| Title | : | The End is Nigh (The Apocalypse Triptych, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | ebook |
| Number of Pages | : | 350 |
| Publication | : | First published February 27, 2014 |
But before any catastrophe, there are people who see it coming. During, there are heroes who fight against it. And after, there are the survivors who persevere and try to rebuild. THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH will tell their stories.
Edited by acclaimed anthologist John Joseph Adams and bestselling author Hugh Howey, THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH is a series of three anthologies of apocalyptic fiction. THE END IS NIGH focuses on life before the apocalypse. THE END IS NOW turns its attention to life during the apocalypse. And THE END HAS COME focuses on life after the apocalypse.
THE END IS NIGH features all-new, never-before-published works by Hugh Howey, Paolo Bacigalupi, Jamie Ford, Seanan McGuire, Tananarive Due, Jonathan Maberry, Robin Wasserman, Nancy Kress, Charlie Jane Anders, Ken Liu, and many others.
The End is Nigh (The Apocalypse Triptych, #1) Reviews
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Find this review (and others) at
https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2015/...
Oh apocalypse, how you fascinate us. There’s probably been doomsayers since the beginning of time, but it seems like you’ve really come into your own in the era of climate change, burgeoning population and widespread weaponry. The End is Nigh is the first book in a three-part series edited by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey (of Wool fame) is centered around the events leading up to apocalypse scenarios. I came at this series backwards, beginning with the end book and moving on to The End is Nigh. These stories mostly felt like teasers, world-builders with ambiguous endings which will lead up to the events in The End Has Come.
See Althea Ann’s
excellent summary for a brief description of each piece.
Five-star: Tananarive Due’s story, “Removal Order” is about a young woman taking care of a cancer-ridden grandmother as her community is evacuated. Haunting atmosphere, interesting angle on the approaching devastation, it was one of the small, quiet, haunting stories of the apocalypse. David Wellington contributed a straight-up infectious-zombie story as it was beginning to break, a classic take that was well done. “Goodnight Moon” by Annie Ballet is about seven astronauts and was an absolutely perfect bottle story of impending disaster and loss. Will McIntosh’s “Dancing with Death…” has a fascinating premise of an infection that causes a locked-in syndrome. Perfect. I should look up more McIntosh. “Love Perverts” by Sarah Langan dealt with teenagers coping with changes as the end of the world approaches, and how one teen’s sexuality might have lead his parents to abandon him. Emotionally real. Another author worth checking out.
Four-star: Robin Wasserman examines the irony of an experience con artist leading an end-of-the world cult, reunited with a believing teenage son. Jake Kerr’s “Wedding Day” wonders what would happen if we knew about an eventual asteroid impact from the perspective of an unmarried lesbian couple. It’s a modern twist on what it means to be connected. Tobias S. Buckell contributed a buddy-movie scenario where two friends are trying to make money catching a hacker. Unbeknownst to them, the hacker has specific future plans. It had a snappy pace. Seanan McGuires “Spores” was a nice character piece about a scientist with OCD. Heavy on the message, it excelled in atmosphere and character. Howey’s contribution, “In the Air” was notable for centering on a government worker who has foreknowledge of the upcoming disaster but doesn’t share his knowledge, and how it plays out in his personal life. Ford’s period piece on a Chinese man working in San Francisco during Haley’s Comet was atmospheric, just seemed to suffer from choppy writing.
Three-star: Desirina Boskovich experiments with aliens who want to transport Earthlings to a heavenly paradise. Heavy-handed in its religious and social themes, I did enjoy the budding relationship between two main characters. Charlie Jane Anders has an interesting beginning to her apocalypse; a couple of outcast kids and a camera becoming Youtube sensations in “Break!Break!Break!” Examines viral media and society but again, thematically heavy-handed. The voice of the teenage daredevil felt very real with interesting sentence structure–the author has a gift for characters. I was a bit underwhelmed by Ken Liu’s “The Gods Will Not Be Chained,” considering his reputation. While it definitely provided the needed foundation for his story in the last installment, it was equally heavy-handed in building artificial intelligence and bullying. On the up side, it gave me some fun ideas for emoji communication.
I liked Kress’ story about a single mom struggling with raising two kids on a shoestring budget. The conclusion was a little… hmmm, and I didn’t quite see where it fit in with the apocalypse, but it was well-told and felt real. While I loved Ben Winter’s The Last Policeman series, he tries an interesting approach with his piece, about a world who suddenly starts hearing the ‘voice of God,’ except a young girl. The parents, worried that she will not be saved, struggle with what to do. It creates a nice horror feeling but feels heavy-handed as well. Jonathan Maberry’s story about a man who specializes in extracting people from cults was competently done but felt slightly didactic.
A few completely missed me. Megan Arkenberg tries to incorporate concepts with virtual reality and art in the face of disaster. I found it mostly confusing and had little connection with the characters. Scott Sigler’s story about an annual dudes’ hunting trip was a miss, which was partially my fault. I knew where it would end from reading book three, so I wasn’t interested in the “first contact” exploration in book one. Matthew Mather’s “Enlightenment” on a literal interpretation of eating the body was just Concept Yuck, but I have little horror tolerance. It didn’t really fit with the collection. Paolo Bacigalupi’s piece on water shortages and journalism was a ‘meh.’ McDevitt gave a terribly ironic twist to his professional astronomer who wants so desperately to be named after an astronomical feature.
Really, the collection excelled as character pieces, apocalypse or no apocalypse. The authors often used impending events as a backdrop to exploring emotional and philosophical issues. On to the middle book of the series, where we see if this book acted more as foundation pieces for action in the next.
Three and a half stars. -
Full disclosure - I got a review copy of this in audiobook form when John Joseph Adams contacted the review coordinator at
SFFAudio, me! I snapped it up because I already own many of his anthologies and reading The Wastelands changed my reading life.
Table of contents and audiobook narrator listings copied directly from John Joseph Adams'
website. If you want more detailed summaries of each story, I found the review at
Tangent very good, particularly because it is so hard to keep track of short stories when you are listening instead of reading!
The audio was an incredible asset to this anthology, although I will probably also need to buy this for my shelf o' anthologies. The best in audio are Removal Order, BRING HER TO ME, and The Fifth Day of Deer Camp.
My favorite stories were BRING HER TO ME and Goodnight Moon.
I'm most interested in the next installment (so please let there be a next installment) of Removal Order, Pretty Soon the Four Horsemen are Going to Come Riding Through, and Spores.
What do I mean by next installment? Well The End is Nigh is the first volume of a triptych. It will be followed by The End is Now and The End Has Come, with some authors contributing linked stories. Very exciting concept, and as the Queen of Apocalypse there is no way I couldn't read this.
For more detailed impressions, click past spoiler (not really a spoiler)
Some of these can be read for free on the
Apocalypse Triptych Website. -
If you liked John Joseph Adams' 'Wastelands' anthology; then this one is a must. The stories range from good to excellent.
This is an independently released anthology, but it's got the right names behind it and I'd expect it to succeed, because this is a fully professional, high-quality collection.
**** The Balm and the Wound—Robin Wasserman
A cult leader is adept at providing platitudes and fleecing his flock. But after his young son is dropped off at his place; the leader, along with the rest of the doomsday cult, finds himself swept along in a survivalist current, with the boy at the helm. Very nicely done. I really enjoyed the ironic tone.
**** Heaven is a Place on Planet X—Desirina Boskovich
Aliens have arrived; and informed the planet that at the end of the month; everyone will be zapped into oblivion/transported to a distant paradise planet. Everyone, that is, who continues about their business as usual. Enforcers are nominated to shoot anyone who acknowledges that the end is at hand. Eliminating their fellow citizens is hard; but paradise is at stake... or so they believe.
