Apex Magazine is a publisher of 'dark SF' short fiction.

What type of dark SF? Think of Aliens, The Thing, and 28 Days Later. Remember reading Russel's The Sparrow? McCarthy's The Road? Gibson's Neuromancer? These are a sample of the modern masterpieces that we strive to reach in terms of quality, social commentary, and thrills.

New fiction:

"She Called Me Sweetie" by Glenn Lewis Gillette

"...That Has Such People in It" by Jennifer Pelland

Classic Reprint:

"The Frozen Sky" by Jeff Carlson

Featuring three short stories, an interview, and two essays.

Fiction:
"Fungal Gardens" by Ekaterina Sedia
"Advertising at the End of the World" by Keffy R.M. Kehrli
"The Girl in the Basement" by Matthew Kressel

Interview with Elizabeth Engstrom

Essay "World-building" by Monica Valentinelli

Jeff VanderMeer searches for Grey Matter.

Apex Magazine is a publisher of and lsquo;dark SF' short fiction.

What type of dark SF? Think of Aliens, The Thing, and 28 Days Later. Remember reading Russel's The Sparrow? McCarthy's The Road? Gibson's Neuromancer? These are a sample of the modern masterpieces that we strive to reach in terms of quality, social commentary, and thrills.

and nbsp;

Featuring two short stories, one novelette, an interview, and and two essays.

Fiction:
"Pimp My Airship" by Maurice Broaddus
"Kenny 149" by Brad Becraft
"Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast" by Eugie Foster

Interview with Gene O'Neill

Essay "Game Fiction: Why It Works (and Why It Doesn't)" by Monica Valentinelli

Apex Magazine is a publisher of and lsquo;dark SF' short fiction.

What type of dark SF? Think of Aliens, The Thing, and 28 Days Later. Remember reading Russel's The Sparrow? McCarthy's The Road? Gibson's Neuromancer? These are a sample of the modern masterpieces that we strive to reach in terms of quality, social commentary, and thrills.

and nbsp;

Biting the Hand

For a thousand years and more, The Worlds of Man had been dominated by the Laowon Imperium. The aliens thought humans made good slaves and better pets, and they were fond of creating new breeds. And the Laowon made sure that their playthings never grew to powerful.

But one day, on the edge of Human Space, Jon Iehard was ordered to hunt Eblis Bey, a terrorist from Old Earth. And that was the beginning of the end for the Laowon. Because Iehard had been a Loawon slave. And Eblis Bey held half the key to a weapon that could destroy the Laowon tyranny and bring freedom once more to Mankind!

First book in the Vang series.

The world of speculative fiction is expansive; it covers more than one country, one continent, one culture. Collected here are sixteen stories penned by authors from Thailand, the Philippines, China, Israel, Pakistan, Serbia, Croatia, Malaysia, and other countries across the globe. Each one tells a tale breathtakingly vast and varied, whether caught in the ghosts of the past or entangled in a postmodern age.

Among the spirits, technology, and deep recesses of the human mind, stories abound. Kites sail to the stars, technology transcends physics, and wheels cry out in the night. Memories come and go like fading echoes and a train carries its passengers through more than simple space and time. Dark and bright, beautiful and haunting, the stories herein represent speculative fiction from a sampling of the finest authors from around the world.

Edited by Lavie Tidhar

S.P. Somtow(Thailand)-"The Bird Catcher"
Jetse de Vries(Netherlands)-"Transcendence Express"
Guy Hasson (Israel)-"The Levantine Experiments"
Han Song (China)-"The Wheel of Samsara"
Kaaron Warren (Australia/Fiji)-"Ghost Jail"
Yang Ping (China)-"Wizard World"
Dean Francis Alfar (Phillippines)-"L'Aquilone du Estrellas (The Kite of Stars)"
Nir Yaniv (Israel)-"Cinderers"
Jamil Nasir (Palenstine)-"The Allah Stairs"
Tunku Halim (Malaysia)-"Biggest Baddest Bomoh"
Aliette de Bodard (France)-"The Lost Xuyan Bride"
Kristin Mandigma (Phillippines)-"Excerpt from a Letter by a Social-realist Aswang"
Aleksandar Žiljak (Croatia)-"An Evening In The City Coffehouse, With Lydia On My Mind"
Anil Menon (India)-"Into the Night"
M and eacute;lanie Fazi (France, translated by Christopher Priest)-"Elegy"

PLEASE NOTE: The digital version of this book does not contain the following story--Zoran Živkovi and #263; (Serbia, translated by Alice Copple-To and scaron;i and #263;)-"Compartments"

Reviews
"From S.P. Somtow's World Fantasy Award-winning "The Bird Catcher," a restrained horror tale of a young boy's friendship with Thailand's most infamous human "monster," to "Wizard World," Galaxy Award winner Yang Ping's story of high-tech gamers, this extraordinary anthology of 16 tales introduces English-speaking readers to some of the world's best writers of sf, horror, fantasy, and metafiction. Contributors include Jamil Nasir (Palestine), Aleksandar Ziljak (Croatia), Guy Hasson (Israel), Kaaron Warren (Australia/Fiji), and Jetse de Vries (Netherlands). VERDICT This literary window into the international world of imaginative fiction, the first in a new series, is sure to appeal to adventurous sf fans and readers of fiction in translation."
-Library Journal, August 2009

