Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse

Being a voracious reader I have a special fondness for short stories. Usually such a collection can be hit or miss with such a variety of writers, even with sharing a common theme. Too often there is either not enough content to fill a volume or an editor that has a different viewpoint of what should go into a collection. John Joseph Adams seems to have mastered all the pitfalls without being full of himself and it shows. The introduction before each story is perfect; succinct notes about the author and what the story is about, and where they might have been hoping to get to; the bibliography is a nice touch for those who want to explore more. As to the content of this volume. These are all apocalyptic stories with more of a focus on the aftermath both long and short, instead of the typical breakdown of society as is so often the case. Starting the book with Stephen King's, "The End of the Whole Mess" sets a perfect pace for the rest of the book and is a story I have loved for years being a 'Constant Reader' from way back. Every story is short enough to read in a single lunch break which is a huge plus for me. Bite sized little chunks let me pace myself without being bogged down in a 150+ page novella masquerading as a short story. 15-25 pages seems to be about the norm with a small group of quick 4-8 page stories. With 22 stories I expected the quality would be hit or miss and there was only 1 story I didn't care for, that being "Mute", by Gene Wolfe, even that I did not actively dislike. Quite often I found myself having to stop and reflect on something that really touched me before I could keep going. In spite of the darker subject matter there was a great deal of hope contained in here. Speaks volumes of the indomitable human spirit, even if the term human is a slippery one. There were also many thought provoking subjects that I did not expect. Speech Sounds is one of these that explores communication when language disappears. A frequently recurring theme is the things we value that we leave behind, and the things that have no survival value but have a spiritual value. All in all the collection is tight and well thought out to create a flowing symmetry that never rushes or makes light of serious things. A must own for fans of both short stories and post apocalypse books.

