Apex “Over Moonlit Clouds” by Coda Audeguy-Pegon
“Beautiful Poison in Pastel” by Beth Dawkins
“Unboxing” by Lavie Tidhar
“The State Street Robot Factory” by Claire Humphrey
“After the Twilight Fades” by Sara Tantlinger
“The Words That Make Us Fly” by S.L. Harris
“Every Shade of Healing” by Taryn Frazier
“Reproduction on the Beach” by Rich Larson
“Destiny Delayed” by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (reprint, not reviewed)
“They Could Have Been Yours” by Joy Baglio (reprint, not reviewed)
Reviewed by Chuck Rothman
The latest issue of Apex Magazine starts out with a bang with “Over Moonlit Clouds,” where the narrator discovers they are on a plane seated next to a werewolf who had forgotten there was a full moon during the flight. But this is not horror except in the most general terms. Lycanthropy is a disease in this world, and the narrator works to protect both the woman and the passengers from what might happen. Coda Audeguy-Pegon’s story is about compassion and human connections and works powerfully to achieve an effect. Excellent in all respects.
Beth Dawkins’s “Beautiful Poison in Pastel” introduces us to a creature that lives by eating people’s nightmares as they speak. They start to notice splotches of pastel colors, which lead to happy dreams that provide no nourishment. I like the metaphor behind it, but I didn’t find the story particularly engaging.
“Unboxing” by Lavie Tidhar shows Riley, a five-year-old who has become an Internet sensation with reaction videos of him opening presents one at a time. But the presents start having sinister results that lead to a surprising ending. Creepy and also emotionally strong.
Claire Humphrey’s “The State Street Robot Factory” tells about Darius, who lost his legs in a car accident and who ekes out a living selling toy robots from his apartment, dropping them down on a string to be purchased by people stuck in traffic. Darius is trying to make enough money to purchase robotic legs, but life conspires against him. Darius is a great character, and the story avoids becoming an exercise in futility that it seemed to be headed for.
“After the Twilight Fades” by Sara Tantlinger shows Emilia discovering a rock that falls from the sky that causes some physical and mental changes. I think the story plays out without any surprises and found the ending poetic but not particularly dramatic.
“The Words That Make Us Fly” by S.L. Harris is about magic words. Prentiss is one of a group of people who are involved in turning words into magic, but he cannot seemed to learn how to do it. When his friend Flyboy leaves, it inspires him to look harder into it. In structure it is Prentiss uncovering the mystery, but it seems to me that it comes to him too easily. Nicely written, but I don’t feel it works.
The issue has two pieces of original flash fiction. “Every Shade of Healing” by Taryn Frazier follows Fionna, a tattoo artist who fixes scars for people who have harmed themselves, and is the one who pays the price. Nice story that mostly portrays her and her feelings as she treats a client.
Rich Larson’s “Reproduction on the Beach” follows Rose and Niall, who are vacationing by the sea. Rose develops what they think is conjunctivitis, but it turns out to be something far more sinister. Nicely drawn, but ultimately just a reveal of some horror.
Chuck Rothman’s novels Staroamer’s Fate and Syron’s Fate are available from Fantastic Books. His story, “Her Old Man” appeared in Horror for the Throne.