As of late, we’ve been craving a great read, but when it came down to selecting a book, we had a hard time picking just one. Heck, we couldn’t decide between sci-fi, fantasy, horror, or…what about post-apocalyptic fiction? But we realized that we didn’t need to settle on one read when we can give you several great stories, all in one action-packed eBook! In “The Apex Book of World SF”, editor Lavie Tidhar has gathered sixteen stories penned by authors from countries from all across the globe, including Thailand, the Philippines, China, Israel, and others. This extraordinary anthology of 16 tales introduces readers to some of the world’s best writers of sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and metafiction. It’s an amazing literary window into the international world covering all of these fiction genres, collectively known as “speculative fiction”. Each story tells a vast and varied tale with some haunting and riveting elements. We’re sure you’ll have a hard time picking a favorite here! We know we did.

As many of you know, we’ve been offering a free download every month since the earliest days of WOWIO, and we always do our best to pick intriguing titles that will pique the interest of our readers and new visitors.

This month, in honor of our site relaunch, we’re doing something really special — we’ve teamed up with publisher ChiZine Publications to offer one of their critically acclaimed fantasy novels — The Choir Boats by Daniel A. Rabuzzi — as our July Book of the Month.

Described as “vibrant” and rich with “verve and wit,” it’s a seagoing fantasy yarn that is like “Gulliver’s Travels crossed with The Golden Compass and a dollop of Pride and Prejudice.”

This WOWIO-exclusive edition also includes a bonus insert with previously unpublished artwork for The Choir Boats by Deborah Mills.

UPDATE
The July 2010 Book of the Month period is ended, but The Choir Boats is still available for preview and purchase on WOWIO. Take a look!

Tim Burton’s take on Alice in Wonderland is opening in theaters soon, but his version is just the latest in a long line starting with Lewis Carroll’s sketch-filled manuscript and stretching across comics’ Golden Age to artists’ more recent re-imaginings.

Meet some of the many versions of Alice…