Thursday, January 17, 2013

Free fiction - Ekaterina Sedia, Conrad Williams, Andrez Bergen & Daniel Abraham

Among the free short fiction goodies that can be constantly found online this week we are blessed with two excellent stories from two of the most talented writers of today, Ekaterina Sedia and Conrad Williams. We can also find an excerpt from the latest novel of Andrez Bergen, an emerging new voice but with great talent as well and one of the authors that became in a relative short time a personal favorite of mine.

“Zombie Lenin” was first published in “Fantasy Sampler” and re-printed in “The Apex Book of World SF 2” and Ekaterina Sedia’s latest story collection, “Moscow But Dreaming”. The post-Communist era in the eastern bloc countries can be experienced firsthand here, in a weird fashion and one that blends the reality and fantasy to maximum effect. The story can be found now at the International Speculative Fiction's website.

Speaking of weird, Conrad Williams’ “Slitten Gorge” is available now at Weird Fiction Review, a story first published in “British Invasion” and re-printed in the authors’ collection from PS Publishing, “Born with Teeth”. The story is best described as the disconnect between the unpolluted natural world and the protagonist's industrially despoiled environment achieves an aura of otherworldly horror.

Last, but not least, on Perfect Edge Books’ website you can find the first chapter of Andrez Bergen’s “100 Years of Vicissitude”, his latest novel and the first enchanting reading I had this year. It is the perfect appetizer for this wonderful novel.

There would be one more story to highlight, but I didn’t get the chance to read it yet. Still, from my experience with Daniel Abraham’s works it promises to be an interesting experience. Accompanied by a wonderful illustration signed John Picacio “When We Were Heroes” is available on Tor.com and it is recommended as: “ an affecting examination of celebrity, privacy, and the different ways people deal with notoriety and fame—problems not made easier when what you’re famous for are superpowers that even you don’t fully understand.”

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks as always, Mihai.

Mihai A. said...

As always, it is my pleasure, dear sir! :)