Apex Magazine Issue 36

Apex Magazine #36

by Lynne M. Thomas (Editor), Rahul Kanakia, Nnedi Okorafor

A 2012 Hugo Award nominee for Best Semiprozine!

The May 2012 issue of Apex Magazine contains the following great content:

Short Fiction:
"Decomposition" by Rachel Swirsky
"Tomorrow's Dictator" by Rahul Kanakia
"The Chaos Magician's Mega Chemistry Set" by Nnedi Okorafor

Nonfiction:
"Faith in the Fantastic" by Tim Akers
"Interview with Rachel Swirsky" by Maggie Slater

Cover art by Naoto Hattori

Apex Magazine is edited by Hugo Award-winner Lynne M. Thomas.

Genres: Horror, Fantasy

58 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 28, 2012

About the author

In my day job, I am the Head of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library and Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Rare Book and Manuscript Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the largest public university rare book collections in the country. I used to manage pop culture special collections that include the papers of over 70 SF/F authors at Northern Illinois University. I also teach a Special Collections course as an adjunct in the iSchool at Illinois, and used to do so at SJSU.

I'm an eleven-time Hugo Award winner, the Co-Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Uncanny Magazine with my husband Michael Damian Thomas. The former Editor-in-Chief of Apex Magazine (2011-2013), I co-edited the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords, Whedonistas, and Chicks Dig Comics. I moderated the Hugo-Award winning SF Squeecast and contribute to the Verity! Podcast. You can learn more about my shenanigans at lynnemthomas.com.

Reviews

[Sara]

The story to N O is about little girle whant to protect her family from any threat by chimstry set.gd and easy to read.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm only reviewing the fiction here. Just FYI. Five stars for Decomposition, Four stars for the other two stories, and we'll call this a 4-star review.

Decomposition, by Rachel Swirsky. What can I say about this story without giving things away? It was incredibly disturbing, for one thing. The tale of a man driven by vengeance, and what form that vengeance takes.... Very well written, very disturbing. Be forewarned, there are even hints of necrophilia in this particular tale. Not for those with a weak stomach. CONTENT: Brief language. Mild violence. No overt sexual content, though there are some innuendos and a hint of necrophilia. Strong occult content.

Tomorrow's Dictator, by Rahul Kanakia. Science has cracked the secret of mind control and brainwashing. Visit the right therapist (or whatever they call themselves where you're from,) one little adjustment and voila! That smoking habit that's stubbornly refused to be beaten? Gone forever. That job you despise? Now you love it. Perfect, right? And just perfect for that cult you're trying to start that is having trouble keeping your converts committed.... CONTENT: Mild sexual innuendo. No language. No violence.

The Chaos Magician's Mega Chemistry Set, by Nnedi Okorafor. Ulu wants to be a chemist like her uncle, and spend her days protecting the land from pollution and other threats. Ulu is a very orderly little girl. So, her dad stops at Ugorgi's store and buys her The Chaos Magician's Mega Chemistry Set. Ugorgi's store is a very interesting place, full of things that shouldn't exist--a six-legged dog, for example. But when a "laboratory accident" disrupts the local space-time continuum, it's up to Ulu and her chemistry set to make it right.... CONTENT: Brief profanity. Mild violence. No sexual content. Occult content....that depends on the conclusions and definitions of the reader.