Books Should Be Free Loyal Books Free Public Domain Audiobooks & eBook Downloads |
|
Science Fiction |
---|
Book type:
Sort by:
View by:
|
By: Leigh Douglass Brackett (1915-1978) | |
---|---|
Shannach-The-Last
A true pulp science fiction from 1952 from the pen of Leigh Douglas Brackett. In the deep caves of Mars an alien race ruled and enslaved men and women with cruel and unfeeling desires. This was about the challenged by one weak man. He knew what he had to do and would die trying to do it. The question is, was he hurting or helping them? A cryptic summary because this is a cryptic story. What looks like a simple straightforward plot has layers of deception and subtle humor. Was he destroying the aliens, or were they just using him? Listen and find out. - Summary by phil c | |
Terror Out of Space
In the wake of unexpected meteor activity, a wave of inexplicable madness sweeps the already strange and ill-charted world of Venus. Racing to locate the source of the disturbance, Lundy and his team from Tri-World Police, Special Branch quickly find that locating the problem isn't half so tough as transporting IT back to headquarters. Out of his depth metaphysically and quickly sinking into the black pit of a Venusian sea, Lundy is about to discover his own profound reserves of strength and pit them against that which lurks behind a veneer of beauty-- the Unknown. - Summary by EVKesserich | |
Citadel of Lost Ships
"It was a Gypsy world, built of space flotsam, peopled with the few free races of the Solar System. Roy Campbell, outcast prey of the Coalition, entered its depths to seek haven for the Kraylens of Venus—only to find that it had become a slave trap from which there was no escape." - Summary by the publisher | |
Last Call for Sector G
Lloyd Durham has already lost his footing once in the labyrinth of politics and intrigue that is The Hub, capital planet-city of the galactic federation. Now his second chance-- a seemingly simple errand involving switched destinations and the code-word 'darkbirds'-- is starting to look like a last call, as parties with varying agendas and no reluctance with weapons are closing in with a vengeance. The stakes are higher than Durham ever anticipated, and the flutter of wings in the shadows may portend more than even the Federation itself can handle! - Summary by EVKesserich | |
Blue Behemoth
Shannon's Imperial Circus was a jinxed space-carny leased for a mysterious tour of the inner worlds. It made a one-night pitch on a Venusian swamp-town—to find that death stalked it from the jungle in a tiny ball of flame. |
By: Lester Del Rey (1915-1993) | |
---|---|
Badge of Infamy
Shifting between Earth and Mars, Badge of Infamy focuses on the gripping tale of a former doctor who becomes a pariah due to being temporarily governed by emotion and compassion, rather than complying with the highly regarded rules established by the Medical Lobby. Furthermore, the novel covers numerous topics including justice, brutality, betrayal, ethics, political control, and lobbying. Set in the year 2100, the novel begins with the introduction of its protagonist, Daniel Feldman, an ethical man, who makes the terrible mistake of going against the fixed medical protocol and performing surgery to save the life of a friend... |
By: Lester del Rey | |
---|---|
Victory
Lester del Rey (1915 – 1993) was a Golden Age science fiction author and editor closely connected to John W. Campbell Jr. and Astounding Science Fiction magazine. He also founded Del Rey Books, a popular publishing label he edited with his wife Judy-Lynn. Victory is the story of an undefended Earth in a warring galaxy. It appeared in the August 1955 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. | |
The Sky Is Falling
After dying in a terrible accident at a building site, Dave Hanson finds himself being brought back to life in a world where magic is real, and where the sky is breaking apart and falling. And he is expected to put it back together again. Will he be able to save this strange world, and his own new life? | |
Let'em Breathe Space
The old space freighter Wahoo is all Dr. Pietro can afford for his expedition to the rings of Saturn. Although built for a crew of 6 the good doctor crams 19 people into the Wahoo, and after 5 months they are really getting on each other’s nerves. Then someone starts killing people and poisoning the air giving plants in the hydroponics bay. Can our hero Paul Tremaine find the killer before he suffocates? Perhaps you should hold your breath. – Let’em Breathe Space was first published in the July 1953 edition of Space Science Fiction magazine. | |
Police Your Planet
