xeni's review
5.0
Overall opinion: I'm usually not a fan of short story collections. This one started out quite strong, however, so I let my apprehension fade and started to settle in to enjoy them. But then I reached some of the middle stories and was extra disappointed by how much I disliked them.
I realize that short story collections don't have to satisfy my every desire, but I wish I could find a collection that at least asked for a minimum of writing ability or complexity or interesting facets. Maybe I am too picky (I am too picky).
But what I thought this anthology did well is the wide variety of disabled characters, ranging from more physical to more mental / biological differences. The authors don't try to shoehorn disability into one neat box. There's no "bad" depictions in here, where the disabled character is automatically the villain (and only the villain). There's no characters where their disability is window dressing and actually-they're-totally-normal-aside-from-this-one-weird-quirk. And while often characters are put into situations that are beyond them, where they appear helpless or unable to continue, in fact they are never helpless and often push themselves to achieve more.
And that is not to say that these are all "inspirational tales of subhumans overcoming their deficienes." Far from it. I like how very human these characters feel. For the most part these protagonists have wide and rich lives and just happen to also have a disability and need to survive in some kind of post apocalypse world, just like their non-disabled counterparts. The stories I liked less actually had a more one-dimensional approach to all characters, including the disabled ones. I wanted more from the stories (less simple plots, more depth in characters) and more from an author that seek to write stories featuring people of all ability ranges.
Overall, I did enjoy this collection. It made me think about my own life differently, my own approach to ability and disability. I always thought that in an apocalypse / post-apocalypse I would be one of the first people to die. It does give me a good feeling to read so many tales with such a wide range of characters. I think I'll read the sequel to this anthology, even if I'm not a big fan of short story collections.
----
Reviews for individual stories:
1. And the Rest of Us Wait - 4/5
I liked the original book by Corinne Duyvis quite a lot, so this short story was a wonderful addition to the book. It's the same events (asteroid hitting earth and destroying most of the habitable land) but this time seen from a disabled refugee from Latvia who is also a pop singer.
2. To Take Into the Air My Quiet Breath - 3/5
This story was a bit odd. It left me feeling empty and unsure. These 3 sisters are trying to survive (2 with CF) in a post apocalyptic world. One of them lies and all of a sudden they're all stranded and somehow the main character thinks it's a good thing? To me this story was bleak and the tone did not match the events at all.
3. Something in the Rain by Seanan McGuire - 5/5
This is my favorite story so far. An autistic teen is left at the end of the world with her cat. She finds ways to survive, including regularly raiding the local Target using her analytical skills and a trusty almanac to survive. I normally find myself dissatisfied by McGuires stories, but this one was perfect.
4. Did We Break the End of the World? - 4.5/5
I loved this story as well. It's told from the perspective of a deaf teen who has teamed up with a violence-prone mute teen. They make a great team, however, as they're trapped in a post-apocalyptic city and spend their days foraging for high-value items. There seems to be a larger conspiracy at play that is only hinted at. I wish there was more to this story.
5. In the Sky with Diamonds - 2.5/5
This was a bit odd. A spaceship battle between diamond-obsessed aliens and a young woman with cerebral palsy fighting over a cut diamond is not what I thought I would be reading. But the story is also written simply with a basic conclusion for such a complex problem.
6. Two Somebodies Go Hunting 0.5/5
I did not like this. Too much focus on hunting and getting stranded and no real explanation for the world building. I also did not find the characters at all interesting or believable.
7. Given Sufficient Desperation - 3/5
Another story that ends with a simple "and then the aliens just turned around and left". I desire more complexity in my stories, including short stories. It can be done (see: earlier stories of this anthology). This one was even interesting! Aliens come and destroy the earth as humans know it, then aliens enslave humans (on a strictly voluntary basis but it's the only way you have access to food, shelter, etc) and have them label nouns with their minds. It's tedious soul-draining work and thus rebellion groups spring up. I really desired more from such an interesting premise.
8. Selected Afterimages of the Fading - 4.5/5
This was a very unique story. I really liked the premise: if you stop paying attention to something it'll fade out of existence. Stop paying attention to the screws in your table? It'll collapse. Stop noticing the room around you? You're no longer in a room, just a blurry space. To add another dimension, the main character has body dysmorphia where he can't see his body the way it is. There are a lot of weird physics happening. It doesn't make a lot of sense. But in the span of this short story it is enough.
9. Five Thousand Squares - 3.5/5
I have parents who keep thinking the world is ending and they need to stockpile for it. In this story they're not entirely wrong; two women with early-onset-arthritis try to prepare for a world that is no longer safe. The climate catastrophe has already sunk most of the coastlines, so this is less a tenuous one-day-something-might-happen, but rather higher odds. The mother here is prepared with her solar-powered floating giant ball and a stockpile of goods at her friends house. It's a bit of a simple story, mostly about surviving the imminent impact of a tidal wave. I wish there was more about after the fact too.
