Apex Magazine, Issue 129, January 2022

Apex Magazine #129

by Jason Sizemore (Editor), Lesley Conner (Editor), Lavie Tidhar

Original Fiction:
"It Happened in 'Loontown" by Lavie Tidhar
"City Lights" by Yilun Fan (translated by S. Qiouyi Lu)
"Sheri, At This Very Moment" by Bianca Sayan
"What Una Loves" by Rich Larson
"Lamia" by Cristina Jurado (translated by Monica Louzon)
"The Cure for Loneliness" by M. Shaw

Classic Fiction:
"O2 Arena" by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
"That Rough-Hewn Sun" by Benjanun Sriduangkaew

Nonfiction:
"Tie Me to the Mast (Metaphorically Speaking): Social Writing in the Age of the Pandemic" by C. S. E. Cooney
"The Importance of Presenting Disabilities in Literature" by Mercedes M. Yardley

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Dystopia, Fiction, Hugo Awards, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction

185 pages, ebook

First published January 5, 2022

About the author

I was born the son of an unemployed coal miner in a tiny Kentucky Appalachian villa named Big Creek (population 400). It’s an isolated area with beautiful rolling hills, thick forests, and country folk. I lived in Big Creek until I went to college, spending my weekends cruising the Winn Dixie parking lot of ladies, partying in my cousin’s run-down three room trailer, and being a member of the bad-ass Clay County High School Academic Team.

College was quite a shock for me. Girls! Minorities! Strip clubs! And it didn’t help that I attended Transylvania University, a fairly snotty (but excellent) private college in Lexington, KY (on scholarship… no way my family could have sent me otherwise). I graduated in the standard four years with a degree in Computer Science.

Since 1996, I’ve worked for evil corporations (IBM), dot com dreamers (eCampus.com), The Man (both city and state government), and for The Kids (KY Dept. of Education), and assholes (lots and lots of assholes).

In 2004, I decided my life was boring, that I no longer needed disposable income, and I needed to increase my stress levels. I started Apex Publications, a small press publisher of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. At first it was just a small print zine, then a pro-level online zine, then books, and then ebooks.

I edit anthologies, mostly for Apex (because I’m a control freak). I occasionally do copy editing (when pressed) and have done plenty of acquisition editing over the years.

I also write. I don’t really write enough to leave a mark, but it seems to go well when I do put pen to paper.

Miscellaneous facts about me: left-handed, blue eyes, super geeky, hillbilly accent, near-sighted, and typically in a goofy mood.

Also, and most importantly, I’m not the drunkard all those Facebook photos makes me out to be. It just happens that cameras are always around when I… have libations. Honest!

Reviews

[Nataliya · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really disliked Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki’s award-nominated story last year, but here I was ready to give him another chance as this year his novelette made it to both Hugo and Nebula Awards finalists lists. And yet again I’m disappointed.

There’s just something about his prose that strikes me as awkward, bland, lackluster and frankly, just dull. Although it improved a tiny bit from my prior experience, it’s still stilted and full of monotone cadence that makes my eyes glaze over. And this time it was an additional infusion of earnestly sincere overexplaining (because god forbid there’s ever any doubt or ambiguity about the intended points!) and reliance on simplicity in the message.

I mean, that’s pretty much how this unfolds:

“I knew my opponent was not my enemy, although he might be the instrument of my death, or I the instrument of his. The one I truly needed to defeat, our collective enemy, was unflagging: the society that broke us and engineered our existence as an inexorable journey toward death. Quick or slow, the system forced us into a profound lifelessness just so we could breathe one more day, then yet another.”

The message about climate destruction that disproportionally affects those poor and powerless cannot replace an interesting story or an engaging narration. It does not replace complexity or subtlety or characterization.

Oh, and the ending makes no logical sense, but by the time I got there I was too bored to even care.

1.5 stars. Stilted and dull.

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Read it here, on Apex Magazine site: https://apex-magazine.com/short-ficti...

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Also posted on my blog.

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My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2022

[Silvana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating only for Nebula winner, "O2 Arena" by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Arc Manor / Phoenix Pick newsletter wrote that Ekpeki's novelette "O2 Arena"--first published in issue 53 of Galaxy's Edge magazine--has just been announced as a finalist for a Nebula (for Best Novelette) & provided a link to a PDF.
https://mcusercontent.com/9f17d596f16...

