Best of Apex Magazine. Volume 1

How fun is this cover?!

Where I got the book

LibraryThing Early Reviewers, as an eBook.

Why I’m reading

I just finished For Exposure, an autobiography by Jason Sizemore, the creator and editor of Apex Magazine -- so of course I want to see what all the fuss was about.

Expectations

A collection of (hopefully high-quality) scifi short stories. I’ve got to get the taste of Joy to the Worlds out of my mouth...

How was it?

I started this months ago, but just finished the last few. I love short stories, but collections are hard to finish than novels -- there’s no ‘what happens next?!’ when you finish each story in one sitting. The whole thing blew me away, really; I really haven’t been reading enough of this sort of thing. I was expecting much more strict scifi, but these stories were a fantastic mix of scifi, fantasy, horror (Gothic, not slasher), thought experiments, and old campfire ghost stories. What struck me is that these stories all played to the strengths of the short story, tossing the reader into the middle of a world and letting them figure things out as they go. Some felt unfinished or not fully realized, which isn’t a bad thing. Weirdly enough, it’s something I see often in good fanfiction: stories that are allowed to be ephemeral and experimental rather than definitive. The stories feel shorter than Joy to the Worlds, but I can’t tell if they’re actually shorter or just less painful to read…  

Jackalope Wives // Ursula Vernon
A short, dark fantasy story about shape-changing jackalope wives, in the style of an old fairy tale -- the kind that were weird and twisted and creepy as hell.  

Going Endo // Rich Larson
This whacks you right over the head with the sort of technobabble future-speak that usually comes off trite, but this time it sets a great mood -- it sounds like natural slang, and there are no Importantly Capitalized Nouns. It’s a slice of life from some kind of militarized bio-VR company engineer… and then also sex. Cheeky!

 Candy Girl // Chikodili Emelumadu
A quick and dirty voodoo story that's like something out of a dream - random and strange,but not terrifying. Wickedly vindictive.

 If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love // Rachel Swirsky
Starts out a bit like Neil Gaimon’s The Day the Saucers Came or If You Give a Mouse a Cookie -- mostly nonsense. Ends a bit like the song If You Could See Her from Cabaret.  

Advertising at the End of the World // Keffy R.M. Kehrli
A post-apocalyptic survivor and the hi-tech remnants of advertising culture. A little sad; probably a metaphor for old age. Strangely comfortable.  

The Performance Artist // Lettie Prell
A performance artist explores the connection between self and machines. I didn't really connect with this one, but, well... she nailed performance art. Imaginative, though.

A Matter of Shapespace // Brian Trent
All mass (humanity included) can be transmitted and manipulated electronically, through simple thought commands. A little like The Matrix, a little like I, Rowboat I like it. http://www.flurb.net/1/doctorow.htm  

Falling Leaves // Liz Argall
Two outcast teen girls connect (sort of) in a post apocalyptic society. Post apocalyptic teenage angst. Meh.  

Blood from Stone // Alethea Kontis
Summoning demons and dark, twisted love... except, yeah, I've read tons of stuff that's darker and more twisted. Your standard Gothic fare: not a bad read, but nothing special.  

Sexagesimal // Katharine E.K. Duckett
This one was weird - a trippy and very unique take on death, with an afterlife that runs on a memory-based economy.  

Multo // Samuel Marzioli
Are you afraid of the dark? A simple story that perfectly captures the old childhood fear that kept us tucked safely under our quilts at night.  

Keep Talking // Marie Vibbert
Like contact, a little bit, I guess? But with autism and interpretive dance? I wasn’t a fan of this one.  

Remembery Day // Sarah Pinsker
Another one about memory, this time focusing on memory and war. Definitely a thought exercise on the question of memory: are we better off remembering bad things (like war)? If we could forget, should we -- as an individual, and as a society?

Blood on Beacon Hill // Russell Nichols
Immortal vampires are just as messed up by family and society as mortals are.  

