via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io “That’s Ifenwa,” the captain said, pointing at a smear of light almost directly overhead. Inlesh repeated the name dutifully to himself. “That’s Ontok.” A pentagon of bright sparks halfway up the sky. “They’ve each got their own names, but you don’t… Shattered Sidewalks of the Human Heart by Sam J. Miller Clarkesworld Magazine - Science Fiction & Fantasy via Instapaper https://ift.tt/325fgRm

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io My grandfather was a rickshaw coolie. He was born in China in the late 19th century, in a tiny village upriver from the coast of Fujian province. It was a time of misfortune. The rice harvests had failed. The landlords were heartless. His mother had… Xingzhou by Ng Yi-Sheng Clarkesworld Magazine - Science Fiction & Fantasy via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2YsmaxV

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io “The Road You Take” by Jean Wolfersteig | Akashic Books via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2JRVJf9 Akashic Books is proud to introduce a new flash fiction series, Duppy Thursday. Though we’re based in Brooklyn, our location envy of the Caribbean is evident throughout our catalog. via Pocket

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io At the mathematical center of Dorothy’s father’s RV, at its golden ratio curl, there is a tarot card pinned to the corkboard. The High Priestess; she has been there longer than Dorothy can remember. Worn at her edges, drawn in lines of gold and whit… Strange Horizons - Hunting the Viper-King By Kathryn Harlan via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2NlY7Qf

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io 1000M Synchronized Diving Finals | Abyss & Apex via Instapaper https://ift.tt/31pkAOz They say the walk to the edge is the hardest part. Don’t believe them. Tani walks beside me, muscles hewn in stone. My twin, except—lucky me—she’s female and unrelated. We’re the first mixed team to make it this far. A fantasy couple in the eyes of …

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io A Study in Pink and Gold | Abyss & Apex via Instapaper https://ift.tt/31iHZRy He sits on the roof and takes another bite of bland, convenience store sushi, watching the massive body of a Drifter float by at eye level. He likes to come up here to eat lunch most days. via Pocket

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io Homecoming | Abyss & Apex via Instapaper https://ift.tt/31pkwyj “Charley.” A lilting, feminine voice calls out from behind me, and it takes every ounce of self-control not to jump or gasp. It’s one of those early autumn days when the sun shines so brightly it hurts, and the wind whips everything to and fro, but …

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io One Soul, Parchment Thin | Abyss & Apex via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2Kj9Lrz Slowly, I fold the paper. A forty-two degree offset from the right side, continuing to a point on the far edge. Satisfied, I press down, make the crease deeper, stronger. I work with more than my usual caution. This is an important work, and mistake…

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io The Red Oleander Murders | Abyss & Apex via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2KhOrCy I’ll bet dollars to donuts this guy, whose broken and bloated body was nailed to the redwood tree, had never imagined this is how it’d all end. By the way he was dressed in his fancy navy suit, he was probably some big muckety-muck. A real pillar of…

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io The White Foal | Abyss & Apex via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2KjwyDx At that time, I lived with my grandmother in the Camargue, the marshy delta where the Rhône river widens and opens into the Mediterranean sea. My parents, whom I could almost no longer remember, were dead. via Pocket

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io In October 2017 we published An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, a rare literary science fiction set in a future universe so gorgeously described and perfectly self-contained—and yet so harrowing and cruel—that its only parallel universe is o… “Adam Is Banished” by Michael Diamond | Akashic Books via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2KqM5QQ

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io In October 2017 we published An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, a rare literary science fiction set in a future universe so gorgeously described and perfectly self-contained—and yet so harrowing and cruel—that its only parallel universe is o… “Cranky Chariots” by Pamela Booker | Akashic Books via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2KwEH6l

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io Mondays Are Murder features brand-new noir fiction modeled after our award-winning Noir Series. Each story is an original one, and each takes place in a distinct location. Our web model for the series has one more restraint: a 750-word limit. Sound … “Let’s Not Think About It” by Lynne Bronstein | Akashic Books via Instapaper https://ift.tt/33cqFiR

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io In October 2017 we published An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, a rare literary science fiction set in a future universe so gorgeously described and perfectly self-contained—and yet so harrowing and cruel—that its only parallel universe is o… “Like Cattle” by Ashley Sgro | Akashic Books via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2KwA64a

