The Book of Apex: Volume 4 of Apex Magazine

by Lynne M. Thomas

The Book of Apex Volume 4 collects the original fiction from Hugo-winning editor Lynne M. Thomas's first fifteen issues at the helm of Apex Magazine, which included two Hugo Award nominations for the magazine.


Thirty-three science fiction, fantasy, and horror short stories grab readers by their emotional cores to star deep into the source of our humanity and inhumanity. Well-known authors like Ken Liu, Genevieve Valentine, Catherynne M. Valente, Lavie Tidhar, and Alethea Kontis, along with newer voices, sketch surreal pasts, presents, and futures full of characters with familiar and outsized desires and fears.
Table of Contents
“The Bread We Eat in Dreams” by Catherynne M. Valente
“The Leavings of the Wolf” by Elizabeth Bear
“The 24 Hour Brother” by Christopher Barzak
“Faithful City” by Michael Pevzner
“So Glad We Had This Time Together” by Cat Rambo
“Sweetheart Showdown” by Sarah Dalton
“Bear in Contradicting Landscape” by David J. Schwartz
“My Body Her Canvas” by A.C. Wise
“A Member of the Wedding of Heaven and Hell” by Richard Bowes
“Copper, Iron, Blood and Love” by Mari Ness
“The Second Card of the Major Arcana” by Thoraiya Dyer
“Love is a Parasite Meme” by Lavie Tidhar
“Decomposition” by Rachel Swirsky
“Tomorrow’s Dictator” by Rahul Kanakia
“Winter Scheming” by Brit Mandelo
“In the Dark” by Ian Nichols
“The Silk Merchant” by Ken Liu
“Ironheart” by Alec Austin
“Coyote Gets His Own Back” by Sarah Monette
“Waiting for Beauty” by Marie Brennan
“Murdered Sleep” by Kat Howard
“Armless Maidens of the American West” by Genevieve Valentine
“Sexagesimal” by Katharine E.K. Duckett
“During the Pause” by Adam-Troy Castro
“Weaving Dreams” by Mary Robinette Kowal
“Always the Same. Till it is Not” by Cecil Castellucci
“Sprig” by Alex Bledsoe
“Splinter” by Shira Lipkin
“Erzulie Dantor” by Tim Susman
“Labyrinth” by Mari Ness
“Blood from Stone” by Alethea Kontis
“Trixie and the Pandas of Dread” by Eugie Foster
“The Performance Artist” by Lettie Prell


Reviews:


The Apex Magazine anthology is a worthwhile thing, crammed full of short stories from bunches of genres. It has good stuff, great stuff, and one story that I absolutely love.
—RevolutionSF, Joe Crowe


Put all these snippets together and they should tell you there isn’t a weak story in The Book of Apex Volume 4 and several are genuinely outstanding.
—Thinking About Books, David Marshall


A strong collection of weird, gory, scary, creepy and just plain strange stories that will satisfy any reader who loves a wide variety of genre short fiction.
—Books, Bones and Buffy


Lynne M. Thomas is the Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University. She’s probably best known as the co-editor of the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords (2010) with Tara O’Shea, Whedonistas (2011) with Deborah Stanish, and the Hugo Award-nominated Chicks Dig Comics (2012) with Sigrid Ellis, all published by Mad Norwegian Press. Along with the Geek Girl Chronicles book series, Lynne is the Editor-in-Chief of the Hugo Award-nominated (2012 & 2013) Apex Magazine, an online professional prose and poetry magazine of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mash-ups of all three. She moderates the Hugo Award-winning SF Squeecast and contributes to the Verity! podcast. Lynne lives in DeKalb with her husband Michael, their daughter Caitlin, and a cat named Marie. Lynne is also a part-time Dancing Queen and grew up at roller rink in the wilds of Massachusetts.

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, Anthologies, Fiction, Short Stories

ebook

First published October 24, 2013

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

[David Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent anthology with some outstanding stories.

http://opionator.wordpress.com/2013/1...

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a word: A strong collection of weird, gory, scary, creepy and just plain strange stories that will satisfy any reader who loves a wide variety of genre short fiction.

I’m so happy I was introduced to Apex Publications this year. I’ve discovered some new authors that I love and read some stories I would never have found on my own. The thirty-three short stories in The Book of Apex Volume 4 come from the Apex Magazine side of the company, and bring together stories from fifteen issues of Apex Magazine, under the editing helm of Lynne M. Thomas (who unfortunately, has since stepped down from her position at Apex). There are far too many stories gathered here to discuss individually, but here is a numerical breakdown of my overall enjoyment of the collection. Out of thirty-three stories I:

Loved: 17
Liked: 12
Didn’t care for: 4

Not bad, eh? In the interest of space, I am going to highlight my top ten favorites of this collection (in no particular order).