**** Break! Break! Break! —Charlie Jane Anders
Starts off feeling like a high-school-memoir, telling the story of a nerdy stuntman's kid and an aspiring filmmaker to team up to create a viral Internet sensation. And then it becomes a cautionary tale about how art can be co-opted for political gain... and it gets a lot better.
*** The Gods Will Not Be Chained—Ken Liu
Not bad, but I feel like I expect better from Ken Liu. As far as themes, it starts out with cyberbullying, and has some interesting insights into the uniqueness of communicating with emoji - and gets into the nature of human intelligence vs. AI - rolled into a story that I found a bit more sappy than genuinely moving.
*** Wedding Day—Jake Kerr
A super-contemporary feel to this one. A long-term lesbian couple want to get married, but their long-deferred plans go awry when it's announced that an asteroid impact will soon devastate America - and only some of our citizens, determined by lottery, will be able to travel to safety in time. Again, a bit sappy, and I really didn't agree with the conclusion, either.
*** Removal Order—Tananarive Due
What this story made me think about is how very peculiar it is that our society values keeping people alive when they have no hope of recovery from illness, and they are in horrible pain. This story has that situation: a young woman has stayed in an evacuation zone to care for her dying grandmother. The situation is believable, and is dealt with in a sensible manner, but I don't think I had the empathy with the main character that the author intended.
*** System Reset—Tobias S. Buckell
A hacker and his buddy try to stage a citizen's arrest of another hacker - one with terrorist tendencies. But they screw things up, an the situation ends up worse than they imagined.
**** This Unkempt World is Falling to Pieces—Jamie Ford
Halley's Comet is scheduled to sweep by Earth in 1910, and doomsday fever has swept society. Darwin Chinn Qi is a young Chinese man working a menial job at a fancy comet-themed party. Few of the sophisticated partiers seem to really believe the end of the world is at hand... But telling more would be spoiling. Really liked it.
**** BRING HER TO ME—Ben H. Winters
Twenty-odd years ago, pretty much everyone on earth started hearing the voice of God inside their heads, telling them what to do. And what God wants everyone to do now is to commit suicide by poison. However, one girl has been 'deaf' to this voice since birth. One of her parents wants to 'hide' this defect and give her the poison. The other wants to turn her in to the authority... A much more horror-genre feel to this than most of these stories. The ending is a bit ambiguous - but that's OK, 'cause it was good and spooky.
*** In the Air—Hugh Howey
A government agent was privy to the knowledge that the government planned on blowing up the vast majority of humans via nanomites in the bloodstream. But he remained silent, and said nothing - and opted to try to save his family. Nice exploration of ethical issues, but the story itself could've had a bit more...
*** Goodnight Moon—Annie Bellet
No relation to the Margaret Wise Brown classic kids' story!
A team of seven researchers on an international moon base discover a huge asteroid heading straight for them. Their emergency shuttle can only hold three, at a pinch. The team must decide who has a chance at life; who will die, and face their fate. It's an emotionally wrought situation, but stops just short of sentimentality. Still, I wished there was some sort of new twist to this familiar scenario.
*** Dancing with Death in the Land of Nod—Will McIntosh
A pandemic brings an unlikely couple together. Forty-something Johnny helps his aging dad with his failing drive-in theater. Twenty-something Kelly, who never completed nursing school, bonds with him over their mutual inability to get out of their stifling small town. Together, they try to care for the townspeople who've been struck by a new, incurable illness.
*** Houses Without Air—Megan Arkenberg
Roommates Beth and Fatima deal with the approaching end of the world through their vocations. Volcanic explosions mean that everyone will soon be suffocating. Beth has been working on an immersive virtual reality experience. Fatima is a well-known artist who creates memorials. OK, but I wanted a little more from it...
*** The Fifth Day of Deer Camp—Scott Sigler
Five buddies on a camping trip are snowed in to their hunting cabin - when a UFO lands right near them. The news lets them know that it's a large-scale alien invasion. They prepare to try to defend themselves.
*** Enjoy the Moment—Jack McDevitt
Physicist Maryam Gibson is desperate to get her name on a major discovery and cement her scientific reputation. But does anyone really want their name applied to the phenomenon that will be responsible for the end of life on earth?
**** Pretty Soon the Four Horsemen are Going to Come Riding Through—Nancy Kress
Sophie and Cassie's mom might not be educated herself, but she's gone out of her way to make sure that her two girls go to a good school. It's not surprising that her kids get picked on for their old clothes and obvious lack of wealth. The teachers may think that aggressive, older Sophie is the problem, with her tendency toward fighting. However, mom knows that younger, sweet but passive Cassie might be the real problem - and that it could be a bigger issue than anyone's guessed. The story's a very effective illustration of how revelations don't have to come from the halls of academia, but can come from native intelligence and common sense. Not that that will save the world...
***** Spores—Seanan McGuire
Lab worker Megan is known for being paranoid. Her OCD means that she's always cleaning, and her co-workers and loved ones are on the lookout for her 'episodes.' However, just cause you're paranoid doesn't mean there's nothing to worry about. Megan works in a bioengineering lab... and not all of her colleagues share her focus on safety and caution. Excellent, truly horrific story. (I've really got to get around to reading Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant's other work...)
*** She’s Got a Ticket to Ride—Jonathan Maberry
A hired 'deprogrammer' specializes in getting young people out of cults. But one particular assignment: extracting an heiress from a doomsday cult, might cause him to see things a bit differently.
**** Agent Unknown—David Wellington
Straight up zombie medical-thriller. Really very good - it's a prequel to an upcoming novel, and I just might go out of my way to read it when it comes out.
*** Enlightenment—Matthew Mather
Hey! There's no end-of-the-world here! This is a horror story about a sort of religious group that likes to throw very special dinner parties. It's quite disturbingly horrific, but it also sounds quite a lot like the premise of Graham Masterson's 'Feast' (aka 'Ritual.')
**** Shooting the Apocalypse—Paolo Bacigalupi
One of Bacigalupi's favorite topics - water shortage. A border conflict, a corpse hung up a a fence, left to animals and the elements. A drug war casualty, or superstitious sacrifice? Two journalists are in search of the story, in hope of a scoop. As always with Bacigalupi, this is really, really well done. The different, contrasting motivations here are played against each other really well - from petty personal arguments to decisions that will have far-reaching consequences - and the agonists are, always, all too human. However, I had mixed feelings about the depiction of journalism as utterly predatory and ultimately selfish. It's an argument I've seen a lot of lately, and I'm on the other side of it.
**** Love Perverts—Sarah Langan
An asteroid is heading for Earth. The chosen few have been issued tickets to get into underground bunkers, where they hope to live and survive for generations. Teenage Tom Crawford's wealthy family had tickets - but they left him behind. He thinks maybe it's because he's gay. His best friend, Jules, never had a chance. A nicely crafted tale of different kinds of love - and how some love is real and true, even when the kinds of love we expect to receive turn out to be false. -
This is one of those volumes that just [I]nails[/i] the premise and point of the collection. The short of it? It is a compilation of tales from immediately before the apocalypse in whatever form the authors imagine. This book is full of that excellent creeping dread of inescapable doom.
I discovered quite a few new authors whose work I will seek out and read more of—excited to read the rest of the series as well! -
This is an excellent anthology with an interesting premise: it's the first of three planned anthologies, but with a twist. All the stories in this one (the first) are set in the time just before an apocalyptic event. The second anthology will be continuations of the first set of stories and will be set DURING the above-mentioned apocalyptic events, while the third anthology will be the end of the stories, set AFTER the events. So in effect, this is the first book in a trilogy of trilogies. Kudos to John Joseph Adams in coming up with concept!