The Green Book // Amal El-Mohtar
Epistolary. A man, his mentor, a talking book who was once a girl, a sort of shadowy religious order, and absolutely zero context. Interesting.  

L’espirit de L’escalier // Peter M. Ball
An endless stairwell three sharpies and a bottle of ashes: that’s it. I love the lack of context.  
Still Life (A Sexagesimal Fairy Tale) // Ian Tregillis
In a palace that time forgot, a clock maker - the only person who can age - falls in love and builds magical time pieces.  

Build-a-Dolly // Ken Liu
We're cruel to our toys.  

Armless Maidens of the American West // Genevieve Valentine
An armless girl (woman?) wandering the forest -- like a local ghost story, except everyone knows she's real and just doesn't pay much attention. A commentary on ignoring suffering of others simply because it's the way things are.

Pocosin // Ursula Vernon
A tired witch and a dying possum god. Very atmospheric.  

She Gave Her Heart, He Took Her Marrow // Sam Fleming
A mentally ill girl in the middle of a sort-of zombie apocalypse. Very confusing at first. Err… very confusing at the end, too. Not quite a zombie story, but I got the same sort of vibe.

Crimson Peak // Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston {Movie}

Why I'm watching
I won't say Tom Hiddleston wasn't a major draw, but it's also directed by Guillermo del Toro, and the trailer looks absolutely gorgeous.

Where I saw the movie
Local cinema, after dinner... somewhere. This was less than a week ago, how have I forgotten where we ate?! Bill's Pizza?

Expectations
I've seen it marketed as both horror and Gothic romance, so a mix of the two. The house (mansion) looks creepy and gorgeous. No idea about the plot, though.

So how was it?

"Gothic horror/romance" was spot-on. The movie follows Edith (Mia Wasikowska), a young, rich, high-society American woman who wants to become an author. While visiting her father's office, she meets and becomes entangled with Thomas (Tom Hiddleston), a British inventor looking for investor capitol, and his sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain).

The rest is either spoilers, or mostly belongs in the 'favorites' section.

Recommendation
Great for horror fans who don't mind some romance, and don't need a ton of evil/gore/etc. Great for romantic drama fans who don't mind violence and gore. Not great if you're expecting a complicated plot -- you'll figure this one out quickly, and get irked when it continues to act mysterious.

There was more gore than I expected, but it's not just gore for the sake of gore. 

Feels
Gothic. Horror. Romantic. A hint of video-game.

Favorites
Edith blew. it. out. of. the. water. She's confident without getting anywhere close to "spunky," "sassy," or defensive; she's a female author without coming across as a nerdy social recluse; she was clearly born with a silver spoon in her mouth, and it's neither ignored nor whinged about. She isn't perfect, but makes reasonably smart choices. She kicks a reasonable amount of ass against a reasonable opponent. Brilliant. This is a strong female hero.

The set, of course.

I also love the interplay of British and American characters. Edith's father (Jim Beaver) is pure distilled American self-made nouveau riche, set against a British baronet in decline. The Americans' indulgent confusion about his title is adorable. Casting was perfect, especially for Edith, her father, Lucille, and the random socialites. Alan (Charlie Hunnam) was a little blah, but then again, I think he was supposed to be.

I don't know what department is responsible -- set design? casting? wardrobe? lighting? -- but you really got a feel for the era... it didn't feel like a bunch of actors trotting about in period costume.

I have... feelings... about the waltz scene, but I'm not sure if it's favorite or least favorite. I'll consider it favorite, because it seemed historically accurate, wasn't super awkward, and they clearly consulted a professional; the candle metaphor was a dead give-away.

Least favorites
Nothing really stuck out, but I was left with a sense that it could have been better. The ghosts weren't scary or mysterious enough, and (gasp) I was actually a little disappointed with Hiddleston. Then again, that's partly my fault: I read that Benedict Cumberbatch backed out, so I spent the whole movie noticing how much more suited he would be for the role. More on that...

