In trans illustrator Bishakh Som's debut work of fiction, questions of gender, the body, and existential conformity are explored over the course of eight speculative and graphic short stories

"Provocative. . . . Som is a master of pacing, letting the emotion of her scenes churn and roil in the reader; her debut heralds the rise of new talent to watch." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Richly hued, gorgeously lettered, and often exquisitely detailed, Som's work, the writing as well the art, presents a brave new world of diverse women--talking, dancing, dreaming, plotting--living among friends, lovers, and chimerical creatures, in familiar cities and faraway landscapes, balancing the expectantly mundane with the utterly fantastical." --Booklist, starred review

"Som has created a collection of short stories that dance between genres and identities, moving from incisive descriptions of modern social realities to poetic ruminations on the future. This anthology by an up-and-coming comics superstar, which centers queer and trans South Asian narratives, is precisely what we need right now." --them.

"Bishakh Som's debut graphic story collection. . . . conjures up shape-shifting global cities, erupting with queer intimacies and witty banter in eight eerie and tender stories." --The Rumpus

"One of visual literature's most sublime scribes." --HiLobrow

"An astonishing collection of stories that expand and pulse into galaxy-sized moments of strangeness and wonder." --Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble

"Imaginative and poetic, Apsara Engine is powered by a fiercely complex heart. Bishakh Som builds a world in which queer and trans South Asians not only survive, but map the very future. Som is lighting the way forward with a stunning blend of mythology, futurity, and courageous tenderness." --Franny Choi, author of Soft Science