Category Archives: Editorial

Fighting Shadows From their earliest times, stories have dealt with human fears and invoked protagonists wielding the latest in wisdom and technology to prevail against them. For instance, the third millennium BC Mesopotamian tale Lugal-e, or Ninurta’s Exploits, tells of … Continue reading →

Introduction to Issue 98 Poetry The collection of poems in this issue, though typically from all over the world, are exclusively from the United States. And though typically there’s a good mix of free verse and traditional poetry, it just … Continue reading →

Bucking the Trend The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet. He is supported on crutches, but lacks so much support of muscle. He has a fine Geneva watch, but he fails of … Continue reading →

Introduction to Issue 97 Poetry (Q1 2026) Happy New Year! And I hope you had a wonderful holiday on Christmas day. We begin the 2026 with a traditional seasonal contribution from your poetry editor followed by a set of poems … Continue reading →

Drawing the Line with AI Sometimes I see amazing scenes in my dreams. No doubt some future invention will be able to discern the patterns of those dream images in my brain and print them out. Years ago, I would … Continue reading →

Season of Slush February 2025 brought the first reading period of my tenure as Abyss & Apex editor. For seven days the floodgates opened, and stories poured in. As noted on our submissions page, we promise a response within six … Continue reading →

Criteria for Belief When I was fourteen years old I discovered Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars novels. The Chessmen of Mars inspired dreams, and those dreams inspired my own writing. But when I discussed the Mars books with my father, he … Continue reading →