Wastelands is not a door-stop of an anthology. The weight of the book did not numb my fingers or weary my arms. It is still a substantial collection, however, heavy with authors whose names are more than familiar and stories with ponderous themes. But, unlike my experiences with similar anthologies, I did not feel utterly hopeless by the end. This is a very modern collection, most published within the last twenty years, and while every tale does, indeed, explore the end of the world as we know it, there is a sense of complacency and despondency rather than outright horror. Most of the time. After some thought, I decided this theme is very appropriate to our more modern attitude toward apocalypse. There is less focus on the fiery explosion (if that's how it happens), less a feeling of desperation (how will we stop it?) and more a sense of the inevitable. And, of course the question that produces such stories: What comes next? With that in mind, some of the stories did acquire a sameness or blandness, but I enjoyed the majority of them and relished adding to my experience of some of my favourite authors. Rather than risk offending anyone by naming just a few of the authors as an example of what waits between the covers, though, I'll append a full list to the bottom of my review and, here, will simply mention those I looked forward to reading: Jack McDevitt, George R. R. Martin (whose science fiction I enjoy), Tobias Buckell, Cory Doctorow and Elizabeth Bear. The introduction by editor, John Joseph Adams, is entertaining. Adams is an editor I look for when perusing anthologies. He is always engaged by his subject and enthusiastic about the authors whose work he is presenting. Wastelands is no exception. Every story has a beginning blurb and there is a great appendix at the back of the book for further reading. The End of the Whole Mess by Stephen King clearly illustrates Adam's point about finding the right story to lead an anthology. A big name catches the eye and Stephen King certainly has that, even for those who don't normally read speculative fiction. The story should also encompass or embrace the theme of the collection, which this one does. It's about two brothers. The younger is a genius, one of those scarily intuitive kids who want to do everything and does, obsessively, in a search to find what he's best at. During this search, he discovers a statistically peaceful place, pulls the water from the aquifer there and distills it. After this palliative for the modern condition is distributed, he discovers why that small town in Texas was so peaceful. Clue: It's not good. This is a typical Stephen King story, which means it is good. It's thought provoking and quite chilling. I always find his short form fiction to be his best. The third story in the collection is The People of Sand and Slag by Paolo Bacigalupi. I hadn't heard of the author, though I felt as if I should have--his story is great, shocking in places and written in a brutally candid style. The writing is clever; the narrator passes on the info you need to know about the world without slipping out of character. In the far off future, Weeviltech has given everyone bodies that can survive harsh environments--they can eat anything (sand) and survive most injuries (slag). They regenerate limbs lost to accident and in one of those leaps into the foreign that often characterize far future fiction, they sometimes cut them off as a pastime, simply to experience being limbless. Weird, right? But not beyond the realm of thought. Chen, Lisa and Jaak are three such beings. Their job appears to involve salvage and during a routine mission they find a dog--a real dog, not a bio-job--and, fascinated by its existence, they attempt to care for it. But the dog is delicate. It cannot eat anything and it cannot spontaneously heal itself. It requires special pellets and filtered water. The brief relationship between the Chen, Lisa, Jaak and the dog highlights the difference between their world and ours. The next four entries are all good stories and great illustrations of the genre and why I like those authors. Jonathan Lethem's How We Got In Town and Out Again is less post-apocalyptic and more a story about a society that exists in a different world to ours. Same goes for Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels by George R. R. Martin (who should write more science fiction!) which is set so far in our future, those who were left behind have become unrecognizable. Waiting for the Zephyr by Tobias Buckell is a snippet of how life might be `after'. Never Despair by Jack McDevitt follows a more familiar route. A glimpse set in the same world as his novel, Eternity Road, the story recounts a small incident along the road, an encounter between present and past. The Roadmakers might be gone, but they have left a lot behind and reminders of their (our) culture aren't always in expected forms. When the Sysadmins Ruled the Earth by Cory Doctorow was one of my favourite stories in the collection. It's long, thoughtful, often humorous and bloody entertaining. Felix, a sysadmin, is called out in the middle of the night to resurrect a sick server (my understanding of the technical stuff that forms the backdrop to the story). The computers are in a sealed, `clean' environment, so when the world ends, taking his wife and son with it, he is left with a handful of other computer nerds. These guys live their lives in data streams and seem ill equipped to handle life after the end. But they find a way to keep going. Central to the story is the argument of whether they should kill the internet or not. It's an interesting debate and I'm sure it's an allegory for larger ideas--ones I might get my head around after a couple philosophical ales. There are so many stories in this collection. If you'll bear with, I'll mention just a couple more. The Last of the O-Forms by James Van Pelt is creepy-good in that weird side-show traveling circus way. Artie's Angels by Catherine Wells is a wonderful story about the unflagging spirit of hope after our world and society fails us and she is another author I will add to my watch list. Mute by Gene Wolfe is...a story by Gene Wolfe. Reader beware. Inertia by Nancy Kress should be a novel. I want to read more. And the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth Bear is as entertaining as I would expect one of her stories to be. Right, so that was more than a couple. Finally, the last story I'd like to talk about is The End of the World as We Know It by Dale Bailey. The narrative style of this story drew me in. The sequence of events rolls out at a steady pace, the pauses for asides a welcome relief from the walk to the conclusion. The references to the genre peppered throughout the narrative were fun and also a small challenge: had I read that one? In all cases but one, I had. The end of the story was perfect and, really, the journey ended for me there. I think the editor missed the mark in not making this the last story in the collection. All in all, Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse is a great anthology and a book every fan of post-apocalyptic fiction should have on their shelf. With so many authors represented, it's probably a book every fan of speculative fiction should have on their shelf. It does lack the impact of Bangs and Whimpers, whose collected stories span a longer period and are, on the whole, a lot more depressing. Not sure if that is a good thing or not. And, as I said, it's a modern collection. Beyond Armageddon features more of the great classics (and I prefer it to Miller's Canticle--yeah, I know, blasphemy). Still, it is comforting, in a way, to know our collective imagination can conjure so many viable aftermaths. We're pretty indomitable beings. Introduction by John Joseph Adams The End of the Whole Mess by Stephen King Salvage by Orson Scott Card The People of Sand and Slag by Paolo Bacigalupi Bread and Bombs by M. Rickert How We Got In Town and Out Again by Jonathan Lethem Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels by George R. R. Martin Waiting for the Zephyr by Tobias S. Buckell Never Despair by Jack McDevitt When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth by Cory Doctorow The Last of the O-Forms by James Van Pelt Still Life With Apocalypse by Richard Kadrey Artie's Angels by Catherine Wells Judgment Passed by Jerry Oltion Mute by Gene Wolfe Inertia by Nancy Kress And the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth Bear Speech Sounds by Octavia E. Butler Killers by Carol Emshwiller Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus by Neal Barrett, Jr. The End of the World as We Know It by Dale Bailey A Song Before Sunset by David Grigg Episode Seven: Last Stand Against the Pack in the Kingdom of the Purple Flowers by John Langan Appendix: For Further Reading by John Joseph Adams

Every now and then I get the urge to read some good science fiction and after re-reading the irrestible "Earth Abides" by Stewart and "The Road" by MacCarthy I decided I needed some more post-apocalyptic reading so I picked up this book. It started out well -- it's a collection of short stories -- but after a while I started to become all apocalypted-out. Despite the variety of writing here, there was a certain sameness: the earth and the creatures that abide after some terrible event. Eventually I began skipping stories that didn't grab me in the first paragraph. Before each story the editor does a precis of the piece and I began culling the stories based on his remarks. All in all, there's some good writing here and some fascinating tales. But having read the book, none of the stories are particularly memorable. Good effort, but, in my case, not satisfying.

