Apex Magazine Issue 131

Apex Magazine #131

by Jason Sizemore (Editor), Lesley Conner (Editor), Hannah Yang

From the Editor
"Musings from Maryland: Editorial" by Lesley Conner

Original Fiction:
"A Monster in the Shape of a Boy" by Hannah Yang
"Shevista" by Koji A. Dae
"Americana!" by Sam Asher
"The Fruit of the Princess Tree" by Sage Tyrtle
"Hoodie" by Tonya Liburd
"In the Monster's Mouth" by Tim Waggoner

Classic Fiction:
"Simbiyu and the Nameless" by Eugen Bacon
"As the Sun Dies" by Jaym Gates

Nonfiction:
"You In Your Headmeats" by Errick Nunnally
"Mysterious Island" by Jeffrey Ford

Reviews:
"Words for Thought: Short Fiction Review" by A.C. Wise
"Book Review: Wendy, Darling by A.C. Wise" by Marie Croke
"Book Review: Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper" by Tracy Robinson

Interviews:
"Interview with Author Hannah Yang" by Andrea Johnson
"Interview with Author Sam Asher" by Andrea Johnson
"Interview with Artist Reza Afshar" by Bradley Powers

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy

155 pages, ebook

Published May 3, 2022

About the author

I was born the son of an unemployed coal miner in a tiny Kentucky Appalachian villa named Big Creek (population 400). It’s an isolated area with beautiful rolling hills, thick forests, and country folk. I lived in Big Creek until I went to college, spending my weekends cruising the Winn Dixie parking lot of ladies, partying in my cousin’s run-down three room trailer, and being a member of the bad-ass Clay County High School Academic Team.

College was quite a shock for me. Girls! Minorities! Strip clubs! And it didn’t help that I attended Transylvania University, a fairly snotty (but excellent) private college in Lexington, KY (on scholarship… no way my family could have sent me otherwise). I graduated in the standard four years with a degree in Computer Science.

Since 1996, I’ve worked for evil corporations (IBM), dot com dreamers (eCampus.com), The Man (both city and state government), and for The Kids (KY Dept. of Education), and assholes (lots and lots of assholes).

In 2004, I decided my life was boring, that I no longer needed disposable income, and I needed to increase my stress levels. I started Apex Publications, a small press publisher of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. At first it was just a small print zine, then a pro-level online zine, then books, and then ebooks.

I edit anthologies, mostly for Apex (because I’m a control freak). I occasionally do copy editing (when pressed) and have done plenty of acquisition editing over the years.

I also write. I don’t really write enough to leave a mark, but it seems to go well when I do put pen to paper.

Miscellaneous facts about me: left-handed, blue eyes, super geeky, hillbilly accent, near-sighted, and typically in a goofy mood.

Also, and most importantly, I’m not the drunkard all those Facebook photos makes me out to be. It just happens that cameras are always around when I… have libations. Honest!

Reviews

[Martin Jones]

This a review for one story in this magazine.

The Monster in the Shape of a Boy is a short story by Hannah Yang. It appeared in the May 2022 edition of Apex Magazine, and reached the short list for the Locus 2023 short story prize.

The story is set in a village which has to deal with aggressive shape-shifting creatures. Sometimes people might find themselves having to kill monsters who look exactly like themselves. Young Peng finds this difficult, despite training from his father, Baba, a monster-slayer for hire. One day Peng meets a monster in the shape of himself but is unable to kill him. Baba has to step in.

Baba is not pleased. Peng is twelve now and should be doing his own slaying.

Intensive training follows, with Peng undertaking various gruesome tasks to toughen him up.

Then one day Peng faces another Peng. He is a different boy now. You get the feeling that Peng will fight. He is no longer the scaredy-cat he once was. But you also get the feeling that the anti-Peng has won, because the former, gentle Peng no longer exists. He has been consumed by the aggressive version of himself. It’s a bit like a political party in opposition making themselves more like the party in power to win votes - but then wondering if it’s worth it.

A nicely written story with an interesting circularity.

[Ben]

I'm using this space for "A Monster in the Shape of a Boy" by Hannah Yang.

This is a extra short, short story. It really has an abrupt ending to nail it's point home and leaves you thinking about a lot of different possibilities. At its core, this feels like a story about how children will go to great lengths for their parents' approval. There is a lot to chew on with this story and I could see it being great for a book club discussion.

[Michael Whiteman]

A Monster In The Shape Of A Boy - Hannah Yang ****

Shevitsa - Koji A Dae ***

Americana! - Sam Asher ***

The Fruit Of The Princess Tree - Sage Tyrtle ***

Hoodie - Tonya Liburd ***

In The Monster's Mouth - Tim Waggoner ***

Simbiyu And The Nameless - Eugen Bacon ***

As The Sun Dies - Jaym Gates ***