The book has a cliffhanger every other chapter or so, all several billion of them. Most of the supporting characters exist as barely a job description, appearing for a few characterless minutes to drive the plot on to the next inevitable cliffhanger.

The “science” and tech stuff was dreadful which shouldn’t really annoy me in a book which is loosely based on reality but since Dan Brown states much like before in the introduction that all the science is real you’d expect some of it to be, well real.

There was an awful lot of guff about science not really discovering anything, just rediscovering ancient wisdom that had been forgotten, and some pretty weak coincidences between modern science and ancient texts that supposedly back it up. The IP address tracing bit was pretty funny too complete with pointless hacker who appears and disappears swiftly from the tale.

Noetic science? I’m not even going to bother with the claims made on that one. Sure it’s ‘real’ in the same way that homoeopathy is ‘real’, it exists as something some crazy people believe in. None of it is proven in the way that is claimed.

Maybe I’m just too much of a science/skeptic geek. Maybe I’d be less annoyed if the stuff wasn’t sold as being “true”. Or maybe it was all a bit dull and this is the most interesting thing I can say about it. Regardless the man knows how to make money so he must be doing something right.

Some cracking science fiction in there too with some big name authors so well worth a read if you fancy some short stories.

StarShipSofa now invites its listeners to celebrate its first 100 programs in the most traditional and classic of ways: by reading some of the excellent works it has been privileged to present in audio form. This exceptional collection offers a reminder of all that StarShipSofa and its contributing authors and narrators have accomplished in the field of SF; it also stands as a promise for the next 100 episodes of Aural Delights and all of the wonder they will share.

StarShipSofa Stories Volume 1

1. “Into The Blank Where Life Is Hurled” by Ken Scholes
2. “London Bone” by Michael Moorcock
3. “The Second Coming Of Jasmine Fitzgerald” by Peter Watts
4. “Lester Young and The Jupiter’s Moons’ Blues” by Gord Sellar
5. “Vampire Kiss” by Gene Wolfe
6. “Vinegar Peace (or The Wrong-Way Used-Adult Orphanage)” by Michael Bishop
7. “Godzilla’s 12 Step Program” by Joe R Lansdale
8. “Jesus Christ, Reanimator” by Ken MacLeod
9. “The Sledge-Maker’s Daughter” by Alastair Reynolds
10. “Mars: A Travelers Guide” by Ruth Nestvold
11. “The Empire of Ice Cream” by Jeffrey Ford
12. “The Ant King: A California Fairytale” by Benjamin Rosebaum
13. “In The Olden Days” by Spider Robinson
14. “Tideline” by Elizabeth Bear
15. “Little Girl Down The Way” by Lawrence Santoro

Go and grab a free ebook

It’s a PDF and I’ve not had time to test it on my ebook reader yet but it’s definitly worth a read if you haven’t already, and the first in a series if you decide you want some more.

We know everyone’s excited for Scott Westerfeld’s new book Leviathan, coming out in October. What to do while you wait?
Get caught up on his amazing Uglies series, starting with a free book download of Uglies. Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that?

Tally lives in a world where your sixteenth birthday brings aesthetic perfection: an operation which erases all your flaws, transforming you from an ‘Ugly’ into a ‘Pretty’. She is on the eve of this important event, and cannot wait for her life to change. As well as guaranteeing supermodel looks, life as a Pretty seems to revolve around having a good time. But then she meets Shay, who is also fifteen – but with a very different outlook on life. Shay isn’t sure she wants to be Pretty and plans to escape to a community in the forest – the Rusty Ruins – where Uglies go to escape ‘ turning’. Tally won’t be persuaded to join her, as this would involve sacrificing everything she’s ever wanted for a lot of uncertainty. When she is taken in for questioning on her birthday, however, Tally gets sent to the Ruins anyway – against her will. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she could ever imagine: find her friend Shay and turn her in, or never turn Pretty at all. What she discovers in the Ruins reveals that there is nothing ‘pretty’ about the transformations…And the choice Tally makes will change her world forever.

