Book 24: Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse

 

Edited by John Joseph Adams

Nightshade Books, 2008

It's exactly what it says on the tin. A collection of short stories about either the end of the world, or life after the end of the world.

None of these stories are boring. They're not all entirely depressing themselves, because the notion of people carrying on after the end of the world is one that has kind of pervaded our culture. Most recently, it's come in the form of zombie survivalism, but a couple of decades ago, it was all about living past the inevitable nuclear holocaust. Before that it was aliens.

Many of these short stories avoid these notions alltogether. There are no zombies. And there isn't necessarily some worldwide nuclear war. There are wars, and there are rumors of wars, but the acting parties aren't specifically mentioned.

Some stories don't waste time explaining what caused the end of the world. It just happened, and, honestly, how the people are surviving in their particular situation is what is really important-- not which suit pushed which button.

The idea of a god, often the absence or forsaking nature of a present god comes up from time to time in a couple of the stories. I don't need religion in my apocalyptic short stories, so that's nice.

Some of these are depressing as hell.

Some of them are uplifting and inspiring.

They're all worth reading if you want to consider how fragile the society we've constructed is

I've found in this collection what is probably one of my all-time favorite short stories.
Dale Bailey's "The End of the World AS We Know It" openly mocks the genre in a way which mirrors my own (perceived) writing style. Sometimes that 4th wall doesn't need to exist in order for the reader to suspend disbelief.  The author is current, present and very active as an agent as you read the story. You know it's a story because he's telling you he's writing a story as you read it.

But he writes it so damn well that you still believe in his characters.  Simply outstanding.

Neal Barrett Jr.'s "Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus" is a delightfully hilarious absurdity.  I don't know what else to say about it. 

Jonathan Lethem's "How we Got In Town and Out Again"  is an outstanding example of a writer's ability to take one element, one possibility, and exaggerate it to the point of absurdity, but make it seem not only plausible, but eventually possible.

Outstanding collection. Well worth your time, but I wouldn't recommend trying to just burn through all of this in one sitting... it will have the literary effect of watching Requiem For a Dream six or eight times. Just a bad idea overall.

And then you look like this.