Alas, the blogs are all touting the availability and greatness of Apex Digest Issue 9 and I expect it to stare up at me from my mail box, horrified that it’s been stuck with me, as early as, well any day now. So I figure it’s about time I do my review of Issue 8.
First, I have to say this grinning, empty-eyed cover depicting Jennifer Pelland’s Blood Baby is my favorite so far. The evil-yet fun expression on the little beasts face makes me grin every time I see it.
This Issue starts out with a big gun, Tom Piccirilli’s Madness Blows the Winds of History. I have to say that it took me two tries to get into this one. Even once the story swept me in this story feels hardwired to a place that feels alien to me. It’s on a different wavelength than any of the stories I’ve read. Madness Blows the Winds of History is a dark weaving of future worlds and infinite time lines. The possibilities in this tale are dizzying. The tragedy that manipulates Tolbalt Tre, sending him into endless worlds to punish the people responsible for his pain. Ultimately this a story about heartache driving men, and aliens, to blindness.
The infamous Blood Baby, by Jennifer Pelland, is next up. Just as it took me two tries to get close to Piccirilli’s wavelength it took me two more to adjust to the urban fantasy tale of which I’d heard so much. More than just enjoying the actual tale in this case, I also enjoyed the spirit behind it. Pelland touches on one of the few remaining taboos left in modern horror. She also viciously shows us readers the true meaning of sacrifice, forgotten in much of today’s fantasy, and the corruption of fantasy by modern mores.
Matt Wallace’s A Place of the Snow Angels comes next, returning the issue back to threads of science fiction. This story sets up religion and science in the race for a messiah, hoping he can save the world from advancing winter. Who’s the real savior doesn’t matter, not to the story and not in the story, as both camps forget about a little thing called free will. This is a beautiful tale not of who’s write or wrong, but about who is determined.
Genesis Six by Shane Jiraiya Cummings is an excellent follow up, capturing both the religious threads and the beautiful language of the previous story and softening it with more fantasy than technology. The true darkness of this story comes not from the fact that it opens at the end of the world, but rather from the loss the characters suffer after the end and the who and why behind the destruction of the world.
The Death Singer by John B. Rosenman brings the issue back toward scifi with another lovely tale of inequality. This story proves that “even” isn’t always “fair”. The idea of someone who can translate one’s life and soul into a song really brought me into this story. Rosenman enchanted me as I read before giving me that smack of darkness at the end. I rather like stories where the end colors the whole tale in reflection.
Mommy, Daddy, and Mollie by William F. Nolan is a straight horror piece. It meshes well with the earlier Blood Baby in the theme of evil kids. While pleasingly creepy, I can’t say this was my favorite piece of the issue.
Last Chance Morning by Timothy Waldron Semple was a bit of a disappointment because I began to look forward to seeing someone smished. The story is a sneaky little thing though, because it’s not really about “humane execution” at all. Though I wondered how Semple’s chilly con ended up in the pen to begin with after taking in the whole story I have some pretty nasty theories.
Babble by M.M. Buckner was also a sneaky story, not fully coming together until the end. But when all the cards are shown I ended up feeling like I’d been hit in the head with a hammer (or perhaps a broke bottle). In all genres paranormal plots are typically my favorites so I really enjoyed the building, almost voyeuristic (or more accurately audio-voyeurism) feel to the story, only to have it twist out of my greedy little grasp and land a good blow to my noggin.
Temporal Spider, Spatial Webs by Lavie Tidhar bleeds back toward the way the issues started, with Tom Piccirilli’s Madness Blows the Winds of History. Including this harder scifi piece gives the whole issue a circular feel. I liked this piece, but it felt too short to me. It seems that this story screams to be spoken not just text. Like Piccirilli’s story this, too, seems to be coming from a completely alien point of view, a space spider attracted to the web of communication as we pidly humans stretch across the known universe.
As far as parting shots go the typical Apex Digest wrap up has always been sadly ironic, or potently depressed. Worlds by Aaron Gudmunson is almost vicious. It does a fine job, leaving me with a feeling of being slashed at.
I also want to add a kudos to the artists behind this issue. I love the layout, and the visuals in this issue. I always talk about the stories, but this time around I’m sending out a resounding “horah!” to the artist as well.