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io In October 2017 we published An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, a rare literary science fiction set in a future universe so gorgeously described and perfectly self-contained—and yet so harrowing and cruel—that its only parallel universe is o… “The Last Caucasian” by Yvette R. Murray | Akashic Books via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2KuDX1J

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io The year is 2078. Rampant consumption has succeeded in burning a hole through the ozone layer. Points of vulnerability dot the globe, the atmosphere a veritable patchwork quilt. The rising tide continues to reshape what remains of the coastline, an … “The Meek” by Jedah Mayberry | Akashic Books via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2Kt9Eso

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io In October 2017 we published An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, a rare literary science fiction set in a future universe so gorgeously described and perfectly self-contained—and yet so harrowing and cruel—that its only parallel universe is o… “Virtually President” by John Joseph Ryan | Akashic Books via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2KztBh9

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io In October 2017 we published An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, a rare literary science fiction set in a future universe so gorgeously described and perfectly self-contained—and yet so harrowing and cruel—that its only parallel universe is o… “Walls” by Rhian Waller | Akashic Books via Instapaper https://ift.tt/33g64Kz

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io In October 2017 we published An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, a rare literary science fiction set in a future universe so gorgeously described and perfectly self-contained—and yet so harrowing and cruel—that its only parallel universe is o… “Dawn of the Aquarians” by Michael Diamond | Akashic Books via Instapaper https://ift.tt/33f6L71

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io In October 2017 we published An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, a rare literary science fiction set in a future universe so gorgeously described and perfectly self-contained—and yet so harrowing and cruel—that its only parallel universe is o… “Homecoming” by Jessica Hertz | Akashic Books via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2KovgWw

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io It seemed fine, to place it there. You were on the weekly trip to the greenhouse with Mom and Dad and Stella holding your hand the whole way as you skipped 10 meters at a time through the light gravity of the inner ring. It was warmer there, drawing… Generational | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2L3wB85

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io This was the spot. No longer needing his compass, Jackson tucked it inside his shirt. He dropped his pack and went about setting up the campsite: pitching a tent, igniting the fire, cooking dinner. He had planned the trip right down to the number of… Merit Badge | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2leMXLW

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io Every child remembers their first visit to the field. They follow the teacher over the low rise that was a burial mound for the first settlers, and down a glass ramp into the excavated field where ranks of men and women stand staring forward. via Po… Metallic | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2S32kXJ

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io I was told that, when I awoke, I should expect the thunder of battle to have already started. But when the doctor woke me, his face calm, if not bored, I heard only the low rumble of my fellow crewman babbling about something. I would soon learn wha… The Wait Calculation | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2yfx4hh

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io The chaplain sits beside the young man and lays a small box on her lap. “Mr. Parker, would you like to pray with me?” “That’s not for me, Chaplain. But I’m glad you’re here.” Parker’s hands are trembling, eyes red. via Pocket The Long Smoke | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2S4aI9l

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io Denizens of the Deep | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2S0y9QY Looking out. Or looking in. Do we stare into the expanse, or does it and its inhabitants look in on us? Which one of us is the exhibit in a zoo? In space, windows are structural weaknesses. Down here, if we have windows at all, they need to be over …

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io One of those tavern junkies invited me to the Skev for a brawl. I personally enjoyed these screw-ups. The one I talked to that night, around a week ago, was a tusked Griff named Young, and he was lean and almost terrifying. via Pocket Fregh and Young Brawl at the Skev | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/30BmOtI

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io Skinjack | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2S25lYs We don’t like to use that word. It sounds negative, don’t you think? The whole procedure is much safer now. Please, try the caviar. It’s real. No, I insist. Our motto explains it all: “Freedom From Form.” Nobody uses their brain’s full processing po…

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io Two Cardinalis cardinalis, the northern cardinal. Five Zenaida macroura, the mourning dove. One Toxostoma rufum, the brown thrasher. And the highlight of the excursion – one Pandion haliaetus, an osprey! I couldn’t wait to tell Maria, but for now I … Take Two | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2YHhfcK

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io Tendrils of smoke rise from the ancient bridge, but it stands strong. Atop it’s singed arch, two men stand, their powered-down armour dulled by dirt and char. The tension between them is palpable, even to the concealed observers, far back on both ba… Tears of Miroku | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2FYDvHt