First up then is “The Martian War : A Thrilling Eyewitness Account of the Recent Alien Invasion as Reported by Mr H.G. Wells” by Gabriel Mesta which for those who don’t know is a pseudonym of Saga of the Seven Suns author Kevin J. Anderson. The rather lengthy subtitle probably gives a little clue to the story and tone to expect, this being a fictional account of the author H.G. Wells’ inspiration for his most famous book along with many of his other. Indeed half the fun is spotting the characters from his novels as they crop up in this story as supposed “real” characters from his past.

The book follows two threads. One being the story of Wells’ fictional Dr. Moreau with the very real, mars canal loving, Percival Lowell and their contact with visitors from Mars which are told largely in journal entries from Dr. Moreau. The other thread follows H.G. Wells himself along with “Darwin’s Bulldog” the famous evolutionist T. H. Huxley and their adventures which culminate in a trip to Mars to tackle the Martians directly with the aid of the previously mentioned Moreau’s Journal. It’s all quite silly when compared to modern science fiction and reminds me in places of the John Carter Mars stories in what is probably a knowing nod, though that’s no bad things since I do enjoy a Burroughs book now and again.

It rattles along at a fair old pace and characterization is pretty non-existent but for me it is pure, pulpy, scifi joy of the best kind. I’m a bit of a fan of fictional history and of course a huge Wells fan so I’m probably not the best person to ask for a balanced review of this book. That said I think anyone with a taste for classic science fiction who wants an easy read to just enjoy rather than challenge will probably get something out of this book.

Anyway it’s a nice idea, throwing up a short installment of fiction and then asking for the readers to vote on the direction before the next installment is published.

I’ve no idea what the story is about but Underland Press say they are into the macabre and darker side of fantasy so I may give it a try if the big pile of books I’ve just received isn’t too distracting.

Every week, the author posts an installment. Installment length hits the sweet-spot of online reading—long enough to get interested, short enough to read in the cubicle at work. At the end of every installment, the author writes in a plot branch point. Does the heroine kill her lover? Will the zombies catch the soldier? Is the box empty, or is it filled with bees?

THE READERS DECIDE.

On Monday, the post goes up. Voting is open through Thursday. The author writes Thursday and Friday. The editors edit Friday and Saturday. The post goes back up on Monday. Part literature, part exquisite corpse. The pace of print journalism, the imagination of fiction, the spark of reader participation.

Max Barry was the Author of Jennifer Government which I thoroughly enjoyed reading and can happily recommend to anyone who fancies dystopian novels with generous helpings of satire.

He has stated that if it actually looks like it will go somewhere he may start charging a small amount but for the moment it is free.

Looks to be the start of another decent free ebook library so head over and grab some free reading.

Welcome to the Suvudu Free Book Library. We know it can be hard to navigate the countless fantasy and science fiction series out there and figure out which ones are right for you. Well, we’re here to make those tough decisions a bit easier on you. With the Suvudu Free Book Library, you can read the first book in some of our most acclaimed series absolutely free! We’re kicking off the library with five full-length novels for you to sample, but we’ll be adding new titles on a regular basis, so be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you’re the first to find out what our newest free offerings are!

I love platforms for media that might not necessarily find homes with traditional publishers and something like this could be great for those still producing fanzines/ezines. There is a fair amount of content already there with a number of things available for free. Whilst there is some overlap with a site like Lulu, I can see a place for somewhere dedicated to digital content rather than print on demand.

Unfortunately I’ve been sick as a parrot the last week so I’ve not had a chance to really nose around though I did spot a taster for the superb Murky Depths magazine plus a fiction collection I might nab.

Have a look around, you might find something you like.

I’ve not read it yet but it’s being given away free as both a PDF and an audio reading so I might stick it on the mp3 player and have a listen tonight. I’m currently working my way through the entire collection of Sherlock Holmes radio dramas by the BBC so am thoroughly enjoying anything involving fog and crime at the moment.

To stave off recession blues, we’re very pleased to bring you – for free – a wonderful short story called The Shattered Teapcup from George Mann, the author of the bestselling The Affinity Bridge. You can read it, or listen (58mb) to a specially made audio edition.