"The great thing about Tidhar's collection is that it is full of such masterpieces. You do have to get used to having your mind warped as if by some powerful psychedelic. You'll definitely feel that way after Zoran Zivkovic and his Godot-like explorations. Or after Guy Hassan's thought experiment about the nature of mind and thought. But once you get used to the idea, you can settle in and enjoy the ride."
-42SciFi-Fantasy.com, Randy Lazarus

302 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0982159637

and nbsp;

Hostile Takeover

Until bad investements robbed him of all but the poorest of his family estates, Count Geezl -- and quot;Emperor and quot;-- Karvur had ruled the debauched nights of the planet Wexel. Now circumstances forced him to take his sadistic pleasures among the uncouth peasants of Wexel and #39;s hilly outback.

But the count was driven to return to his old haunts, and that he could do only if he was rich -- immensely rich. So he wore the tattoos off his peasant-skin boots desperately searching the family and #39;s ancient and barren lands for any salable commodity.

It was there, embedded in rock 84 million years old, that Emperor Karvur found the huge alien artifact that transformed him into something he and #39;d never imagined - or desired... something that would threaten the very existence of humanity.

Third book of the Vang series.

The Sleepers Awake

Eons ago, a war was fought to the death between the parasitic and ferocious Vang and a race of gifted but doomed froglike creatures. As a last resort, the gentle beings used the Starhammer to smash the Vang spacefleets and homeworld, leaving but few survivors. For a billion years a silvery pumpkin-shaped capsule drifted through space...

More than three thousand years after Humanity first went to the stars, an asteroid miner named Seed of Hope was illegally prospecting for radioactives in the Forbidden Areas of the Saskatch star system. There it chanced across an alluring silvery object...

Every advanced society in the galaxy relies on the technology of the Protheans, an ancient species that vanished fifty thousand years ago. After discovering a cache of Prothean technology on Mars in 2148, humanity is spreading to the stars; the newest interstellar species, struggling to carve out its place in the greater galactic community.

On the edge of colonized space, ship commander and Alliance war hero David Anderson investigates the remains of a top secret military research station; smoking ruins littered with bodies and unanswered questions. Who attacked this post and for what purpose? And where is Kahlee Sanders, the young scientist who mysteriously vanished from the base–hours before her colleagues were slaughtered?

Sanders is now the prime suspect, but finding her creates more problems for Anderson than it solves. Partnered with a rogue alien agent he can’t trust and pursued by an assassin he can’t escape, Anderson battles impossible odds on uncharted worlds to uncover a sinister conspiracy . . . one he won’t live to tell about. Or so the enemy thinks.]]> Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:00:53 CDT Publisher: Dark Quest Games

Edited by Mike Mcphail

Hardcore negotiations have begun, get ready for plenty of action-packed military science fiction as the dogs-of-war are let loose on an unsuspecting universe in 16 hard-hitting stories by; Jack McDevitt, John C. Wright, Mike McPhail, James Daniel Ross, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, James Chambers, Jeffrey Lyman, John G. Hemry (aka Jack Campbell), Bud Sparhawk, Lawrence M. Schoen, Patrick Thomas, Tony Ruggiero, and C.J. Henderson.

BREACH THE HULL is an engaging read you won't want to put down! --Bruce Gehweiler, Co-Author of BREAKING INTO FICTION WRTING!

I enjoyed this book and heartily recommend it. --Sam Tomaino, Space and amp; Time Magazine

There is more than enough great SF in BREACH THE HULL for any true fan of the genre, military or not. --Will McDermott, Author

Secrets and illusions abound in a decaying convent wrapped in dark magic and scented with blood. Portia came to the convent with the ghost of Imogen, the lover she failed to protect in life. Now, the spell casting caste wants to make sure that neither she nor her spirit ever leave.

Portia's ignorance of her own power may be even more deadly than those who conspire against her as she fights to fulfill her sworn duty to protect humankind in a battle against dark illusions and painful realities.

Steeped in the legends of the Nephilim, The Convent of the Pure is the first installment of a steampunk novella trilogy by Sara M. Harvey.

