Del Rey, 2010
ISBN: 9780345522603
Available: New
Yet another literary mash up, Little Women and Werewolves is the classic tale of Jo, Beth, Meg and Amy, four girls trying to grow up, once rich, now poor, their father gone off to the Civil War and with werewolves running around. Unlike other mash ups there is no tongue-in-cheek take on the original, just a telling of the traditional tale with the occasional line, or scene, about werewolves crammed in. If someone spliced frames from a slasher flick into a high brow romance then peppered in some morals, you’d get the same effect.
Grand mimics Alcott’s style very well, even rounding the edges a bit. Readers who loved the original will likely enjoy this tale (particularly because Alcott also wrote gothic style novels, thus the set up of this being the “original” version of Little Women that was rewritten into what we know today is fitting). While it has a certain charm it also is unlikely to appeal to the contemporary audiences of most paranormal and horror books because of an overdose of generally repressive morals and a lack of plot. The book encompasses about six years in the girls’ lives, and a lot happens. Although the writing is often lovely, it seems as if just when the good stuff is about to get going, the narrative shies away for another lesson about being “a good little woman”. Overall, despite promising prose, I found myself disappointed. Those acquiring for public collections should be assured that there are better mash ups out there. However if the library’s patrons seem to have a taste for Little Women or the “new classics”, no doubt they’ll love this.
Contains: violence and some gore

The first original fiction offering is “Last Stand of the Ant Maker” by Paul Jessup, the tale of a highly focused man and an apocalypse. Surreal and succinctly charming, but also completely unexplained readers, will either get this story, or find it pretty, but be just as confused about things when it ends.

“City of Refuge” by Jerry Gordon follows. Scoffing at the idea that Apex doesn’t do zombies, this tale is evocative of Kim Paffenroth’s style, mixing the undead and religious, with no faith, however, in the benign nature of religion. It centers on a mind reader who can communicate with the Fallen, who has hopes of a future time where the Fallen and humans can live together rather than as enemies. “City of Refuge” is, if anything, too tight and self contained, like a bite of dark chocolate when one could do with a whole bar.

Catherynne M. Valente’s “The Days of Flaming Motorcycles” also begins with zombies, but also with a lighter tone. Don’t expect it to stay that way, though, as Valente takes readers on a dark voyage about the meaning of faith and the existential truth behind the apocalypse. Not your average zombie story, Valente’s story is as beautiful, unique and dark as the rest of the issue.

The June Issue opens with “Laika’s Dream” by Holly Hight.  A broken, scattered narrative about a professor, his daughter with Down’s Syndrome and a student determined to be a genius despite being diagnosed with schizophrenia, this tale appears to be about science and creation and, of course, death. But it’s really about several characters’ quests to be worthy people, not defined by their labels or the conventions of society around them. A very interesting read, indeed.

“Sol Alseep” by Naomi Libicki (also available as an audio story ) is an odd story. It takes place on a space ship, beginning with the rape of the title character, and becoming increasingly dreamy and surreal as it moves on. As with the first tale, there isn’t a traditional story, with a beginning middle and end here, but rather Libicki captures the sad, dissociative feeling that trauma inflicts on people, space travelers or not.

Jeff Carlson’s “Long Eyes” is a reprint, lead by another character suffering from an inability to fit in with her community. Genetically bred for one job, Clara now lives in a kind of symbiosis with a ship venturing into the far reaches of space looking for potentially habitable planets for expansion. What she finds on a barely habitable planet, however, surprises and saddens her. “Long Eyes” is an excellent match for the feel of the other tales.

Finally is a piece from the archives, “The Thing in the Refrigerator That Could Stop Time” by Matthew Kressel, where you’ll find neither far off planets nor space ships, but lots of personal darkness.

Apex is available to read for free online, on Smashwords.com for whatever you want to pay for it and for the Kindle for $.99. A worthy read, for SF and dark fiction lovers, and another way to support the pro markets of the genre field.

Valley of the Dead by Kim Paffenroth

Trade Paperback: Permuted Press, 2010

Limited: Cargo Cult Press, 2009

ISBN: (Trade) 978-1934861318

Available: New

Valley of the Dead is classic Paffenroth, a moody, dark, delicate blend of religion and zombies. In this “True Story” version of Dante’s Inferno, it’s easy to see why Paffenroth is drawn to horror and religion simultaneously. Valley of the Dead is a deceptively straightforward tale. Dante, author and narrator of the classic fourteenth century epic poem The Inferno, finds himself wandering in a strange valley filled with people besieged by a plague of the undead, who live their lives with a fierce, often sinful, form of passion. Paffenroth really captures the original feel of horror, beauty and devotion from Dante’s Divine Comedy with sweeping strokes that simply should not be missed by true horror fans.

The zombies themselves are also metaphors, filled with “rage at [the living], with seething jealousy that they were alive, and overwhelming frustration that [the zombie] could not make them dead.” Oversensitive, depressed and caught up in hell on earth, Dante sees the worst humanity has to offer, where undeath just seems like a blessed end to a pitiful life.

Highly recommended, no, essential for public collections as an example of the depth and soul horror tales can possess.

Contains: Violence, language, gore

Jars in the Cellar by Lee Clark Zumpe

Damnation Books, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-61572-047-7

Available: Digital

If Lovecraft lived in the Deep South he might have come up with something like Jars in the Cellar. This short tale (about 30 pages) has a familiar beginning. A high powered, rich city guy is trapped in hillbilly country by car troubles is at the mercy of a backwoods witch, a mysterious man with a huge secret and their genetic monster of a child. But the outcome isn’t what one might expect.

While this is an enjoyable read through and through, and even plays on readers’ own preconceived expectations from previous pop culture exposures to this particular setup, it’s a very short, very fast read- just the kind of thing to make a doctor’s office wait or even a boring movie more enjoyable. For the purposes of this site, though, its value to a public collection is questionable, unless the library is actively acquiring and lending in digital form.

Better off Alone by Yolanda Sfetsos

Damnation Books, 2009

ISBN: 9781615720514

Available: Digital Only

Better off Alone is definitely a horror bite, clocking in at about 40 pages. It is set in a post-zombie uprising world, where the main character, Nell, escapes her basement stronghold after an attack, and stumbles into a band of survivors with a dark secret. She wants to rescue Todd, the man who kept her hopes up over the last month through email, but first she has to survive her rescuers.

Better off Alone is ultimately incomplete. There are many potentially interesting things mentioned, but then abandoned, and even the description and storytelling itself feels unfinished. Sfetsos flirts with a good story here, but doesn’t quite deliver. As for its place in collections, those libraries with booming digital collections and lendings might find this tale popular, especially if zombie stories are in high demand, but if not, then it’s best to wait for Sfetsos’s next published work.

Contains: some gore