via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io First, the egusi seeds were roasted and ground in a paste. Gherek worked slivers of onions sliced into half moons and pepper seeds into the paste then pounded it some more. The dried white hibiscus flowers boiled in water with a little bit of salt, …

It’s been 297 days since David died—and came back. He may have survived the avalanche, but the aftermath has been far worse. His wife moved out, taking his son with her, and a devastated…

A couple is concerned when their dog behaves increasingly bizarrely: first to their chagrin, and, eventually, to their alarm.

A couple is concerned when their dog behaves increasingly bizarrely: first to their chagrin, and, eventually, to their alarm.

A provocative story about the relationship between the humans on a British airbase and the AI security system that guards that base. When a group of humans are killed, the question is who is respon…

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io Where I’m from, it bodes ill to announce that you’re going somewhere. It’s a nuance of the language I was born into, where the word ‘go’ is swept under, reserved for foes and fiends while ‘return’ is extolled as a treasure. via Pocket Strange Horizons - Tessellations, In A Greater Hand By Artyv K via Instapaper http://bit.ly/2D5zyPV

A near-future novelette about the surge in AI that might bring hope to humanity if it’s used well.

An all-new Tale of the Great Schools of Dune — written to accompany Navigators of Dune by the same authors (Tor, September 2016).

“The Loud Table” by Jonathan Carroll is an sf-fantasy about four elderly men who regularly hang out. One of the men is worried that he’s getting Alzheimer’s, but the truth might be even…

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io This story is part of our 2015 fund drive bonus issue! Read more about Strange Horizons' funding model, or donate, here. Eyes, eyes, eyes. So many eyes on my long arms. via Pocket Strange Horizons - Hundred Eye By Yukimi Ogawa via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2Uh15rz

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io When the bomb hit, I was almost inside the ladies' clothing store where I work. If I hadn't paused to check out a cute bicycle courier I would have been safe. The bomb detonated silently, coating the street with a brief yellow burst like the mother … Samovar - The Knack Bomb | De foefbom By Bo Balder, Translated by Bo Balder via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2JTtC2s

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io Cesária Escobar was sixteen when she walked down the aisle, arm in arm with a man she had only met once. Her seven brothers and sisters watched in dismay, but her widowed mother wished her well. via Pocket Samovar - Saligia | English Translation By H. Pueyo, Translated by H. Pueyo via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2JVdk97

Dino is a documentary filmmaker, haunted by the ghost of his ex-girlfriend who was killed in a car crash while with another man. As Dino shoots his latest documentary on the vandalism occurring in …

We’re pleased to reprint Ken Liu’s short story “Seven Birthdays” from Bridging Infinity, the latest volume in the Hugo award-winning Infinity Project series, showcasing all-…

Miss Pippa Kipling and her automaton companion, the Porter, exterminate pests of the supernatural variety. What should be a typical job in your average haunted cavern soon derails in an inconvenien…

After the collapse of civilization Nora and her family live a quiet life in the Midwestern Plains until a great fiery god of the sky descends and makes her an irresistible offer—an offer that will …

“The Story of Kao Yu” is a new fantasy short story by the legendary Peter S. Beagle which tells of an aging judge traveling through rural China and of a criminal he encounters. Of the story, …

A Wild Cards story. An outcast learns how fit in at her school…

A mother. A son. A virtual world they both share where each could live forever and achieve their fullest potential. Until one of them decides that isn’t enough for life.

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io Peter had wanted a Little Brother™ for three Christmases in a row. His favorite TV commercials were the ones that showed just how much fun he would have teaching Little Brother™ to do all the things that he could already do himself. via Pocket

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io They said that she was poisoned. People always talk. Doc knew that it was the illness, though—the one that comes with the snow and leads people away behind it into the thaw. He said that it wouldn't be long before her husband visited us. via Pocket

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io Her father said at breakfast, "Drowned men can't have kids." He said it as if teaching Katy a lesson, or maybe as if she had asked. He kept looking at her, his fingers twitching on the Sunday newspaper like dropped lizards' tails. via Pocket

Call for Associate Editors! We’re recruiting! We’re looking to add additional associate editors (also referred to as slush readers) to our team. PodCastle is an SFWA short fiction market. We’re looking for associate editors who can read and commen… We’re recruiting! We’re looking to add additional associate editors (also referred to as slush readers) to our team. PodCastle is an SFWA short fiction market. via Pocket

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io Strange Horizons has had many faces since we began in 2000, and those faces are always changing. I often refer to us as the collective—or composite, Yoon Ha Lee style—which at any given time involves 50+ creative volunteers, committed to voices new,… Strange Horizons - Fond Farewells By Vanessa Rose Phin via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2HwR0kc

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io - THE EASTHOUND via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2F8mzhR

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io Christopher Rowe [christopherrowe.typepad.com] has published more than twenty short stories, and has been a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Theodore Sturgeon awards. via Pocket - THE CONTRARY GARDENER via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2NZbcvq

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io - THE WOMAN WHO FOOLED DEATH FIVE TIMES via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2F7rMqa

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io - GREAT-GRANDMOTHER IN THE CELLAR via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2NZbani

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io - CLOSE ENCOUNTERS via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2NX8SVC

The Shadow War of the Night Dragons, Book One: The Dead City (Prologue) by John Scalzi