The Bread We Eat In Dreams by Catherynne M. Valente

And in her long nights, in her long house of smoke and miller’s stones, she baked the bread we eat in dreams, strangest loaves, her pies full of anguish and days long dead, her fairy-haunted gingerbread, her cakes wet with tears.

You may recognize her name: she’s the author of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (longest title ever!!). I haven’t read Valente’s Fairyland books, but I will after reading this gorgeously written tale full of magic and mystery, about a demon who can grow anything in her magical garden, even in winter.

So Glad We Had This Time Together by Cat Rambo

One of my favorites, Rambo concocts a reality TV show where a vampire, a werewolf, and a demon are thrown together in the Winchester Mystery House with some humans (for dramatic effect). Events unfold the way you might expect, but Rambo’s narrative is so funny and well-paced that the story actually feels like it could be real.

Sweetheart Showdown by Sarah Dalton

Another one of my favorites, this creepy story about a crazy-ass beauty pageant has shades of The Hunger Games, but with humor added it feels even more horrifying than you might expect.

Love is a Parasite Meme by Lavie Tidhar

He wanted to tell her, that last time, that you could forget the word for love, but the feeling itself could still be there. Language only describes things that already exist.

A dreamy apocalyptic tale of the last two people on earth, as they travel through ruined cities and slowly lose the need for language.

Decomposition by Rachel Swirsky

This diabolic story of revenge was at times disgusting (as you might tell from the title), but it held me captive despite the graphic descriptions.

Murdered Sleep by Kat Howard

Sleep is dying, and has been for a long time now, through uncounted ticks of clocks and the flickers of thousands of too-brief candles. Sleep is dying, a slow exsanguination of dreams, a storm-tossed suffocation of nightmares. Sleep is dying, and she is not alone in her throes.

I loved the dreamy and dangerous quality of this story. A woman is invited to a party and decides to stay, but whether or not it takes place in the waking world or a dream is uncertain.

Sexagesimal by Katharine E.K. Duckett

A very sad and poignant story about the afterlife, where time is currency and memories can be gained or lost by moving back and forth through time.

During the Pause by Adam-Troy Castro

I loved the original voice of this story! An alien being warns the human race about an approaching apocalypse, but the reasons behind this warning aren’t at all what you might expect.

Always the Same, Till it is Not by Cecil Castellucci

A weird-ass zombie story written in a completely original voice about a group of zombies, one of them who plans a horrible sacrifice. This story was strangely touching, and I loved it.

Labyrinth by Mari Ness

A woman with a terrible job must engage in a fight to the death with those brave enough to enter her maze. A horrifying tale of duty versus familial love.

Other stories that made me laugh, cringe or otherwise gasp at their originality and skill: Trixie and the Pandas of Dread by Eugie Foster, Erzulie Dantor by Tim Susman, Waiting for Beauty by Marie Brennan, Ironheart by Alec Austin, and The 24 Hour Brother by Christopher Barzak.

I was happy that many of these stories, especially the ones that really spoke to me, were by authors that I’d never heard of before. Although these tales all have elements of horror or the paranormal, each one relies on the human condition to get their points across. Strange and dreamy, shocking and brutal, humorous and poignant, The Book of Apex: Volume 4 of Apex Magazine is a strong collection that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Many thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy. This review originally appeared on Books, Bones & Buffy.

[Kinsey_m]

The bread we eat in dreams **** I finally understand the people who say Valente is such a great writer. It had never worked for me before, too baroque, too weird for the sake of weirdness. It almost did with radiance, but three-quarters in Valente decided to go back to her roots and I dnf. The bread we eat in dreams though, has the right level for me: excellent writting, but not overdone. As usual, Valente's ideas are great, which is why I have been trying for so long to like her.

"The Leavings of the Wolf" by Elizabeth Bear** Didn't do anything for me. Perhaps because I am unfamiliar with norse mythology, the parallels seemed forced.

"The 24 hour brother" beautifully written. A boy is born and ages a lifetime in 24 hours. I wasn't looking forward to reading it as it seemed liked I had read something similar in the past, but it was so skilfully written that it chnaged my mind. ****

"The faithful city" again, not such a groundbreaking idea, but well written, although at some points I found the writing confusing (I have to add that I was reading in the train, which may have had an effect on my concentration).***1/2

Sweetheart showdown ** Not badly written, but it did nothing for me.