With anthologies, I normally list the Table Of Contents, however because it can be viewed by rolling your mouse over the second available image below the book picture, I won't list it. There are 22 stories in this collection, by such authors as Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, Orson Scott Card, Nancy Kress, and many more. Each story begins with a short paragraph of notes and achievements by each author. Religion, Armageddon, virus, plague, bombs, accidents, incidents, pollutants, natural disaster, and more, are all waiting to destroy the earth as we know it. Rising like the phoenix comes the new earth, explored in these tales of apocalypse. Barren landscapes, alternate ways of life, deserts, oceans, mangled cities, ragged suburbs: all are settings typical of destruction. Some of the stories in this collection are "realtime", meaning the apocalypse as it happens, such as The End Of The Whole Mess by Stephen King, When Sysadmins Ruled The Earth by Cory Doctorow, and The End Of The World As We Know It by Dale Bailey. Most, however, are post-apocalyptic, documenting humanity's struggle in the aftermath of destruction. My favorites are The People Of Sand And Slag by Paolo Bacigalupi, a tale of futuristic inhabitation, human regeneration, and the finding of a real flesh-and-blood dog wandering the sere landscape. Dark, Dark Were The Tunnels by George R.R. Martin is a tale of two separate surviving factions, one Lunar faction and another faction deep beneath the earth. The question is, who are the real people of the long lost earth civilization? Waiting For The Zephyr by Tobias S. Buckell is a short but impacting tale of desperation to leave behind the scavenged farmlands. The Last Of The O-Forms by James Van Pelt highlights the journeys of Dr. Trevin's Traveling Zoological Extravaganza. This is a fun tale of a traveling freak show, with the question of who and what are the real freaks. Artie's Angels by Catherine Wells is the tale of teenagers growing up in a Kansas Habitat shelter, hoping for a better life in an off-world colony. Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus by Neal Barrett Jr. is another fun story of a traveling entertainment van offering $ex, Tacos, and Dangerous Drugs. The End Of The World As We Know It by Dale Bailey offers a real time look at the confusion and loneliness of a single survivor. There are some great stories and some mediocre stories, but there are no bad stories in this collection. A special, not to be missed feature is the For Further Reading guide at the end of the book. John Joseph Adams has created a list of books whose tales are based on the apocalypse and post-apocalyptic civilizations. Many of these I've read, but to my delight there are many I haven't. It's like having your own personalized reference of future reading material. I'm a fan of apocalypse novels and a fan of short story anthologies, so Wastelands was a double treat for me. If you're into End-Of-Times or an aficionado of anthologies (or both), I highly recommend you pick up this book. Enjoy!

I think the easiest way to review "Wastelands" is to go through its stories one by one. "The End of the Whole Mess" by Steven King is an oldy but a goody. Like "Frankenstein" it is covering the dangers of human hubris. "Salvage" by Orson Scott Card is neither here nor there. Perhaps it would have touched me more if I was a Mormon. "The People of the Sand and Slag" by Paolo Bacigalupi is a gem of this collection. This story cuts like a razor blade, exposing the pulsing nerve of being human. If you decide on not reading the whole book, please do yourself a favor and go to Bacigalupi website where you can read this short story for free. "Bread and Bombs" by M. Rickert is heavy on politics. In addition, I am still not sure what happened at the end. "How We Got In Town and Out Again" by Jonathan Lethem is absolutely nothing special, even in its dealings with virtual reality. "Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels" by George R. R. Martin reminds me about SF stories I read in my younger years. It feels simplistic and dated. "Waiting for the Zephyr" by Tobias S. Buckell is an interesting take on the end of the fossil fuels. "Never Despair" by Jack McDevitt was so uninteresting I had to go and look up what the story was about. "When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth" by Cory Doctorow is clever and chilling in its description of the world that is falling apart. "The Last of the O-Forms" by James Van Pelt shows a scary and original Apocalypse. "Still Life with Apocalypse" by Richard Kadrey is not a bad read, though it is less of a story and more of a glimpse. "Artie's Angels" by Catherine Wells is a rather annoying re-working of Arthurian Legend. "Judgment Passed" by Jerry Oltion a clever take on Rapture and those it left behind. "Mute" by Gene Wolfe is confusing. If anyone ever figures out what happens in the story and why does it belong in this collection, please let me know. "Inertia" by Nancy Kress puts an idea on its head and makes an illness a salvation rather then the ending. "And the Deep Blue Sea" by Elizabeth Bear is exciting and gets a special mention for its gallery of man-made catastrophes. "Speech Sounds" by Octavia E. Butler is yet another showcase of what exactly makes us human. "Killers" by Carol Emshwiller is sad and slightly disturbing. It deals with the nastier side of human nature. "Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus" by Neal Barrett, Jr. has everything and a kitchen sink. For example, it has sex trade, sentient animals, androids, virtual reality, and actuaries turned to piracy. "The End of the World as We Know It" by Dale Bailey is a meta on the apocalyptic tales out there. "A Song Before Sunset" by David Grigg is a meditation of values and culture. "Episode Seven: Last Stand Against the Pack In the Kingdom of the Purple Flowers" by John Langan is a rather surreal adventure tale. I am not sure that it belongs in the collection, because it is less of an exploration of the end of the world and more of an action movie. Also, some people found it stylistically rather irritating, but it did not bother me. In short, I enjoyed "Wastelands", but less than I thought I would. Take that as you will.