The stories in this volume a mostly very good, with a couple of outstanding entries and a couple of not-so-good entries.
The ones that stood out to me, really capturing the mood/feel of pending doom were, "In the Air" by Hugh Howey, "Spores" by Seanan McGuire, "Removal Order" by Tananarive Due, and "Houses without Air" by Megan Arkenberg.
The ones that didn't work for me were, "Love Perverts" by Sarah Langan and "Enlightenment" by Matthew Mather. Didn't care for these two at all.
Overall, a good set of stories, and I'm looking forward to the next in The Apocalypse Triptych, "The End is Now". -
Let's just say I've finished this book. I haven't read all the stories, I had to give up after reading so many bad ones.. I've been trying to get through this book for a week, so I decided what I read was enough.
One of my favourite story was Removal Order by Tananarive Due, it broke my heart and then I had nightmares, my favourite combo.. I have to check out her other works! My absolute favourite was - not surprisingly - Spores by Seanan McGuire. I will have to get the other two books just for her stories.
Rating this was hard, because I gave so many stories 1 star in the end, so I'm not counting the rating for the latest stories, I was too impatient at that point.. -
Anthology. I'm going to read each author's work in this triptych. Starting with Volume 1, then Volume 2 and lastly Volume 3. I'm hoping that each story will give an extension of the beginning story.
3.89 stars average. Most of these stories were 4 or 5 stars. I would definitely recommend this book.
1. The Balm and the Wound by Robin Wasserman. A con-man is right and his unknown young son ends up being just what his cult needed. Loved this story, which I didn't think I would because I thought it would ridicule religion but nope. It ends with may he was right all along. But we'll see. I'm so glad I can keep the story going. 5 stars
2. Heaven is a Place on Planet X by Desirina Boskovich. Aliens came and said everybody will be vaporized and moved to another planet but you MUST go on as usual or you'll be misted (kind of vaporized but not to another planet) by the chosen enforcers. Good story, it was sad which people were chosen to be misted. 4 stars.
3. Break! Break! Break! by Charlies Jane Anders. A teenager and his friends make movies a la Harold Lloyd while he runs from bullies and his brother prepares to join the Army all in the middle of a "conflict". Good story. 4 stars.
4. The Gods Will Not Be Chained by Ken Liu. A push for a kind of immortality isn't going as planned. Another really good story. 4 stars
5. Wedding Day by Jake Kerr. An asteroid is going to hit North America and some of the other countries are accepting refugees. There's a lottery to see who gets to go. Sad/sweet story. 5 stars.
6. Removal Order by Tananarive Due. A deadly flu has evacuated a city leaving a granddaughter caring for her dying grandmother. Great story. 5 stars.
7. System Reset by Tobias S. Buckell. A techo nut sets off an EMP so that the world will be reset with him and his kind as the leaders. The people that try to stop him have another idea. Really good story. 4 stars.
8. This Unkempt World is Falling to Pieces by Jamie Ford. A party, a false alarm, then the read thing. Sad ending. Good story. 4 stars
9. BRING HER TO ME by Ben H. Winters. An already dystopian world with a power and a final solution. I really liked this story.5 stars.
10. In the Air by Hugh Howey. A
Wool prequel about a man who has three choices and hopes he picked the best one. 4 stars.
11. Goodnight Moon by Annie Bellet. A group of scientists prepares for the worst. Really sad story. 4 stars.
12. Dancing with Death in the Land of Nod by Will McIntosh. Neighbors try to help others with a paralyzing disease. Super sad ending. 4 stars.
13. Houses Without Air by Megan Arkenberg. Somehow the world is running out of oxygen - smog, volcano? And one roommate works on a computer game and the other works on a diorama. I was still confused by the end of the story. 2-1/2 stars
14. The Fifth Day of Deer Camp by Scott Sigler. A group of friends on their annual hunting trip find out Earth has been invaded. Good story. 3-1/2 stars
15. Enjoy the Moment by Jack McDevitt. A physicist discovers an anomaly which will eventually change everything on Earth. 4 stars.
16. Pretty Soon the Four Horsemen are Going to Come Riding Through by Nancy Kress. A mom tries to raise two very different daughters. 4 stars
17. Spores by Seanan McGuire. A practical joke goes wrong. I would have been beyond furious and would come at them for blood. The reaction seemed pretty tame to me. 2-1/2 stars
18. She's Got a Ticket to Ride by Jonathan Maberry. A man tries to save a girl from a cult and find out she doesn't need saving. For a short story, it's kind of weird to complain about it being too long in parts. When the protagonist goes on, and on, and on about kids going bad and then does the same about planets to the point where I start being bored at page 1-1/2, something is wrong. Maybe it's me but 2 stars for this story.
19. Agent Unknown by David Wellington. A 20 year incubation time has expired. 4 stars.
20. Enlightenment by Matthew Mather. Okay, that was weird & gross. 2 stars
21. Shooting the Apocalypse by Paolo Bacigalupi. A photographer and a reporter discover a story that could kill millions. 4 stars
22. Love Perverts by Sarah Langan. Horrible parents have a miracle kind son who will sacrifice everything for his family. Wonderfully sad story. 5 stars -
Review for Seanan McGuire's "Spores" which ... 0.0
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Some people may think what I have written are *spoilers*. Gave a very brief overview and my thoughts on the stories.
This anthology is the best I have read. In any book with so many stories, some hit the mark, some don't. There is a little bit for everyone. I feel lucky that the first few stories I chose to read were really great. That is what kept me involved and reading "just one more" before putting it down for the night.
Although I am still working my way through, I wanted to comment on certain stories as I go along. With anthologies I enjoy seeing what stories people liked the most. So far:
Goodnight Moon by Annie Bellet is my favorite. A tear jerker about astronauts on the moon and an impending asteroid and life and death decisions. Beautifully written.
Spores by Seanan McGuire was really great. Creepy good and it has to do with mold!
She's Got a Ticket To Ride by Jonathan Mayberry. At first I was thinking it was a rip off of the Hale-Bopp Heaven's Gate people. But after that was mentioned in the story, it went beyond that idea and will have you re-thinking what a "cult" really is. I enjoyed it very much.
In The Air by Hugh Howey. Let me just say this: If only Shift was this compact and short...
Shooting The Apocalypse by Paolo Bacigalupi. I was really looking forward to this one and maybe I will re-visit it but I thought it was a mess and I completely was not interested in this one.
Update:
Dancing With Death in the Land of the Nod by Will McIntosh and Wedding Day by Jake Kerr are very different types of stories but both have an ironic twist that makes these two really special. Dancing With Death involves an incurable disease that puts its victims into a paralysis but they can still think clearly. One of the main characters in the story is a caretaker for his father who has Alzheimer's. When only 3% of people in areas affected by the Nodding disease are spared, our main character who may escape the dreaded disease thanks good genes. In Wedding Day, a to be married lesbian couple could have possibly escaped certain death from an impending meteor strike if only the government didn't halt all marriages.
Update:
Removal Order by Tananarive Due. With no real explanation of what has caused the world to go into its demise, the story jumps right in with Nayama who is taking care of her Grandmother who has cancer. A story about sacrifice and love. Caring for a loved one outweighs the fact that the world is dying around you.
Heaven is a Place on Planet X by Desirina Boskovich. A strange but interesting story about an alien invasion. The aliens are going to zap the whole world into dust but promises a new heavenly life on a new planet that will occur on a certain date at an exact time. First though, random people around the world are chosen as enforcers to eliminate anyone who doesn't follow instructions given by the aliens. I am hoping this story has a continuation in the next book, the end is filled with foreboding of the ultimate fate of the enforcers. A story that warns about Propaganda and blindly following those that use power and violence to get people to submit. -
The ideea of this three volume Anthology is great, to have three storie connected and to report the things before, in, and after a special apocalyptic event, but the texts, unfortunately, aren`t on the same level.