[Gyula · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first time I have read something from Apex Magazine. This book is a nice collection of interesting and sometimes weird stories.
Some of them were beautifully written (for example The Bread We Eat in Dreams), I liked the voice and the use of the words. By the way, voice: since it is a collection of stories by several writers, the style of the authors varies like color patches on a painting. This painting has some rather dark shadows, I would say. A few of the stories were even poetic, I can mention The Leavings of the Wolf here.
I found that some stories didn't lead anywhere. I mean, reading a story I expect some kind of resolution, but in the same story I just mentioned about the wolfs I couldn't find it.
Fortunately most of the stories interesting enough to keep the attention. Some have really compelling ideas, for example The 24 Hour Brother. Or the Love is a Parasite Meme.
I must admit I skipped some of them after a few pages, you know, you cannot love every color.
If you are into science-fiction, fantasy and / or horror, you should get your hands on a copy of The Book of Apex Volume Four.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for participating in a Blog Tour promoting it. This anthology collects all the stories published in Apex Magazine issues #30-#44, the first fifteen issues since Lynne M. Thomas took over as editor for the magazine. The great thing about Apex Magazine is that their stories are all available online, so if you are intrigued by a story you can just click the title and it will link you to that story on their website!

The Bread We Eat In Dreams, by Catherynne M. Valente. The first story in the collection is a surprisingly haunting tale of a demon banished from Hell. Gemegishkirihallat, or Agnes, as she’s called these days, begins our story as an exile not only from Heaven but from the diabolical realms as well. In Hell she was the master baker, baking the bread for the nobles of the Underworld, bread that would be used to torment the famished souls of the damned with the sweet delicacies they would never be allowed to taste, the bread we eat in our dreams. In Hell she had camaraderie, friends, or as near to friends as a demon is capable, even lovers from time to time. In Hell, she wasn’t alone. Here on Earth, this is not the case. But when a demon lives among Puritans, the end result is nearly inevitable…. Agnes’ tale draws most of its impact from the way Ms. Valente spins her prose. She sucks you in from the first paragraph, painting an incredibly vivid and evocative picture that dares you to even try and look away. The conclusion is built slowly and gently, piece by piece from the beginning of the story, so gently that you don’t even consciously register until the end that this is the central question of the whole tale: what in the seven rings of Hell could a demon do to deserve banishment from that unholy place? This is certainly a different take on demons, and I’m not sure what to think of it theologically, but I am definitely intrigued. I urge you to give this story a try. CONTENT: Sexual content, non-explicit. Mild violence, not too disturbing. The main character is a demon, so there’s a bit of an occult flavor.

The Leavings Of The Wolf, by Elizabeth Bear. Dagmar is an animal researcher with a problem. Multiple problems, really, although they are all connected. The root of her issues is her recent divorce. Through the course of the messy divorce, she gained enough weight that she can no longer get her wedding ring off of her finger without destroying it, which she is unwilling to do. So, in a quest to lose her excess weight and free herself from the wedding band, she runs. One day she finds herself in a part of the woods that is completely new to her, and there connects with her ancient heritage.... This was a good story, but it didn't really work for me for some reason. Maybe because I didn't have much in common with the main character? Ms. Bear did a good job of developing her, but as a young happily-married male I didn't really identify all that strongly with Dagmar the thirty-something divorcee, and the implication that marriage is sometimes the equivalent of sticking your hand in the mouth of a wolf rubbed me the wrong way. I liked the Norse mythology, but not enough to salvage my opinion of this particular tale. CONTENT: Mild language. A little bit gruesome in one particular part, but not too disturbing.

The 24 Hour Brother, by Christopher Barzak. Remember the story The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button? Brad Pitt film, Oscar buzz, all that? This story is kind of like that. Except that it isn’t. A haunting story about family, loss, and inevitability. There’s no suspense here, you know how it will end almost from the beginning, but this isn’t a story where that matters. This isn’t about fooling readers with a twist ending. This is about the inevitability of death, and how sometimes the scales of fate don’t balance properly. I didn’t enjoy it, but I don’t think Mr. Barzak intended me to. CONTENT: No language, violence, or sexual content. Still not really intended for kids, or at least not for ones who wouldn’t understand.