So what did I really think?

Click "read more"... spoiler filter disengaged!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children // Ransom Riggs {Audiobook}

Why I'm reading
I’d heard the title before, and it seemed pretty interesting. I actually went looking for this one, instead of just browsing.

Where I got the book
Greenwich/Overdrive.

Expectations
Harry Potter with less wizardry and a more circus/freak show vibe.

So how was it?

Soooo…. not actually what I was expecting. For one thing, there isn’t really a “school,” in the sense of Harry Potter (which I did find in the Finishing School series). And while it has a lot of YA themes, it didn’t feel constructed the way a lot of modern YA books do. It felt like the books I read (oh god am I about to say this) when I was younger, before YA was such an established genre. It reminded me of Hunky Dory Dairy.

The plot is fun. It requires you to suspend a whole lot of disbelief, but it’s fun. It’s not all that easy to explain without a blow-by-blow, but the basic premise is: there are “peculiar” children who have special powers or mutations (think side-show, not X-Men), who live in time-looped locations, and who therefore don’t age. The modern-day main character stumbles into this situation, after growing up hearing about all these kids from his grandfather, gets crazy confused, and eventually there’s some monster-fighting.

Recommendation
Fans of adventure stories, historical fiction, circus freak shows.

Feels
Fun, imaginative, much more fantasy than scifi.

Favorites
I love that the “peculiarities” are much more freak show than X-Men. They’re not always useful, or at least not always obviously so.

Least favorites
There is pretty much zero logic behind “peculiarities.”

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies // Jane Austen, Seth Grahame-Smith {Audiobook}

Wow, that freak pocket of thunder-lightening-downpour was pretty cool. Good thing I had my car windows down.

>:[ 

Why I'm reading
Fantastic work of literature that goes way beyond most of the romantic drivel it has inspired, in both form and depth? Check. Zombies? Also check.

Where I got the book
Audiobook, Greenwich libraries.

Expectations
Pride and Prejudice… and, uh, zombies. I’m not sure how they’re going to combine the two, but I’m guessing just added blocks of text in between chapters, probably involving the army that’s stationed near the town.

So how was it?

It’s a lot more absurd than I thought, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s also a lot more integrated into the book itself -- which is only possible because it’s absurd. I guess I was expecting a zombie outbreak happening just sort of… in the background. Like a romance during times of war. Nope, Grahame-Smith wove it right into the story by turning the Bennett girls into awesome badass ninja zombie fighters.

Despite the zombie spin, the romance is alive and well -- although by necessity lacking some of the wit and subtlety -- and where it survives, the underlying social commentary is wry and absurd.

Recommendation
Fans of Pride and Prejudice who can take a little bit a lot of absurdity; fans of cheesy zombie and/or ninja movies.

Feels
Tongue-in-cheek.

Favorites
Honestly, all of the best parts were from the original, and it just made me want to re-read Pride and Prejudice.

Least favorites
I did enjoy it, but it isn’t anything ground-breaking. Some of the action scenes were repetitive (which will work much better for the movie adaptation) and the absurd humor didn’t always hit the mark. I really hated that certain things were cut out of the original.

Some of the references to "Oriental" combat training got uncomfortably... uh... Victorian, i.e. racist. I'm not sure if I can call that a "least favorite," though, since it isn't entirely inappropriate to the era. 

Writing style
A shockingly good pastiche of Jane Austin’s writing style, although it sometimes gets a little too bombastic when talking about the “deadly arts.” A few subtle jokes about balls, too.

Etiquette & Espionage // Gail Carriger {Audiobook}

I listen to a lot of audiobooks (no way!) on the way to and from work, but at work I’m mostly limited to music, stand-up comedy, and whatever audiobooks I can find on Spotify or Google Play.

UNTIL NOW!

Overdrive sent an email out a few weeks ago that they would be adding an in-browser player, similar to their in-browser reader for ebooks. I just tried it out for the first time, aaaaand it’s fantastic. I haven’t tried it on my phone yet, but the phone app lets you download files to play, so that might be friendlier for my data plan.

