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? ( )

My reading of anthologies not strongly unified by a common author or theme tends to be rather piecemeal, but those stories I've read so far in this one are overall quite good to excellent.

• The Bread We Eat in Dreams – Catherynne M. Valente : Early USA town settles around banished demon of plenty – 4,5
• The Leavings of the Wolf – Elizabeth Bear : The commonalities of ill-chosen marriage and a wolf's jaw – 5
• The 24 Hour Brother – Christopher Barzak : Little brother grows up – 3,5
• Faithful City – Michael Pevzner : Too many legs – 3,5
• So glad we had this time together – Cat Rambo : Too much reality in your reality TV – 4
• Sweetheart Showdown – Sarah Dalton : Cuteness contest is ugly business – 4
• Bear in Contradicting Landscape - David J. Schwartz : Not-so-fictional characters – 3,5
• My Body, Her Canvas – A.C. Wise : Nightmarish tatoo masterpiece – 4
• A Member of the Wedding of Heaven and Hell – Richard Bowes : Marriage of opposites – 3
• Copper, Iron, Blood and Love – Mari Ness : Of voices and ravens – 5
• The Second Card of the Major Arcana – Thoraiya Dyer : Guardian sphinx on a rampage – 4
• Love is a Parasite Meme – Lavie Tidhar : ( )

I'm not really sure how to review this collection since there are so many stories and they are all so different. Well, maybe that's my review right there! I enjoyed the sheer variety of stories in this collection; they all fall generally into the "speculative fiction" bucket, but that's a pretty broad category and the stories here span a wide range of subgenres.

A lot of the stories are what I would call dark, if not strictly "horror" -- one that comes to mind that I particularly enjoyed is "Decomposition" by Rachel Swirsky, in which a man takes revenge on his enemy by murdering his daughters and then reanimating their corpses. It's a bit gruesome but I don't mind that if it serves the story, which in this case it definitely does.

The collection also includes some stories that have a more wistful, "classic fantasy" feel, like "Armless Maidens of the American West" by Genevieve Valentine, which I enjoyed for its unique use of second-person narration.

And there are also some stories that are humorous, such as "Trixie and the Pandas of Dread" by Eugie Foster, wherein a vengeful deity uses an app on her smartphone/tablet to receive information about sinners in need of smiting. Several other stories in the collection also incorporate modern technology, featuring people (and non-people) whipping out their smartphones in a variety of magical situations. At least one story, "The Second Card of the Major Arcana" by Thoraiya Dyer, makes explicit the theme of the clash between ancient magic and modern technology, in a really gripping way.

So overall this is a great collection of stories, as diverse as the authors themselves. I'm not a huge fan of the short-story genre but I enjoyed reading these and will definitely check out other Apex offerings in the future. ( )

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. ( )

Most anthologies I have read have always been themed ones in one specific genre, The Book of Apex however doesn't really have a theme nor does it stick to one genre but spans the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres. Because of that you get a very different and eclectic mix of short fiction. (Overall 3.5 / 5 stars for the collection)

Depending on the reader that could be a good thing or a bad thing. For me it was alright. I'm definitely a lover of short stories and for that reason I always have an anthology I'm reading through at any given time between my normal novel reads. I know I'm accustomed to the themed anthologies and knowing what type of story I can expect to pop up next. Being a mood reader I like knowing what I'm in for. The Book of Apex is such a mixed bag, dare I say a box of chocolates?

There definitely were some gems in this collection, but I found I just liked more than I loved and then didn't care for a handful of others. They were of course all well written and unique. I'd say if you are a reader that likes a surprise, not knowing what you might be reading next and you're a fan of these genres then definitely give The Book of Apex a try.

Honorable mentions go to these stories:

- The Bread We Eat In Dreams by Catherynne M. Valente
- So Glad We Had This Time Together by Cat Ramb
- Labyrinth by Mari Ness
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