The battery is a big one, a nice big red one, enough to run the ceiling fan and the turntable at the same time, as long as the fan is on low. And that’s fine. It’s enough of a breeze and doesn’t kick up too much dust that way. Ash, his wife called it, we’re covered in ash. He thought the word lacked a certain creativity.
Many years ago, when I was a boy of only ten, I was in a terrible crash on the cliffs south of Io Town, where nights are a deep tundra freeze and afternoons are as hot as a summer on the long plains. Even now, I close my eyes and I can still see Sheila’s face just before she was crushed under two thick layers of plasteel.
The earth is rich in textures and smells. It hurtles by, your clawed hands scrabbling at earth, stones and tree roots, your prey’s odours hooked into your nostrils, pulling you along with fragrant fingers of meat and blood and ordure. Upwards you go and the too-bright sky burns your eyes and your victims’ screams scour your eardrums, but it doesn’t matter, for your killing bite crunches bone and the hot sweet taste of blood fills your mouth. You spit out the foul cotton and polyester wrapping and as your grasping bite clamps onto the corpse so that you can pull your victim into the hole you erupted from, its head lolls over and you know with a shock of recognition who it belongs to–
We pose the question: Which release model to you prefer for online fictin magazines? Go to the url below and vote “Monthly” or “Weekly.”
Keeping the Apex Magazine alien overlord caged and fed with fine and delectable short fiction costs money…a lot of money. Our overlord requires us to pay our writers a fair, professional rate.
To ensure your safety in the upcoming Alien revolution, consider donating or buying a copy of the official Apex Magazine annual omnibus: Descended From Darkness.
The map is stuck with little green pins where explosions are most likely to affect the tectonic plates. There are circles drawn in black and red, in orange and purple and green. The map key names them: twenty years, ten years, five years, one. The black circles are widest, and marked Xibalba.
“Folks, I can safely say that this is something we’ve never seen before,” he said breathlessly. “This massive system literally came out of nowhere and, in the past few hours, has absorbed several smaller systems riding the jet stream, forming a ‘super storm’ that is now blanketing the northeast. We’re talking hurricane force winds, and snowfall at a rate of several inches per hour; in higher elevations, we could see as much as a foot or more an hour, with no sign of slowing …”
Before we decide whether to embrace the future with open arms or run away from it screaming ourselves hoarse, we should sift through and consider the different ingredients that combine to create the popular culture phenomenon surrounding 2012.
Why are we obsessed with the end of the world? Actually, I’d presume it’s not such a difficult question to answer if you dig around. Mortality. Spiritualism. Morbidity. Especially morbidity (at least for me!).
To celebrate the end of our first year of becoming a professional level digital magazine, we’re pleased to announce that we will be presenting an award to the best original fiction published by Apex Magazine. The award will be voted on by the fans, meaning you! Voting starts tonight and will continue through January 30th. The story receiving the most votes will be announced on February 1st.
Air limousines floated by like ghosts in a night filled with a jangle of sounds. A mad juxtaposition of chords, wailing voices and crooned-out tunes mangled by the sound of honking horns, curses and the cries of the desperate filled the dark streets. Cordoba’s End, home to migrants and refugees.
They’re waiting for him when he comes out of the tank. Whether plainclothes or just another pair of clockers, he can’t quite tell, but the way they avoid looking in his direction tips him off in a heartbeat. When Ari Marvel walks by, you look.
There were rats in the soufflé again. Whole ones this time. Stevens wasn’t being subtle anymore. Fine. These babies were impossible to miss, unlike the little clawed feet sprinkled into last night’s dinner.
B.J. Burrow co-wrote the screenplay, The Monster Hunter, which premiered on the Sci-Fi channel and starred David Carradine. The Changed is his debut novel. He lives in Austin, TX, with his wife, Melissa, and two daughters. He has won his fantasy football league four out of ten times.
As you can see, B.J. has a sense of humor (writing a Sci-Fi channel movie?) and has his priorities straight (winning fantasy football).
Enjoy the stories.
Come back for more.
Kari Hart is the head intern for ‘The Changed’ political party. She also blogs for the campaign’s website, www.itsjustzombies.com.
Nicholas Buckman took a short break from his busy schedule, campaigning for the senate to sit with Kari. During the interview, there were many interruptions from aides and party heads, asking Buckman many questions. These interruptions have been excised for ease of reading.
After yesterday’s post asking for reader feedback about a ’subscription’ option to Apex Magazine, I received many emails of support. Apex Magazine has a large base of loyal fans willing to toss a coin in the hat to keep the ‘zine going. It was a nice boost of confidence.
I am delighted to welcome you to the special World SF issue of “Apex Magazine.” This month, The Apex Book of World SF is officially released, an anthology of fifteen stories of science fiction, fantasy and horror from around the world. This issue is in celebration of that book, and of some of the great writers working in speculative fiction around the world today.
In her dreams, Jiaotan saw Father: hands outstretched, the flesh of the fingers fraying away to reveal the yellowed, tapered shape of bones, the deep-set eyes bulging in their sockets, pleading, begging her to take him away.
When Benjamin Schneider came to my clinic and complained of mysterious coils on his left wrist, I wasn’t overly surprised.