The first half was quite boring and I was very close to let it go.
But, in the end, I could find some interesting texts, but, still, I don`t thing that it will be a powerful factor to convince me to try the second volume of the series.
Dancing with the dead in the land of Nod, Will McIntosh - Was the first one that was an easy and interesting read.
The fifth day of Deer camp, Scott Sigler - A real prelude to the next story so nothing big happened here, but still easy to get into. The aliens are here. What will we do?!
Pretty soon the four horsemen are going to come riding through, Nancy Kress. Quite a long title. This one was also interesting. There are some special kids with that, after a big event, have lost some of their senses.
Spores, Seanan McGuire - Maybe the scariest and the most thrilling one. About a fungus type spore that spreads and spreads...
She`s got a ticket to ride, Jonathan Maberry - About a cult for the end of the world that is closer to the truth that anybody could be thinking.
Agent Unknown, David Wellington - Vampire like end of the world. in a way original
Enlightenment, Matthew Mather - The creepiest one here. Some cannibalistic rituals included.
Overall, I enjoyed only seven stories from twenty two. Not such a good number, eh!? -
I'm a huge fan of Adams' anthologies and of apocalyptic fiction, and I love the idea of this triptych that will show three different aspects of The End: before, during, and after. So, needless to say, I was very excited going in. However, I thought this one was kind of mediocre. I mean, I liked enough of the stories that I don't regret reading it and will probably read the next ones, but there were enough mediocre/crappy ones to make this first anthology as a whole rather underwhelming. Besides the disappointing quality of stories, the nature of the apocalypses also weren't as varied as I had hoped they would be. There was definitely some variety, but by the time I was nearing the end (har har), I was sick of the incoming comet/planet/other celestial body apocalypse. It was far too overused in this anthology. However, I will give the collection credit for doing an excellent job keeping the stories pre-apocalypse. I feel like a lot of during-apocalypse stories show some of the events leading up to the end, so I was afraid this anthology would slide into giving us the actual apocalypse rather than just the events leading up to it, giving us two during-apocalypse anthologies in the triptych. But (with a couple exceptions) the stories did an excellent job of remaining pre-apocalypse. Overall, I had high hopes for this anthology, but was left rather unimpressed. Below, I will individually rate and discuss each of the stories. It is going to be pretty spoiler heavy, so I will hide it. Ye've been warned.
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Some of these stories were great. Some I didn’t like but read all the way through anyways.
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Wonderful anthology and a great idea for a collection. While some stories were stronger than others, no story was a miss. Recommended for readers who enjoy apocalyptic fiction. I can't wait to read the next installment!
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this is a great collection of short pre-apocalyptic stories, and i love the concept of the triptych. there were a small number toward the end that didn't appeal to me personally, but i could easily see them appeal to others. overall this collection is well curated and the breadth of end-of-the-world topics is impressive. like, really impressive.
these aren't really spoilers, but some plot lines are vaguely outlined within these individual reviews so if you don't want to know anything stop reading now. individual story reviews follow so I remember which authors I want to read more from:
'The Balm and the Wound' by Robin Wasserman - What happens when a doomsday conman is actually right? This story happens. I dig Wasserman's writing style.
'Heaven is a Place on Planet X' by Desirina Boskovich - An alien invasion with a twist. Aliens that no one has ever seen promise to carry all of humankind away in a paradise as long as they continue to go about their normal daily lives until the set date of the event, with enforcement by a select group of other humans.
'Break! Break! Break!' by Charlie Jane Anders - This may be the most unexpected story in this collection (in a good way). It follows a kid whose main interest in life is to be a stuntman, and leads up to what is likely the ignition point of civil war within the context of a world war.
'The Gods Will Not be Chained' by Ken Liu - I see a lot of potential in the continuation of this ghosts-in-the-machine type story. In a lot of cases I feel the lead up to the apocalypse is the most interesting part of the story, but with this it did a good job pulling me in but leaves me feeling like the best is still yet to come. Really hope this is one that continues.
'Wedding Day' by Jake Kerr - An asteroid hitting the earth is the backdrop for this heartbreaking/heartwarming story about the engagement and love between two women and their quest for a meaningful wedding.
'Removal Order' by Tananarive Due - The larger story here is about an outbreak but mostly this story is about a sense of duty and connection to a place. I look forward to what comes next.
'System Reset' by Tobias S. Buckell - The events leading up to the failure of the power grid, but also a surprising rich history between two friends within the framework of a short story. Another that I feel will be a solid story to follow if it does continue.
'This Unkempt World is Falling to Pieces' by Jamie Ford - A story set 1910, about a pass of Halley's Comet. So good!
'Bring Her to Me' by Ben H. Winters - Possibly my favorite? I'm most anticipating the continuation of this. Set in a world where everyone hears the voice of God(?) one girl doesn't. On the eve of a mass suicide that is supposed to transfer everyone to heaven(?) she, her mom, and her dad all separately struggle with what to do.
'In the Air' by Hugh Howey - Prequel to 'Wool' as told from outside the Silos. Yes. So much yes.
'Goodnight Moon' by Annie Bellet - Whoa, this one was emotional for me. I totally cried on the subway. The writing itself wasn't my favorite at first, but this is a really beautiful story about a group of astronauts facing death, set on the moon.
'Dancing with Death in the Land of Nod' by Will McIntosh - Another tearjerker. Another outbreak. Very unique and touching.
'Houses without Air' by Megan Arkenberg - Breathable air is almost gone. Kind of parallels 'The Little Matchgirl'. It didn't manage to quite grab me, but I can easily see it pulling someone else in.
'The Fifth Day of Deer Camp' by Scott Sigler - I think this is the most straightforward, familiar story in this collection and also my least favorite. It's about a group of guys playing poker and drinking in the middle of nowhere during the beginning of an alien invasion. There's potential for an interesting twist if this story continues, but as a standalone story it didn't do much for me.
'Enjoy the Moment' by Jack McDevitt - A story about ambition and the desire to leave a mark. In this case, the person is inadvertently tied to the end of the world. Another that was not my personal favorite, but also not bad.
'Pretty Soon the Four Horsemen are Going to Come Riding Through' by Nancy Kress - So good! I really enjoyed this one. It's about delayed evolution, triggered by an event mistakenly delayed, as figured out by a poor, single mother trying to give her girls the best life possible. One of her daughters is affected, the other is not.
'Spores' by Seanan McGuire - Super haunting. Really good. A story of a woman with severe OCD that oversees a bioengineering program, the tension between her and her colleagues, and the affects it all has on her wife and daughter.
'She's Got a Ticket to Ride' by Jonathan Maberry - About a doomsday cult, but also about what's most important when the world dies. Didn't love it, didn't hate it, and feels wrapped up at the end.
'Agent Unknown' by David Wellington - Zombie outbreak with a scientific emphasis. Long incubation period is really intriguing.
'Enlightenment' by Matthew Mather - I can't say I really "enjoyed" this one, but it was captivating and held my interest. It's another cult one, with a disturbing twist.
'Shooting the Apocalypse' by Paolo Bacigalupi - Bacigalupi is hit or miss with me and this one was a miss. This story exists within his world of extreme drought, which is just not that interesting to me personally. Not bad writing, just not for me.
'Love Perverts' by Sarah Langan - This story examines what really makes a family in the face of known disaster there has been some time to prepare for, and while it didn't draw me in at the beginning, it had me by the end. -
I read this as part of The End is Nigh.