It was short, so I read it & it's OK, although it took a leap at the end that didn't make much sense to me. Nasty world creating nasty people.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ekpeki creates a dystopian rule where people need to fight for oxygen, a result of climate change. It is also a sad story about loss and purpose and frustration. The author writes a complex protagonist whose face is somewhat cynical and uncaring but, seizing on the need of someone loved, grows to become a better person.

[Lis Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's 2030, global warming has damaged natural production of oxygen, and our narrator and protagonist is entering law school, not because he wants to be a lawyer, but because he needs a career where he can earn enough O2 credits to live a comfortable life. He's prepared to cut corners and cheat if need be.

He has a friend, a woman named Ovoke, who is also entering law school. She's a better student and far more ethical, but they are very good friends, and he's the only one outside her family that she's told about her tumor, which is probably going to kill her. Her family is getting her the best care they can, but they simply do not have the O2 credits to afford the best care. Everything in this world is about oxygen credits. Most people don't have enough for more than just marginal survival. Few have enough for luxuries like plenty of oxygen, nice cars, or excellent health care.

Which is how we get to the O2 Arena, which isn't about fantastic shows, and only has one type of "sporting event."

And our narrator has some very tough decisions to make along the way.

An excellent novelette, extremely well done.

I received this story as part of the 2022 Hugo Finalists Packet, and am reviewing it voluntarily.

[Karen ⚜Mess⚜ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received an email from Arc Manor with an announcement that Oghenechovwe is taking the world by storm, and deservedly so. Attached was a PDF of his novelette O2 Arena. Apparently, this novelette is up for some kind of award.

I'm afraid O2 Arena. doesn't have what it takes to make it. It was just ... everything baddy, with a heavy dose of boredom.

[Michael Klein · Rating 2 out of 5]

"It Happened in Loontown" by Lavie Tidler. An interesting concept - a noir police story starring balloons. But a fundamental problem - "H" is hydrogen. Helium is "He." Unforgivable given the importance of the two gases to the story.

[Michael Whiteman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It Happened In 'Loontown - Lavie Tidhar ****
Another classic bit of fun from the master of noir-mixed-with-something-weird as Muldoon the balloon detective deals with murder, dames and helium smuggling.

City Lights - Yilun Fan, trans. S Qiouyi Lu ***

Sheri, At This Very Moment - Bianca Sayan ****
Beautiful, touching story about a terminally ill woman who is woken from stasis for important moments that eat into her remaining time, while her partner and family grow older in the gaps. 
What Una Loves - Rich Larson ***

Lamia - Cristina Jurado, trans. Monica Louzon ***

The Cure For Loneliness - M Shaw ***

O2 Arena - Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki ****
In a climate change devastated Nigeria where air is currency, a slacker law student finds something to fight for in his cancer-afflicted friend - unable to pay for effective treatment, he enters a broadcast fight to the death to win the necessary O2. Great central character, entangling tenderness and viciousness in their relationships and reactions to the world. 

That Rough-Hewn Sun - Benjanun Sriduangkaew ***

[Ally · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting climate-focused novelette that asks what our world would be like if oxygen became a commodity. Set in Nigeria in the year 2030, when the global warming crisis has obliterated clean air and giant British and Chinese companies have commodified oxygen, it tells the tale of a young Nigerian man entering law school with his friend, who has cancer.

What follows is a story about what our world might look like if we don't tackle these climate issues now: fights for oxygen, unbearable heat requiring Temperature Regulating Suits, and the need to wear an oxygen mask at all times to protect your lungs.

While the world Ekpeki has created is certainly interesting and apposite, the story did suffer from some telling rather than showing, particularly in relation to the effects of the global warming crisis. That definitely detracted from the world and the story-telling. Overall, it was still an enjoyable, short read.

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novellette category. I had never read anything by this author before, so I did not know what expect. I was pleasantly surprised: this story is great. It's set in a dystopian near future, where breathable air is a luxury sold by big corporations to the public. The scariest part is that the future described here is not an unlikely future, but where we are headed. I already spent a few summers in California with windows closed, orange brown skies, and unbreathable air outside. The future described in O2 Arena... it's starting right now.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good. It could have used a little more time to bring in the protagonist's motivation sooner, and honestly I could have used more rage in it. Which is saying something, given how angry I felt at the start and how angry I was at the end. This world is oppressive. And believable. We've poisoned Earth's atmosphere to the point where breathable air is a luxurious commodity, one only afforded the rich and the employed. Our protagonist is going to school to land a good government job - and those sweet, sweet O2 credits. I'll let you read the story and see what happens, but I felt the rage and helplessness in those opening pages, and I felt for what happened at the end. Good writing, great premise, worth your time.

