to provoke responses: and some of those are collected here.

...

Roger on the controversial. "We did not get our legacy of Science from Rome or Greece; we got it from Islam, the only people who invented it in all human history!"--it was inflamatory in 1953, now you could get lynched for this. My parents would have had a hissyfit if they had known what was in those books.

I have a nearly 40 year collection of his magazines, I was gearing up to sell or donate, now I have to keep and start re-reading them for the editorials.

[Hobbit]

I have a nearly 40 year collection of his magazines, I was gearing up to sell or donate, now I have to keep and start re-reading them for the editorials.

Good on you!

Old picture of some of mine:



From about 1948-2008. Have some before and after those dates but they're a little inconsistent. Most of the 1950's editions I have are the British editions, which were often a little out of step and shortened from the US edition - paper was rationed!

Have read some interesting things about Campbell's writing, from Asimov and Heinlein amongst others. The impression I get is that he would say provocative controversial things and then try to get others to dispute his theories.

Sometimes the statements were contradictory: it was the argument he seemed to thrive on. Whether you agree or disagree with what he said (and more commonly for me its disagree!) they do make the reader think: which I guess was their point.

Good stuff.

Mark

[Periboob]

I would feel right at home in your place Mark. My shelves are not a packed as yours, but I have 7 of them. Unless you count the computer magazines, then I have 10 or 12.

Glad I found this place.

===================

Not much for the original poster, but there is a lot of audio stuff I am saving for the time when my eyes might go bad.

Mind Webs Rodio Show
http://archive.org/details/Mindwebs_230

1957-58 Radio series Narrated by John Campbell
http://archive.org/details/Exploring_Tomorrow

...

Heck, there are too many, just go here and browse
http://archive.org/browse.php?field=...n=oldtimeradio
Have not had time to get into these too much, but if I was still commuting, I would be all up in this

[Hobbit]

Thanks Periboob: always happy to share!


Shelves: yeah, there's a few. Feel free to look in THIS THREAD for the gory details.

Old Time Radio I would recommend, myself, actually. I got a stack of mp3's from them about seven years ago, but they are mainly the mystery/horror than the SF.

Recommended site, though: and they're often free, too.

Mark

[psikeyhackr]

This is a collection of some of the better ones. Collected by Harry Harrison

http://archive.org/details/collectededitori01camp

Thanks

psik

[Cherrera]

I think open culture offers quite a bit in sci-fi ebooks. So far, I've gotten Philip K. Dick, Rudy Rucker and Neil Gaiman, but they always add to it.

Here's the link
http://www.openculture.com/2012/03/f...n_the_web.html

[Hobbit]

September's book from Phoenix Pick:

Our Free Ebook for September 2012 is ‘In Other Worlds’ by A. A. Attanasio.

The book is part of the Radix Tetrad. However each of the four books in the tetrad stand alone on their own.

The coupon code is 9991484 and will be good from September 2 through September 30. Links for downloading the book will be available, as usual, from ouronline catalogue page, www.PPickings.com .

Brief description of the book:

Schirmer spontaneously transforms into light.

Then, 130 billion years later, when all of spacetime is collapsing into the vast nothingness of the cosmic black hole, Carl Schirmer is remade from the remnants of his light. He is reborn in time’s last world, the strangest of all—the Werld.

There, Carl discovers the Foke, nomadic humans who travel among the floating islands of the Werld. Among them he finds the beautiful Evoë, and their life together is blissful in this kingdom that knows no aging or disease. But it is cut brutally short when Evoë is captured by the zotl, a spidery intelligence who hunt the Foke and eat them in an excruciating fashion. In order to save her life, Carl must return to Earth—130 billion years earlier—where he is shocked to discover that the Earth he’s come back to is not the one he left.

Can he meet the harsh demands of his task before the zotl find him and begin ravishing the Earth?

“Richly imagined and crafted...a compelling and often brilliant novel”—Publishers Weekly

“Brilliant...exuberantly entertaining”—Library Journal

“A dimension-spanning adventure that combines elements of hard science, classic SF plotting, and derring-do with a timeless love story.”—The Houston Post

Mark

[SR_Seldon]

I tried to do some price changing a while back and it seems some of them didn't take so I have two free titles at the moment. Edge of Hyperspace is free on Amazon, Kobo, and Sony. Another title, Well of Dreams, is free on Smashwords, iTunes, and Barnes & Noble.