Why I'm reading
I was just looking through Overdrive for something to test out the in-browser audiobook reader, and this seemed interesting.

Where I got the book
Overdrive, Greenwich library.

Expectations
Your standard YA fare, hopefully not too self-involved or full of tropes.

So how was it?

Set in a Victorian steampunk era, the Finishing School series follows the rambunctious Sophronia as she’s whisked away Hogwarts-style to Mademoiselle Geraldine's finishing school… except it doesn’t seem to be a normal finishing school. She meets a variety of friends, learns skills like eyelash-flutter manipulation and wafting poisonous perfume, and embarks on various little plots and adventures.

It's definitely meant for the younger side of the YA audience, but it's a nice guilty pleasure read you don't actually have to feel all that guilty about.

Recommendation
Younger YA readers or older readers looking for something quick and fun; fans of the “special school” trope (like Harry Potter’s Hogwarts); steampunk fans.

Feels
Fun, light-hearted, with somewhat believable characters (if not plot).

Favorites
Sophronia’s friends are extremely tropey, but they’re done well and don’t feel fake or forced. Some of the stuff they learn in class is hilarious, particularly anything having to do with their "decolletage"...

Least favorites
There wasn’t anything I particularly disliked. Everything is predictable and tropey, but the story isn’t trying to be anything it’s not.

Writing style
As far as the writing itself goes, I had no urge to pull out the red pen. The teenage characters and fairly simple action/spy plot make this clearly a YA book, but with not quite as much focus romantic sub-plots (although there are several), and Sophronia actually pulls off the “just a normal girl” trope by 1) actually acting like a normal, reasonably headstrong girl, 2) not making a big deal about how normal/not special/average she is, and 3) not describing herself every five sentences. I'm fairly certain I didn't even know her hair color until several chapters in.

Dorian Gray // Oscar Wilde {Movie}

Why I'm watching
I liked the short novel by Oscar Wilde -- and okay, let’s face it, the lead actor is adorable.

Where I got the movie
Browsing the ‘new’ section at the Greenwich library. I always thought my RA classes overemphasized browsing for discovery, but it turns out it’s surprisingly effective. Not only do I run into titles I forgot I wanted to see -- I also find stuff I’ve never heard of, and it’s interesting to just pick something up without any expectations.

Expectations
...not high. Something about the pretty-boy lead actor, and the fact that I’ve never heard of this new adaptation of a very famous short story, makes me think this was a flop, although a high-budget flop.

So how was it?

Surprisingly, the movie doesn’t wander too far from the original plot. It begins with Dorian Gray sitting for an oil painting for his friend Basil, listening to Basil’s hedonistic friend Lord Henry. He becomes convinced that beauty and pleasure are the most important things in life, and sells his soul so that the portrait ages in his place. Dorian pursues a sexual and ultimately sinful lifestyle, staying young and beautiful while his portrait ages and becomes disfigured.

It was actually a fairly good interpretation of the story, with excellent supporting actors and a surprisingly good performance from the lead. They found a pretty-boy actor (a must, for Dorian Gray) who can act. The supporting actors had a lot of… character? They stood out as complex and individual personalities, rather than “Rich friend #1 with black hair,” “rich friend #2 with beard,” and “attractive woman #1.”

The movie did a great job showing the seedy underbelly of high society, too. Instead of getting heavy handed -- or worse, outright explaining it in dialog -- there were interesting moments woven in, and a pretty cool artsy montage blurring the lines of high society, public image, sex, murder, etc.

Feels
Victorian without being a caricature of the era. Dark, but maybe a little to neat and tidy for the subject matter. No pulled punches when it comes to the hedonistic subject matter, but not a lot of actual nudity. Felt a little too clean.

