Apex # 9: review continued

It has taken me a while, but I've finally finished Apex 9. At first, I was pacing myself, trying hard not to run out of reading material and making sure I studied before diving into anything else. Afterwards, shit happened. I got a bad neck-ache which made a weird tingling sensation tickle down my arms and fingers. I knew this happened, but I never thought the feeling was quite this impressive. I discovered sitting at the computer worsened it, so I stayed off the keyboard (and off my pdf issue of Apex) until it went away. That's when the internet went to hell.
Anyway, I've finished Apex issue 9 and wanted to share some of my findings.

Pyramus and Thisbe by Jeremy Adam Smith is the kind of story that stays with you. I'm not entirely sure if this is all good, a big part of it is the "what the fu..?" feeling. Pyramous is a robot, Thisbe is human, everything else reads like a Reinascence alternative history or fantasy. The language is beautiful and anyone who mixes SF and Fantasy gets extra credit in my book. It is certainly a memorable story, however unclear and the ending is chilling.

Sufficiently Advanced by Bev Vincent started off with an interesting premise: an astronaut is ship-wrecked in a planet where primitive natives teleport without thinking about it twice. It goes downhill from there, however, playing off the theme that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". The story is ok, but I feel a bit let down because the beginning was so cleverly drawn.

Rob D. Smith's Don't Show Your Teeth is about people who take their collections too seriously. Seriously too seriously. Like that guy we all know who hits on you with a phrase from Star Trek. Ok, that's not so bad. But you get me.

The story is straight funny horror and it does its job. There's not much here to distinguish it from other horror pieces, but it's competently written and entertaining. And yes, a good hint to send to that friend who splurges his salary on comic books and Dracula teeth replicas.

Cain XP11: The Voice of Thy Brother's Blood by Geoffrey Girard. The first part of this story appears in Apex 9, but since the rest is due in later issues, I'll save my critique until I read the whole story. So far it looks very good.

Poppet's Left Impression is a poem by Brandy Shawn. I don't usually dig poetry unless it's by Lorca and this is no exception, but, of course, that's not saying much, is it? I'll simply refrain from critting poetry from now on.

Apex Parting Shot is Sonorus by Paul Abbamondi. The second person POV works well in this simple horror story about you when you find a musical instrument in the woods.

All in all, issue 9 surprises and delivers. My nightmares are a lot more interesting since I started reading Apex. I never suscribe to anything (because I can't commit to mags), but issue 9 was the last push I needed and I have now, for the first time ever, declared my fidelity (at least for a year) to Apex Digest

Nibble Nibble

I got a HOLD notice from Interzone for my story "Slow Stampede" and a "we're considering this" from Aberrant Dreams for "History of Stone".

Most nibbles don't pan out, but once in a while a mag bites and they sure give my poor ego a break.

Otherwise, I'm doing research on the mesopelagic zone of the Ocean for a story temporarily titled "Habitat's Plunge". If anyone knows where I can get cool data on things like pressure, temperature, salinity and ecosystem, speak up. I'd be eternally grateful.

"Family Values" accepted by COSMOS

Yay!
This story grew out of Liberty Hall Flash. I'm very fond of it because it was a joy to write (unlike some of my more obscure stories which take months of revision) and it sold really fast. I wouldn't define the story as satire, but it does have a strong humor streak.
This is my second pro sale.

Couldn't resist

101 reasons had this logo of International Slushpile Bonfire Day. I'm tempted to send the link to my first readers to let them know that I really mean it when I say that they can throw one of my stories back at me if they don't like it.

International Slushpile Bonfire Day
May 31, 2007

It's sounds anti-ecological, but I know how good it feels. Today I recycled a semesters worth of Med School classes. I'm really looking forward to finishing for good. If they still bought used paper by the pound...

Eurovision

Since Eurovision seems to have become the reservoir from which all the shit of the Universe squirts out to hit the fan, here's the song I'm voting to represent Spain this year.




Bonus points to anyone who identifies the video that this parody is based on.

I don't have Aperger's (but I knew that already)

Your Score: Unaffected

Result: 22. Your score isn't an achievement, it just is.

Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at Cambridge's Autism Research Centre have created the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, or AQ, as a measure of the extent of autistic traits in adults. In the first major trial using the test, the average score in the control group was 16.4. Eighty percent of those diagnosed with autism or a related disorder scored 32 or higher. The test is not a means for making a diagnosis, however, and many who score above 32 and even meet the diagnostic criteria for mild autism or Asperger's report no difficulty functioning in their everyday lives. You scored less than 32. Make your own assessment of that

Link: The Asperger's Syndrome Test written by beachbummer on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Miss Snark is no more

101 reasons writes her a great eulogy and even refrains from making any petty and sarcastic comments.
Yes, she will be missed. I wonder where agents go when they stop blogging?



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