Faithful City, by Michael Pevzner. This one almost made my previous post. A young man is given a vision calling him to a far-distant utopian city away from the wasteland the rest of the Earth has become. Upon arrival, he is asked to come to the temple and join the city, shedding his flesh and joining his spirit with the rest of the city’s inhabitants. Is all as it seems, or is the city a far more sinister predator than is being let on? I really liked this one. CONTENT: Some violence.

So Glad We Had This Time Together, by Cat Rambo. Another very strong story, this time told as the protagonist writes to tender her resignation from the TV network she works for. As she composes, we’re treated to her recollections of the past year or so. She has been one of the leads on a new show, Unreality Television, which is basically Big Brother with a vampire, a werewolf, a medium, a guy who’s demon possessed, and a couple normal humans to pull in audiences. Everyone knows they exist, somewhere in the shadows, but nobody has ever pulled them into the light...until Unreality Television, that is. The result? Ah, now that would be telling. I really liked this one–especially for the ending, true, but I was hooked long before that. I’m going to chalk it up to the writing, Ms. Rambo’s voice and the tiny hints she drops that everything is not as it seems. I’m not sure what else to attribute it to, since the story is most certainly a lot better than how I’ve described it.... CONTENT: References to violence and sexual content, but nothing explicit. Mild language.

Sweetheart Showdown, by Sarah Dalton. My initial reaction was to compare this to the Hunger Games, but that’s a bad comparison. The Sweetheart Showdown competition isn’t a large-scale ordeal serving to suppress revolution, but is instead far more disturbing. It’s basically a Miss America pageant that ends in gladiatorial combat, for no discernible reason than the entertainment of the masses. Again, I really liked this one. CONTENT: Slightly gory violence. Some sexual innuendo. Brief language.

Bear In Contradicting Landscape, by David J. Schwartz. This is the tale of a writer who meets the character from one of his unpublished short stories on the train one day, and they strike up a friendship. I love the idea, have even played about with some of the ideas involved in my own work, but the ending just didn't work for me. I hate to admit this, but I just didn't "get it." Maybe you'll fare better. CONTENT: Sexual content, not too explicit. Brief language.

My Body, Her Canvas, by A.C. Wise. In a studio converted from a slaughterhouse, our narrator allows a troubled tattoo artist to transcribe her nightmares into his flesh. Very beautifully written, with incredibly evocative prose, but it was very bleak. It's a little unclear as to whether there's actually something strange going on here or if our narrator is just unstable, but in either case the relationship is hardly healthy. I'm sure some people will like this, but it wasn't for me. CONTENT: Sexual language and innuendo. Strong language. Possibly some occult content, depending on the narrator's sanity.

A Member Of The Wedding Of Heaven And Hell, by Richard Bowes. According to Mr. Bowes, the hosts of Heaven and Hell never leave their respective realms anymore. Instead, they recruit humans who show certain predispositions, imbue them with a measure of their power, and employ them as proxies in their endless cold war. Now both Heaven and Hell are in an uproar, as two of their agents prepare to wed… CONTENT: Brief sexual innuendo, non-explicit. The implication that one character may have been molested as a child. Mild violence. Mild language.

Copper, Iron, Blood And Love, by Mari Ness. This is a tale of the raven’s daughter, one of seven children born to a woman in the village of Sandel and the only one to survive their mother’s madness. This is also a tale of the blacksmith’s daughter, who loved the raven’s daughter for saving her life. There is also a poet, a singer, or a prince, depending on who you talk to. First off, I didn’t really like this one that much. I didn’t “get it” when I was reading it. On reflection, however, it is growing on me. The vagueness that annoyed me at first glance now looks more like Ms. Ness taking on the tradition of folk tales and how they are a little different every place you find them. It’s an exploration of how stories evolve, and maybe a comment about never really knowing which one is true. I’m still not a fan, but I can at least appreciate the craft and technique here. CONTENT: No language. Implied violence. Possible implication of a character having been molested.

The Second Card Of The Major Arcana, by Thoraiya Dyer. The Sphinx walks the streets of Beirut, searching for the one who awoke her from her millenia of slumber and asking riddles of all she interacts with. The penalty for failing to answer is a swift and sure death. To what purpose was she awoken? Read on and find out… Pointing out that this is a story about the Sphinx may be a minor spoiler, unless you either know your tarot deck and catch the reference in the title or you pick it up from the continued riddling, but I can’t really describe it otherwise and it’s a minor spoiler at worst. CONTENT: Mild violence, in that people die when they fail to answer her riddles. No language or sexual content. Does the sphinx count as an occult figure?

