The Apex Book of World SF 3 is a solid collection of sixteen stories from around the world. These are writers and stories I would have never been exposed to outside of this format and that would have been a shame as there are some exceptional stories in this volume.
All of the stories are held to a higher literary standard than what I usually read, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy them. For example, the first tale, "Courtship In the Country of Machine--Gods," by Benjanun Sriduangkaew, was a beautifully constructed view of alien ways and wars. I can't say I fully understood it, but it was intriguing.
More to my liking was "A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight" by Xia Jia, a charming story of the ghosts who live on Ghost Street waiting to cross over.
One of my favorites was the tale of an android who becomes a Muslim in "Act of Faith," written by Fadzlishah Johanabas. A very clever and enjoyable story.
Other favorites include, "City of Silence" by Ma Boyong, where the "appropriate authorities" are endeavoring to make life on the web and in the physical world equally healthy by restricting the words you can say and write and the lengths some people will go to to exercise some freedom of speech.
There's a terrific horror story called, "Jungle Fever" by Ika Koeck, about a young girl who gets a scratch in the forest and what she becomes. And another horror tale of "Three Little Children" from Ange, about the abduction of three little children told to other children as a bedtime story. Cool.
There were a few stories that did not appeal to me, but that's likely just me. The Apex Book of World SF 3 is certainly worth your time and a few dollars and is available now as a paperback and for the Kindle through Amazon.com from Apex Books.
Recommended.
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