I’m long overdue to check in on Apex magazine — I haven’t covered an issue since April. The September issue is due in just a few days, but I love Marcela Bolívar’s August cover so much I’m not going to wait for it.

Jason Sizemore gives us the complete scoop on the contents in his editorial.

Welcome to issue 87 – the issue where we break your heart…

“The Gentleman of Chaos” by A. Merc Rustad is a dark fantasy that shows the rewards of a well-disciplined long game. “I Remember Your Face” by E.K. Wagner is a heartbreaking post-apocalyptic tale of revenge, loss, and sacrifice. “Fall to Her” by flash fiction master Alexis A. Hunter takes us on a journey of unforgettable grief in a thousand words.

Our reprints this month are “Paskutinis Iliuzija (The Last Illusion)” by Damien Angelica Walters and an excerpt from Stay Crazy (Apex Publications, 2016) by Erica L. Satifka. Poetry editor Bianca Spriggs has an impressive lineup of poems for us: “Not Like This” by Mary Soon Lee, “This Earth” by Frank Tota, “The Labyrinth Keeper” by Anton Rose, and “Perplexities” by Peter Venable…

Rounding out our content are interviews with A. Merc Rustad and cover artist Marcela Bolívar and the latest incarnation of A.C. Wise’s short fiction review series “Words for Thoughts.” Be sure to check out the podcast version of “A Gentleman of Chaos” by A. Merc Rustad as read by Mahvesh Murad.

Here’s the complete TOC, with links to all the free content.

Fiction

“The Gentleman of Chaos” by A. Merc Rustad
“Fall to Her” by Alexis A. Hunter
I Remember Your Face by E.K. Wagner
Paskutinis Iliuzija (The Last Illusion) by Damien Angelica Walters
“My Body, Her Canvas” by A.C. Wise (From Apex issue 33, February 2012)

Poetry

Not Like This by Mary Soon Lee
Perplexities by Peter Venable
This Earth by Frank Tota
The Labyrinth Keeper by Anton Rose

Feature

Discussion of Cult Film Classics INK and The Frame with Star Christopher Soren Kelly by Betsy Phillips

Nonfiction

Words from the Editor-in-Chief by Jason Sizemore
Interview with Author A. Merc Rustad by Andrea Johnson
Words for Thought (Death, Loss, Memory) by A.C. Wise (Short Fiction Review)
Interview with Cover Artist Marcela Bolívar  by Russell Dickerson

Podcast #34

“The Gentleman of Chaos” by A. Merc Rustad  (download)

Novel Excerpt

Stay Crazy by Erica L. Satifka

Apex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror publication featuring original short stories, poetry and non-fiction. It is edited by Jason Sizemore and Sigrid Ellis, and released the first Tuesday of every month. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, it was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine.

We last covered Apex Magazine with the April 2016 issue.

Apex Magazine is published by Apex Publications. Issues are available free online, and sold for $2.99 in a variety of digital formats. Subscriptions are just $19.95 for one year (12 issues) in EPUB, Mobi, and PDF formats.

This issue’s cover is by Marcela Bolívar. The complete issue is here, and you can buy back issues or subscribe at their website.

Our mid-August Fantasy Magazine Rack is here. See all of our recent fantasy magazine coverage here.