krakentamer's review
4.0
I read these 3 books ([b:The End is Nigh|18870640|The End is Nigh (The Apocalypse Triptych, #1)|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392378542s/18870640.jpg|26869750], [b:The End is Now|18870656|The End is Now (The Apocalypse Triptych, #2)|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392378585s/18870656.jpg|26869773], [b:The End Has Come|18870662|The End Has Come (The Apocalypse Triptych, #3)|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392378625s/18870662.jpg|26869779]) simultaneously, aided by a spreadsheet (feel free to copy/use) that I created to keep track of the individual authors’ series. Overall, I found nearly all series to be at least minimally enjoyable.
Thanks to my spreadsheet, I was able to determine the average rating of the stories for each book:
[b:The End is Nigh|18870640|The End is Nigh (The Apocalypse Triptych, #1)|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392378542s/18870640.jpg|26869750] - 4.5, which I’ll round up to 5 Stars
[b:The End is Now|18870656|The End is Now (The Apocalypse Triptych, #2)|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392378585s/18870656.jpg|26869773] - 4.5, which I’ll round up to 5 Stars
[b:The End Has Come|18870662|The End Has Come (The Apocalypse Triptych, #3)|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392378625s/18870662.jpg|26869779] - 4.3, which I’ll round down to 4 Stars
These are the 3-story series that I liked the best:
Ken Liu - The Gods Will Not Be Chained / THE GODS WILL NOT BE SLAIN / THE GODS HAVE NOT DIED IN VAIN
Tananarive Due - Removal Order / HERD IMMUNITY / CARRIERS
Hugh Howey - In the Air / IN THE MOUNTAIN / IN THE WOODS
Annie Bellet - Goodnight Moon / GOODNIGHT STARS /GOODNIGHT EARTH
Nancy Kress - Pretty Soon the Four Horsemen are Going to Come Riding Through / ANGELS OF THE APOCALYPSE / BLESSINGS
Seanan McGuire - Spores / FRUITING BODIES / RESISTANCE
Sarah Langan - Love Perverts / BLACK MONDAY / PROTOTYPE
My least favorite:
Jamie Ford - This Unkempt World is Falling to Pieces / BY THE HAIR OF THE MOON / THE UNCERTAINTY MACHINE
Standalone stories
[b:The End is Nigh|18870640|The End is Nigh (The Apocalypse Triptych, #1)|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392378542s/18870640.jpg|26869750]
Best:
Matthew Mather - Enlightenment
Tobias S. Buckell - System Reset
Worst: Paolo Bacigalupi - Shooting the Apocalypse
[b:The End is Now|18870656|The End is Now (The Apocalypse Triptych, #2)|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392378585s/18870656.jpg|26869773]
Best: (None)
Worst: Daniel H. Wilson - AVTOMAT
[b:The End Has Come|18870662|The End Has Come (The Apocalypse Triptych, #3)|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392378625s/18870662.jpg|26869779]
Best: Carrie Vaughn - BANNERLESS
Worst: Chris Avellone - ACTS OF CREATION
Thanks to my spreadsheet, I was able to determine the average rating of the stories for each book:
[b:The End is Nigh|18870640|The End is Nigh (The Apocalypse Triptych, #1)|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392378542s/18870640.jpg|26869750] - 4.5, which I’ll round up to 5 Stars
[b:The End is Now|18870656|The End is Now (The Apocalypse Triptych, #2)|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392378585s/18870656.jpg|26869773] - 4.5, which I’ll round up to 5 Stars
[b:The End Has Come|18870662|The End Has Come (The Apocalypse Triptych, #3)|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392378625s/18870662.jpg|26869779] - 4.3, which I’ll round down to 4 Stars
These are the 3-story series that I liked the best:
Ken Liu - The Gods Will Not Be Chained / THE GODS WILL NOT BE SLAIN / THE GODS HAVE NOT DIED IN VAIN
Tananarive Due - Removal Order / HERD IMMUNITY / CARRIERS
Hugh Howey - In the Air / IN THE MOUNTAIN / IN THE WOODS
Annie Bellet - Goodnight Moon / GOODNIGHT STARS /GOODNIGHT EARTH
Nancy Kress - Pretty Soon the Four Horsemen are Going to Come Riding Through / ANGELS OF THE APOCALYPSE / BLESSINGS
Seanan McGuire - Spores / FRUITING BODIES / RESISTANCE
Sarah Langan - Love Perverts / BLACK MONDAY / PROTOTYPE
My least favorite:
Jamie Ford - This Unkempt World is Falling to Pieces / BY THE HAIR OF THE MOON / THE UNCERTAINTY MACHINE
Standalone stories
[b:The End is Nigh|18870640|The End is Nigh (The Apocalypse Triptych, #1)|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392378542s/18870640.jpg|26869750]
Best:
Matthew Mather - Enlightenment
Tobias S. Buckell - System Reset
Worst: Paolo Bacigalupi - Shooting the Apocalypse
[b:The End is Now|18870656|The End is Now (The Apocalypse Triptych, #2)|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392378585s/18870656.jpg|26869773]
Best: (None)
Worst: Daniel H. Wilson - AVTOMAT
[b:The End Has Come|18870662|The End Has Come (The Apocalypse Triptych, #3)|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392378625s/18870662.jpg|26869779]
Best: Carrie Vaughn - BANNERLESS
Worst: Chris Avellone - ACTS OF CREATION
matosapa's review
4.0
The unique mechanic comes from the fact that this book contains stories that were originally started in the first triptych part (and, in some cases, continued in the second part). Those stories are finished up in this book, along with new stories about the time (Post Apocalyptic) after the End.