[Cristina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is, in my opinion, the typical politically correct nominee. It's written by a disabled Nigerian author and it's a dystopia that deals with global warming, (I quote) "...disability and various health maladies in a broken system with poor or no healthcare. A system that’s failed thoroughly and forced people into a death match in the hopeless arena of life, leaving them to struggle viciously and alone, for the very air in their lungs." where the "hopeless arena of life" and the "death match" are not metaphors. I'm all for work of arts lobbying for certain values but I'd prefer said works to be also entertaining - not just transparent/moralistic social commentaries.

[William Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for 2022 Hugos

This was a terrifying premise for a story, because of how close we are to seeing it come true: a world where everything is measured in how much oxygen we have to breathe.
This centers on Nigerian society, and a lot of classism and racism inherent in that culture. The protagonist has some hard choices to make through the story. I wish the rage and anger that was implied throughout was stronger during the story, but aside from that, it was an evocative read.

[Anurag Sahay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a Hugo nominee for novelette this year, which is why I read it. This story is overall quite missable -- the concept is interesting (much more interesting, than say, The Past is Red, which is another climate post-apocalyptic piece that was nominated for a Hugo this time), but the execution is very lackluster. But it's short enough, and it's freely available -- I think it's definitely worth reading (but don't go in with overly high expectations).

[Pau Lethani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Novelette Hugo Awards 2022 Nominee.

Unfortunately not for me. I'm not sure I agree with the way it deals with certain topics and it didn't manage to move me. In case you're interested it's about a future world after a climate crisis in which oxygen is the currency and our main character needs high amounts of it for a very personal reason.

[Greekchoir · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not even bothering to finish this one. The writing is bland and immature, the jokes make no sense, and the story is boring and full of tropes. The author managed to pack a ton of sexism into a very short window.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every story worth reading.

[Marie]

Hugo read- good, crushing, Human. A frightening black mirror

[Elizabeth Lovegrove · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horrifying world, carefully built in and revealed to the reader, and strong sense of the central character and how he moved through it. Slight subjugation of story to setting.

[Faith · Rating 2 out of 5]

"O2 Arena" by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
Decent concept, but the prose felt stilted and awkward and the protagonist doesn't have a clear motivation until like halfway through.

[Heni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the dystopian concept where to breathe you have to pay (sometimes to kill) bcz the air is so scarce now. The tone of the story, however, is condescending. 3 ⭐

[Desiree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short story about what really matters and the consequences of where we're heading to

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You see, only the rich deserved to breathe."

How about this premise? Fantastic. I just wanted a little more anger or some emotion from the protagonist.

[D.K. Hundt · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - Stars

APEX MAGAZINE ISSUE 129 - Edited by JASON SIZEMORE & LESLEY CONNER

‘In this one, familiar faces return along with several first-timers to our pages.’

The following are my favorites from the magazine:

‘IT HAPPENED IN ‘LOONTOWN’ – by LAVIE TIDHAR – HaHaHa, I Love This One!

‘Dancers rose and fell on gentle thermals, skirts twirling, hoppers hopping, silver foil flashing everywhere.’

‘SHERI, AT THIS VERY MOMENT’ – by BIANCA SAYAN – My Heart!

‘LAMIA’ – by CRISTINA JURADO – Creepy Good!

‘THE CURE FOR LONELINESS’ - M. SHAW – Love This One!

CLASSIC FICTION

‘O2 ARENA’ – by OGHENECHOVWE DONALD EKPEKI – My Heart!

NONFICTION

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRESENTING DISABILITIES IN LITERATURE – by MERCEDES M. YARDLEY – LOVE!!

REVIEWS WORDS FOR THOUGHT: SHORT FICTION REVIEW – by AC WISE

‘At its best, horror and dark fiction acts as a catharsis, a way to process emotion and speak about the unspeakable. Each of the stories discussed here does this in its own way. Some offer hope and others let you know that even if it doesn’t seem like a comforting thought, remaining in the dark is okay because you’re not in it alone.’

