When today’s top science-fiction and fantasy authors look for inspiration, they turn to the classics. We continue reading those same books (year after year) because they stand the test of time. For a limited time, you can download these beloved science fiction and fantasy books for free!
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
A groundbreaking fantasy novel and an irresistible ode to the joys of childhood.
An immediate sensation when it was first published one hundred fifty years ago, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland revolutionized children’s literature with its delightful disregard for narrative convention and its surreal cast of characters, including the anxious White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the grinning Cheshire Cat, and the notorious Queen of Hearts. Generations of readers, writers, and artists have found enchantment and inspiration in Lewis Carroll’s incredible journey of the imagination from a drowsy riverbank in England to the magical world at the bottom of a rabbit hole and back again.
Tarzan of the Apes
The first and greatest adventure of Tarzan and the inspiration for a new feature film starring Alexander Skarsgård, Margot Robbie, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Born to English aristocrats marooned in the dense West African wilderness, John Clayton, only heir to the Greystoke estate, is orphaned soon after his first birthday. Adopted by the she-ape Kala, he is given the name Tarzan, or White-Skin, and grows up among the apes, swinging from tree to tree and fighting the great beasts of the jungle. He has no memory of civilization, but discovers, in the books his parents left behind, the key to his strange appearance, and to his past.
When a party of white explorers arrives, Tarzan finds himself drawn to them—in particular, to the American Jane Porter. For years he has been torn between two identities, human and ape, and after saving Jane’s life he follows her to Paris and then to America, experiencing the unfamiliar world of his birthright before the call of the jungle brings them both back to Africa.
Originally published in 1912 in the pulp magazine All-Story, Tarzan of the Apes introduced to the world one of literature’s most iconic characters. The star of twenty-four books written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, as well as countless film, television, and comic book adaptations, Tarzan forever remains the Lord of the Jungle.
The Light Princess
A princess is cursed to a life without gravity in George MacDonald’s whimsical fairy tale.
After years of being childless, the king and queen finally welcome a beautiful daughter into the world. But at the young princess’s christening, the king’s wicked sister curses the girl to a life without gravity. Doomed to float above the ground, unable to bring her feet to earth, the princess grows up unlike any other child. Inspired by “Sleeping Beauty,” The Light Princess is George MacDonald’s “lightest” fairy tale, indulging in skillful wordplay and unrepentant puns—the kind of story made to charm children and delight adults.
Ozma of Oz
Dorothy, along with a few new friends, embarks on an exciting adventure in this classic tale in the Oz series.
Dorothy is back, and she’s not in Kansas anymore. L. Frank Baum’s magical world comes to life once again as our beloved Dorothy Gale takes yet another unexpected trip to a mystical, faraway land. This time, Dorothy winds up in the land of Ev, where she meets new friends such as the mechanical man Tik-Tok and the clever chicken Billina. Dorothy will also have to face the wicked Nome King, who’s imprisoned the royal family of Ev. Dorothy calls upon her friends from Oz—including the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the new queen of Oz—to save Ev. But can even their combined might win the day and see Dorothy back home?