I really liked the idea of this triptych and hope that similar efforts come out. It didn't hurt that I am also a huge fan of Howey and PA sci-fi. The author line-up was very solid with some serious gold star writers (e.g. Howey and Grant).
Recommended for PA fans adn even for those who are tired of the same end times tropes, like zombies .
I really liked the idea of this triptych and hope that similar efforts come out. It didn't hurt that I am also a huge fan of Howey and PA sci-fi. The author line-up was very solid with some serious gold star writers (e.g. Howey and Grant).
Recommended for PA fans adn even for those who are tired of the same end times tropes, like zombies .
suzannekm's review
4.0
The way I read this series was a bit klunky - following the authors from book to book in order to follow the stories through time - but I'm really glad I did it that way. Partly because it led to me finishing the three books with Mira Grant's wonderful "Happies Place on Earth" which provided the perfect ending to the experience.
silenttardis's review
3.0
The stories are great as the first two books already showed us, my main issue with this book is that i had the audiobook and the voices didnt fit in on most of the stories, and what else is new.. the worst of the Apocalypse are the humans... Yeah...
skepticalri's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely a worthy ending to a great series -- some of the works made me angry, some frightened me (often because they were all-too plausible), and some sad. But all of them made me think about larger issues -- society, human nature, resource guarding, group dynamics, and so on.
I may pick up this series again in the near future so that, in the cases of stories that tie across the three books, I can read them all together.
I may pick up this series again in the near future so that, in the cases of stories that tie across the three books, I can read them all together.
oleksandr's review against another edition
3.0
This is the third, final volume of THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH and it finally describes worlds after their end, thus it can be seen as the only one ‘real’ representative of post-apocalyptic fiction in the trilogy. Most of the stories are to some extent are continuations/endings for the ones from the previous volumes, so while the book can be read as a stand-alone anthology, it is greatly preferred to be read in sequence from the first book onward.
Just like with the previous volumes, there are some pretty good stories and some of so-so category. My personal favorites are:
• BANNERLESS Carrie Vaughn
• DANCING WITH A STRANGER IN THE LAND OF NOD Will McIntosh
• PROTOTYPE Sarah Langan
• CARRIERS Tananarive Due
• IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF THE PROMISED LAND Robin Wasserman
• JINGO AND THE HAMMERMAN Jonathan Mabery
• THE GODS HAVE NOT DIED IN VAIN Ken Liu
Overall I liked the book a bit less than the previous volumes, but maybe I am just tired of all the gloom.
Just like with the previous volumes, there are some pretty good stories and some of so-so category. My personal favorites are:
• BANNERLESS Carrie Vaughn
• DANCING WITH A STRANGER IN THE LAND OF NOD Will McIntosh
• PROTOTYPE Sarah Langan
• CARRIERS Tananarive Due
• IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF THE PROMISED LAND Robin Wasserman
• JINGO AND THE HAMMERMAN Jonathan Mabery
• THE GODS HAVE NOT DIED IN VAIN Ken Liu
Overall I liked the book a bit less than the previous volumes, but maybe I am just tired of all the gloom.
haramis's review against another edition
5.0
Even though I adored the first two in this series (more so the first), I ended up putting off reading this one, because when I went to look at the reviews on Amazon, they were pretty dismissive. I hate being disappointed, so I waffled a bit on starting this one. I wish I hadn't waited. While I will say that some of the authors' best entries were in the earlier books, I think this was overall a better entry than [b: The End is Now|18870656|The End is Now|John Joseph Adams|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392378585s/18870656.jpg|26869773]. I'll start by mentioning how much Carrie Vaughn's "Bannerless" threw me for a loop, on two counts. First, since it mentioned floods and plague, I thought it was a continuation of Toiya Kristen Finley's "Outer Rims" until I remembered that that particular story was by a different author and in [b: Wastelands 2|23295033|Wastelands 2 - More Stories of the Apocalypse|John Joseph Adams|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1424856822s/23295033.jpg|21954205]. Also I was trying to remember if I had read it before, and then realized that is a prequel story to Vaughn's "Amaryllis" in [b: Brave New Worlds|8966218|Brave New Worlds|John Joseph Adams|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298782758s/8966218.jpg|13843176], which I read back in 2012. Oops, maybe it's time to take a break from JJA anthologies.
