Black Static

In the event that you didn't get any books for Christmas, no need to call the Samaritans just yet, as there is plenty of free reading matter available on the internet, and some of it with a festive theme.

For starters, the lovely Rhonda Parrish over at Niteblade has made the December 2008 issue of the magazine, titled 'Oh, Christmas Tree', available as a free download. That's 127 pages of seasonal goodness, including work from Aaron Polson, David Price, Chris Ward, Marge Simon and a host of others.

Over at Lulu you can download the 78 page Twisted Tongue #14 (or buy a hard copy, if that's your thing) which is packed with many fine things, some with a seasonal flavour. Editor/publisher Claire Nixon and her team have assembled a collection of fiction, poetry and artwork by such luminaries as Terry Grimwood, Bob Lock, Ian Hunter and Steve Upham.

Not to be outdone, with his Screaming Dreams hat on, Steve Upham is giving away a bumper 156 page Christmas Special Edition of e-zine Estronomicon. That one has work by Rhys Hughes, Gary Fry, Bob Lock (him again), David A. Sutton, Marc-Anthony Taylor, Lee Moan, Paul Edwards and David Riley, among others.

Last but not least, the 104 page Theaker's Quarterly #31 is available to download (or buy) on Lulu. It has fiction, reviews and artwork from numerous talented individuals, among them Alison J. Littlewood, David Tallerman, Rafe McGregor and the redoubtable Stephen Theaker himself.

All right, clear off the lot of you, and get stuck in.