Cover art by Melissa Gay

Blurbs
"The Convent of the Pure is a compelling blend of the numinous and the creepy, with a rich, atmospheric setting. I devoured it in a single sitting!"
--Jacqueline Carey, author of Kushiel's Dart

"An intriguing fantasy novella that will move you to tears."
--Michael A. Burstein, Campbell Award-winning author of I Remember the Future

"The Convent of the Pure is a beautifully written page turner, dripping with magic and intrigue. I couldn't put it down. A gifted writer and storyteller, Sara M. Harvey is worthy of a rocket to the top!"
-Fran Friel, Bram Stoker Award finalist and author of Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales

Publishers Weekly Review:
"Harvey (A Year and a Day) cobbles together gothic steampunk fantasy and fluffy lesbian erotica in this romantic, necromantic tale. Two years after Imogen Gyony's death, her spirit still frequently visits her lover, Portia. Both are Nephilim, born of a celestial and a mortal being and raised to be warriors in an age-old fight against the demonic forces out to destroy humanity. When demons capture Portia, she escapes with crossbow blazing and takes on the fiends one by one, determined to bring Imogen back from the dead and save her Nephilim chapter house from being taken over by demon-influenced mages. Readers who aren't put off by the cheesecake cover illustration of buff, busty Portia will appreciate the mix of heat, horror and humor."
(February 2009)

and nbsp;

and nbsp;

by Sergei Lukyanenko, Andrew Bromfield ~
The fourth novel in the blockbuster series from one of Russia's most popular authors, Last Watch returns us to the hyperimaginative world of Sergei Lukyanenko, where the endless battle between good and evil is about to reach its climax. Anton Gorodetsky is just getting a feel for his new powers, when his boss, Gesar, sends him to assist the Scottish Night Watch in Edinburgh in a murder investigation. A young Russian man has been murdered"apparently by a vampire. But the mystery is more than it seems and soon Anton is himself in danger. The murderer appears to be someone with intimate knowledge of the Night Watch. Before long, Anton realizes that a plot is being hatched by the forces of both darkness and light that"unless he can intervene"may mean nothing less than Armageddon.

Agatha Heterodyne and the Beetleburg Clank

In a time when the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war, Mad Science rules the World and hellip;with mixed success.

At Transylvania Polygnostic University, Agatha Clay is a student with trouble concentrating and rotten luck. Dedicated to her studies but unable to build anything that actually works, she seems destined for a lackluster career as a minor lab assistant.

But when the University is overthrown, a strange and ldquo;clank and rdquo; stalks the streets and it begins to look like Agatha might carry a spark of Mad Science after all.

and ldquo;A sly and witty graphic novel. and rdquo;
and mdash;School Library Journal: Best Adult Books for High School Students 2003

Agatha Heterodyne and the Airship City

Full-Color, with a short story illustrated by Cheyenne Wright!

In a time when the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war, Mad Science rules the World and hellip;with mixed success.

At Transylvania Polygnostic University, Agatha Clay was a student with trouble concentrating and rotten luck. Dedicated to her studies but unable to build anything that actually worked, she seemed destined for a lackluster career as a minor lab assistant. But then the University was overthrown and Agatha was taken aboard the giant airship Castle Wulfenbach and mdash; where it begins to look like she might carry a spark of Mad Science after all.

and ldquo;Girl Genius is unique. Buy it. and rdquo;
and mdash;Comics Buyer and rsquo;s Guide

Vivian Gray is too young and too smart to be wasting her life in the geriatric retirement haven of Stillwater, Florida. But as each day of the long, hot summer of 1999 blurs into the next, she just can't find the motivation to break out of her miserable routine.

After an accidental nuclear war reduces civilization to a smoldering ruin, apathy is a luxury Vivian can no longer afford. She quickly joins a comically inept bunch of twentysomething survivors, and together they try to ride out Armageddon on little more than scavenged junk food and half-remembered pop culture.

When the contaminated atmosphere unleashes a menagerie of deadly atomic mutants, Vivian and her friends take to the interstate for a madcap cross-country road trip toward a distant sanctuary that may not, in the strictest sense of the word, exist. But can they get to safety before the toxins get to them?

Meet the Characters Click the Picture

Meet the citizens of Stillwater, Florida A grocery clerk, a male model, two geeks, a sexy bartender, an ignorant boss, and a belligerent goth girl. Could these misfits actually be the last people on Earth? ]]> Fri, 28 Apr 2006 00:00:00 CDT Publisher: Star Trek by Michael A. Martin, Andy Mangels ~ "THE BEGINNING OF A NEW STAR TREK (R) ODYSSEY After almost a decade of strife against foes such as the Borg, the Cardassians, the Klingons, and the Dominion, the United Federation of Planets is at the dawn of a new era. Starfleet is renewing its mission of peaceful exploration, diplomacy, and the expansion of knowledge. Among the starships spearheading that endeavor is the U.S.S. Titan, commanded by Captain William T. Riker and manned by the most biologically varied and culturally diverse crew in Starfleet history. But their mission does not begin according to plan. In the wake of Star Trek (R) Nemesis, Praetor Shinzon, slayer of the Romulan Senate, is dead. The power vacuum created by his demise has put the Romulan Star Empire, longtime adversary of the Federation, at the brink of civil war. Competing factions now vie for control of their fragmenting civilization, and if the empire should fall, that entire area of the galaxy may destabilize. To restore order to the region, Titan "S long-anticipated mission of exploration is delayed as Starfleet assigns Riker to set up power-sharing talks among the Romulan factions. But even as the first tentative steps are taken toward building a new Romulus, the remnants of the Tal Shiar, the dreaded Romulan intelligence service, are regrouping behind the scenes for a power play of their own. With no other help available, Riker and the Titan crew become the last hope to prevent the quadrant from falling into chaos. " ]]>