Apex #142, January/February 2024
“Spread the Word” by Delilah S. Dawson
“Born a Ghost” by Nadia Bongo
“Just You and Me, Now” by KT Bryski
“When No One Has to Say Goodbye” by Elisabeth Ring
“Then Came the Ghost of My Dead Mother, Antikleia” by Nadia Radovich
“For As Long as You Want It” by Kanishk Tantia
Reviewed by Chuck Rothman
Apex Magazine begins the new year with a bent toward horror, especially horror involving children.
“Spread the Word” by Delilah S. Dawson shows Will, a fifth-grade boy, who has just moved to a new school in Georgia and finds it easy to fit in. But it turns out Will and his mother have escaped from a frightening and inexplicable situation—and Will is seeing signs that it is happening again. Delightfully creepy, it builds to an ending that’s powerful and disturbing.
Nadia Bongo contributes “Born a Ghost” about a child who is a ghost from birth and has to learn how to behave like one, including getting lessons and finding a place to haunt. The story talks about her life and then includes a final line about her longing. Nice imagery but it doesn’t really gel.
“Just You and Me, Now” is also from the point of view of a child. Scott is on a camping trip with his parents and siblings when their car disappears. They find that they can’t leave the light of the campfire or run the risk of never coming back and a strange man without a face is there, observing. KT Bryski keeps up the tension throughout and the strong characters carry the story.
“When No One Has to Say Goodbye” by Elisabeth Ring also continues the horror theme of the issue. In a future where death has been cured, something is causing people to join together into a single entity: a giant ball called a “mass.” A mass is converging on Marissa’s town, and she is shocked to hear her partner Caleb is thinking of joining it. Caleb has a fear of abandonment, and this appears to be his way of addressing it so he won’t be abandoned again. Marissa must try to dissuade him. Another weird and creepy concept that is well handled.
The issue finishes up its original stories with two pieces of flash fiction. “Then Came the Ghost of My Dead Mother, Antikleia” by Nadia Radovich has the protagonist find a way to call her mother back from the dead, but the reunion is disappointing. A mood piece makes no attempt to resolve anything. I suppose that is the point.
Kanishk Tantia “For As Long as You Want It” portrays a future made up of “Moderns,” who have their consciousness downloaded, and Oldies, who have not. An Oldie named Atha asks his Modern companion Ryegrass to bury him in a tree and bequeaths him a garden. This seems strange to Ryegrass, who sees no reason for it and had no liking for gardens at all. But Ryegrass slowly changes their mind. Interesting concept and idea and probably worth more than just 1000 words. The emotions behind it all are well drawn.
Chuck Rothman’s novels Staroamer’s Fate and Syron’s Fate were recently republished by Fantastic Books. He will be running programming for the Buffalo NASFiC this summer.