The readings are being recorded and posted here so that the entire reading of the book can be watched for free.

I don’t know much about the book but I’ve never been dissapointed by Gaiman’s work so I’ll be sitting down to enjoy some of this even if it is aimed at real children.

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy.

He would be completely normal if he didn’t live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead.

There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy—an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer.

But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod’s family. . . .

This time it’s the turn of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, which is the book I voted for last time as my choice of books to give someone who had never read any Neil Gaiman. It’s a superb book, great characters, cracking dialogue and a nice premise…just really great fantasy which shows that it doesn’t have to always be orcs or boy wizards.

It is as before available to read online for free but can also be downloaded as an ebook although I think this comes in some sort of Adobe DRM’d version so I don’t know how portable it’ll be.

It’s only there for a limited time so get reading, it really is a great book and a nice introduction to Neil Gaiman’s work if you haven’t already read any.

Richard Mayhew is an unassuming young businessman living in London, with a dull job and a pretty but shrewish fiancee. Then one night he stumbles upon a girl lying on the sidewalk, bleeding. He stops to help her, and his life is changed forever.

Soon he finds himself living in a London most people would never have dreamed of — a city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels.

There can be a tendency in short fiction magazines to publish stories which whilst demonstrating the craft, lose the entertainment to the ‘challenge’. Of course those stories have their place but with limited time for reading, sometimes I just want something that keeps me turning the pages and Darwin’s Evolution so far has managed that.

Good stuff then, I’ll keep reading and I will no doubt donate when I am feeling a little healthier in the pocket.

Darwin’s Evolutions is a web-based periodical that presents speculative fiction (science fiction and fantasy) genre stories in a monthly “magazine” format along with available print on demand and abridged podcast versions.

Within the boundaries of our ‘zine and our archives, expect to find engrossing stories, expressive art, and the best serial-comics we can convince to join our efforts.

This webzine is funded by the kindly donations of our readers along with select business sponsorships. We will avoid tacking on onerous web-style advertisements so long as our readership and affiliated sponsors can support us.

In every issue expect stories that give you characters to care about in challenging situations whose struggles to overcome their adversity will keep you clicking or turning the next page to find out what happens next.

I really can’t stress enough how good these magazines are, especially when you consider that the market for short fiction is far from huge and healthy. TTA Press not only produce magazines full of great new fiction and interesting editorial, they also manage to make the magazines look, feel and probably smell great, which can come as a shock if you are used to reading the pulps.

The podcast seems similarly well produced, and fulfils both my love of short fiction and my love of other people reading stuff to me so I can give my eyes a rest. If you fancy some free short stories and you want to have a taste for what is available in the magazines then I highly recommend checking it out.

Welcome to Transmissions From Beyond, the biweekly podcast of stories selected from the pages of the TTA Press magazines Interzone (science fiction & fantasy), Black Static (horror) and Crimewave (crime & mystery) by editor Pete Bullock. New stories appear every other Monday.

However a while back I logged in to find a message stating the site was closed and would reopen as a worldwide site so anyone could read the books from any country. Sounds good but I’ve now checked it out and they have changed the way books can be read.

The free PDFs are history and you can now read all the titles online for free using their own reader. This whilst not as good as the PDF downloads is at least a good compromise for those countries that couldn’t previously access any of the books. However you can get the PDF files but you now have to pay rather high prices and not all books are available in all countries.

I’m not sure how successful this will be. I’ll continue to use it for reading free books online and it’s a good resource, it’s just a shame they couldn’t keep the advertising supported free PDF downloads.

For those of you who didn’t sign up for the Tor ebook giveaway to promote the quite spangly new site, they have now made all the ebooks available to download until Sunday July 27th.

Go and grab them quickly before they disappear.

There are also a load of nice desktop wallpapers of cover art for those of you who like pretty pictures…some of them really are very nice.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

PDF || HTMLnew! || HTML zipnew! || Mobinew!

