The Apex Book of World SF 3

(Review copy from LibraryThing)

Despite the title, this is not a SF anthology, as you’ll find fantasy and horror stories as well. From the sixteen stories, all but a couple (Sriduangkaew’s and Jia’s ) were new to me. And although not every story grabbed me, there were only two of them that I didn’t like at all, not bad at all for an anthology as diverse as this one. But I’d rather highlight those stories I did like.

The opening story, “Courtship in the Country of Machine Gods”, by Campbell Award finalist Benjanun Sriduangkaew, was my absolute favorite, a brilliant and complex SF story. Another couple of SF tales were also among my favorites: the dystopian, The City of Silence, by Ma Boyong (translated by Ken Liu), and show more Regressions, by Swapna Kishore. And also three fantasy stories: To Follow the Waves, by Amal El-Mohtar, the story of an artisan of dreams, and two stories with ghosts in them, the charming and original Waiting with Mortals, by Crystal Koo, and A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight, by Xia Jia (also translated by Ken Liu).

Overall, a really interesting anthology and a good chance to realize the diversity of these genres thanks to a bunch of authors from countries we don’t often have the chance to read. Highly recommended! show less

The concept of a book of science fiction stories from around the world appealed to me immediately. I’ve read a huge number of sci-fi anthologies over the years but the content tends to mostly be limited to English speaking countries so it’s nice to see what other cultures can bring to the genre. As with almost any collection of stories, they’re a mixed bag, but there was enough that I enjoyed here that I’m glad I read it.

Some of the stories are very good. “Act of Faith” by Fadzilshah Johanabos is a story about a man who teaches his robot to become a Muslim. The look at whether a robot could become religious would fit happily alongside the classic Asimov stories but brings a different cultural perspective to things. “The show more City of Silence” by Chinese author Ma Boyong, perhaps the highlight of the book, is a lengthy dystopian story that echoes 1984 from a more modern perspective. It focuses around internet censorship and from there to the suppression of free speech, and coming from a culture where this sort of thing has already started gives it a worryingly convincing feel.

Many of the stories lean more towards fantasy than science fiction, such as “To Follow the Waves” by Amar El-Mohtar. Set in a world where dreams can be crafted, it uses the concept to tell a tale of love and obsession, and builds to a wonderful ending. “Waiting with Mortals” was set in a version of the modern world where ghosts remain behind if they have something keeping them there, and have the ability to take over the bodies of mortals. It uses the ghosts to tell a surprisingly human story, and it’s a setting I could see even supporting other longer stories.

Other favourites in the book are the disturbing twist on fairy tales in “Three Little Children” by Ange, and the time travel story “Regressions” by Swapna Kishore. The latter is based around Indian culture and gender roles within it and does a good job of presenting a thoughtful story while also teaching a bit about another culture for those of us who haven’t previously been exposed to it.

Those were the standouts for me, but most of the stories were at least worth reading, with the occasional exception. It’s a shame that the worst of these is the opening story of the book, “Courtship in the Country of Machine-Gods” by Benjanun Sriduangkaew. It’s a confused mess of a story and I can’t really understand why it was chosen as the opener for the book, since I feel it could easily put people off. There’s a story in there, but it’s buried under flowery language that seems more concerned with trying to sound clever than actually being readable.

Opening story aside, this is an interesting collection and a good way to see some different perspectives on the sci-fi genre. I’ll probably check out the other books in the series at some point. show less

This is the second Apex anthology I’ve read in 2014, thanks to LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program; the first was The Book of Apex: Volume 4 of Apex Magazine. The set-up for both collections is similar: a gorgeous cover and a powerful gathering of recent science fiction, fantasy and horror stories. The one big difference, as you might guess, is that the majority of the contributors to The Apex Book of World SF 3 don’t live in the U.S. They hail from more than a dozen countries ranging from Europe to Africa to Asia to North America.

Their contributions to this book are equally diverse. Sadly, there are no Pandas of Dread (RIP Eugie Foster), but there are dancing astronauts; zombies; and beautiful translations by Ken Liu, Silvia show more Moreno-Garcia, Jim Young, and Tom Clegg.