10. Portobello Blind - 5/5
I don't know why but these stories of girls left all alone at the end of the world and not really but kind of missing their parent but still doing what they can to survive are my favorite. This one features a blind girl stuck on a peninsula on a research station. She manages to catch fish and eat seaweed to survive. Though aside from a plague we're never really told what's going on, which disappointed me.
11. Tea Party - 4.5/5
I like this bunch of weirdos left over after the world ended. They've somehow managed to survive in their rural psych hospital and mostly go out into the world to find more medicines. There is a moment when we're confronted with an "earthquake" but also it's somehow a monster that's in the ground and eats anything that moves? I wish there had been more information about it, but I can see why our protagonists wouldn't know it.
12. Giant - 4/5
This one was really interesting. We get two perspectives: an old man who has lost his whole family, going to the space station his wife left for 20 years ago, and the daughter her finds there, the only person still alive. She has gigantism, exacerbated by the low gravity she grew up in. Reading her perspective was my favorite. Imaging myself 4 meters tall and that being normal. Trying to make the father you never met treat you like an adult and having your own plans to put through all makes sense. Even though the story was simple its themes were not.
13. Spider-Silk, Strong as Steel - 4/5
Wow was this creepy. I hate giant intelligent spiders. It's bad enough when they're the small ones. But this story was great! (I mean, aside from the spiders). Highly recommend it if you're not arachnophobic.
14. No Shit - 4/5
This story really leans into the comedy of death and plagues and the end. But when at the end, why not start a radio show to get all the survivors together. I like how this one explored some of the danger of isolated, individual humans, but ultimately showed more of their positive side.
15. I Will Remember You - 4/5
This was a melancholy end. Aliens coming down and killing most humans off and for what? What is the selection criteria for surviving or for dying? This one skirts around the idea of eugenics without actually wrestling with it. But somehow it was so well written and focused on how even if you're born without all of your limbs you're still valuable.
I realize that short story collections don't have to satisfy my every desire, but I wish I could find a collection that at least asked for a minimum of writing ability or complexity or interesting facets. Maybe I am too picky (I am too picky).
But what I thought this anthology did well is the wide variety of disabled characters, ranging from more physical to more mental / biological differences. The authors don't try to shoehorn disability into one neat box. There's no "bad" depictions in here, where the disabled character is automatically the villain (and only the villain). There's no characters where their disability is window dressing and actually-they're-totally-normal-aside-from-this-one-weird-quirk. And while often characters are put into situations that are beyond them, where they appear helpless or unable to continue, in fact they are never helpless and often push themselves to achieve more.
And that is not to say that these are all "inspirational tales of subhumans overcoming their deficienes." Far from it. I like how very human these characters feel. For the most part these protagonists have wide and rich lives and just happen to also have a disability and need to survive in some kind of post apocalypse world, just like their non-disabled counterparts. The stories I liked less actually had a more one-dimensional approach to all characters, including the disabled ones. I wanted more from the stories (less simple plots, more depth in characters) and more from an author that seek to write stories featuring people of all ability ranges.
Overall, I did enjoy this collection. It made me think about my own life differently, my own approach to ability and disability. I always thought that in an apocalypse / post-apocalypse I would be one of the first people to die. It does give me a good feeling to read so many tales with such a wide range of characters. I think I'll read the sequel to this anthology, even if I'm not a big fan of short story collections.
----
Reviews for individual stories:
1. And the Rest of Us Wait - 4/5
I liked the original book by Corinne Duyvis quite a lot, so this short story was a wonderful addition to the book. It's the same events (asteroid hitting earth and destroying most of the habitable land) but this time seen from a disabled refugee from Latvia who is also a pop singer.
2. To Take Into the Air My Quiet Breath - 3/5
This story was a bit odd. It left me feeling empty and unsure. These 3 sisters are trying to survive (2 with CF) in a post apocalyptic world. One of them lies and all of a sudden they're all stranded and somehow the main character thinks it's a good thing? To me this story was bleak and the tone did not match the events at all.
3. Something in the Rain by Seanan McGuire - 5/5
This is my favorite story so far. An autistic teen is left at the end of the world with her cat. She finds ways to survive, including regularly raiding the local Target using her analytical skills and a trusty almanac to survive. I normally find myself dissatisfied by McGuires stories, but this one was perfect.
4. Did We Break the End of the World? - 4.5/5
I loved this story as well. It's told from the perspective of a deaf teen who has teamed up with a violence-prone mute teen. They make a great team, however, as they're trapped in a post-apocalyptic city and spend their days foraging for high-value items. There seems to be a larger conspiracy at play that is only hinted at. I wish there was more to this story.
5. In the Sky with Diamonds - 2.5/5
This was a bit odd. A spaceship battle between diamond-obsessed aliens and a young woman with cerebral palsy fighting over a cut diamond is not what I thought I would be reading. But the story is also written simply with a basic conclusion for such a complex problem.
6. Two Somebodies Go Hunting 0.5/5
I did not like this. Too much focus on hunting and getting stranded and no real explanation for the world building. I also did not find the characters at all interesting or believable.