Bruce Gordon looked at his ticket, grimaced at the ONE WAY stamped on it, then tore it into bits and let the pieces scatter over the floor. He counted them as they fell; thirty pieces in all, one for each year of his life. Little ones for the two years he'd wasted as a cop. Shreds for the four years as a kid in the ring before that--he'd never made the top. Bigger bits for two years also wasted in trying his hand at professional gambling; and the six final pieces that spelled his rise from special reporter helping out with a police shake-up coverage, through a regular leg-man turning up rackets, and on up like a meteor until... | |
3 Science Fiction Stories by Lester del Ray
The quirky mind of famous SF writer Lester del Ray gives us three wonderful tales ranging from zombies , time travel and eternal life . Listen and enjoy. |
By: LibriVox volunteers | |
---|---|
The Yellow Sheet – the NaNoWriMo project 2007
An atomic bomb explodes in the mountains of Montana. But was there really a bomb? And was it really in Montana, or in Tokyo? Are Liz and Elizabeth the same woman, is she married with children, is her husband a spy? |
By: Linton Davies | |
---|---|
War-Lords of the Moon
Bruce Ross, on the Earth-Moon run, asked a simple question, "How are the stars behaving, Harry?" But Harrell Moore could only stare at him in horror. For the stars had run amok—cosmic engines of destruction in the hands of the twisted genius of the Moon! A rip-snortin space shoot-em-up from 1939 with space ships, an evil genius who follows his horoscope and plans to rule everyone, ray guns, death beams and a diaphanously clad beautiful moon princesses in love with the hero. - Summary by the author and phil chenevert |
By: Lloyd Eshbach (1910-2003) | |
---|---|
The Gray Plague
End of the world sci-fi tale borrows heavily from H.G. Wells' WOTW and In The Days of the Comet -- looks like fun ! |
By: Louis Pope Gratacap (1851-1917) | |
---|---|
Evacuation of England: The Twist in the Gulf Stream
This book is ostensibly about a theoretical catastrophic geologic event. It turns into a meditation on what it means to be an English person, and at the end, includes a ringing defense of America. |
By: Lucian of Samosata | |
---|---|
Lucian's True History
One of the earliest works of science-fiction . It has space travel , lunar civilization, and aliens, along with more fantasy elements, such as the afterlife and Greek gods. A satire on contemporary tall tales. - Summary by Terry Kroenung |
By: Mack Reynolds (1917-1983) | |
---|---|
Mercenary
Every status-quo-caste society in history has left open two roads to rise above your caste: The Priest and The Warrior. But in a society of TV and tranquilizers--the Warrior acquires a strange new meaning... (Introduction from the Gutenberg text) | |
Ultima Thule
Ronny Bronston has dreamed all his life of getting a United Planets job that would take him off-world. He finally gets the opportunity when he is given a provisional assignment with Bureau of Investigation, Section G. But will he be able to complete his assignment and find the elusive Tommy Paine? | |
4 SF Stories by Mack Reynolds
4 Science Fiction Stories by the quirky Mack Reynolds from the golden age of SF, the 1950s - Summary by phil chenevert | |
5 SF stories by Mack Reynolds
Five Science Fiction stories from the strange mind of Mack Reynolds. Always innovative and interesting, these were published in the early science fiction and fantasy magazines of the 1940's and 50's. - Summary by phil chenevert |
By: Manly Wade Wellman (1903-1986) | |
---|---|
Venus Enslaved
A rip-snorting, 1940s science fiction adventure from the pen of Manly Wade Wellman. What chance had the castaway Earthman and his crossbow-weaponed Amazons against the mighty Frogmasters of the Veiled Planet? Hmmm? What chance indeed? From his broad shoulders, rippling muscles fighting spirit and keen intelligence, our hero finds a way to victory and perhaps even love. Listen and enjoy. - Summary by Phil Chenevert | |
Warrior of Two Worlds
"He was the man of two planets, drawn through the blackness of space to save a nation from ruthless invaders. He was Yandro, the Stranger of the Prophecy—and he found that he was destined to fight both sides." Another swashbuckler in space from Manly Wade Wellman. Who could ask for anything more? - Summary by the publisher and phil chenevert |
By: Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle (1623-1673) | |
---|---|
Blazing World
The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish is, all at once, a satire, a treatise on natural philosophy, a work of proto-science fiction, and a defiant venture into a scientific world where women were not usually allowed. It tells the tale of a young Lady who is kidnapped by a man that tries to sail away with her. Through divine interference, however, the ship is tossed into a storm and everyone but the Lady perishes. Blown up to the North Pole, she inadvertently passes into to another world, the Blazing World, where she is almost immediately made supreme ruler... |
By: Marie Corelli (1855-1924) | |
---|---|
Young Diana
