Free online fiction from tor.com.Stories about mortals travelling into hell have been omnipresent in our literary canon for almost as long as we’ve had one, but young writer Su-Yee Lin has still managed to find modern resonance and new territory to explore in this lyrical and evocative vision of a trip to a place that is never quite what we expect it to be.This short story was acquired and edited for Tor.com by editor Liz Gorinsky.

    

    But when she grows up and her husband Tetsuya falls deathly ill, a kappa that claims to know her comes calling with a barbed promise. “A Cup of Salt Tears” is a dark fantasy leaning towards horror that asks how much someone should sacrifice for the one she loves.At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

    McGill, the owner of the nearby mill. His tragic story and her compassionate gift tangle themselves into something altogether new... and not altogether welcome.

    Thomas & Michael Damian ThomasDINOSAURS!"The Uncanny Dinosaurs—Introduction" by Brooke Bolander, Sam J. Miller, Mari Ness, Nicasio Andres Reed, A. Merc Rustad & Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, K.M. Szpara, JY Yang, and Lynn M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas"Red Lizard Brigade" by Sam J. Miller"You Can Make a Dinosaur, but You Can't Help Me" by K.M. Szpara"Bones in the Rock" by R.K. Kalaw"By Claw, By Hand, By Silent Speech" by Elsa Sjunneson-Henry & A. Merc Rustad"The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat" by Brooke Bolander"The Emigrants' Guide to Oregon, California, and the Unknown" by Brit E. B. Hvide"Expecting a Dinosaur" by Mari Ness"Give the People What They Want" by Alex Bledsoe"Nails in My Feet" by Mary Robinette Kowal"Everything Under Heaven" by Anya OwNONFICTION"Island Futures" by Tobias S. Buckell"Joy and Applause" by Alasdair Stuart"The Seduction of Numbers, the Measures of Progress" by Marissa Lingen"Thirteen Reasons Who: A Timeline of a Question" by Tansy Rayner RobertsPOETRY"Octavia's Letter to Marcus Anthony on the Discovery of His Faithlessness" by Cassandra Khaw"The One" by Brandon O'Brien"The Year We Got Rid of Our Ghosts" by Ali Trotta"FIND A HOT ASIAN GIRLFRIEND NEAR YOU" by Cynthia SoINTERVIEWSK.M. Szpara interviewed by Caroline M. YoachimAnya Ow interviewed by Caroline M. Yoachim

    Unbeknownst to Fiona, this house has a melancholy history, and slightly more ghosts than she anticipated. In learning to live with her unexpected companions and their losses, Fiona might find a way to make peace with her own.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    Yet all his work is united by one common thread: a vivid and profound understanding of the vast set of emotions that bring strength and mythic resonance to our frail species. Ray Bradbury characters may find themselves anywhere and anywhen. A horrified mother may give birth to a strange blue pyramid. A man may take Abraham Lincoln out of the grave—and meet another who puts him back. An amazing Electrical Grandmother may come to live with a grieving family. An old parrot may have learned over long evenings to imitate the voice of Ernest Hemingway, and became the last link to the great man. A priest on Mars may confront his fondest dream: to meet the Messiah. Each of these magnificent creations has something to tell us about our humanity—and all of their fates await you in this new trade edition of twenty-eight classic Bradbury stories and one luscious poem. Travel on an unpredictable and unforgettable literary journey—safe in the hands of one of the century's great men of imagination.

    It takes place during the Olympic Games in London, 2012.

    Mensah and follows the events in Exit Strategy.Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory was originally given free to readers who pre-ordered Martha’s Murderbot novel, Network Effect.

    The problem? Fortune seekers and airship pirates are after her for the secret to flash gold, her late father's alchemical masterpiece. With her modified rifle and a pocketful of home-made smoke bombs, Kali wouldn't normally hide from a confrontation, but taking on a whole airship single-handedly is a daunting task. Unfortunately, the other racers won't assist her--they're too busy scheming ways to sabotage her unorthodox sled.When a sword-slinging stranger shows up, wanting to hire on as her protector, she's sure he has ulterior motives, but he's the only one interested in helping her. The question is...why?Details: an 18,000-word (75 page) steampunk novella set in the Yukon during the gold rush era.

    The crew, thinking that their attempts at terraforming and breeding for Martian adaptability have finally payed off, rejoice at the prospect of a brighter future. But Nina's about to unlock the mystery of the disaster that stranded them on Mars… and nothing will ever be the same.At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

    Life hurts. They drink. They talk:Nico's tired of hurting people. He wants out. Not suicide, not that - he'd just hurt everyone who loves him. But what if he could erase his whole life? Undo the fact of his birth? Wouldn't Dominga be having a better night, right now, if she didn't have to take care of him?And when Dominga finds a way to do just that, when she is gifted or armed with a terrible cosmic mercy, she still cares enough to say:I am not letting him have this. I am not letting Nico go without a fight.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    How much time do we have left, and do we even understand what timescale to use? As a slow apocalypse blooms across the Earth, planets and plants, animals and microbes, all live and die and evolve at different scales. Is one human life long enough to unravel the mystery?Nine Last Days on Planet Earth is a Tor.com Original from the award-winning science fiction author Daryl Gregory.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    Miller's sci-fi time traveling tale, "Let All the Chlidren Boogie," a Tor.com OriginalAs the Cold War stalls and the threat of nuclear warfare dominates the news, small-town misfits Laurie and Fell bond over a shared love of music and the mystery of the erratic radio messages that hint at the existence of a future worth reaching out for.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    Now, in "Overtime," the Laundry is on a skeleton staff for Christmas—leaving one bureaucrat to be all that stands between the world and annihilation by the Thing That Comes Down Chimneys. Written especially for Tor.com's holiday season, Charles Stross's novelette is a finalist for the 2010 Hugo Award. Charles Stross is the Hugo-winning author of some of the most acclaimed novels and stories of the last ten years, including Singularity Sky, Accelerando, Halting State, the "Merchant Princes" series beginning with The Family Trade, and the story collections Toast and Wireless.