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Farthing by Jo Walton

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

The Outstretched Shadow by Mercedies Lackey & James Mallory

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Crystal Rain by Tobias Buckell

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Lord of the Isles by David Drake

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Through Wolf’s Eyes by Jane Lindskold

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

The Disunited States of America by Harry Turtledove

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Reiffen’s Choice by S.C. Butler

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Sun of Suns by Karl Schroeder

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Spirit Gate by Kate Elliot

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Starfish by Peter Watts

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Touch of Evil by C.T. Adams & Cathy Clamp

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Orphans of Chaos by John Wright

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

In the Midnight Hour by Patti O’Shea

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Battlestar Galactica by Jeffrey A. Carver

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Flash by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Soul by Tobsha Learner

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Darkness of the Light by Peter David

PDF || HTML || HTML zip || Mobi

Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosanew!

PDF || ePub

You can find most of the Conan stories online as ebooks, along with the rest of Robert E. Howard’s writing as I think the majority of it is out of copyright. I’d recommend checking a few of them out as they still stand up fairly well today, it’s the pulp prose that gets me every time…

Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet.

The audio drama is produced by BrokenSea Audio, who do a great job of creating free audio dramas with really high production values and this one seems no exception.

Only one episode available so far but after listening I’m looking forward to the next and hoping they do a few more Conan stories.

Go and listen by Crom!

Episode #1:
Into the seaport town Messantia, of the southern Hyborian kingdom of ARGUS, the road of Kings led the twenty four year old Cimmerian barbarian- CONAN. Having gotten crossways with the local justice system over a friend of his and the death of a guardsman, Conan took the law into his own hands with his mighty broadsword. The guardsmen were not pleased by his northern Cimmerian ideas of justice, so CONAN “borrowed” a horse from the courts and fled looking for a ship.

The mercenary ship- The ARGUS, just so happened to be putting out to sea as CONAN thundered down the pier having just stormed through the market- guardsmen hot on his trail.

Will the ship’s captain, TITO, allow the Cimmerian passage, or will the guardsmen fill his back full or arrows first? And what of the legendary She-Devil Pirate Queen of the Black Coast?

It’s the first in a series of four books, and is being given away for free which is a price I like. Obviously this is now becoming a common method of promoting a series/author and one that I hope continues.

I don’t know much about the book but I’ve always enjoyed the “Bill the Galactic Hero” books and I love the whole “idiots in space” genre so I’m hoping it’s going to be something similar. I’ll write a review if I remember once I get round to reading it.

An incompetent, accident-prone pilot is given one last chance to save his ship. An ageing robot is trusted with a midnight landing in a deserted field. And a desperate businessman is prepared to sacrifice both of them to get what he wants…

Combining relentless action with non-stop laughs, Hal Spacejock explodes onto the science fiction scene with the subtlety of a meteor strike and the hushed reverence of a used car salesman.

I’m a few episodes in and really enjoying it. It’s the old “idiots/characters in space” format that made shows like Hitchhiker’s Guide and Red Dwarf so enjoyable and they really do have some great characters some of whom may be idiots.

It obviously contains quite a bit of US/Canadian humour but not so much to put me off listening and for me it’s quite interesting to hear something that isn’t about UK relations with another country.

In the year 2056 the US has declared war on the Ipampilashians and has sent the American armada to destroy their planet. Canada is the only country siding with the Americans. Canada has sent it’s only ship, The Canadia, in support of the American mission but the Canadia is not a warship. It’s a maintenance ship (they change light bulbs and plunge toilets). Max Anderson is the first American ever to be stationed on the Canadia. He was put there by the American admiral (his mother) to toughen him up but keep him out of any real danger. The only thing that Max and the crew of the Canadia agree on is that no one wants him there.

The show pokes fun at Canada/US relations and the bureaucracy of big business/the military.

Canadia 2056 was written by and stars Matt Watts who wrote and starred in the Steve the First and Steve the Second series.

The people over at SteamPunk Magaine produce a very professional publication celebrating and discussing all things steampunk. They print and sell the magazine and I’d recommend purchasing it as it really is well produced but if you just want to check it out or you are intrigued as to what this steampunk thing is all about then they provide free PDF copies for all to download.