My favorite stories in this collection of sixteen include Xia Hia’s “A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight” (100 ghosts and one living boy), Ika Koeck’s “Jungle Fever” (a zombie’s firsthand tale on becoming one), Amal El-Mohtar’s “To Follow the Waves” (be careful what you weave into your dreams), and Ange’s “Three Little Children” (a nice and creepy bedtime story). There are many more I like, as well, and the weaker stories are still decent, just not necessarily my cup of tea.

There’s something for everyone in The Apex Book of World SF 3 (fabulously assembled by editor Lavie Tidhar) if you enjoy speculative fiction and want to experience stories not always easy to find or expected to be in the U.S. I was really pleased to see that this collection made NPR’s best book list for 2014. show less

In summary: while there are a couple of duds, there are more than enough jewels, and I definitely recommend this collection.

As the title says, this is a collection of SF short stories from around the world. There is a mix of cultures and writing styles, and 'SF' is defined rather loosely - overall it is a carefully chosen collection with a number of interesting takes on humanity and our relationship with our world, each other, and our technology and creations.

I enjoyed all the stories to a degree, but unsurprisingly in such a diverse set of stories some resonated with me much more than others. Act of Faith i found to be beautiful, and leant me a view on faith I have trouble accessing on my own. Planetfall was a curious journey show more backwards through a planet's colonisation history, To Follow the Waves a look into dreams and consequences I very much enjoyed. Regessions I found absolutely fascinating, making me consider all kinds of things about how history and culture form, and I think is the one story that is going to stay with me going forward. show less

What better way to look at the future than through perspectives far removed from your own?

The Apex collections have a surprisingly diverse group of work, not just from Europe and Scandinavia, but also, for example, sub-Saharan Africa.

It has taken me a long time to finish this volume, because when I finish a story, I usually go back and read it a second or third time. I couldn't imagine curating a better collection of short SF, and I can't wait for the next volume to come out. Because of this volume, I actually recently subscribed to the Apex Magazine.

Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher for purposes of review, with no stipulation on what sort of review would be written.

This is the second Apex anthology I’ve read in 2014, thanks to LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program; the first was The Book of Apex: Volume 4 of Apex Magazine. The set-up for both collections is similar: a gorgeous cover and a powerful gathering of recent science fiction, fantasy and horror stories. The one big difference, as you might guess, is that the majority of the contributors to The Apex Book of World SF 3 don’t live in the U.S. They hail from more than a dozen countries ranging from Europe to Africa to Asia to North America.

Their contributions to this book are equally diverse. Sadly, there are no Pandas of Dread (RIP Eugie Foster), but there are dancing astronauts; zombies; and beautiful translations by Ken Liu, Silvia show more Moreno-Garcia, Jim Young, and Tom Clegg.

My favorite stories in this collection of sixteen include Xia Hia’s “A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight” (100 ghosts and one living boy), Ika Koeck’s “Jungle Fever” (a zombie’s firsthand tale on becoming one), Amal El-Mohtar’s “To Follow the Waves” (be careful what you weave into your dreams), and Ange’s “Three Little Children” (a nice and creepy bedtime story). There are many more I like, as well, and the weaker stories are still decent, just not necessarily my cup of tea.

There’s something for everyone in The Apex Book of World SF 3 (fabulously assembled by editor Lavie Tidhar) if you enjoy speculative fiction and want to experience stories not always easy to find or expected to be in the U.S. I was really pleased to see that this collection made NPR’s best book list for 2014. show less

Speculative fiction is one of the best places to find a fresh perspective on our own world, and this anthology of short stories doesn’t disappoint. Some are works in translation, while others were originally written in English. The collection includes literary and experimental stories, as well as more classically structured sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. This collection has something for every genre fan, and even those who don’t consider themselves “genre fans”.

With authors hailing from Thailand, Germany, Nigeria, Greece, Malaysia, France, India, Sweden and half a dozen other countries, these are voices that will be new to the American SF reader, and a welcome addition to my bookshelf.