I really liked "Dancing with a Stranger in the Land of Nod." I think it was my favorite of Will McIntosh's three, and I very much liked the way it explored how someone might react to having their entire family suffer lock in. I think I liked Sarah Lagan's "Love Perverts" best, but "Prototype" is pretty freaky. Sean McGuire is back with a pair of stories, one finishing up her creepy fungus triptych, and one gleefully expounding on her love of Disneyland. I think I liked the first two better on the fungus, but "The Happiest Place..." is a keeper. Ben H. Winter's final story "Heaven Come Down" gives the last piece to his eerie world, and I was into it.
For Jack Kerr, Annie Bellet, and Tananarive Due, I think I liked earlier stories better,"Wedding Day," "Good Night Moon," and "Herd Immunity" respectively. Due's "Carriers" is pretty good, it's just that her middle story was fantastic. I think what really surprised me was the authors that had their best story in this third volume. Jamie Ford turned in his first passable effort with "The Uncertainty Machine." "The Gods Have Not Died in Vain" and "The Last Movie Ever Made" were the best of their respective triptychs, and as he sometimes does, Jonathan Maberry wrote a story that I genuinely loved. His "Jingo and the Hammerman" has a premise so funny that I was completely enchanted. I very much liked Elizabeth Bear's second offering "Margin of Survival," which was one of the standalone stories.
I have to say I was baffled by Hugh Howey's "Into the Woods." I don't think it would make sense if you haven't read his books, and if you have read them, it's like getting a surprise punch in the gut. What on earth was he thinking?
All in all, I have to say that if you liked the first two books, you're going to like this one too, so go ahead and get reading. 4.5/5.
I really liked "Dancing with a Stranger in the Land of Nod." I think it was my favorite of Will McIntosh's three, and I very much liked the way it explored how someone might react to having their entire family suffer lock in. I think I liked Sarah Lagan's "Love Perverts" best, but "Prototype" is pretty freaky. Sean McGuire is back with a pair of stories, one finishing up her creepy fungus triptych, and one gleefully expounding on her love of Disneyland. I think I liked the first two better on the fungus, but "The Happiest Place..." is a keeper. Ben H. Winter's final story "Heaven Come Down" gives the last piece to his eerie world, and I was into it.
For Jack Kerr, Annie Bellet, and Tananarive Due, I think I liked earlier stories better,"Wedding Day," "Good Night Moon," and "Herd Immunity" respectively. Due's "Carriers" is pretty good, it's just that her middle story was fantastic. I think what really surprised me was the authors that had their best story in this third volume. Jamie Ford turned in his first passable effort with "The Uncertainty Machine." "The Gods Have Not Died in Vain" and "The Last Movie Ever Made" were the best of their respective triptychs, and as he sometimes does, Jonathan Maberry wrote a story that I genuinely loved. His "Jingo and the Hammerman" has a premise so funny that I was completely enchanted. I very much liked Elizabeth Bear's second offering "Margin of Survival," which was one of the standalone stories.
I have to say I was baffled by Hugh Howey's "Into the Woods." I don't think it would make sense if you haven't read his books, and if you have read them, it's like getting a surprise punch in the gut. What on earth was he thinking?
All in all, I have to say that if you liked the first two books, you're going to like this one too, so go ahead and get reading. 4.5/5.
samanthabryant's review against another edition
3.0
While there are some astonishingly wonderful stories in this the third of this series, I would have to say that it is weaker than the other two. There were some stories I hope to continue with that I didn't get to. While I Think the whole idea was very ambitious, in the end, it wasn't fully realized.
rogue007's review against another edition
4.0
I'm the weird sort to enjoy short stories about the apocalypse and how/if humanity would go about rebuilding. Unlike other readers, I had no trouble recalling previous stories as I read the series one after the next. A few were misses and downright boring at time (acid rain and the movie geeks), the rest were thought inducing (killer fungus, nodding sickness, Nayima). Not all ended on a hopeful note, some were downright depressing. Great series of books.
timeunspun's review against another edition
3.0
Though this is my least favorite of the trilogy, there are still some strong stories in here that examine a setting after an apocalyptic event. The highs can be surprising,chilling, and weighing questions of humanity. Others feel like stories that should have ended earlier. I do wish there was an easier way to connect the stories across the books, because often I had to look up the previous story as a refresher.