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A review by paganhill
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse by John Joseph Adams
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-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
3.75
A good anthology that would probably end up being better if you didn’t read it all at once. The breadth of story types is wide and some clash with each other while others aren’t good and bring the reading to a slog. I would recommend taking this collection one or two stories at a time.
Still though I like many of the short stories and none of them were too long to get frustrated with the book. Some were forgettable. I mean this. I forgot two of them.
I lean towards liking the weirder and more B-movie post-apocalyptic tales.
1) The End of the Whole Mess by Stephen King -
Great start to the collection. Not a POST-apocalyptic story though. It’s happening as the story happens. A short roller coaster ride from hope to destruction.
2) Salvage by Orson Scott Card -
I truly don’t remember. I will have to jog my memory. Give me one sec...Okay, it was a fine treasure hunting story. Doesn’t criticize the Morons(LDS) enough for me. The ending is a deflater.
3) The People of Sand and Slag by Paolo Bacigalupi -
This is one of the stories that kept me reading. Its bonker characters and world are exactly what I want. Mutant humans that are so far removed from pre-apocalyptic life that we find ourselves in fantasy. Weird, imaginative, and B! Don’t let your logic get in the way.
4) Bread and Bombs by M. Rickert -
I liked the goats. The “twist” was easily guessed and the ending I liked but not convinced that the characters that start it would do it. Middling story at best.
5) How We Got in Town and Out Again by Jonathan Lethem -
Great world building in this short kind of sweet story. A young wasteland harden smart girl and her chummy dumpy pal, a young boy, get themselves fed. The traveling side show guys are assholes. Fine story, that through the boy’s POV.
6) Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels by George R. R. Martin -
Rat friend aside the story is nothing special and we know the ending long before it comes. The POV gimmick feels like that, just a gimmick.
Like most of the stories it does stick around long enough to cause hardship.
7) Waiting for the Zephyr by Tobias S. Buckell -
Feels like the beginning of something grander. A fine short that wants to continue the adventures of the protagonist. Maybe that’s the point. We can go off and have the adventures in our imaginations. This story has a bit of hope at its conclusion. Kind of a traveling side-show.
8) Never despair by Jack McDevitt -
I vaguely remember reading this one. I have no clue what I thought about it while reading it but it must have been not much. I forgot the whole story and reading a plot summary barely sparks a memory of it.
9) When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth by Cory Doctorow -
I like who the people are that survive the apocalypse. Who they are and what they do during it feels unique. But, this is also not a POST-apocalyptic story. It happens a little before and mostly during with a bit of a hopeful after.
I like people with good morals being smart.
The odd part about this one I got the feeling they mentioned about five different world/society ending things that happened and I wasn’t clear if that was speculation on the character’s part or all of the disasters actually happened.
10) The Last of the O-Forms by James Van Pelt -
Love this one. Bio-mutant critters and traveling circus! I think I am just a sucker for traveling side-shows. I love the main character’s little bio creation and another hopeful, jolly, ending that could turn into some funny wasteland antics. The main POV character is a loser and I hope the assistant takes over the business.
11) Still Life with Apocalypse by Richard Kadrey -
Very short piece. I liked it though. Would like to spend more time in this world that seems pleasantly rough. Lighthearted with funny things falling from the sky, that’s okay in my book. Neighbors even get along.
12) Artie's Angels by Catherine Wells -
Artie’s Angels reads the most like a complete story while still being short. Arcs come and get complicated. The main characters are likable and the POV one gets her world rocked hard at the end. Thought it might have been another hopeful apocalypse but no.
13) Judgment Passed by Jerry Oltion -
Fuck Dave. Good little story again. I would have gotten to enjoying myself on a mostly empty Earth a lot sooner than the characters in the book but love the kind of humorous biblical apocalypse with a minor oops I forgot those ones. I would have liked it to be a bit more humorous but it’s fine.
Fuck Dave.
14) Mute by Gene Wolfe -
Was the bus real? The bus seemed really real.
This is not a great story. I am guessing it plays with the power of a child’s imagination. Plus it’s a ghost story? Not sure if it is post-apocalyptic or just abandoned rural US. It didn’t seem to commit to anything therefore all seems like a first draft of a story.
This is my least favorite story due to too many changes to what world we are in.
15) Inertia by Nancy Cress -
This one's good. Love the ideas behind this pandemic enhanced post-apocalyptic world. It has characters to love and hate, a statifing reveal, and an ending that justifies the dislike of some characters and leaves you hoping the best for others.
16) And the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth Bear -
Another great B-movie book. Inanimate objects with feels, desert roads, deal giving devils, and a post-apocalyptic dealer job. The story is just fun through one of the more harsh environments of this collection.
17) Speech Sounds by Octavia E. Butler -
Way better use of a bus.
A bleak and hopeful story, hurray. Disease causing mental illness pops up in a handful of the stories. This being one of them. Butler is a great writer and this is a fine addition to her works. I got sad when a curtain thing happened near the end.
18) Killers by Carol Emshwiller -
I bet the story was pointing to the dark nature within us all that hovers just below the surface. I would rather know how we got two types of humans. What did the war or government do to them?
And what’s your excuse for being awful at the end main-character? Hmmm? Well? A fine story, not the best. I needed more than it offered.
19) Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circusby Neal Barrett Jr. -
I give you one guess from the title of this one on how I feel. I loved it. : )
Traveling attractions in the post-apocalyptic world must be my hero's journey dream life. Love the main characters, each is unique. Love the cookey world, office supply wastelanders, perfect. Love the traveling snakeoil, side-show pleasure wagon.
Great little story would follow this troupe into more adventures.
Card-playing dog, perfect.
20) The End of the World as We Know It by Dale Bailey -
A normie ends up not dying when the rnd kills so many.
Harmless story about a guy that may not survive long into the apocalypse he finds himself in. Also not POST-apocalyptic. It runs before and during.
Harmless story I didn’t need to read but it’s not the worst.
21) A Song Before Sunset by David Grigg -
The classy B-movie book. Great world, great piece of a story, great main character. I wanted more. It felt like a section of a greater story.
Even though the world building came across wonderful and loved the characters instantly.
22) Episode Seven: Last Stand Against the Pack In the Kingdom of the Purple Flowers by John Langan -
End this anthology with one more B. Mutant animal tracking the characters through the ruins of the world and mutant powers! Don’t get too excited. The story is fine, seems a little rushed. I like the potential for this world.