Love this book. Great stories and I get lost in the wastelands collection. Great value.

After reading gThe Road,h I found this particular book to be tepid. Yes, it is an anthology. But after reading the likes of the Hugo Award anthology as a teenager, I found this collection uninspiring. Even Stephen King's contribution, "The End of the Whole Mess," seems weak. Then, again, it's the Hugo Awards --I'm comparing Isaac Asimoff, Harlan Ellison, James Blish, and Robert Heinlein to anyone writing today ---get a grip! The "Wastelands" has a few redeemable stories. My favorites were: "When sysadmins ruled the earth"; "Judgement Passed," and "Never Dispair." This book reminds me of a few old albums I bought where I loved two or three songs and barely tolerated the rest. In "When sysadmins ruled the earth" computer geeks rise from the ash to become the new order after a terrorist-induced plague strikes the earth. "Judgement Passed" is about a shipload of atheist sent to explore a distant star arriving to find the Earth empty of people; has God taken everyone but them? In "Never Dispair" survivors of an apocalypse stumble on inspiration from the past. Itfs a good book to buy and share with friends, picking out a few gems from the rubble. If this review was helpful, please add your vote.

I bought the "paperback" version, not the "mass market paperback." The copy I received was printed-on-demand, as you can see in my first photo. Like many POD books, this one doesn't have the most readable layout. Margins are narrow, making the lines of text very long. And the lines have very tight vertical spacing. No doubt the printer does all this to minimize the number of pages and cost of paper. But these measures make the book difficult to read. It looks like the book has a good selection of stories, thus my rating of "good."

Bei "Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse" handelt es sich um eine Anthologie des Herausgebers John Joseph Adams, welche aus Kurzgeschichten, die in einem postapokalytischen Szenario spielen, besteht. Es folgt eine Auflistung der Geschichten die ich bereits gelesen habe und ein paar Worte zum Inhalt: "The End of the Whole Mess" -Stephen King Eine schöne Kurzgeschichte und ein gelungener Auftakt. "Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels" -George R. Martin Viele Jahre nachdem die Erde durch einen Atomkrieg zerstört wurde, kommt eine Gruppe Menschen zurück um in den tiefsten Tunneln nach Überlebenden zu suchen. "The last of the O-forms" -James Van Pelt Trevin tour mit seinem fahrenden Zoo namens "Dr. Trevin's Traveling Zoological Extravaganza" durch Land. Seine Tiere sind ausschließlich mutierte Missgestalten. Dieses Buch eignet sich gut für Leute die sich für postapokalytische Literatur interessieren. Im Anhang findet sich eine Bibliografie mit Werken des genannten Sub-genres und auch in der Einführung weißt der Herausgeber auf den ein oder anderen Klassiker hin.

Great book, some stories better than others but overall solid end of World stuff. The network adnin sorry was my fav!

Achei legal. São histórias mais curtas pra ler. Legal pra quem: - Curte histórias diferentes e futuristas. - Não se importa com autores desconhecidos. - Curte ficção científica, mesmo com pouca ou nenhuma ação. Curti os contos do George RR Martin e Stephen King no livro.

Really good post-apocalyptic stories from a host of great authors, these take different approaches yet all offer a good read

Stories are top notch, book quality is perfect.