If you enjoy fun space opera or like reading about traders/smugglers, give them a try.

[Valerie]

An interesting book I have read recently "Io Deceneus Journal of a time traveler" is free on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Io-Deceneus-tr.../dp/B008EJTPHI

Short presentation as it is on Amazon:

The book was edited by: WritersServices (Macmillan) Writers and Artists (Bloomsbury)

It is never easy to be a “dreamer” in search of things real life cannot provide, wandering in an imaginary existence that never becomes reality. On a quiet evening, a Gate is taking human shape and links him to a Faction, the final form of social evolution in a galaxy where all civilizations are human-like except for the Erins -a mysterious experiment representing the next level of intelligent life in a self-conscious Universe. A galaxy where Earth, enslaved by a ruthless financial system, is considered an example of failed civilization. He has to help a far away culture in its evolution from the Paleolithic to Industrial Age.
Many Factions disappeared in Universe's past enhancements and they want now to control the Erins. When they can't, they try to destroy, stealthily, as they are not allowed to directly interfere.
Rogue Factions are carefully preparing a war of annihilation. It is hard to start conflicts with peaceful people, so their society and economy have to be undermined. Earth's "model" is used for subversion and he is the best choice to counter it.
And he will become Deceneus, the “far sighted”, challenging the reader to consider the subject of free will and winding timelines.

[Hobbit]

From Phoenix Pick: October's free book:

As usual, we also have a totally free giveaway for the month. For October the free ebook is Charles Sheffield's marvelous collection, “Georgia on My Mind and Other Places.”

The coupon code for October is 9991264 and will be good from October 2nd through October 31st. Link, as usual, from our online catalogue page at www.PPickings.com

The collection includes the Nebula and Hugo winning title novelette.

Mark

[Hobbit]

November Book: From Phoenix Pick:

Our November book is a collection from Larry Niven, titled Limits. The coupon code for November is 9991295 and is good from now through November 30. Link to the free download page, as usual, from our online catalogue at:

http://www.PPickings.com

Here is an extraordinary mix of fantasy and science fiction from one of the masters of science fiction, Larry Niven.

The stories in this collection include some collaborations with authors such as Jerry Pournelle (Spirals) and Steven Barnes (The Locusts), as well as stories written by Niven himself.

Larry Niven’s credits include the award-winning Ringworld series, his “Known Space” novels and the Man-Kzin anthologies. His collaborations with Jerry Pournelle include such titles as Lucifer’s Hammer, Inferno and The Mote in God’s Eye.

[psikeyhackr]

Here is an interesting bit of fan fiction for the Vorkosiverse.


Rediscovery by ScottWashburn
http://archiveofourown.org/works/402371/chapters/663226

How was Barrayar rediscovered and how was it handled.

psik

[Hobbit]

December's Phoenix Pick:

Our free ebook for December is L. Neil Smith’s The Venus Belt. December’s code is 9991305 and will be good from December 2 through December 31. Links for the download, as usual, from our online catalogue page, www.PPickings.com .

"More than 150,000 women have been kidnapped without a trace or any ransom demand in the 'normal' world run by the Federalists and the bureaucracy. But that is not the only problem, because the freedom loving population in the 'alternate' reality of the North American Confederacy are facing their own crises.

People are disappearing across the Probability Broach, including Win Bear's closest friend, Featherstone-Haugh (who heads the Confederacy), and even Win's wife and assistant.

Ill (and deadly) winds are blowing and threatening to destroy the Probability Broach as we know it. Win Bear, keeping one step ahead of lethal assassins and fighting incredible odds, must solve multiple apparently disparate cases that all seem to lead to the end of freedom."

[odo]

Two free novellas written by a favorite of mine: Chinese author Liu Cixin:

The Micro-Age: http://www.amazon.com/The-Micro-Age-...0697591&sr=1-1
Of Ants and Dinosaurs: http://www.amazon.com/Of-Ants-and-Di...2078641&sr=1-1

(Also published on my blog: http://sentidodelamaravilla.blogspot...rs-by-liu.html http://sentidodelamaravilla.blogspot...liu-cixin.html)