Okay, I'm not melting, but it sure looks like the dude on that cover is. Apex Digest's Jason Sizemore sent that along to let me know that, by the skin no longer covering melting dude's teeth, it's actually the Summer issue of Apex, not the August F&SF, that will mark the first time my name's made a cover.
This magazine contains a reprint of my short story "Whether to Go Through," which originally appeared in the Fall 2004 issue (#7) of Electric Velocipede, which, now that I look at it, has my name right there on the cover next to Liz Williams, big as life, so you know what? Forget all this "first time name on cover" stuff because clearly I have no idea when, where and whether my name has shown up.
"Whether to Go Through" garnered an honorable mention in the 22nd annual Year's Best Science Fiction collection, edited by Gardner Dozois. Science fiction fans will be happy to learn that it references a spaceship called The Onager, which is both a type of medieval siege engine and a type of ass, a rare twofer indeed.
Jason says that the the issue will be available via Apex's online store this coming Friday, June 16th. A more astute bidnessman than myself would probably wait until then to talk about this, but Friday is the 233 kilometer stage from St. Moritz to Ascona in the Tour de Suisse, so like most of you, I'll be busy watching to see how Jan Ullrich handles the two categorized climbs over Julierpass and Lukmanierpass. Right?
Ah, and via Matt Cheney, that New York Times Book Review that mentions me and Ben Rosenbaum is now online. Also, complete contents of that issue of Apex are below the cut (just click on "click for more" or whatever it says).
Man, this is one content-rich post. I'm going to have to take a couple days off.
Table of Contents
—Fiction—
Duel in the Somme—4
Ben Bova
Queen of Stars—12
Bryn Sparks
Whether to Go Through—22
Christopher Rowe
Cerbo en Vitra ujo—28
Mary Robinette Kowal
Cut and Paste—38
Peter Gutiérrez
The Deep Misanthropic Principle—44
Brandon Alspaugh
Temple Part II: A Map of You—54
Steven Savile
Indigestion—67
Robby Sparks
Only an Echo—105
Michael C. Reed
—Nonfiction—
The Brightest Heavens of Invention: A Discourse on Ben Bova’s “Duel in the Somme” —81
Gill Ainsworth
Some Notes on a Working Definition of Steampunk—83
Lavie Tidhar
Once Upon a Horror—89
Alethea Kontis
Interview with Poppy Z. Brite—95
Interview with Kage Baker—100
Artist Bios—107