BEFORE THE age of homogenization and micro-machinery, before the tyrannous efficiency of internal combustion and the domestication of electricity, lived beautiful, monstrous machines that lived and breathed and exploded unexpectedly at inconvenient moments. It was a time where art and craft were united, where unique wonders were invented and forgotten, and punks roamed the streets, living in squats and fighting against despotic governance through wit, will and wile.
Even if we had to make it all up.

SteamPunk Magazine is a publication that is dedicated to promoting steampunk as a culture, as more than a sub-category of fiction. It is a journal of fashion, music, misapplied technology and chaos. And fiction.
It just may be the most spectacular magazine to ever fight against the spectacle, and it is free. Or as cheap as we can possibly get it to you. Using the latest in Creative Commons technology, we undermine the fascism of copyright while protecting ourselves from direct co-option.

We sell the magazine for as close to cost as we can manage, and we offer it for free PDF download for printing at home.

It’s a great science fiction short story collection, I’m part way through but enjoying it. I’ll come back and add a real review when I’m done but for now head here and snag yourself a copy.

To celebrate the publication of his first new collection of short stories in ten years, The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories, John Kessel and Small Beer Press have made it available as a free download in various completely open formats with no Digital Rights Management (DRM) strings attached.

“A sustained exploration of the ways gender dynamics can both empower and enslave us. Kessel’s wit sparkles throughout, peaking with the most uproariously weird phone-sex conversation you’ll ever read (“The Red Phone”).” A-
—Entertainment Weekly

As I tend to ignore most of the news on April 1st due to the oh so hilarious April Fool’s jokes, I missed the start of PodCastle, a podcast I had been looking forward to some time.

It’s from the same people who produce EscapePod and PseudopPod, two superb fiction podcasts. PodCastle follows in their footsteps by publishing an audio fantasy story each week, read by various people and this time round introduced by a number of different people also.

I’ve only listened to the first couple but as with EscapePod and PseudoPod I am thoroughly enjoying it. I’m a great fan of short fiction and even more so when someone reads it to me.

If you like fantasy fiction then I’d suggest checking it out. It’s a free podcast but they do pay their author’s so if you enjoy it then you can always contribute via paypal.

PodCastle is the world’s first fantasy audio magazine. Each week we bring you short stories across the spectrum of fantasy from leading authors and new discoveries. Like our sister podcasts, Escape Pod and Pseudopod, PodCastle is entirely free to listen and share.

If you’re a fantasy writer, we’re a paying market for new fiction or reprints. Please see our submission guidelines for more details. And if you have any questions, please e-mail us. Thank you!

There are some more free ebooks from this publisher so I’ll post them shortly.

Maureen F. McHugh is the author of four acclaimed novels. Her genre-expanding short fiction has won the Hugo and Locus Awards and has frequently been included in Best of the Year anthologies. Since 1988 she has attracted a broad readership in publications such as Asimov’s, Scifiction, Starlight, The Year’s Best Science Fiction, and The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror.

Now, in her luminous, long-awaited debut collection, award-winning novelist Maureen F. McHugh wryly and delicately examines the impacts of social and technological shifts on families. Using beautiful, deceptively simple prose, she illuminates the relationship between parents and children and the expected and unexpected chasms that open between generations.

- A woman introduces her new lover to her late brother.
- A teenager is interviewed about her peer group’s attitudes toward sex and baby boomers.

- A missing stepson sets a marriage on edge.
- Anthropologists visiting an isolated outpost mission are threatened by nomadic raiders.

McHugh’s characters — her Alzheimers-afflicted parents or her smart and rebellious teenagers — are always recognizable: stubborn, human, and heartbreakingly real.

It’s from Audible so probably has the cursed DRM but you can always just burn it to CD. You’ll need to register but it’s no bad thing, Audible are a decent company and they have the odd free audio so it’s worth having an account.

It’s a great book I haven’t read in ages so I may just grab this one myself.