Love Is A Parasite Meme, by Lavie Tidhar. (Ostensibly) the last two people on an Earth devastated by unexplained disaster set out to forget certain words they deem useless. I didn't really get pulled into this one, whether it was the never-explained fate of the rest of the world or the fact that I was put off by the titular declaration concerning love. I did like the ending, but not enough to redeem the experience. CONTENT: Harsh, R-rated language throughout. No violence. Non-explicit sexual content.

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.

Winter Scheming, by Brit Mandelo. Harvey is disturbed, haunted by a relationship gone wrong. To tell you more would be to invite spoilers, and I really don't want to do that. Instead, I'll simply say that this strange story involves reincarnation, a taciturn bird lady, a golden owl, and an act of nearly divine retribution. Shutting up now.... CONTENT: Strong lesbian sexual content. Violence, evocatively described. Harsh R-rated language. Reincarnation counts as occult content, right?

In The Dark, by Ian Nichols. There is a darkness that lives deep in the Earth, hungry for the dark and dreary dreams of humanity. The miners know this, and so they sing songs bright and cheerful to keep the darkness at bay. But not all who travel through their lands are familiar with this timeless enemy, and there are those who love nothing more than songs of heartache and pain.... There was a beauty to the prose of this story that I'm sure I can't do justice to in description. I really enjoyed it. CONTENT: Implied sexual innuendo, but nothing explicit. No language. No real violence, though there are some frightening elements that I'll not elaborate on because spoilers.

The Silk Merchant, by Ken Liu. A young man sets out to redeem his father's name and prove that the legendary Shimmersilk actually exists. I called the ending, but that doesn't have to serve as a black mark. CONTENT: No language. No sexual content. Little overt violence, but several very disturbing ideas and revelations.

Ironheart, by Alec Austin. In a dark future, a dark past, or a dark parallel world humanity is at war with the Fae. This war has raged for years, fueling and fueled by dark magic and necromancy. With no more adults to feed to the war, children have been pressed into service. Fallen soldiers are revived with necromancy and sent back to the front to fight and die again. Usable parts are "Frankensteined" together and sent back out. The way the war was described, terms used and the dynamics of how the stalemate had cemented, I can't imagine that the first World War was not an inspiration here. CONTENT: Strong violence, sometimes disturbing. Harsh language. Sexual innuendos, non-explicit.

Coyote Gets His Own Back, by Sarah Monette. This one is really too short to describe without rendering it moot. I wasn't really a fan of this one, just didn't connect with it. Doesn't mean you won't. CONTENT: Violence, some gruesome content. No sex or language.

Murdered Sleep, by Kat Howard. This almost made my best-of post. As with most of the other times I've said that, I'm not sure why it fell short. Perhaps partially because I'm not at all certain I understood it. I think I got it, but I could be mistaken. Anyway, this was an excellent tale of a young woman who receives an invitation to an endless party in the land of dreams...and the costs inherent in accepting such an offer. CONTENT: Some violence. Mild sexual innuendo. No language.

Armless Maidens Of The American West, by Genevieve Valentine. In the woods surrounding town, there's an armless maiden, still covered in blood from where her father went mad and chopped off her arms. She lives out there, pitied and feared, with no human contact until one day a grad student comes to town looking for data for her project entitled Armless Maidens Of The American West. It would seem that this is not an isolated phenomenon.... Faintly disturbing, but I really loved the writing style here. CONTENT: Some implied violence. No profanity, and no overt sexual innuendo. There are a few speculations about why her father did what he did, and you could take that train of thought in a sexual direction if you wanted to, but the author will give you no help there.

Waiting For Beauty, by Marie Brennan. An incredibly disturbing take on Beauty And The Beast. I wasn’t a fan, but maybe you will be. CONTENT: No explicit sex, violence, or language, but it is pretty disturbing nonetheless. I can’t tell you why, because spoilers.

Sexagesimal, by Katharine E.K. Duckett. In the afterlife, all you are is memory. It is your currency, your very existence, until you've used up all your memories and simply cease to exist. For Teskia and Julio, this is very dangerous because all of their memories are shared. And Julio has inexplicably fallen ill.... This story was...haunting, is I think the best word. I didn't particularly like the ending, I prefer things to be more hopeful than that as a rule (don't worry, no spoilers) but the story had grabbed me so tightly that it made my favorites list anyway. I'm not sure what the time stamps signify, I wasn't able to puzzle them out. This could be the fact that I was reading a challenging story after a truly crazy day at work, but oh well. If you figured it out, please enlighten me! CONTENT: No profanity. Some sexual innuendo, but nothing explicit. No real violence, but one scene is fairly disturbing for reasons I'll leave unexplained because spoilers.

