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A review by civil6512
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse by John Joseph Adams
4.0
[b: Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse|1705697|Wastelands Stories of the Apocalypse|John Joseph Adams|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391343189s/1705697.jpg|2661660] is a collection of short stories, all having in common that they happen after the world as we know it has ceased to exist. The reason of the apocalypse is stated in some of them, and left unmentioned in others, and goes from the typical nuclear holocaust to some deadly virus.
I enjoyed most of the stories, and will leave a brief summary of each of them for future self-reference.
The End of the Whole Mess, by [a: Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg], is an interesting account about how the side-effects of a cure can go terribly wrong. I specially liked the concept and development.
Salvage, by [a: Orson Scott Card|589|Orson Scott Card|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1294099952p2/589.jpg], left me unimpressed: Mormons trying to get something from the bottom of a lake.
The People of Sand and Slag by [a: Paolo Bacigalupi|1226977|Paolo Bacigalupi|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1375566282p2/1226977.jpg], describes genetically modified super-humans with incredible healing capabilities that find an unmodified animal. I found it quite interesting.
Bread and Bombs by [a: M. Rickert|126765|M. Rickert|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1381955473p2/126765.jpg] is a really good short story set in a small town in the United States where some war refugees settle. It covers topics such as trust, prejudices, war, children and vengeance, and had a powerful ending.
How We Got In Town and Out Again, by [a: Jonathan Lethem|6404|Jonathan Lethem|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1431787014p2/6404.jpg]. Two characters join a VR thing touring, in order to get food and shelter for a while.
Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels, by [a: George R. R. Martin|346732|George R.R. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1351944410p2/346732.jpg], is a story where humans colonise the Moon, only to later engage in some nuclear war on the Earth. Many generations later, Moon dwellers manage to go back to the Earth in search for answers, and what they find there is quite disturbing. I really liked the concept and its development.
I didn't like Waiting for the Zephyr, by [a: Tobias S. Buckell|107891|Tobias S. Buckell|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1370963821p2/107891.jpg], too much. In the future described here, communication between cities (or even communities) is no longer viable, roads are almost gone, and some ship-like vehicles using sails are used to go between settlements. The main character is waiting for one of these ships to come, since she wants to enrol into its crew. This could be a good introduction for a bigger book, but in this shape seemed to lack something.
Never Despair by [a: Jack McDevitt|73812|Jack McDevitt|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1225722326p2/73812.jpg] displays a nice concept. Two explorers are taking shelter from a storm, in what seems to be some ruins from a collapsed past, and somehow "someone" from that past is able to communicate with them. Quite Fallout-ish!
I found When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth, by [a: Cory Doctorow|12581|Cory Doctorow|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1361468756p2/12581.jpg], quite interesting due to my own background (Software Engineering). Things go quite wrong due to some terrorist attack, and due to how it was arranged, it happens to leave many sysadmins unharmed around the world. Soon after, they start to organise. While the idea and the initial development are quite good, I think it loses interest after a while.
The Last of the O-Forms, by [a: James Van Pelt|645132|James Van Pelt|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1276554006p2/645132.jpg], describes one of these futures that don't seem necessarily impossible. In this story, nature has gone wrong (I can't remember if it is stated that we are to blame or not), and most living beings start producing malformed offspring. The idea is sad and scary, and the story makes it look quite plausible.
Still Life With Apocalypse, by [a: Richard Kadrey|37557|Richard Kadrey|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1252945001p2/37557.jpg], is more a description of the collapse of the world due to people going on a violent rampage rather than a short story.
I liked Artie’s Angels, by [a: Catherine Wells|528175|Catherine Wells|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. After the world is no longer safe to stay outdoors, some communities exist under "domes" protecting them. However, these domes have a limited capacity, and you have to be valuable somehow to be allowed in. This is a sort of futuristic, cavalry tale, about some of the inhabitants in the dome.
I found Judgment Passed, by [a: Jerry Oltion|12580|Jerry Oltion|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], very, very good. It describes some astronauts coming back to the Earth to find out that God arrived and the Last Judgement took place. Simply brilliant!
