The Apex Book of World SF, Vol. 5

This international showcase of social, ecological, and supernatural futures expands the idea of what speculative fiction is and what it can do. Collecting works from emerging and award-winning authors from 18 countries, including several stories in translation, volume editor Jurado ably balances work rooted in both Western speculative fiction and other literatures with only one significant editorial stumble: three structurally similar ghost stories, back-to-back, steal one another’s limelight. Several ambitious pieces stand out: Vina Jie-Min Prasad’s giddy, hilarious revenge caper “A Series of Steaks”; the lush mythic prose of Vandana Singh’s techno–fairy tale “Ambiguity Machines: An Examination”; and Bo-young Kim’s “An Evolutionary Myth” and Tochi Onyebuchi’s “Screamers,” both slow-building works with emotionally powerful endings. Less satisfying are Basma Adel Aziz’s “Scenes from the Life of an Autocrat,” which, while politically relevant, bogs down in its own wrath, and Israel Alonso’s “You Will See the Moon Rise,” which overexplains both its metaphors and its outdated tropes. This is a wildly imaginative anthology that skillfully redefines the range and borders of science fiction while still feeling satisfyingly unified. (Sept.)