‘Missing Dolls Around the World’ - by Ai Jiang in THE DARK
‘Vampirito’ - by K. Victoria Hernandez in KHŌRÉŌ MAGAZINE
‘The Genius and the Devil’ - by Stephanie Feldman in CATAPULT MAGAZINE
‘That Story Isn’t the Story’ - by John Wiswell in UNCANNY MAGAZINE
‘That House’ - by Simon Strantzas in BOURBON PENN

KETURAH BARTERS - BOOK REVIEW: BLACK CHAIN BY DOMINIC MARTELL

TRACY ROBINSON - BOOK REVIEW: FLOWERS FOR THE SEA BY ZIN E. ROCKLYN – (D.K. Hundt: I, too, read this book—Highly Recommend!)

‘Much like life, there are small flashes of beauty that shine through the struggle of a woman whose existence and determination matches those of so many in today’s society. It causes the reader to break through their lenses, to see and feel through the experiences of another.’ – Nice!

Thank you, Jason Sizemore, for providing me with an eMagazine, APEX Issue 129, at the request of an honest review.

[DIARRHEA BUBBLEBATH · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was honestly bad

[Jonathan]

I read "O2 Arena", which was so poorly written that I got almost angry.

[Ken Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
Science fiction imagines futures, but often the story being told is a warning about the present.
So seems to be the case with Nigerian writer Daniel Oghenechovwe's Hugo award finalist Novelette 'O2 Arena'. Through his unnamed narrator he is telling of the way the system in his land chokes the life out of its peoples. It tells of there being one rule for the powerful and another for the poor and the huddled masses. That the nobles will be looked after by the law, and their transgressions minimised and swept under the table. The masses, they must scrabble, adapt or die. And that 'just getting by', doing only what is necessary, but not to risk anything, is no way to change things.
Our protagonist discovers the inadequacy of his approach too late to save his seriously ill friend, even though he braves the brutal contests in the O2 arena.
So far, so good.

But sadly, the device used to represent the oppression, that everyone must pay for oxygen, because of a cataclysmic failure of the atmosphere is so ludicrously improbable that it makes FTL travel seem like a cakewalk. I can think of many better ways to represent the need to pay for clean air. An insidious toxin from industry. Spores form GM crops - all of which might require air filters, positive pressure inside well sealed homes. Things well out of the reach of the general population.

Not my favourite of the finalists.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as part of the 2022 Hugo reading packet.
Most of this is a solid 3 star story. The characters are solid, the plot is driven by the motivations of the characters. No one acts stupid because the plot demands it. The world building isn’t smoothly worked into the story, interrupting the flow of the story in places, but is consistent and believable. The Nigerian setting means it avoids the usual cliched locations, but feels constructed out of other tropes used completely straight. Dystopian future controlled by companies, environmental damage meaning breathable air is a luxury people have to pay the corporations for, a semi-legal bloodsport fight club broadcast over the internet where the survivors win wealth, and a protagonist that’s motivated by that wealth representing more than just a life of luxury. Why lifts it to a four star is the final twist, and the last page where the readers realised the author is playing the “This isn’t how it ends, this is how it began” trope. I think that’s going to stay with me for a while.

[Parlabane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nebula winner: O2 Arena. Climate change dystopia/economic inequality themes make this a thought provoking read for our times. The death of plankton due to climate change means there is no longer enough o2 to breathe. You have to pay to breathe and the currency in this world becomes o2.

At first I thought, just get a whole lot of plants, why not? So after reading this I read an article that explores that idea and it turns out you’d have to have your house airtight and lined with tropical green and lit 24/7 more or less and then you might still have issues because of soil bacteria. Still, it would at least make a dent into those o2 costs.
Plankton makes 50-80% of our o2. Turns out we really would be done for without them. We should probably do something about that. But we won’t. And maybe that will be best.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the near future, in Nigeria, money is now a form of O2 credits. You must pay to breath. As always, the rich and the government control life and survival. A woman is dying of cancer and her family cannot afford the O2 credits required for treatment, so her best friend turns to a death match ring that will provide a lifetime of O2 credits. When his friend does not make it, he finds he has enough credits to live but has nothing to live for, so he creates a group of his own to level the playing field and take out the ones in control. A true beginning of a revolution, the oppressed fighting back.