During The Pause, by Adam-Troy Castro. Our world is about to end. There is nothing we can do to stop it. Our world will end, and we will suffer endless torment as a result. Not even death will offer an escape, except for one brief moment moments/eons into our torment...and in that moment, we will have a choice to make. I won't say I enjoyed this story all that much, but I definitely admire Mr. Castro's imagination and craftsmanship. The entire story is crafted as a message from another world in the path of the wave of destruction, warning us of what is to come. It was actually fairly chilling.... CONTENT: No explicit sexual content, language, or violence, although the descriptions of what is to come can be a bit disturbing.

Weaving Dreams, by Mary Robinette Kowal. Eva is a witch. A witch with a doctorate, in fact, and her current project is assisting a local historian in attempting to learn all he can about the area's past from the local population of Hidden People. She's being careful, following all the rules...or so she thinks. As it turns out, she and Giancarlo have inadvertently upset some major players in the faerie realm, and they'll have to think fast unless they want to pay the price.... I enjoyed this one. I usually do enjoy stories featuring different takes on the fae, especially after the wonderful things the Dresden Files has done. CONTENT: No profanity. Mild sexual innuendos and flirting, nothing too explicit. No overt violence, as such, but some discussion of it.

[S.B. (Beauty in Ruins) · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, the best kind of anthology is a genre-specific one. I like the novelty of ideas, the variety of subjects, and the unknown factor of what's coming next. While I do enjoy themed anthologies, I find that the subject tends to wear a bit thin by the end, and I'm always left second-guessing myself as to whether a story was weak, or I've just grown tired of the theme.

The Book of Apex: Volume Four of Apex Magazine is a genre-specific anthology . . . in the broadest sense. Like it's namesake, from whom the stories are reprinted, this is a collection of science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories from a wide variety of authors. Editor Lynne M. Thomas has dived deep into the first 15 issues of her tenure, selecting 33 of the best stories to present to the reader here.

I don't want to say too much and spoil the stories here, but standouts for me included:

- "The Bread We Eat in Dreams" by Catherynne M. Valente - quite likely the coziest, homiest demon story you'll ever encounter.

- "The 24 Hour Brother" by Christopher Barzak - a unique twist on the aging theme, with a baby brother who lives an entire life in a day.

- "So Glad We Had This Time Together" by Cat Rambo - reality television meets honest-to-gosh paranormal society . . . with consequences.

- "A Member of the Wedding of Heaven and Hell" by Richard Bowes - exactly what the title promises, a story of fiends and fools, angels and devils, all resigned to consummation of the marriage.

- "Copper, Iron, Blood and Love" by Mari Ness - a fairy tale that could have come from the Brothers Grimm themselves.

- "Tomorrow's Dictator" by Rahul Kanakia - a weird story about sales, human resources, public relations, and voluntary mind control that seems eerily plausible.

- "Ironheart" by Alec Austin - a militaristic sort of tale, with absolutely the best first line in the entire collection.

- "Armless Maidens of the American West" by Genevieve Valentine - less a forgotten tale of the Brothers Grimm and more a contemporary example of their legacy.

- "During the Pause" by Adam-Troy Castro - probably my favourite piece in the anthology, one of those fragments that still manages to tell one heck of an apologetic story of alien interference.

- "Sprig" by Alex Bledsoe - a clever sort of Renaissance Fair fairy tale that dares to deliver on the anticipated twist.

- "Blood from Stone" by Alethea Kontis - a pulp era type horror story updated with a contemporary feel, complete with a dark twist

Like all anthologies, The Book of Apex: Volume Four of Apex Magazine is hit-or-miss, depending upon your preferred genre, narrative style, and storytelling framework. There are longer tales here with complete story arcs, and shorter tales that are little more than isolated scenes. In between are some unusual tales that leave you wondering from what larger narrative piece the fragment fell. You may not love them all, but you're certain to find ones you love.


Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

To paraphrase a famous quote from Forrest Gump, short story collections are like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're going to get.

That's the great thing about a collection of short stories -- if you come across a story you don't care for you, there's generally another chance (or five) that the next story or a story later in the collection will be more your speed or taste. Since the start of 2014, I've immersed myself into two short story collections -- one that had been languishing on my to-be-read shelf for far too long and the other as part of the Book of Apex, Volume 4 Blog Tour.

