The Apex Book of World SF 5. edited by Cristina Jurado. 2018
The Apex Book of World SF 5
Rated 69% Positive. Story Score 3.39
18 Stories : 2 Great / 7 Good / 7 Average / 0 Poor / 2 DNF
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One of the most interesting characteristics of 21st century science fiction is the embrace of diverse authors from around the world. Science fiction is no longer a niche hobby, but a wide ranging fandom with authors of every language and culture.
Sadly, this isn’t the anthology to tell that story. 2 of the stories were so unreadable that I had to DNF them and 7 were only average. Average - in my context - is a rating that I expect at the magazine level, but not in an anthology that can pull from multiple vintages.
Two great stories really stand out though.
Ambiguity Machines: An Examination • (2015) • novelette by Vandana Singh. The prose of this story sings at the level of myth and poetry. This novelette tells three stories of unique machines, located around the world, and their affect on the lives of people. You are essentially getting three short stories in one and every story is a beautiful fable. I loved this.
Ugo • (2017) • short story by Giovanni De Feo. In was feels like a fusion of Quantum Leap and “Six Months, Three Days,” this story tells about the romantic relationship between an aspiring figure skater and a young boy who is Leaping around in time. Smart, human, and with an excellent payoff.
The Apex Book of World SF 5 is rated 69%
18 Stories : 2 Great / 7 Good / 7 Average / 0 Poor / 2 DNF
How do I arrive at a rating?
A Series of Steaks • (2017) • novelette by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
Good. Biopunk tale of fake gourmet steaks … and revenge.
Accursed Lineage • (2017) • short story by Daína Chaviano (trans. of Estirpe maldita 1997)
Good. Strange and haunting horror thriller of a family doing surveillance on their neighbors
Nkásht íí • (2014) • short story by Darcie Little Badger
Good. A very suspenseful horror story about two women who investigate what may have been a supernatural murder after a car crash.
Ghostalker • (2015) • short story by T. L. Huchu
Average. Young girl delivers messages for the dead.
Violation of the TrueNet Security Act • (2017) • novelette by 藤井太洋? (trans. of コラボレーション? 2013) [as by Taiyo Fujii]
Good. A computer programmer makes his living removing legacy programs from what used to be the internet. One night, he finds a program he had written and is surprised by what he finds.
Ambiguity Machines: An Examination • (2015) • novelette by Vandana Singh
Great. Three stories - ostensibly part of a student education - about ‘machines’ in Mongolia, Italy, and Mali that are haunting and unexplained. Written in beautiful fairy tale language.
Scenes from the Life of an Autocrat • (2017) • short story by Basma Abdel Aziz
Average. An autocrat makes a series of declarations that his subjects must obey.
Our Dead World • (2017) • short story by Liliana Colanzi (trans. of Nuestro mundo muerto 2016)
Average. Loneliness and visions on Mars. A painful breakup back home.
An Evolutionary Myth • (2015) • novelette by 김보영? (trans. of 진화신화? 2006) [as by Bo-Young Kim]
DNF. Royalty fantasy that I couldn’t connect with. A Korean prince (I think) undergoes changes.
You Will See the Moon Rise • short story by Israel Alonso (trans. of Verás crecer la luna 2017)
Average. As a man heals from trauma, he flashes back to experiences of chaos and war.
The Barrette Girls • (2017) • short story by Sara Saab
Average. A couple guide a strange set of girls through London.
The Calculations of Artificials • (2016) • novelette by Chi Hui (trans. of 伪人算法? 2010)
Average. In a world of Actuals and Artificals, an Actual who works to keep the system running builds a connection with a boy on the run..
El Cóndor del Machángara • (2017) • short story by Ana Hurtado
Average. Magical realism of a girl who tries to get help from a being in the river.
Alone, on the Wind • (2016) • novelette by Karla Schmidt (trans. of Auf dem Wind. Allein 2011)
DNF. Flying beings. A world destroyed and floating in chunks. Could never connect with this one.
The Seventh • (2015) • short story by Eliza Victoria
Good. Terrifying bit of horror about pain that may help us recover.
Screamers • (2016) • short story by Tochi Onyebuchi
Good. In a world where Africans appear to be policing ‘just-blacks’ in the USA, a father and son investigate explosive murders that may have something to do with repressed rage.
The Bois • (2017) • short story by R. S. A. Garcia
Good. A haunting tail of love and transhumanism that appears to be fantasy, but slides slowly into science fiction.
Ugo • (2017) • short story by Giovanni De Feo
Great. A relationship between a boy that Leaps around his own timeline and a girl that loves him.