7. Given Sufficient Desperation - 3/5
Another story that ends with a simple "and then the aliens just turned around and left". I desire more complexity in my stories, including short stories. It can be done (see: earlier stories of this anthology). This one was even interesting! Aliens come and destroy the earth as humans know it, then aliens enslave humans (on a strictly voluntary basis but it's the only way you have access to food, shelter, etc) and have them label nouns with their minds. It's tedious soul-draining work and thus rebellion groups spring up. I really desired more from such an interesting premise.
8. Selected Afterimages of the Fading - 4.5/5
This was a very unique story. I really liked the premise: if you stop paying attention to something it'll fade out of existence. Stop paying attention to the screws in your table? It'll collapse. Stop noticing the room around you? You're no longer in a room, just a blurry space. To add another dimension, the main character has body dysmorphia where he can't see his body the way it is. There are a lot of weird physics happening. It doesn't make a lot of sense. But in the span of this short story it is enough.
9. Five Thousand Squares - 3.5/5
I have parents who keep thinking the world is ending and they need to stockpile for it. In this story they're not entirely wrong; two women with early-onset-arthritis try to prepare for a world that is no longer safe. The climate catastrophe has already sunk most of the coastlines, so this is less a tenuous one-day-something-might-happen, but rather higher odds. The mother here is prepared with her solar-powered floating giant ball and a stockpile of goods at her friends house. It's a bit of a simple story, mostly about surviving the imminent impact of a tidal wave. I wish there was more about after the fact too.
10. Portobello Blind - 5/5
I don't know why but these stories of girls left all alone at the end of the world and not really but kind of missing their parent but still doing what they can to survive are my favorite. This one features a blind girl stuck on a peninsula on a research station. She manages to catch fish and eat seaweed to survive. Though aside from a plague we're never really told what's going on, which disappointed me.
11. Tea Party - 4.5/5
I like this bunch of weirdos left over after the world ended. They've somehow managed to survive in their rural psych hospital and mostly go out into the world to find more medicines. There is a moment when we're confronted with an "earthquake" but also it's somehow a monster that's in the ground and eats anything that moves? I wish there had been more information about it, but I can see why our protagonists wouldn't know it.
12. Giant - 4/5
This one was really interesting. We get two perspectives: an old man who has lost his whole family, going to the space station his wife left for 20 years ago, and the daughter her finds there, the only person still alive. She has gigantism, exacerbated by the low gravity she grew up in. Reading her perspective was my favorite. Imaging myself 4 meters tall and that being normal. Trying to make the father you never met treat you like an adult and having your own plans to put through all makes sense. Even though the story was simple its themes were not.
13. Spider-Silk, Strong as Steel - 4/5
Wow was this creepy. I hate giant intelligent spiders. It's bad enough when they're the small ones. But this story was great! (I mean, aside from the spiders). Highly recommend it if you're not arachnophobic.
14. No Shit - 4/5
This story really leans into the comedy of death and plagues and the end. But when at the end, why not start a radio show to get all the survivors together. I like how this one explored some of the danger of isolated, individual humans, but ultimately showed more of their positive side.
15. I Will Remember You - 4/5
This was a melancholy end. Aliens coming down and killing most humans off and for what? What is the selection criteria for surviving or for dying? This one skirts around the idea of eugenics without actually wrestling with it. But somehow it was so well written and focused on how even if you're born without all of your limbs you're still valuable.
books_and_keys's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
wendycherie's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
allisoncread's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
lbelow's review against another edition
Nothing wrong with the quality of this anthology or the variety of stories, but I was hoping for something a bit lighter right now. Apocalyptic stories are making me anxious. 😅
alwaysshure's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Mental illness and Ableism
tzipporahkeshet's review
5.0
This is one of my favorite short story collections. It contains such unique stories and other stories that are deeply emotionally resonant.
lukeasaur's review
5.0
Like any anthology, Defying Doomsday has stories that spoke to me and ones that didn’t; thankfully, the former outweighed the latter. My favorites: Selected Afterimages of the Fading, No Shit, Something in the Rain. The only story I actively disliked was Spider-Silk, Strong as Steel, which felt flatly high fantasy in an otherwise speculative collection, but it wasn’t strictly speaking bad, just not to my taste; the more young-adult-type-stuff also didn’t appeal as much.
The selection of stories is very diverse; tightly themed anthologies like this risk feeling monotonous or veering off-course, but each story neatly fits the theme without feeling samey. You probably won’t like all of them as a result, but you won’t dislike all of them, either (unless you hate apocalyptic fiction, but in that case, why are you reading this?) For me, the strong points way outweigh the weak ones.
The selection of stories is very diverse; tightly themed anthologies like this risk feeling monotonous or veering off-course, but each story neatly fits the theme without feeling samey. You probably won’t like all of them as a result, but you won’t dislike all of them, either (unless you hate apocalyptic fiction, but in that case, why are you reading this?) For me, the strong points way outweigh the weak ones.