A techo nut sets off an EMP so that the world will be reset with him and his kind as the leaders. The people that try to stop him have another idea. Really good story. 4 stars. -
Why does the end of the world appeal to us so strongly? It may be the sheer aesthetic jolt of wiping away civilization, or the schadenfreude of witnessing the suffering and defeat of those you despise (cf Tertullian). There's a Robinson Crusoe adventure aspect, too, where we envision how we'd fare in extreme circumstances. And the politics of seeing a hated order collapse.
The The End Is Nigh anthology takes us up to that spectacular point, then pauses. Stories begin in our world or a related one, then push on to the brink. This is intentional, since Adams' collection is the first of three such books,
The Apocalypse Triptych. The second one will uncover the world's end, while the third sends postcards from the aftermath.
Overall the collection successfully provides what it promises. Each story imagines a different catastrophe, offering a nice variety of perspectives, themes, problems, and characters. Most fall into the hybrid disaster-sf genre, although several push the boundaries into horror, satire, and even comedy. They kill the world through a variety of methods: asteroid, nuclear missiles, disease, hacking, alien invasion, and (thankfully, only once) zombies.
Naturally, some of the stories are more effective than others:
"Enjoy the Moment" (Jack McDevitt) (
nicely podcasted by Escape Pod) is a hard science/sociology of science miniature about a scientist desperate to make her mark, and succeeding all too well.
"The Balm and the Wound" (Robin Wasserman) bases itself on the experience of an end-of-the-world con artist, and works well both as satire and character journey. The guy spends his life predicting sham apocalypses, and for once gets it right.
"Removal Order" (Tananarive Due) is one of the most affecting stories, following a young woman as she tried to simultaneously cope with a family member's impending death by cancer and the megadeath by plague growing around her. That micro-macro balance worked very well. “Dancing with Death in the Land of Nod” (Will McIntosh) succeeds along similar lines, paralleling a young man's struggle to help his father die with dignity with the rapid onslaught of a plague. Both of these stories confront physical disgust and emotional despair convincingly.
“Spores” (Seanan McGuire) has a strong horror flavor, courtesy of William Hope Hodgson. A vicious mold starts to end civilization, seen from the point of view of a medical worker and her family. Touches of body horror are strong here.
“Pretty Soon the Four Horsemen are Going to Come Riding Through” (Nancy Kress) gives us the point of view of a poor woman - unusual in modern American fiction, and welcome. In dealing with her two childrens' issues at school, she stumbles upon a transformation just starting to alter humanity.
By the end of The End I confess to becoming jaded. My emotional engagement with characters had dropped, and I became more of a catastrophe connoisseur, calmly assessing each doom's merits and formal characteristics. Other reviewers (
for example) had the opposite experience of being overwhelmed by cumulative grief. Perhaps my graduate research into British Romantic stories of doom has jaded me, or living with a doomsday prepper wife has accustomed me to thoughts of collapse, or my current politics are too grim, or I'm simply warped (probably all four in combination). But I agree with the sadder reviewers that you might not want to read all of Nigh at once, in order to get a better experience from each tale.
I recommend it, and have hopes for the next volume. -
Please note that this review is a modified version from my blog
After The Last Day.
The End Is Nigh is an anthology of short stories by some very talented writers, edited by anthology guru John Joseph Adams and independent author Hugh Howey (of Wool fame - which I'll hopefully get around to recommending one day). Here's the full list of writers :Robin Wasserman, Desirina Boskovich, Charlie Jane Anders, Ken Liu, Jake Kerr, Tananarive Due, Tobias S. Buckell, Jamie Ford, Ben H. Winters, Hugh Howey himself, Annie Bellet, Will McIntosh, Megan Arkenberg, Scott Sigler, Jack McDevitt, Nancy Kress, Seanan McGuire, Jonathan Maberry, David Wellington, Matthew Mather, Paolo Bacigalupi, and Sarah Langan.
You might recognise some of the names in that list and you might not, but I can almost guarantee that you'll be looking out for more of these contributors' work in the future.
What’s so great about it?
I don't, as a rule, like anthologies. Often there are a handful of great stories sown amongst a sea of unreadable ones. I've never read an entire anthology through from cover to cover.
Until now. John Joseph Adams has done something grand, putting these stories together. The quality of contributors is amazing and the works themselves complement each other nicely. Some of the stories stand out from the rest, of course, and some fall flat (and some I didn't enjoy) but every single one is well-written and thought provoking, which is exactly the way apocalyptic fiction should be. Nearly all of them break your heart at some point, in ways that you just don't see coming.
Some of the standout contributions in The End Is Nigh (in my opinion) include a girl trying to keep her grandmother alive in an evacuation zone in Removal Order, a couple of bounty hunters trying to foil a plan to take the world back to the dark ages in System Reset, scientists facing death on the moon in Goodnight Moon, and a con-man preacher who accurately (and accidentally) predicts the End of the World in The Balm and the Wound. By no means am I suggesting they're the only standouts - just the few I have time to name without going into detail about all the entries.
I'll have to let you discover the rest for yourself. There's comedy, drama, and darkness here, sometimes all in the one story, and there's a lot of variety to the End of the World.
What’s not great about it?
If I had to nitpick, I'd have to say it would be great to have an End of the World anthology devoid of religion. I know I'm never going to get that (I can still dream) but it would be nice. I'm also not crazy on the current trend of gay relationships in literature - not because of any homophobia but because I dislike the way its used as a 'twist' to the story.
Recommended by Captain Doomsday
Not all of the entries to this anthology hit the mark dead-on. But every single one of them gets you to invest in the story in the short time they have to capture your interest. Every single one of them will resonate and stay with you. If this is just the beginning of the End of the World, then I for one can't wait until it's coming down around us. Bring on the next book and soon! I want more!
There's a lot of talent to discover in this anthology, and a lot of talent that put it together. Some unique doomsday scenarios will make you think and some breathtaking moments will keep you turning the pages. -
My (Strange? Disturbing? Downright masochistic in the middle of a global pandemic?) fascination with apocalyptic short stories (which began a few years ago with a different anthology I had purchased almost by mistake), led me to recently discover “The Apocalypse Triptych” collection (trilogy?). This is a fascinating project which not only consists of three separate anthologies containing short stories expanding on the apocalyptical theme, but which also promises continuity for some of them, in a “before the apocalypse”, “during the apocalypse”, “after the apocalypse” story train – which is, in my personal opinion, an absolutely brilliant idea.
Since almost all the stories in the “The End is Nigh” first volume were uncannily good, I really can’t wait to get my hands on the second volume and discover which of them will actually be continued :D Personally, I would read sequels for all of them. But, until then, here are some of my thoughts for each story.
Some of the following [very] small reviews will contain mild spoilers.
Additional note: After writing pretty much the same thing for many of them (mainly something that either translated to ‘gosh, I liked this one’ or ‘well, I didn’t like this one’), I have also decided to give them each a rating (the anthology itself gets to keep its solid 5 out of 5 stars rating).
