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petealdin's review
5.0
What a wonderful anthology. A real surprise, one of those impulse buys that really paid off. The range of variations on a theme demonstrated the brilliance of the book's subject matter as well as the wealth of talent out there at the moment. If you're expecting 12 Zombie stories, nothing could be further from what I discovered in here...
David McDonald's "Cold Comfort" took me back to the kinds of scifi adventure I read in my youth and my 20s; the kind of brave (and tough) new world tale that captured my imagination and got me hooked on scifi for life. It's an against-the-elements story in which our world has been completely reshaped (and reinvented) by cataclysm.
Dirk Flinthart's "The Fletcher Test" melds human angst, questions of existence (and what life actually is) and gripping projections of where AI tech might take us in the future. All of this creates a story which went where I least expected. Sheer brilliance.
"Sleeping Beauty" was one of the most original stories I've ever read, and a truly novel take on the apocalypse.
"Mornington Ride" had a pleasantly authentic Aussie flavour without reverting to Mad Max-isms. It's compelling if crude in many places (not to be read if you don't like bad language, for example), BUT it aptly captures the kind of dog-eat-dog world we can expect after the bombs have finished ruining our civilisations.
And the book closes with two stories that are entirely "left field" in terms of reimagining the apocalypse.
Wonderful wonderful collection that I will no doubt read again.
David McDonald's "Cold Comfort" took me back to the kinds of scifi adventure I read in my youth and my 20s; the kind of brave (and tough) new world tale that captured my imagination and got me hooked on scifi for life. It's an against-the-elements story in which our world has been completely reshaped (and reinvented) by cataclysm.
Dirk Flinthart's "The Fletcher Test" melds human angst, questions of existence (and what life actually is) and gripping projections of where AI tech might take us in the future. All of this creates a story which went where I least expected. Sheer brilliance.
"Sleeping Beauty" was one of the most original stories I've ever read, and a truly novel take on the apocalypse.
"Mornington Ride" had a pleasantly authentic Aussie flavour without reverting to Mad Max-isms. It's compelling if crude in many places (not to be read if you don't like bad language, for example), BUT it aptly captures the kind of dog-eat-dog world we can expect after the bombs have finished ruining our civilisations.
And the book closes with two stories that are entirely "left field" in terms of reimagining the apocalypse.
Wonderful wonderful collection that I will no doubt read again.
nickystrickland's review
4.0
If I could I'd go with 4 1/2 stars. I really enjoyed the theme hope after the apocalypse. Led to intriguing stories. Overall a lot of strong stories that linger with the reader after the book is closed.
Favourites in no particular order: A Memory Trapped in Light (Jo Anderton), What Books Survive (Tansy Rayner Roberts),Fireflies (Steve Cameron) and The Fletcher Test (Dirk Flinthart).
Favourites in no particular order: A Memory Trapped in Light (Jo Anderton), What Books Survive (Tansy Rayner Roberts),Fireflies (Steve Cameron) and The Fletcher Test (Dirk Flinthart).
thiefofcamorr's review
5.0
Sleeping Beauty - Thoraiya Dyer - Five stars.
Easy to visualise, so much world building and backstory with a few paragraphs, and then so much to think of for their future. Easily one of the best short stories I've ever read.
A Memory Trapped in Light - Jo Anderton - Three stars.
While interesting, I would have liked a little more detail - I didn't know what a lot of the things involved where, and it left me a little confused at times. Felt like this was a short taken from a larger piece of work?
Time and Tide - Lyn Battersby - Three stars.
Took a little time for me to get my head around it. Probably damn good, but just not my type of short. Or it could be that as I'm ill, I'm just a little too slow at the moment to fully appreciate.
Fireflies - Steve Cameron - Five stars.
Beautiful and emotive. A lovely journey that was set up well, and followed through wonderfully. I would love to see more in this world.
The Fletcher Test - Dirk Flinthart - Four stars.
interesting and thoughtful, a quite enjoyable short with a strong ending. Two errors on page 88 (line 15 and 25) where there's a space between the " and first word of dialogue.
‘Ghosts’ by Stephanie Gunn - Four stars.
Captivating and sweetly ending, another short that poses an interesting glimpse into a dystopian world where I would be interested in reading more.
‘Sleepers’ by Kaia Landelius - Four stars.