Favorites
Casting for Dorian -- for all of the characters, actually. I was also incredibly impressed by the subtle but strong cultural differences between the Victorian society Dorian leaves, and the one he returns to some 18 years later.

Least favorites
The painting CGI was okay, but I would have preferred a more subtle approach with no CGI at all. The rest of the movie had some idea of subtlety, and then you’ve got some hissing squirming crypt-keeper looking thing going on in the frame. If they left that as more of a subtle, mysterious danger, it would have gotten rid of the B-movie vibes.

So what did I really think?

Click "read more"... massive spoilers ahead!

Dirk Gently // Douglas Adams

First of all: I GOT A JOB I GOT A JOB I GOT A JOB! Signed the offer letter today, and I'm handing in my resignation letter tomorrow. 

The pros are... it's in a library (cataloging). It's a big library. I'll be making just about the same amount of money, maybe a teensy bit less depending on if I get 18 or 19 hours. And I'll only be working three days a week! And best of all, I'm leaving my secretarial job that I've had for five years. It's sad, but it's really, really, really time to go.

The cons... It's in a library... an hour and twenty minutes from where I live. Yeah. That's gonna be fun.

Why I'm reading
Everyone knows Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (and if you don't, you should). I've read them a few times. But I've never read anything else by Douglas Adams! This must be rectified.

Where I got the book
eBook format, from... places.

Expectations
Great writing, quirky humor, randomness. Douglas Adams! Retrospectively, I was expecting a much more likeable, sexy detective Dirk Gently...

So how was it?

Dirk Gently actually comes in three books: Holistic Detective Agency, The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul, and The Salmon of Doubt. {Err... sort of.} The books loosely follow the private ("holistic") detective Dirk Gently, but honestly he's just one of a group of characters. That's the great thing about Douglas Adams: you don't get a story resolving around one heroic main character; everyone is the protagonist in their own personal story. I can't even explain what the plot of these books. They're complicated and full of coincidence, and eventually resolve themselves into a story, if not necessarily a plot.

They're also sci-fi without trying to shove the sci-fi down your throat. That was probably the biggest difference between this series and the Hitchhiker series... err... not that Hitchhiker really shoves anything down your throat, it's just much more sci-fi oriented. Because the Dirk Gently books take place entirely on Earth, you get to experience Adams' writing style in a more mundane setting. Of course, I don't mean to suggest that Hitchhiker's shoves the sci-fi down your throat, either; it can't help being set in space.

Recommendation
Douglas Adams is required reading for fans of sci-fi, but you might want to start with Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy first. Witty, intelligent writing like Terry Pratchett, Isaaic Azimov, and Neil Gaiman. According to Wikipedia the Dirk Gently character began with Doctor Who serials written by Adams, which -- hello -- yes! Great for fans of Doctor Who.

Feels
Relaxing, with a teeny tiny hint of gentle mind-blowing.

Favorites
The writing, of course. In terms of the individual books, I have to say I enjoyed the first one much more than the second. My favorite character was absolutely the Electric Monk.

Least favorites
I didn't find the worlds or characters as engaging as Hitchhiker's, but this is a "weakness as strength," since it showcases his fantastic writing style.

Writing style
FanTAStic. I'm not even good enough to describe how good it is. Every once in a while he gives you these brilliant gems that are strange, witty, a little cheesy, out there, and absolutely perfect.

The Sandman // Niel Gaiman

Illustrated by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Jill Thompson, Shawn McManus, Marc Hempel, Michael Zulli, Todd Klein (lettering), Dave McKean (covers)

Where I got the book
My local library has copies of all the bound collections!

Why I’m reading
Another one of those “I’ll get around to reading it eventually” books. I finally decided to give it a go after I saw Boyhood with a friend, and we got to talking about manga and graphic novels. We also talked about a manga called The Gamer that I'm following now. He specifically told me about one small storyline that sounded awesome: a guy in a bar is bragging that death is for suckers and he’s having none of it; Dream and Death decide it would be fun to go ahead and give him immortality. Dream meets up with him every hundred or so years, and eventually people notice and start thinking they’re some sort of mythical conspiracy. In retrospect, I think my friend made it out to be more ‘hilarious hijinks’ than it actually was.

