free science fiction books
Aug. 15th, 2012 12:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miriam_eWant to read more science fiction ebooks, but are reluctant to pay money for locked ebooks that you know will sooner or later lock you out?
I just found out that Project Gutenberg has a special area devoted to more than 800 science fiction ebooks: subject 36.
They not only have the old stories you'd expect, such as those by Jules Verne, H G Wells, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, but also modern stories by Cory Doctorow, Damon Knight, Harry Harrison, Katherine MacLean, Leigh Brackett, Philip K Dick, and many more.
A random wander around Project Gutenberg turns up real gems. Tonight, while looking for something else entirely, I found Preliminary Specifications: Programmed Data Processor Model Three (PDP-3) by Digital Equipment Corporation, from back in 1960 -- before anybody had thought of stack registers.
Some other amazing things I've found by accident on Project Gutenberg recently:
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/a
It seems the folks at Project Gutenberg realise some people like to wader aimlessly, browsing. They've provided a random search function:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?sort_order=random
You can sign up to get [a list of] their latest releases emailed to you each month
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Subscribe_How-To
I just found out that Project Gutenberg has a special area devoted to more than 800 science fiction ebooks: subject 36.
They not only have the old stories you'd expect, such as those by Jules Verne, H G Wells, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, but also modern stories by Cory Doctorow, Damon Knight, Harry Harrison, Katherine MacLean, Leigh Brackett, Philip K Dick, and many more.
A random wander around Project Gutenberg turns up real gems. Tonight, while looking for something else entirely, I found Preliminary Specifications: Programmed Data Processor Model Three (PDP-3) by Digital Equipment Corporation, from back in 1960 -- before anybody had thought of stack registers.
Some other amazing things I've found by accident on Project Gutenberg recently:
- Dinosaurs, by W D Matthew, Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, New York Natural History Museum in 1915, and containing about 50 photos and diagrams.
- David Hume - Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. The great thinker from the late 1700s wrote this philosophical piece as a conversation, making it more accessible.
- William Curtis' beautifully illustrated Botanical Magazine from the late 1700s (the first 8 volumes so far)
- several of Stanley G Weinbaum's stories, for which I have a bit of a soft spot, as his stories use very original concepts, but he died very young before he had a chance to really make an impact on the SF world.
- Cory Doctorow's most recent books are available for free download (please do buy some of his books to make it worth his while)
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/a
It seems the folks at Project Gutenberg realise some people like to wader aimlessly, browsing. They've provided a random search function:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?sort_order=random
You can sign up to get [a list of] their latest releases emailed to you each month
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Subscribe_How-To