“The Balm and the Wound” by Robin Wasserman - The language was the best part of this one - I loved the way it was used to pinpoint the main character’s ‚villainy’. The story had less of an impact on me, because apocalyptic cults are not (at least to my knowledge) as popular in my part of the world as they are in America; 3.5 out of 5 stars;
“Heaven is a Place on Planet X” by Desirina Boskovich - I liked the spin on this one – although I expected the ending, the idea of using humans against each other to weaken ourselves was very well done and, unfortunately, can become entirely plausible. The story reminded me of the recent ‘clashes’ between conspiracy theorists of the COVID-denier type and the rest of the world, and not necessarily in a good way; 4 out of 5 stars;
“Break! Break! Break!” by Charlie Jane Anders - an unusual way to present the end of the world: through the eyes of an unusual child. An interesting point of view, but the story itself didn’t have that “end of the world” feeling. I wish I got more information about the villains of the story and why their actions will lead to an apocalypse of sorts; 3 out of 5 stars (5/5 stars for the main character, however, he was amazingly well written);
“The Gods Will Not Be Chained” by Ken Liu - an ingenious way to use emojis, which also reminded me how much I hate them, because I am very bad at understanding phrases expressed through such annoying icons. Seriously, how can people communicate through them? Am I getting too old to keep up with the current technology?! Either way, I’d love to read a sequel to this one; 3.5 out of 5 stars;
“Wedding Day” by Jake Kerr - this story hit differently given our current situation, when, in the midst of a pandemic, one of many people’s predominant fears is that the hospitals would be overwhelmed and there wouldn’t be enough room for new patients or resources to treat all the sick. The inevitability in the face of impending doom, combined with that beautiful personal touch and that bitter love story ending turned this story into a particular vivid one; 5 out of 5 stars;
“Removal Order” by Tananarive Due - sometimes, even in the middle of an apocalypse, life goes on and even worse things continue to happen. Personal tragedy over-imposing itself on an apocalypse whose importance seems to diminish in the face of personal pain. A very difficult story to read; 4 out of 5 stars;
“System Reset” by Tobias S. Buckell - An interesting way to ‚end’ the world; the story itself didn’t fascinate me as much, maybe because I’m not a big fan of bounty hunters, be they part of old movies or new; 3 out of 5 stars;
“This Unkempt World is Falling to Pieces” by Jamie Ford - A historical take on the end of the world. Unfortunately, nothing from this story stood out for me; 2 out of 5 stars;
“BRING HER TO ME” by Ben H. Winters - an eerie one for certain, this story deserves more background or an explanation for that ABSOLUTELY CREEPY AF VOICE. I need to know more! I need to know what happens! 4.5 out of 5 stars’;
“In the Air” by Hugh Howey - not particularly interesting either in terms of characters, or in terms of the actual ending of the world. Definitely not too memorable either, I had to re-read a few phrases while writing this review to make the connection between the title and the story; 2 out of 5 stars;
“Goodnight Moon” by Annie Bellet - short and powerful: the end of the Earth seen - and experienced – by astronauts on the Moon. The atmosphere made the story easy to remember; 5 out of 5 stars;
“Dancing with Death in the Land of Nod” by Will McIntosh - a raw, powerful story, which, again, hit differently given our current context; 5 out of 5 stars;
“Houses Without Air” by Megan Arkenberg - I wish I liked this one more than I actually did. The idea for the world ending in this story is refreshing (pun intended) and, frankly, quite plausible, given our current pollution situation. The story, however, meant nothing to me; 2.5 out of 5 stars;
“The Fifth Day of Deer Camp” by Scott Sigler - The alien invasion was cool. But it represented 1% of the story and I didn’t care much for the rest 99%; 2 out of 5 stars;
“Enjoy the Moment” by Jack McDevitt - A nice spin on the ‘celestial body will hit Earth’ idea; 5 out of 5 stars;
“Pretty Soon the Four Horsemen are Going to Come Riding Through” by Nancy Kress - Another interesting and, I might say, quite unique idea for the ‘end of the world as we know it’. I am very curious to read a sequel to this one, if there is one :D; 5 out of 5 stars;
“Spores” by Seanan McGuire - Freakishly well done, with a little horrific imagery mixed up in there (personally, I am absolutely terrified of fungus and spores). 5 out of 5 stars;
“She’s Got a Ticket to Ride” by Jonathan Maberry - Mildly interesting, not enough to be quite memorable to me; 3 out of 5 stars;
“Agent Unknown” by David Wellington - Ah, yes, this one was good. It has all the ingredients for a good plot and it is based on a very real and very freaky already existing ‘unknown agent’; I hope there’s a sequel; 5 out of 5 stars;
“Enlightenment” by Matthew Mather - Dear me, this one was absolutely terrifying in its imagery… 5 out of 5 stars and definitely 100 out of 10 nightmares;
“Shooting the Apocalypse” by Paolo Bacigalupi - Maybe I was too mired up in the main character’s linguistic peculiarities, but I couldn’t enjoy this one very much. The idea was good, I guess, but I didn’t enjoy the execution overly much. 2 out of 5 stars;
“Love Perverts” by Sarah Langan - Another one I wish I liked more than I actually did. 1% of the story focused on the actual ending of the world and the rest… touched interesting topics. 3 out of 5 stars; -
Uniformly wonderful anthology of stories dealing with the time shortly before the apocalypse. Each author tackles the subject with his or her own unique vision -- if you'd told me there would be so many different ways to envision the world ending, I'm not sure I would have believed you. Every single story is good, although some resonated with me more than others.
"Wedding Day" by
Jake Kerr is a favorite for personal reasons -- I'm married to the author. That in no way takes away from the praise I'll be heaping on it, though -- it's a moving look at personal connection in times of chaos, as well as an exploration of how prejudice (especially the institutionalized kind) genuinely harms people. This one brings me to tears every time I read it.
I found "Love Perverts" by
Sarah Langan and "Spores" by
Seanan McGuire genuinely frightening -- Langan's story was disturbing due to the all too real sense of chaos and despair pervading it, while McGuire's protagonist is so fully realized that I couldn't help but panic with her as she sees the end coming.
I could really rave about nearly every story -- the ones that I didn't like (very few) weren't lacking in any way, they're well written and interesting, they just didn't really move me as much as the others did.
I believe some of these stories will be continued in the next book in this series,
The End is Now -- I'm hoping to see what happens next in these various worlds.
Highly recommend! -
Great short stories and most left me wanting to see the next chapter (so here's hoping all of these have continuations in the book two of the Apocalypse Triptych: The End is Now). Some of these are more haunting than others but all had me by the throat by the end and I don't yet want to look away. I was already very familiar with the writings of Robin Wasserman, Hugh Howey, Will McIntosh and Nancy Kress so the rest here were good exposure to new to me authors. Definitely recommended & I went right to the next book in the series.
My favorites:
Robin Wasserman The Balm & the Wound
Heaven is a Place on Planet X by Desirina Boskovich
Wedding Day by Jake Kerr
Removal Order by Tananarive Due
System Reset by Tobias S Buckell
BRING HER TO ME by Ben H Winters
In the Air by Hugh Howey
Goodnight Moon by Annie Bellet
Dancing with Death in the Land of Nod by Will McIntosh
Enjoy the Moment by Jack McDevitt
Pretty Soon the Four Horsemen are Going to Come Riding Through by Nancy Kress
Spores by Seanan McGuire (this one skeeved me but I can't look away)
Agent Unknown by David Wellington
The Fifth Day of Deer Camp by Scott Sigler -
Must say, I expected a bit more out of this anthology given Adams was editing. This is no The Living Dead. While there are some inspired choices for contributors -- for example, Ben Winters -- none of the stories stuck out as special. Two mehs up.
-
Creepy tale of a an ancient form of decay made pestilential by modern scientific means.
-
John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey have edited the glorious anthology, The End is Nigh (The Apocalypse Triptych) (Volume 1). The idea is that the first anthology deals with the events leading up to the apocalypse. The second deals with the apocalypse itself. And the third deals with the post-apocalypse. Some authors have linked stories in more than one of the anthologies; others don’t. These stories are meant to stand alone, and thankfully they succeed in that.
I have two definite favorite stories in here, even though the anthology as a whole is uniformly excellent (usually I don’t give multiple-author anthologies a 5/5, because it’s hard to match that many different stories to any one reader’s idea of what makes a good story). One of those favorites is Jake Kerr’s “Wedding Day.” Two women, Jocelyn and Lynn, want to get married before the asteroid hits the next year. Once it’s determined that the asteroid is going to come down in North America, they try everything they can to get one of the few rides out. I ugly-cried at this one–it really got to me.