Expectations
90s goth sensibilities, lots of eyeliner, hijinks and messing around with mortals.

So how was it?

First of all, I may have been hopped up on Vicodin for the first few books. I powered through them in a day and a half after getting my wisdom teeth taken out. I’ve eaten mostly baby food and spaghetti-os for the last week. Fun times.

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would, even though it was less “fun” than I was expecting. I was worried it would be over-dramatic and full of dull tropes, which it wasn’t. I should trust Gaiman at this point, I don’t know what I was thinking.

The graphic novels focus on Dream, the sandman, who is one of seven entities called the Endless. The other six are his family: Desire, Delirium, Despair, Death, Destiny, and Destruction… wow, I just realized they all started with a “D.” They exist as anthropomorphic representations of patterns or concepts in the human psyche. Dream isn’t just involved with sleeping dreams; hopes, creativity, waking dreams, etc., are also his jurisdiction.

The story follows Dream’s capture and escape from a sorcerer, righting his past wrongs, searching for his brother, and defending the dream world. His siblings are major characters, along with his servants and several humans. It’s also a story about stories, with all sorts of interwoven side characters and side stories; sometimes you’ll go an entire chapter barely seeing Dream or one of the other Endless.

The artwork is great: creative, imaginative, without getting to “comicbooky.” Dream is so much 90s Trent Reznor it’s not even funny. With maybe a dash of Alan Rickman for flair. It threw me a little that the artwork changes depending on the story, but once I noticed it was happening, I loved it. It’s very subtle. Dream’s clothes were probably the coolest, especially his cape; not sure how I felt about his helm, it was a little too sci-fi buggy.

Recommendation
For fans of mythology, traditional Gothic and Romantic literature. 

Feels
Somber and introspective, but not depressing. Loving. Sometimes funny.

Favorites
It’s the family dynamic between the Endless that really makes the story, especially Dream’s relationship with Death, Delirium, and Destruction. The characters are anthropomorphic concepts whose behavior is based on what they represent; but at the same time, it’s a very real family dynamic, not some attempt at philosophizing. Gaiman also gets really deep into itty bitty side characters, making them just as interesting and real as the main characters.

In terms of actual characters, I didn’t fixate on just one, which is unusual for me. I loved Dream, but Delirium, Death, Lucien (the librarian!) and Fiddler’s Green were also favorites. Matthew the crow ended up being a surprisingly touching character, as did Despair.

Least favorites
I wouldn’t say that there was anything missing, but I wanted to see the main character, Dream, go wild at least once. The artwork was fantastic, and the conceptualization of Dream’s powers were so imaginative and cool, and we do see him using it in a lot of creative ways. But… I don’t know, I wish there was a chapter or two where we could just see him create. Dream felt a little fenced in, which is entirely keeping with his character, but seeing him let go for a while could have created contrast and would have been satisfying for me as a reader. Basically, I think it could have benefited from a few more artwork-heavy pages with swirly capes.

For characters, there were a whole bunch that I didn’t necessarily connect with, but that’s fine. The only one that was actually a little disappointing was Desire; I felt like we don’t get much insight into the character or the concept, even though s/he gets a lot of screen time. Despair felt deeper, despite having much less screen time and sort of boring powers.

Writing style
Subtle, very subtle. There was a lot left unsaid, lots of little details, intertwining plots, and the story never spoon-fed you meanings or feelings.

Related reading

• William Shakespeare is actually a side character; Dream commissions his plays A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest. The folklore fairies Titania and Auberon are characters.
• The Sandman is one of only a few graphic novels to make it onto the New York Times Best Seller list, along with Maus, Watchmen, and The Dark Knight Returns.
• Several other DC comic book characters appear, including John Constantine, Batman, and several Justice League characters.