One of the creepiest so far. I was a little confused as to what the monsters exactly were, but in this, it wasn't really necessary to know, exactly.
‘Solitary’ by Dave Luckett
Sadly there's generally one I just can't get into.
‘Cold Comfort’ by David McDonald - Four stars.
It starts off a little slow, lulling you almost into a false sense of security that it’ll be a short story of travelling and hardship but ultimately finding strength through everything – but no. The story continues into so much more.
‘Mornington Ride’ by Jason Nahrung - Four stars.
Very Australian, decent and realistic, a journey that could almost happen now, let alone then.
‘Only the Books Survive’ by Tansy Rayner Roberts - Four stars.
It's always good to see books being important, and classics dependable and loved. This would be a very interesting novella.
‘The Last Good Town’ by Elizabeth Tan - Four stars.
A strong ending that was easy to visualise, and a little bit creepy.
Easy to visualise, so much world building and backstory with a few paragraphs, and then so much to think of for their future. Easily one of the best short stories I've ever read.
A Memory Trapped in Light - Jo Anderton - Three stars.
While interesting, I would have liked a little more detail - I didn't know what a lot of the things involved where, and it left me a little confused at times. Felt like this was a short taken from a larger piece of work?
Time and Tide - Lyn Battersby - Three stars.
Took a little time for me to get my head around it. Probably damn good, but just not my type of short. Or it could be that as I'm ill, I'm just a little too slow at the moment to fully appreciate.
Fireflies - Steve Cameron - Five stars.
Beautiful and emotive. A lovely journey that was set up well, and followed through wonderfully. I would love to see more in this world.
The Fletcher Test - Dirk Flinthart - Four stars.
interesting and thoughtful, a quite enjoyable short with a strong ending. Two errors on page 88 (line 15 and 25) where there's a space between the " and first word of dialogue.
‘Ghosts’ by Stephanie Gunn - Four stars.
Captivating and sweetly ending, another short that poses an interesting glimpse into a dystopian world where I would be interested in reading more.
‘Sleepers’ by Kaia Landelius - Four stars.
One of the creepiest so far. I was a little confused as to what the monsters exactly were, but in this, it wasn't really necessary to know, exactly.
‘Solitary’ by Dave Luckett
Sadly there's generally one I just can't get into.
‘Cold Comfort’ by David McDonald - Four stars.
It starts off a little slow, lulling you almost into a false sense of security that it’ll be a short story of travelling and hardship but ultimately finding strength through everything – but no. The story continues into so much more.
‘Mornington Ride’ by Jason Nahrung - Four stars.
Very Australian, decent and realistic, a journey that could almost happen now, let alone then.
‘Only the Books Survive’ by Tansy Rayner Roberts - Four stars.
It's always good to see books being important, and classics dependable and loved. This would be a very interesting novella.
‘The Last Good Town’ by Elizabeth Tan - Four stars.
A strong ending that was easy to visualise, and a little bit creepy.
maree_k's review
5.0
What a great short story collection this is! Expertly curated and edited by Tehani Wessely, Epilogue shines a light on a myriad of possibilities of 'and then what happened?' after a human apocolypse. The authors each approach this idea from a different angle, and it is the range of depth of ideas that gives this collection its strength.
Naturally, I had my own personal favourites. I really loved 'What Books Survive' by Tansy Rayner Roberts and 'Solitary' by Dave Luckett, as well as the fun take on time travel in Lyn Battersby's Time and Tide. The earthiness of Thoraiya Dyer's 'Sleeping Beauty' was also compelling. But no matter what your tastes in science and speculative fiction - from frontier themes to road stories to post-humanism - Epilogue has finely crafted stories that will appeal.
If you're looking for some quality speculative fiction in a range of styles, you'll love the stories in Epilogue. Highly recommended.
Naturally, I had my own personal favourites. I really loved 'What Books Survive' by Tansy Rayner Roberts and 'Solitary' by Dave Luckett, as well as the fun take on time travel in Lyn Battersby's Time and Tide. The earthiness of Thoraiya Dyer's 'Sleeping Beauty' was also compelling. But no matter what your tastes in science and speculative fiction - from frontier themes to road stories to post-humanism - Epilogue has finely crafted stories that will appeal.
If you're looking for some quality speculative fiction in a range of styles, you'll love the stories in Epilogue. Highly recommended.
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