My other favorite story is Seanan McGuire’s “Spores.” Megan is an internal safety monitor at a genetics lab. She’s OCD–clinically, not in that “oh I’m so OCD” sort of way–and that serves her well in her work, although her teammates don’t agree. When she discovers a mysterious, super-charged mold in the home she shares with her wife and daughter, she goes into overdrive cleaning it up. This story was also devastating.
Robin Wasserman’s “The Balm and the Wound” is about a scam artist who serially predicts the end of the world, creates cults, and then runs off into the sunset. When the son he never knew he had gets dropped off on his doorstep, the kid takes a deep dive into conspiracy theories. This one was a bit wacky and fun, but still dark.
Desirina Boskovich’s “Heaven Is a Place on Planet X” has an alien race show up. They say they’re going to destroy the earth (on Friday at 5 pm Eastern) and everyone will manifest on the planet Xyrxiconia for a life of luxury. Just one catch: the people of earth have to choose enforcers who will vaporize anyone who acts outside of their normal life habits. Since the aliens back this up with vaporizing some world leaders who resist the idea, people go along with it. This is told from the point of view of one of the enforcers and her partner, Sarah. Fascinating where it goes.
“Break! Break! Break!” is an utterly bizarre story by Charlie Jane Anders, involving the extremely hyper child of a stuntman, a budding video-making genius, and a bully with ambitions. It’s hysterical, yet still grim. In Ken Liu’s “The Gods Will Not Be Chained,” 8th grade student Maddie suddenly gets a bizarre chat from someone who speaks only in emojis. I have no way to describe how wonderful this story is without giving too much away, so you’ll have to trust me on this one. Tananarive Due’s “Removal Order” finds Nayima staying behind in her infected, burning neighborhood despite all of her neighbors having moved on, because she has to look after her Gram, who’s dying of cancer. This is unflinchingly painful to read, but exceedingly good. (It might have involved a few more tears.)
Tobias S. Buckell’s “System Reset” sees a pair of bounty hunters (one is the hacker who finds people; the other is the muscle) going after a tech genius who’s been doing some very nasty things. It leaves off at an intriguing place–no cliffhanger, just a nice setup. It starts a little slowly, but it gets very powerful. “This Unkempt World Is Falling to Pieces,” by Jamie Ford, takes place in May of 1910 (so unusual to have an apocalypse story set in the past!), on the night when Halley’s Comet comes by. It’s told within the context of a friendship between two young people who were sold into service.
I really, really want to read more about Ben H. Winters’s “Bring Her to Me.” Everyone in the last 24 years has come to hear God’s voice in their minds. He has given strict instructions for how they will all poison themselves on the same morning. However, Annabel doesn’t hear his voice–and both of her parents keep hearing “BRING HER TO ME,” although they interpret it differently. Doesn’t really end on a cliffhanger, although there’s enough going forward that I hope this is continued in the next volume.
Hugh Howey’s “In the Air” involves nanomachines living inside human bodies, and a plot to kill almost everyone. I was a little uncertain about some things at the end, and this isn’t the most riveting of the stories, but it’s still solidly good. In Annie Bellet’s “Goodnight Moon,” Neta Goodwin is working on a moon base when her co-workers discover there’s a dwarf planet headed for the moon. This is a very poignant story. In “Dancing With Death in the Land of Nod,” Will McIntosh introduces us to Johnny, a middle-aged man who’s trying to care for his father, who has Alzheimer’s. Naturally, this is when a fast-spreading pandemic strikes. He learns some valuable lessons from his neighbor when things go crazy. It does get a bit dark, but hey, this is an apocalypse collection.
Megan Arkenberg’s “Houses Without Air” is a bizarre story about two roommates dealing with the end of the world as the amount of breathable air goes drastically down after Yellowstone blows its top. One roommate is working on virtual reality, the other builds memorials. Strange, but charming. Scott Sigler’s “The Fifth Day of Deer Camp” focuses on a handful of men hanging out, playing cards, and drinking on their annual trip. Then something strange lands nearby. This one is a bit simple and skates a bit closely to the line of not standing alone. The characters are neat, though.
In Jack McDevitt’s “Enjoy the Moment,” a 30-year-old physicist named Maryam discovers a new comet–only to find out her comet is part of a deadly pattern of celestial objects. (“The party on my thirtieth birthday more or less opened the door to the end of the world.”) Nancy Kress brings us “Pretty Soon the Four Horsemen Are Going to Come Riding Through,” in which one of the protagonist’s daughters is oddly passive–along with some of her kindergarten classmates–while others are more normal in their antagonism. Despite her lack of sophistication and book-learning, she starts to suspect the volcano that blew during her pregnancy might be affecting some of the children born since then. I’m not entirely sure where this one is headed, but the basic idea stands alone.
Jonathan Maberry’s “She’s Got a Ticket to Ride” introduces us to John Poe, who nabs children from cults and returns them to their families. He’s been sent after a young woman who’s gotten involved in an unusual cult, the Church of the Nomad World–they don’t proselytize. Around the same time, a physicist friend of his starts acting a bit squirrely. The character interactions are lovely. David Wellington’s “Agent Unknown” sees CDC field agent Whitman trying to bring in live subjects who are displaying dangerous symptoms. They seem to have little brain function left, and they try to bite everyone in sight. The conclusions the CDC draws are fascinating, and the implications are horrible.
Matthew Mather’s “Enlightenment” is a very dark story of unexplained disappearances, lab-grown organs, cyborgs, and more. It was certainly unusual! Paolo Bacigalupi’s “Shooting the Apocalypse” takes place after we’ve started to experience both category 6 hurricanes and an absolutely terrible drought. Texans are so desperate they’re trying to get over the fences into Arizona near a particularly long canal–and many of them are getting shot. Photographer Timo and journalist Lucy start out looking into one of these killings, and stumble across the story of the century. In Sarah Langan’s “Love Perverts,” an asteroid is headed for Chicago. The government claims they’re going to use a nuke to destroy it, but the details don’t really add up. Some folks have tickets for the underground bunker, but Tom’s family has left him behind. I wasn’t entirely happy with this one. Sure, it gets into the idea that people will do some very messed-up things at the end of the world. But I wasn’t thrilled that the one gay guy gets turned on by suffering, apparently, and dreams of killing both puppies and people.
Content note for suicidality, cannibalism, and one depraved account of what people get up to at the end of the world (Sarah Langan’s “Love Perverts”). These notes only apply to a few stories–they aren’t major themes.
Original review posted on my blog:
http://www.errantdreams.com/2020/08/r... -
I LOVE the concept of their being 3 book anthologies: before, during, and after the apocalypse and have absolutely enjoyed everything John Joseph Adams has put together, be it The Living Dead or Wasteland collections.
I am so excited to read the other two volumes. I accidentally bought all 3 on Kindle instead of just the first without fully realizing what each meant and I am so glad I did.
Almost every story was wonderful to me!
The Balm and the Wound—Robin Wasserman
A cult leader accidentally correctly foretelling the end of the world. Great. 4/5.
Heaven is a Place on Planet X—Desirina Boskovich
Aliens have arrived and at the end of the month everyone will be taken to a distant paradise planet. Dissenters will be zapped. 5/5
Break! Break! Break! —Charlie Jane Anders
Stuntman's kid. 2/5.
The Gods Will Not Be Chained—Ken Liu
Cyberbulling and ghost in the machine. 3/5.
Wedding Day—Jake Kerr
Lesbian couple wants to get married but the world is ending. 5/5.
Removal Order—Tananarive Due
Lady in an evacuation zone staying to care for her dying grandmother. 4/5.
