Strange. Beautiful. Shocking. Surreal. APEX MAGAZINE is a digital dark science fiction and fantasy genre zine that features award-winning short fiction, essays, and interviews. Established in 2009, our fiction has won several Hugo and Nebula Awards. We publish every other month. Issue 129 contains the following short stories, essays, reviews, and interviews. EDITORIALEditorial by Jason Sizemore ORIGINAL FICTIONIt Happened in 'Loontown by Lavie TidharCity...

First published in 1872, Carmilla is a classic gothic novella and one of the earliest examples of vampire fiction. Fast-paced and gripping, the story follows the protagonist Laura, who lives in a secluded castle in the woods with her father. One day, a carriage accident brings a young woman named Carmilla into their lives, and she is taken in as a guest. As time goes on, Laura becomes increasingly drawn to Carmilla, despite her strange behavior and...

A surreal gothic fantasy of three nefarious cities: Paradise, Paradis, and Paradys Welcome to Paradise, where the sun hasn't shone for years and a callous, ritual-obsessed populace roams the decayed metropolis enshrouded in fog. The citizens are unhinged, murder and incest are praised, and madness reigns. Only a pair of twins, Felion and Smara, remains sane. But their sole hope of escaping the city is a mysterious ice labyrinth connecting parallel...

Eroticism and gothic horror mingle in the enchanted city of Paradys, where no one remains unchanged The Book of the Damned introduces the city of Paradys, also known as Paradise, or Paradis. In fact, it is three cities, all places of luxury and decay, twisted love and chilling magic, intertwined by an unknown enchantment.   In Stained with Crimson, the first tale of Paradys's inhabitants, poet Andre St Jean encounters a mysterious man who thrusts...

Things are heating up. Not a day goes past without Casey fighting for her life. But it's only just the beginning. She's about to come to the attention of some of the vilest gods in town. Casey is thrown head-first into the fight. And the more she fights, the more she learns that not everything is as it seems....Tune in for the thrilling second installment in the action-packed God Given series. It is sure to please fans of Odette C. Bell's Trapped...

El Cuervo, es un largo poema escrito por Edgar Allan Poe que fue publicado en 1845. Una pequeña historia misteriosa que encierra muchos más mensajes de los que parece a simple vista. Esta edición bilingüe, contiene una fiel traducción del mismo. En ella descubrirá la pureza en el lenguaje de dicho autor, el cual, revive gracias a que el trabajo se ha efectuado con el máximo rigor y precisión. Lo que hace de este libro un perfecto apoyo para...

Legendary warrior King Tavurek marshals his mercenary army to combat a mighty Volarian host led by a man known to history as the Spear-point. In the blood-bath that follows, there can be only one victor. The final battle between the city state of Kethia and the Volarian Empire, as told by Imperial Chronicler Lord Verniers, is an event shrouded in many secrets and, some say, wrought by servants of the Dark.

Out of Body is a dark fantasy thriller from multi-award-winning author Jeffrey Ford. A small-town librarian witnesses a murder at his local deli, and what had been routine sleep paralysis begins to transform into something far more disturbing. The trauma of holding a dying girl in his arms drives him out of his own body. The town he knows so well is suddenly revealed to him from a whole new perspective. Secrets are everywhere and demons fester behind...

With Arkus in his grasp, Kai Lekius wastes no time in setting out on his next conquest-Runalog Province, a religious territory that stands between him and the imperial capital. His new army, the Army of the Night, a force of fearsome golems and five thousand men, proves unequaled, but the citizens of Runalog would rather take their own lives than surrender to the likes of a vampire! After learning this the hard way, Kai and his army are forced to...

A macabre dark fantasy of enchantment, misfortune, corruption, and death The unnerving third volume of the Secret Books of Paradys begins with a fable of two doomed weddings. In The Weasel Bride, a white weasel transforms into a fair maiden under the light of a full moon. A local trapper releases the animal from its curse by marrying it, but on their wedding day, the weasel inflicts the groom with a fatal wound. This tale flows into the story of a...