Poor Diana May. Her fiancé has jilted her, her parents think she is an encumbrance and no one recognises her intelligence. She seems destined to remain unloved, unappreciated and unpaid - until she decides to take control of her life. It all begins with an advertisement for an assistant to an eccentric scientist with a hidden laboratory in Switzerland... - Summary by Newgatenovelist |
By: Marion Zimmer Bradley | |
---|---|
The Door Through Space
At one time Race Cargill had been the best Terran Intelligence agent on the complex and mysterious planet of Wolf. He had repeatedly imperiled his life amongst the half-human and non-human creatures of the sullen world. And he had repeatedly accomplished the fantastic missions until his name was emblazoned with glory. But that had all seemingly ended. For six long years he’d sat behind a boring desk inside the fenced-in Terran Headquarters, cut off there ever since he and a rival had scarred and ripped each other in blood-feud... | |
The Planet Savers
The Terran colony on the planet Darkover faces imminent destruction by a plague of the deadly Trailmen's Fever. The only hope is to develop a serum in time, but this requires the cooperation of the elusive native Trailmen, the brilliant parasitologist Dr. Jay Allison, and his split personality. (Introduction by Mark Nelson) |
By: Mark Phillips (Randall Garrett and Laurence M. Janifer) | |
---|---|
Brain Twister
“Mark Phillips” is, or are, two writers: Randall Garrett and Laurence M. Janifer. Their joint pen-name, derived from their middle names (Philip and Mark), was coined soon after their original meeting, at a science-fiction convention. Both men were drunk at the time, which explains a good deal, and only one has ever sobered up. A matter for constant contention between the collaborators is which one. Originally published as That Sweet Little Old Lady, Brain Twister follows the adventures of FBI agent Kenneth J... |
By: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley | |
---|---|
The Last Man
The Last Man is an early post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Mary Shelley, which was first published in 1826. The book tells of a future world that has been ravaged by a plague. The plague gradually kills off all people. Lionel Verney, central character, son of a nobleman who gambled himself into poverty, finds himself immune after being attacked by an infected “negro,” and copes with a civilization that is gradually dying out around him. | |
Tales and Stories
While Mary Shelley will most likely always be known for her enduring classic of mad science Frankenstein, this collection intends to show the sheer breath and quality of her writing beyond the creation for which she is most known. Many of these stories are told in an atmospheric gothic fiction vein, full of eerie old castles, strange revelations and family secrets. But we also have stories of the supernatural and even science fiction to contend with. Shelley was a true literary master and should be recognized for her contributions to literature beyond her most famous work. - Summary by Ben Tucker |
By: Maurice Renard (1875-1939) | |
---|---|
New Bodies for Old
Maurice Renard's little known but delightfully bizarre tale of mad science run amok owes much to H. G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau while also forging its own path by taking Wells' plot as a starting point and pushing it to ridiculous extremes. When a young man named Nicholas goes to visit his beloved scientist uncle Dr. Lerne in a remote French chateau, he is immediately put on his guard by his uncle's strange behavior, the mysterious Germans who now work with his uncle in a secret laboratory on the premises, on the strange noises he hears in the night... |
By: Michael Knerr (?-1999) | |
---|---|
Sex Life of the Gods
Beth Danson was about twenty-five and, besides her deep auburn-brown hair and lovely face, she boasted an equally attractive body. He found himself captivated by the warm thrust of her breasts beneath the silk blouse. The clear milk of her flesh, at the “V” of her throat excited him in a strange way. When he thought of her as his wife, it was frightening. It was as though someone had tossed him a woman and expected him to just fall into the routine of marriage. It wouldn’t be hard to come to love this woman, but it would take awhile... |
By: Michael Shaara (1928-1988) | |
---|---|
Conquest Over Time
Pat Travis, a spacer renowned for his luck, is suddenly quite out of it. His job is to beat his competitors to sign newly-Contacted human races to commercial contracts...But what can he do when he finds he's on a planet that consults astrology for literally every major decision - and he has arrived on one of the worst-aspected days in history?Michael Shaara, later to write the Pulitzer-winning novel "The Killer Angels", wrote this story for Fantastic Universe in 1956. |