A Few Little Books Online ShoppingEverything You Always Wanted To Read

Free Fantasy short stories You Can Read Online

If you like to read, you probably already spend a fortune buying books. I know I can blow $50 at Amazon or Borders without blinking an eye. And as much as I like to support my favorite authors, it does get pricy to buy books all the time. Fortunately, you can find lots of great stuff to read online for free.

You may think I’m talking about those zillions of bottom-of-the-barrel, self-edited fan-fictions and the like (of course, some of those can be pretty good), but there are numerous online ezines with hard-working editors that select different original fantasy stories to feature each month. They pay their authors, just as the print magazines do, so they attract good quality writers.

Since I’m a fantasy fan myself, I’ll point out some fun ezines and websites where you can get your fantasy fix (without paying a dime). For readers of other genres, don’t despair, as there are plenty of great sites out there for you too. Just trying Googling your genre (i.e. mystery stories) + ezine or online magazine.

But, anyway, let’s get on with the fantasy!

Fantasy Magazine

This online magazine publishes fantasy short stories, nonfiction articles related to the genre, and book reviews. When it comes to fiction, you can expect everything from high fantasy to contemporary and urban stories. Magical realism, science fantasy, and folk tales are also found on the site’s digital pages. With new stories published every week, there are plenty of reasons to visit often.

http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/

Goblin Brothers Fantasy Stories

While most of the free story sites I’m mentioning are ezines with submissions by multiple authors, the Goblin Brothers are the work of one author, so not updated as often, but if you’re looking for cheeky heroes who use only their wits to get out of trouble (and to get into trouble too), then you might enjoy these stories.

http://www.goblinbrothers.com

Heroic Fantasy Quarterly

A relative newcomer to the game, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is an ezine that publishes short works of heroic fantasy. If sword-swinging barbarians and epic adventures are your cup of tea, you’ll want to check these guys out and give them your support.

http://www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com/

There are lots of other great fantasy short story sites out there, too, so don’t feel obligated to spend wads of money on books every month. If you can afford it, great, but if money is tight (as it is for all of us right now!), then enjoy the awesome free fantasy fiction you can find on the web.

About the Author

The author is a professional blogger by day and avid SF and Fantasy fan by night. Check out her page on character-driven fantasy fiction for more reading ideas.

Playmobil: The Secret of Pirate Island $4.00 The popular toy line comes to life in a fun-filled tale that is highlighted by stunning computer-generated animation and interactive features that let you control the action. As thrillseekers Jack and Amelia search for buried treasure on the mysterious Pirate Island, they encounter a variety of captivating characters that you’ll never forget! 139 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Do…

Tales of Mystery & Imagination $2.38 As unlikely as the idea seems today to use the suspense-filled stories of Edgar Allan Poe as the basis for an album of rock tunes, listeners in the 1970s–who were barraged with such high-flown concepts during the heyday of prog-rock–turned the record into a major hit. The Project actually scored a Top 40 hit with “(The System of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Feather.” Thanks to FM radio overplay, h…

Vivaldi’s Ring of Mystery (Audio CD) $8.00 In this touching tale, a gifted young violinist is sent to study music at the Pieta orphanage in Venice with the great composer Antonio Vivaldi. It s Carnival time, magic is in the air and mystery unfolds as Katarina enlists Giovanni, the gondolier, to help in her search to discover her origins. In a climactic scene, a masked stranger reunites Katarina with her family and she must make an importan…

Gomorrah (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] $21.97 Though no one ever utters the name in Matteo Garrone’s powerful and disturbing Gomorrah, the Roman director drags the dark deeds of the Camorra into the cold light of day (the mob is based primarily in Naples and Caserta). Inspired by co-writer Roberto Saviano’s explosive exposé, Garrone (The Embalmer) takes an observant, documentary-like approach to the Neapolitan Mafia and their not-so-covert i…

Citizen Kane [VHS] $2.97 Arguably the greatest of American films, Orson Welles’s 1941 masterpiece, made when he was only 26, still unfurls like a dream and carries the viewer along the mysterious currents of time and memory to reach a mature (if ambiguous) conclusion: people are the sum of their contradictions, and can’t be known easily. Welles plays newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane, taken from his mother as a boy an…

Town That Dreaded Sundown [VHS] $7.95 Movie based on a true story of murder and mystery in Texarkana….

Tell Me a Story Creative Story Cards by eeBoo Mystery in the Forest $5.99 Storytelling isn’t just fun for kids; it boosts creativity, communication skills, and literacy. These enchanting picture cards inspire kids to concoct silly, suspenseful, and remarkable tales.   Each set includes 36 sturdy, laminated story cards, plus suggested activities. (children can use them individually, parents can use them, or play groups can build stories together.) Great travel …

Leapfrog Tag Activity Storybook Go Diego Go!: Underwater Mystery $8.99 Read along as Diego and Alicia board the Rescue Submarine to rescue Lucy the mystery fish and help them discover what kind of fish she is. After the story, discover leveled learning activities that help build phonics skills, vocabulary and reading comprehension. Connect the Tag Reader online to the LeapFrog Learning Path to see what your child is learning. Book is for use with the Tag Reading Syst…

