rcthomas's review against another edition
3.0
Overall I really liked this collection of apocalyptic stories. There were several stories that really tried my patience, particularly one about two hyper-vapid Millennial bloggers who are so god awful that, in the midst of the end of the world, they take the time to express jealousy over the amount of traffic each of their blogs is getting! I'm not sure if this is meant as satire, and I can't tell if that would make it better or worse. Like most anthologies though, there are great stories to balance out the bad, particularly the final story that is told through the media of a wikipedia page accompanied by interviews and excerpts from books and articles about the subject of the wikipedia page.
Overall, it was a good collection of stories to spend the day reading. Some are thought provoking and some you'll probably forget quickly, but almost all enjoyable to some degree.
Overall, it was a good collection of stories to spend the day reading. Some are thought provoking and some you'll probably forget quickly, but almost all enjoyable to some degree.
sleepyboi2988's review
4.0
Yet another solid collection of post apocalyptic short stories from JJJ. While the first anthology was dark with a hopeful bent overall this one took a decidedly bleaker look at the end of things as we know it. There's some very unique takes in this collection which I really appreciated, whether the uniqueness was in how the story was conveyed or the content itself.
In taking a more final dark look at the subject I found myself on more of an introspective journey than before. What is the draw of such writing for me? Unlike most horror I consider a lot of these themes to be in the realm of possibility. So there's that slight endorphin hit of reality coupled with the fiction, that quiet reminder that should this planet go belly up most of us, myself included, will be scythed blood wheat before the Reaper despite the stories Hollywood feeds us.
Do I hope for these themes to happen? Absolutely not, but one can't help but feel a bit like playing with fire when reading this finely curated collection.
In taking a more final dark look at the subject I found myself on more of an introspective journey than before. What is the draw of such writing for me? Unlike most horror I consider a lot of these themes to be in the realm of possibility. So there's that slight endorphin hit of reality coupled with the fiction, that quiet reminder that should this planet go belly up most of us, myself included, will be scythed blood wheat before the Reaper despite the stories Hollywood feeds us.
Do I hope for these themes to happen? Absolutely not, but one can't help but feel a bit like playing with fire when reading this finely curated collection.
spinnerroweok's review against another edition
4.0
Nothing says fun quite like the end of the world. I really enjoyed these short stories. There was a lot of variety in the types of stories all centered around the end of everything. I recommend.
lnatl's review against another edition
4.0
Stephen King - O fim da confusão toda: 3.0
Orson Scott Card - Sucata: 2.5 hm
Paolo Bacigalupi - O povo da areia e da escória: 5.0
Mary Rickert - Pão e bombas: n lembro de nada k
Jonathan Lethem - Como entramos na cidade e depois saímos: 2.0 hmm
George R. R. Martins - Escuros, muito escuros eram os túneis: 5.0
Tobias S. Buckell - Esperando o Zéfiro: 3.0
Jack McDevitt - Jamais se desespere: 3.0 bleh
Cory Doctorow - Quando os sysadmins dominaram a terra: 3.0
James Van Pelt - A última forma-O: 4.5
Richard Kadrey - Natureza morta com apocalipse
Os anjos de artie - Catherine Wells: 3.5
Jerry Oltion - Depois do juízo final: 5.0
Gene Wolfe - Mudo: 2.75-3.0
Nancy Kress - Inércia: 4.0
Elizabeth Bear - Entre o diabo e o profundo mar azul: 3.5
Octavia E. Butler - Sons da fala: 4.0
Carol Emshwiller - Assassinos: 2.5
Neal Barrett Jr. - 0 circo voador da Ginny bumbum firme: 2.5
Dale Bailey - O fim do mundo como nós o conhecemos: 2.0
David Grigg - Uma canção antes de o sol se pôr: 4.0
John Langan - Episódio sete: 2,75-3.0
Orson Scott Card - Sucata: 2.5 hm
Paolo Bacigalupi - O povo da areia e da escória: 5.0
Mary Rickert - Pão e bombas: n lembro de nada k
Jonathan Lethem - Como entramos na cidade e depois saímos: 2.0 hmm
George R. R. Martins - Escuros, muito escuros eram os túneis: 5.0
Tobias S. Buckell - Esperando o Zéfiro: 3.0
Jack McDevitt - Jamais se desespere: 3.0 bleh
Cory Doctorow - Quando os sysadmins dominaram a terra: 3.0
James Van Pelt - A última forma-O: 4.5
Richard Kadrey - Natureza morta com apocalipse
Os anjos de artie - Catherine Wells: 3.5
Jerry Oltion - Depois do juízo final: 5.0
Gene Wolfe - Mudo: 2.75-3.0
Nancy Kress - Inércia: 4.0
Elizabeth Bear - Entre o diabo e o profundo mar azul: 3.5
Octavia E. Butler - Sons da fala: 4.0
Carol Emshwiller - Assassinos: 2.5
Neal Barrett Jr. - 0 circo voador da Ginny bumbum firme: 2.5
Dale Bailey - O fim do mundo como nós o conhecemos: 2.0
David Grigg - Uma canção antes de o sol se pôr: 4.0
John Langan - Episódio sete: 2,75-3.0
aspygirlsmom_1995's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
oleksandr's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second anthology that follows quite famous in some circles [b:Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse|1705697|Wastelands Stories of the Apocalypse|John Joseph Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1391343189s/1705697.jpg|2661660]. Just like the previous book, it contains stories about the end of the world and what comes next :)
There are several strong stories, but I personally liked the first book better – some of the stories, like The Amarisk Hunter by Paolo Bacigalupi and When We Went To See the End of the World by Robert Silverberg are quite good, but I’ve read them before. The same goes for the first part of Brin’s [b:The Postman|889284|The Postman|David Brin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348914032s/889284.jpg|924908] novel – it is great but I’ve already read it
There are two work of quite unusual form, which I personally liked for they are unusual:
Final Exam by Megan Arkenberg, which is written as a multiple choice test and you should guess the underlining story by the supplied answers
Fragments of the Life of Julian Prince by Jake Kerr, which is written as a Wikipedia article, including stuff like ‘citation needed’
All in all a good, but not great anthology
There are several strong stories, but I personally liked the first book better – some of the stories, like The Amarisk Hunter by Paolo Bacigalupi and When We Went To See the End of the World by Robert Silverberg are quite good, but I’ve read them before. The same goes for the first part of Brin’s [b:The Postman|889284|The Postman|David Brin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348914032s/889284.jpg|924908] novel – it is great but I’ve already read it
There are two work of quite unusual form, which I personally liked for they are unusual:
Final Exam by Megan Arkenberg, which is written as a multiple choice test and you should guess the underlining story by the supplied answers
Fragments of the Life of Julian Prince by Jake Kerr, which is written as a Wikipedia article, including stuff like ‘citation needed’
All in all a good, but not great anthology
judetheunbeliever's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5