System Reset—Tobias S. Buckell
A hacker tries to arrest and stop another hacker. 3/5.
This Unkempt World is Falling to Pieces—Jamie Ford
Halley's Comet is scheduled to sweep by Earth in 1910, there is a party, and an apocalypse. 3.5/5.
BRING HER TO ME—Ben H. Winters
Everyone hears the voice of God and are supposed to kill themselves. 3.5/5.
In the Air—Hugh Howey
Government plans on blowing up the vast majority of humans via nanomites in the bloodstream. 5/5. I love you Hugh, as always!
Goodnight Moon—Annie Bellet
No relation to the Margaret Wise Brown classic kids' story!
A team of seven researchers on an international moon base discover a huge asteroid heading straight for them. SO GOOD. 5/5.
Dancing with Death in the Land of Nod—Will McIntosh
Drive in theater. A nodding sickness that causes you lose ability to move. 5/5. So fucking good.
Houses Without Air—Megan Arkenberg
Roommates Beth and Fatima deal with the approaching end of the world through their vocations. Volcanic explosions. 3/5. Okay.
The Fifth Day of Deer Camp—Scott Sigler
Five buddies on a camping trip are snowed in to their hunting cabin - when a UFO lands right near them. 2/5. Nothing really happens.
Enjoy the Moment—Jack McDevitt
Physicist Maryam Gibson is desperate to get her name on a major discovery. Comet coming towards Earth. 4/5.
Pretty Soon the Four Horsemen are Going to Come Riding Through—Nancy Kress
Single mom and her kids. Breathed in ash and weird chemicals and kids are docile. 4.5/5.
Spores—Seanan McGuire
Lab worker Megan with OCD. MOLD! 5/5. SO much emotion. Loved it.
She’s Got a Ticket to Ride—Jonathan Maberry
A hired 'deprogrammer' specializes in getting young people out of cults. But the world actually is ending. 4.5/5.
Agent Unknown—David Wellington
Zombie medical-thriller and we are all infected! 4.5/5.
Enlightenment—Matthew Mather
cannibal dinner parties. 2/5.
Shooting the Apocalypse—Paolo Bacigalupi
Bacigalupi is hit or miss for me. Water shortage. 2/5.
Love Perverts—Sarah Langan
An asteroid is heading for Earth. Some people have tickets. 2.5/5.
Can't wait to start on the next volume! -
Uneven (as is common for collections.)
I think I might have given it 5 stars if we weren't living in such a dark timeline right now. The ones that were about disease, war, and general uprising by the masses were a little on the nose to be truly enjoyable.
The creeping moss and astroids were good fun though.
Probably will tune in to the next one too...but not for a while. -
Esta compilación de 22 relatos sobre los momentos previos al fin del mundo cumple con su cometido y da exactamente lo que ofrece. Por eso, es un libro de diez. Y como en cualquier conjunto de relatos, algunos son más satisfactorios que otros, pero por lo general el nivel es bueno.
Los fines del mundo llegan en forma de fanatismo religioso, cuerpos celestes que chocarán contra la Tierra, distintas patologías que causarán pandemias mortales, erupciones volcánicas e incluso alienígenas, entre otras causas.
A continuación se viene bloque de SPOILERS con el detalle de cada relato y la puntuación que le doy sobre cinco. Las anotaciones no son tanto como crítica o reseña sino más bien notas para que mi yo del futuro recuerde lo que leyó, antes de adentrarse en el segundo y tercer volúmenes de este tríptico apocalíptico que de momento recomiendo.
*** SPOILERS *** -
I haven't read the other two (
The End is Now or
The End Has Come) yet, but I'm willing to bet this is the most depressing of the three. That's because each story ends just before the apocalypse truly starts. You can see that someone's struck a match while standing in gasoline... but you don't know if they survive it, or if they do, what horrors await. I think leaving it up to my imagination might be worse in many cases. I'll be interested to see if the other anthologies pick up right where these stories left off. In some cases, I'm not sure they can... At least, not with the same characters.
Here's a quick rundown of what types of apocalypses these are and my thoughts on each story:
The Balm and the Wound—Robin Wasserman
Religious/cult undertones. This story didn't really appeal to me. Luckily I have faith in John Joseph Adams, so I kept reading.
Heaven is a Place on Planet X—Desirina Boskovich
Aliens arrive and impose limits upon humanity. OMG, this story is a must-read. Mind = blown.
Break! Break! Break! —Charlie Jane Anders
War. An odd story. Among the rest, it didn't really stand out.
The Gods Will Not Be Chained—Ken Liu
AI. Pretty cool story about a girl who's being bullied until her computer takes up for her. If it weren't in this anthology,
Wedding Day—Jake Kerr
Asteroid. I was reading this one on a plane and nearly broke down bawling. It's got a lot of ups and downs, and it's heartbreaking, as you can probably imagine from the title and the anthology it appears in...
Removal Order—Tananarive Due
Pandemic. Girl taking care of grandmother meets a cop. I don't know why I liked this one so much, but it's one of my favorites of the bunch.
System Reset—Tobias S. Buckell
Technocalypse. While descending into the apocalypse, this story incorporates a bit of revenge, which naturally makes it one of my favorites.
This Unkempt World is Falling to Pieces—Jamie Ford
Comet set in 1910 Victorian Age. Since it's set not in the present or near future, this one is rather unique in the bunch. I enjoyed it.
BRING HER TO ME—Ben H. Winters
Religious. I really liked this one and would LOVE to know what happens next...
In the Air—Hugh Howey
Engineered/bioterrorism. This one skipped back and forward in time, and I didn't really care about the main character, so it wasn't one of my favorites.
Goodnight Moon—Annie Bellet
Dwarf planet. This one is set on the moon and it is so tragic and yet beautiful. I loved the main character.
Dancing with Death in the Land of Nod—Will McIntosh
Pandemic. Man who takes care of his father with Alzheimer's must help an altruistic woman. Insanely tragic and beautiful.
Houses Without Air—Megan Arkenberg
An homage, but not one of my favorites.
The Fifth Day of Deer Camp—Scott Sigler
Aliens. I think this is set in the Siglerverse, and it's pretty good.
Enjoy the Moment—Jack McDevitt
Cosmological event. A scientist wants to find something awesome in the night sky, and she does. A tight, nice little story about the end of the world.
Pretty Soon the Four Horsemen are Going to Come Riding Through—Nancy Kress
Chemical/evolution. A volcanic eruption causes changes in children. This is another one that I wouldn't be sure was apocalyptic if it weren't in this anthology, but it's quite thought-provoking and so realistic.
Spores—Seanan McGuire
Science experiment gone wrong. I think this would've belonged better under the Mira Grant name. It's twisted and horribly tragic.
She’s Got a Ticket to Ride—Jonathan Maberry
Religious/cosmological event. This is probably my favorite. Man tries to rescue a girl from a doomsday cult before it's too late.
Agent Unknown—David Wellington
Zombies. This is the only zombie apocalypse story in the anthology, and it's pretty good!
Enlightenment—Matthew Mather
Religious. This one is truly crazy! Definitely read it.
Shooting the Apocalypse—Paolo Bacigalupi
Climate change. (I mean, it's Paolo Bacigalupi, so...) Interesting enough, but the apocalypse kind of seemed like a side part of the story.
Love Perverts—Sarah Langan
Asteroid. A sad story about selfish people. Not what I would've chosen to wrap the anthology with.
So... definitely read (I tried to pare it down to my Top 5, but...)
Heaven is a Place on Planet X
The Gods Will Not Be Chained
Wedding Day
Removal Order
System Reset
Goodnight Moon
Dancing with Death in the Land of Nod
She’s Got a Ticket to Ride -
Such imaginative stories. Obviously some are better than others, but all pretty amazing.
