Free SF Public Domain Books Available.

Philipp Lenssen has put together various novels which date back to a pre publication date of 1923, or where the author has been dead for greater than 70 years. They are in xhtml format and available at authorama.com.

The most noteable novel is that of HG Wells’ War Of The Worlds. It makes it worthwhile visiting just for this single novel. This book from 1898 pictures Earth invasions by Martians, launching a whole new sub-genre of alien sci-fi.

Incidentally, on Halloween 1938, Orson Welles and the Mercury Teater scared thousands of radio listeners with their presentation of the story a series of fake “live” news bulletins — people believed America was under attack by aliens and panicked. (Although, even on the internet, there is a sad lacking of hard proof or statements on this - nice imagery though).

Also, Frankenstein by Mary Shelly is there too. A classic (and yes, I’d call it SF) book.

The presentation has been stripped to it’s minimum, using white background, minimum graphics and a readable font. This is great as to not detract from the reading experience. I know that some people just don’t like reading from the screen, but this goes a long way to alleviate certain display issues. I even tested out printing for the people who like to read from paper, and it looks just fine.

I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that certain publishers are publishing War Of The Worlds? Is it economically viable because of the story being in the public domain due to copyright laws? Interesting.

Related Link: Free online games and other games are fun, that’s why I found a PS3 for sale.