Subterranean Press is a specialty publisher that handles many authors in the horror, suspense, dark mystery and science fiction genres. They have a fine reputation for their quality work and from what I have read, the authors they work with have spoken very highly of how Subterranean treats them. From personal experience I can say that their work lives up to their reputation and, with one exception, would not hesitate to do business with them again.
But I am not here to talk about what you can buy from Subterranean. I’m here to talk about what you can get from them for free! And as it turns out, they have plenty to keep you busy. In addition to their beautiful limited editions, they also publish Subterranean Press Magazine, a free online quarterly packed with columns, interviews, reviews and fiction.
The fiction is usually in the form of short stories or novellas, with the occasional audio download made available. And the talent is top notch – the Winter 2010 issue features the works of Mike Resnick, Ian R MacLeod, Neal Barrett, Jr., the recently deceased Kage Baker, Barbara Roden, K. J. Bishop, and John Scalzi reading an abridged version of his recently published chapbook, Judge Sn Goes Golfing.
My favorite story of the current Winter 2010 issue is The Bohemian Astrobleme by Kage Baker. It details an account of members of the Gentlemen’s Speculative Society, a Victorian Era group charged with “the improvement of the human condition through the secret use of technologia.” Many of the story elements seem very Verne-like, but Baker does an outstanding job of meshing the 165 year old setting with the expectations of her 21st century audience. Her voice will be missed.
All of the stories appear on their own web page and are not made available for separate downloads. The only exceptions are the audio files, which are downloadable MP3s. There are currently 13 issues online, starting with the Winter 2007 issue.
Don’t confuse Subterranean’s free online magazine with their print edition. The current issue of their print edition, Issue #8, has been on pre-order status since at least September of 2008, when I ordered it. I eventually wound up canceling the order. Except for this, I fully recommend Subterranean for your limited/special edition book purchases as well as the free content they publish on their site.
Name: Subterranean Press Magazine
Link: http://subterraneanpress.com/magazine
Availability: Web Only except for audio, downloadable as MP3 files.
Rating: 4 out of 5
The Last Word: Downloadable DRM-free files would have earned them a 5.
