Book excerpt: Strange. Beautiful. Shocking. Surreal. APEX MAGAZINE is a digital dark science fiction and fantasy genre zine that features award-winning short fiction, essays, and interviews. Established in 2009, our fiction has won several Hugo and Nebula Awards. We publish every other month. Issue 129 contains the following short stories, essays, reviews, and interviews. EDITORIAL Editorial by Jason Sizemore 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 REVIEWS Words for Thought: Short Fiction Review by A.C. Wise Book Review: Black Chain by Dominic Martell (reviewed by Keturah Barchers) Book Review: Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn (reviewed by Tracy Robinson) INTERVIEWS Interview with Author M. Shaw by Marissa van Uden Interview with Author Bianca Sayan by Rebecca E. Treasure Interview with Cover Artist Luka Brico by Russell Dickerson