Thanks to the hard work of Andrea from The The Little Red Reviewer, I was given access to a digital copy of this short story collection. The collection covers the best of fifteen or so issues from the on-line Book of Apex and is edited by Lynne M. Thomas. The stories selected here represent the cream of the crop from her first several issues editing the magazine and they run the gamut from sci-fi to fantasy to horror. Given that I enjoy each of these three genres and that I recognized several of the names included in this collection, I was eager to sit back and enjoy the stories.

Stories run from a couple of pages (or in my case, clicks on the Kindle screen) to close to novella length. The varying length of each story makes the collection an intriguing one. Among my favorite stories from the collection were:

“The 24 Hour Brother” by Christopher Barzak -- In a way, this reminded me of the story of Benjamin Button, only with a slight twist. What if you had a sibling who was born, grew up and passed away in a day. That's the premise of this one and there were a couple of details that stuck out for me -- one is that at one point the brother eats dinner with the family and then casually watches a police drama on television. This made me ponder that if I were to live for a day, what is the one show or single episode of a show I'd most want to watch or have shown to me. Of all the stories in this collection, this one has kept me coming back to it and turning it over in my mind long after I've read all the others.

"Blood from Stone" by Alethea Kontis -- I may be biased toward this one a bit since I met Ms. Kontis once at a book club meeting (she probably doesn't remember it). So I feel a bit like I'm supporting a friend by picking up her books or reading one of her short stories. Luckily, I've yet to be disappointed by her writing, though this is one is a nice change of pace from what I've previously read. But like her fantasy novels that put a contemporary spin on a classic story, so does this one put an interesting spin on the horror story. I can't say too much without giving away some of the fun twists and turns of the story. Trust me -- seek it out and read it. You'll probably like it.

"Erzulie Dantor" by Tim Susman -- The good thing about a short story collection is you can read them in any order you want. I'll admit I read this one first, not because I'm familiar with Mr. Susman's work but because of a guest post that will appear on this site later this week. Susman's story is one of the more intriguing of the lot, a bit of an examination of mythology of another culture and its practices. An intriguing little story that I'm glad I read first in the collection. Another favorite.

"Winter Scheming" by Brit Mandalo -- This was particularily interesting to read around Valentine's Day. Brit is haunted by a past relationship and, well, if I say more I might give away some of the fun of this one. The thing with short stories is that it's far too easy to give away too many details and possibly ruin some of the fun of reading them for yourself. I am trying not to do that.

These four stories were my favorites from the collection and have made me curious to see what other treats Apex Magazine will offer in the future. The good news is that if you're intrigued by any of my reviews, you can easily follow the link above and read the original stories for free on their site. And after you do, I recommend that purchase this entire collection and put it on your e-reader. I'm glad I did and I think you'll be glad you did as well.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was given a digital review copy of this collection in exchange for an honest reviews.

[Frank Errington · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 of 5 Stars Review copy

Apex Publishers focuses on Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror and, during the last year, I've had the pleasure of reviewing some great books from them, including Tom Piccirilli's What Makes You Die, Maurice Broaddus' I Can Transform You and Desper Hollow from Elizabeth Massie, as well as the collection, Plow the Bones from Douglas F. Warwick.

Apex also publishes a monthly Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror magazine featuring original, mind-bending, short fiction from many of the top pros of the field. New issues are released the first Tuesday of every month.

This collection of thirty-three stories is culled from the pages of that magazine during the tenure of it current editor-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and covers tge issues from Nov. 2011 through Jan. 2013.

The volume is rich in Fantasy, but light on Science Fiction and even lighter in the Horror genre. As a result I didn't enjoy the collection as much as I had hoped. The writing is fine and I did discover a few new authors I'd like to read more of and even some of the fantasy was enjoyable.

The collection starts the way any great collection or antholoy should, with one helluva great story, "The Bread We Eat In Dreams" by Catherynne M. Valente is the tale of a demon mistaken for a witch by the locals.

"The 24 Hour Brother" by Christopher Barzak was also quite good. Living a life in a day was an eye-opener.

Cat Rambo's "So Glad We Had This Time Together," about an unreality show was clever. Vampires, werewolves and the like, all living under the same roof with real people. I'd watch!

"A Member of the Wedding of Heaven and Hell." Pure Fantasy. Pure Fun. From Richard Bowes.

The Horror I was hoping for can be found in Rachel Swirski's "Decomposition." "He pried open her jaw. Fat, yellow maggots wriggled in froth that had once been saliva."