Mansions of Madness $45.62 Mansions of Madness is a macabre board game of horror, insanity and mystery for 2-5 players. Gather your fellow investigators and unravel the dark mysteries within before it’s too late. Based on the horror fiction of master writer H.P. Lovecraft, Mansions of Madness creates an engrossing new narrative every time you play. Each game takes place within a pre-designed story that provides players with…

Guilty Party $11.73 Disney Guilty Party Wii…

Mystery $13.99 Few know the city of Los Angeles the way #1 bestselling author and acclaimed suspense master Jonathan Kellerman does. His thrilling novels of psychological drama and criminal detection make the capital of dreams a living, breathing character in all its glamour and infamy. That storied history of fame, seduction, scandal, and murder looms large in Mystery , as Alex Delaware finds himself drawn into a twisting, shadowy whodunit that’s pure L.A. noir—and vintage Kellerman. The closing of their favorite romantic rendezvous, the Fauborg Hotel in Beverly Hills, is a sad occasion for longtime patrons Alex Delaware and Robin Castagna. And gathering one last time with their fellow faithful habitués for cocktails in the gracious old venue makes for a bittersweet evening. But even more poignant is a striking young woman—alone and enigmatic among the revelers—waiting in vain in elegant attire and dark glasses that do nothing to conceal her melancholy. Alex can’t help wondering what her story is, and whether she’s connected to the silent, black-suited bodyguard lingering outside the hotel. Two days later, Alex has even more to contemplate when police detective Milo Sturgis comes seeking his psychologist comrade’s insights about a grisly homicide. To Alex’s shock, the brutalized victim is the same beautiful woman whose lonely hours sipping champagne at the Fauborg may have been her last. But with a mutilated body and no DNA match, she remains as mysterious in death as she seemed in life. And even when a tipster’s sordid revelation finally cracks the case open, the dark secrets that spill out could make Alex and Milo’s best efforts to close this horrific crime not just impossible but fatal. From the hardcover edition.

The Essential Mystery Lists $9.99 The book is divided into three parts: Introduction (pp. 1-16); Mystery Awards (pp. 17-281); Classic or Best Lists (pp. 283-453); and Index (pp. 455-573). The Introduction has six sections or parts that deal with collecting mysteries, the process of creating these lists, how to use this resource, and a list of sources.The Mystery Awards has both the winners and nominees. There are other books available (in the past) that list winners, but none that list the nominees.The Classic or Best Lists have fifty lists for you to consider. Some of these are well known but sometimes hard to locate when you need to refer to them. Other lists have not been available in some years. Then I have some lists that were created just for this resource. Especially I want to share the Anthony Boucher lists from his annual review of the best books of the year in his column as reviewer for The San Francisco Chronicle, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and The New York Times from 1942 through Boucher's death in 1968. The Index section is divided into several sections: name of authors, short story titles, name of titles of books. Collectors will find this resource as an aid in their task. Others might want to read with a certain award field or best list in mind. Librarians might want to created lists for readers, offer display of books, etc. On the buttons to the left, you will find specific information about the book. Please, if you find areas in the text that we can improve on, correct, add further information, please go to the fifth button on the left and offer your suggestions. I am adding the 2008 nominees and then winners as the various groups and organizations make the information known. You can cut and paste that information for your use. Also, some information about a new column that I now write for Mystery News on "Real to Reel." Talking about a book and then the film adapted from the original source.

Mystery at Bear Lake $4.95 The daredevil Barclays are off on more adventures in these ten new novels. Featuring more suspense, these books are written with struggling readers in mind. Each story also has elements of history, geography, or science. Each novel is 64-pages and include

The Mystery of Edwin Drood $7.99 (Book Jacket Status: Jacketed) Charles Dickens’s final, unfinished novel is in many ways his most intriguing. A highly atmospheric tale of murder, The Mystery of Edwin Drood foreshadows both the detective stories of Conan Doyle and the nightmarish novels of Kafka. As in many of Dickens’s greatest novels, the gulf between appearance and reality drives the action. Set in the seemingly innocuous cathedral town of Cloisterham, the story rapidly darkens with a sense of impending evil. Central to the plot is John Jasper: in public he is a man of integrity and benevolence; in private he is an opium addict. And while seeming to smile on the engagement of his nephew, Edwin Drood, he is, in fact, consumed by jealousy, driven to terrify the boy’s fiancée and to plot the murder of Edwin himself. Though The Mystery of Edwin Drood is one of its author’s darkest books, it also bustles with a vast roster of memorable–and delightfully named–minor characters: Mrs. Billikins, the landlady; the foolish Mr. Sapsea; the domineering philanthropist, Mr. Honeythunder; and the mysterious Datchery. Several attempts have been made over the years to complete the novel and solve the mystery, but even in its unfinished state it is a gripping and haunting masterpiece. From the Hardcover edition.

Story $14.99 A creative retelling of the Christian story that combines provocative writing, expert storytelling, and vivid imagery to journey into the mystery of faith and capture a new vision of God.