Covering Covers (and Contents) - The Apex Book of World SF 2

I love surprises.

When I woke up this morning, I had no idea that Lavie Tidhar was planning a follow up to his 2009 anthology The Apex Book of World SF.

Then I saw this.

An expedition to an alien planet; Lenin rising from the dead; a superhero so secret he does not exist; in The Apex Book of World SF 2, World Fantasy Award nominated editor Lavie Tidhar brings together a unique collection of stories from around the world. Quiet horror from Cuba and Australia; surrealist fantasy from Russia and epic fantasy from Poland; near-future tales from Mexico and Finland, or cyberpunk from South Africa: in this anthology one gets a glimpse of the complex and fascinating world of genre fiction – from all over our world.

Also included was the full Table of Contents:

• “Alternate Girl’s Expatriate Life” - Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
• “Mr. Goop” - Ivor W. Hartmann
• “Trees of Bone” - Daliso Chaponda
• “The First Peruvian in Space” - Daniel Salvo (translated by Jose B. Adolph)
• “Eyes in the Vastness of Forever” - Gustavo Bondoni
• “The Tomb” - Chen Qiufan (translated by the author)
• “The Sound of Breaking Glass” - Joyce Chng
• “A Single Year” - Csilla Kleinheincz (translated by the author)
• “The Secret Origin of Spin-Man” - Andrew Drilon
• “Borrowed Time” - Anabel Enríquez Piñeiro (translated by Daniel W. Koon)
• “Branded” - Lauren Beukes
• “December 8th” - Raúl Flores (translated by Daniel W. Koon)
• “Hungry Man” - Will Elliott
• “Nira and I” - Shweta Narayan
• “Nothing Happened in 1999” - Fábio Fernandes
• “Shadow” - Tade Thompson
• “Shibuya no Love” - Hannu Rajaniemi
• “Maquech” - Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• “The Glory of the World” - Sergey Gerasimov
• “The New Neighbours” - Tim Jones
• “From the Lost Diary of TreeFrog7” - Nnedi Okorafor
• “The Slows” - Gail Hareven (translated by Yaacov Jeffrey Green)
• “Zombie Lenin” - Ekaterina Sedia
• “Electric Sonalika” - Samit Basu
• “The Malady” - Andrzej Sapkowski (translated by Wiesiek Powaga)
• “A Life Made Possible Behind The Barricades” - Jacques Barcia

I've only read a few of these authors - Lauren Beukes, Hannu Rajaniemi, Ekaternia Sedia, Nnedi Okorafora - but if those names are indicative of the level of talent contained in this collection, it will be a great one indeed. So much (too much) of the science fiction and fantasy I read is written from a disturbingly small number of perspectives and it's often easy to forget there is a world of voices out there, each with their own story to tell. Books like this are a welcome wake-up call.

The Apex Book of World SF 2 is scheduled for publication in April of 2012 but if you preorder now, you can pick up the first volume for just $5 (also the current Kindle Price).

Has anyone read any of the other authors on this list? Any favorites?