The Independent has teamed up with audible.co.uk to offer readers a free audio download of Iain Banks’ cult classic novel ‘The Wasp Factory’.

Over the course of the week you will be able to download the chapters from this celebrated novel and by Friday 11 April you will have all of the parts you need to make up the complete 6-hour audiobook.

Over at GeekDad

I’ve not read any of his work but it gets consistently good reviews so I’m adding this one to my to-read pile to see if I like it.

Descriptions of VanderMeer’s work range from dark fantasy to steampunk, squidpunk and, of course, new weird. One of the things that sets VanderMeer apart is his embrace of technology and media. His online presence is considerable and includes a number of web sites, frequent blogging, a short film adaptation of his novel Shriek (including collaboration with pop rock band The Church), his Alien Baby photo project and even a project involving animation via Sony Playstation.

First up is Storynory, a free audio podcast providing a new story each week. There are both classic fairy tales and fiction plus newer original (I think) stories, all of which read by Natasha who has a really great voice for storytelling.

I can’t really fault it, the stories are great, they are well read, it’s free, you can grab the feed in iTunes or some other podcatcher and it and stick it on a cd or mp3 player for the car or just listen online. My daughter is a little young for these at the moment but she’ll definitely be listening to them once she can sit still for more than a few seconds.

I might just listen the Alice in Wonderland reading myself.

Next is Storyline Online, a website from the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.

It features members of the guild reading stories on camera. You can only watch the stories online, with no option to download for portable devices but then they probably work better on a larger screen anyway. They are well read and by some big actors or at least some your children might recognise but not from any British actors as I think it’s an American union organisation.
I don’t like it as much as Storynory probably because of the lack of British voices but there are some decent stories and it might keep a small one entertained for a little while.

Have fun!

A particular gem is the original short version of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game is you want to see where the ideas for that book originated.

I don’t particularly like the interface and it seemed to kill my browser a couple of times but that may be due to the plugins I have installed and it would be nice if the stories were provided in a download format so they could easily be read on portable devices. UPDATE: See my comment below, the interface issue seems to be limited to my laptop so most likely my problem. 

My love of pulp fiction and the great idea of the website lets me overlook these small issues however and if you fancy something entertaining for you or your children to read then I thoroughly recommend it.

In the past, dime novels and other forms of pulp fiction provided cheap entertainment for young readers and inspired generations of great writers such as Bradbury, Burroughs, and Asimov. The iPulp Fiction Library brings back the tradition of the dime novel as a FREE online fiction magazine for readers 10 to adult.

If iPulp can turn just one young person on to the joys of reading or inspire one new author, it will have justified its existence.

Well the novel chosen, rather predictably was American Gods and you can find it here.

Unfortunately it’s in “Read only online here, using our annoying slow online reader with no option to download to portable devices crippleware” format but then it is Neil Gaiman and it is “free” so if you can bear staring at your monitor for hours getting neck and eye strain then it really is well worth a read but I’d be tempted to just buy a copy.

Metro

The novel is available free through other means but this is quite a nice illustrated version with all drawings by comic artist Cam Kennedy.

Try the links below for the chapters currently available.

CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN

One of the most famous horror stories of all time, inspiring scores of film, TV and stage adaptations including a Broadway musical since it was first published back in 1885.

Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde is the subject of this year’s City of Literature One Book – One Edinburgh reading campaign.

Not only will thousands of readers across Edinburgh be able to get their hands on free copies of the book, but visitors to Metro.co.uk will be able to download a chapter a day online over the coming fortnight.

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde is the tale of a London lawyer who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend scientist Dr Henry Jekyll and brooding misanthrope Eric Hyde, Stevenson came up with the idea for the book in a feverish nightmare.

He is said to have burned the original manuscript before returning to the tale. In the novel Jekyll turns into Hyde after drinking a potion he has concocted to separate the evil and good that exist within us all.

The ten chapters comprise Stevenson’s complete, unedited text and for this EXCLUSIVE Metro version will be accompanied by illustrations by celebrated comic-book cartoonist Cam Kennedy.