"Trixie and the Pandas of Dread" by Eugie Foster is a fun little tale about one badass god.

As you can see, there were several standout stories, but for each one I loved, there were more than a few I could take or leave.

Kudos to artist Julie Dillon for an amazing cover. Available as a paperback and ebook from Apex publications and from the usual e-retailers.

3 Stars, if you're a Horror or Science Fiction fan, 4 Stars, if you're into Fantasy. Thus the 3.5 Stars overall.

[M. Fenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an electronic copy of The Book of Apex: Volume Four of Apex Magazine through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program in exchange for an honest review. Gotta say I was pleased.

The Book of Apex: Volume Four contains 33 speculative short stories previously published by Apex Magazine 2011-2013.* Science fiction, fantasy, horror, etc.: it’s an excellent blend of genres, topics, moods, and writing styles. Each story has something to make it worth reading.

Seriously. When I read anthologies for review, I rate every story and then take the average for my final rating (which is why this ended up being a strange 4.14/5–don’t blame me, blame the math!). So many 5-star ratings in this collection. The stories with the worst ratings are still decently written with aspects that stand out. Marie Brennan‘s “Waiting for Beauty,” for example: a bizarre twist on the beauty & the beast fable which didn’t do a lot for me, but the description of the beast scrambling the lark’s eggs is a beautiful thing. Richard Bowes‘ “A Member of the Wedding of Heaven and Hell” is another tale that didn’t rate that highly for me, but I loved the Fool of God anyway.

My favorite stories in this collection are many. Top of the list has to be Eugie Foster‘s “Trixie and the Pandas of Dread.” Yes, friends. This story lives up to that title. It’s hilarious and smart, and OMG, the pandas! I also loved Catherynne Valente‘s “The Bread We Eat In Dreams” (love the gingerbread and cakes), Elizabeth Bear‘s “The Leavings of the Wolf” (even better on a second read), Cat Rambo‘s “So Glad We Had This Time Together” (great twist at the end), the fable of the raven in Mari Ness‘ “Copper, Iron, Blood and Love,” Thoraiya Dyer‘s gorgeous writing in “The Second Card of the Major Arcana,” and “Always the Same, Till it is Not” by Cecil Castellucci (cool take on zombies). So many other good ones, though.

If you’re looking for a contemporary speculative short story collection, you would do worse than to give The Book of Apex: Volume Four of Apex Magazine a try. Thanks to Apex and LibraryThing for giving me the opportunity to share it with you.



*FYI: all of these stories are also available on Apex Magazine‘s website for free. Read a couple, but then why not support a good published with a subscription or an anthology purchase, eh?

[Beth Cato · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ebook copy through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. I have read Apex in the past--and submitted works and been rejected there more than once--but these stories were almost all new to me.

Apex is one of those professional markets with a particular mood: dark and mysterious, sometimes rather strange. The weird stories aren't my sort of thing, but even those I could tell they were exceptionally well-written. The collection draws on ethnic diversity and especially utilizes GBLT characters.

Some of my favorites:
"The Bread We Eat in Dreams" by Catherynne M. Valente
Sometimes Valente's work is a bit too odd for my preference, but I found this one more accessible, peculiar as it is. A demon-baker settles into a remote area and impacts the local community over generations. This is a strong story to start the book.

"Armless Maidens of the American West" by Genevieve Valentine
There's something unique in having an armless woman's ghost wandering in the woods, but the world itself grows more curious when it's revealed the phenomenon is so common there's a researcher on the subject.

"Weaving Dreams" by Mary Robinette Kowal
I especially enjoyed this one because it explored the Hidden Ones of Cherokee legend, a subject I've read of and written about before.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, these stories are all very good. Some are very different and take on a whole new perspective of 'good and bad.' All were well written and most were very engaging. I would recommend for those that don't mind reading the darker aspect of beings.

Received this book via LibraryThing.com Early Reviewer giveaway.

[Lynnet · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fascinating reading this back to back with a similar Clarkesworld anthology. Both were filled with strong, well written stories, but I vastly preferred the Clarkesworld anthology to this one. Almost every story in this anthology has a touch of horror, which isn't as much to my taste as the pure ssf in the Clarkesworld anthology.

[Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good anthology. Really enjoyed the following stories:

The 24 Hour Brother by Christopher Barzak

The Faithful City by Michael Pevzner

A Member of the Wedding of Heaven and Hell by Richard Bowes

The Silk Merchant by Ken Liu

[Misty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book from the goodreads giveaways. I liked some of the stories i thought they were a good read.