Mute, by [a: Gene Wolfe|23069|Gene Wolfe|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1207670073p2/23069.jpg], was a disturbing story about two brothers that get home somehow, and find that nobody is there. But somebody was there when they were arriving. Or maybe not. Really unsettling.
Inertia, by [a: Nancy Kress|21158|Nancy Kress|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1232323985p2/21158.jpg], tells the story of the inhabitants of a community of diseased people that somehow survive against all odds. When people in the outside join them to study why they still survive and how their society manage their limitations, some struggle happens between the changes proposed by the outsiders and the attitude from the insiders.
And the Deep Blue Sea, by [a: Elizabeth Bear|108173|Elizabeth Bear|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1422586829p2/108173.jpg], talks about a courier that has to deliver a package in a wasted world. I didn't like it too much.
Speech Sounds, by [a: Octavia E. Butler|29535|Octavia E. Butler|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1242244143p2/29535.jpg]: take [a: Saramago|1285555|José Saramago|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1437073728p2/1285555.jpg]'s [b: Blindness|2526|Blindness (Blindness, #1)|José Saramago|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327866409s/2526.jpg|3213039] and replace sight with speech. A nice setting and development, I liked this story.
To me, Killers, by [a: Carol Emshwiller|54462|Carol Emshwiller|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1334335881p2/54462.jpg], was a story about how, even in a post-apocalyptic world, primary instincts like lust or jealously still define everything. A sick and injured person gets to a town, it is helped by one of the residents, and then things get ugly when she introduces him to the rest of the community.
Ginny Sweethips’ Flying Circus, by [a: Neal Barrett, Jr.|7065145|Neal Barrett Jr.|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1383457304p2/7065145.jpg], is a story about a small party that try to earn some money to survive in a wasted world, tricking people using sex as a bait, and their guns as a deterrent. It was OK.
The End of the World as We Know It, by [a: Dale Bailey|91717|Dale Bailey|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1335278122p2/91717.jpg], is probably the best one in this collection. It is a reflection on what we expect from end of the world stories, on what the stereotypes are, on how the end of the world already happens every day for people that experience a terrible lost or trauma. With plenty of references to classic books in the genre, this story is a must read.
A Song Before Sunset, by [a: David Grigg|12868490|David Grigg|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], is an example about how priorities would shift if the end would come, about barbarians, about appreciating arts... About how humans could survive but still Civilization could fall.
Episode Seven... by [a: John Langan|7083558|John Langan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is an interesting story about a deadly chase that gets the best out of these survivors, but also the worst, things that even they didn't know about.
I enjoyed most of the stories, and will leave a brief summary of each of them for future self-reference.
The End of the Whole Mess, by [a: Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg], is an interesting account about how the side-effects of a cure can go terribly wrong. I specially liked the concept and development.
Salvage, by [a: Orson Scott Card|589|Orson Scott Card|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1294099952p2/589.jpg], left me unimpressed: Mormons trying to get something from the bottom of a lake.
The People of Sand and Slag by [a: Paolo Bacigalupi|1226977|Paolo Bacigalupi|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1375566282p2/1226977.jpg], describes genetically modified super-humans with incredible healing capabilities that find an unmodified animal. I found it quite interesting.
Bread and Bombs by [a: M. Rickert|126765|M. Rickert|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1381955473p2/126765.jpg] is a really good short story set in a small town in the United States where some war refugees settle. It covers topics such as trust, prejudices, war, children and vengeance, and had a powerful ending.
How We Got In Town and Out Again, by [a: Jonathan Lethem|6404|Jonathan Lethem|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1431787014p2/6404.jpg]. Two characters join a VR thing touring, in order to get food and shelter for a while.
Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels, by [a: George R. R. Martin|346732|George R.R. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1351944410p2/346732.jpg], is a story where humans colonise the Moon, only to later engage in some nuclear war on the Earth. Many generations later, Moon dwellers manage to go back to the Earth in search for answers, and what they find there is quite disturbing. I really liked the concept and its development.
I didn't like Waiting for the Zephyr, by [a: Tobias S. Buckell|107891|Tobias S. Buckell|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1370963821p2/107891.jpg], too much. In the future described here, communication between cities (or even communities) is no longer viable, roads are almost gone, and some ship-like vehicles using sails are used to go between settlements. The main character is waiting for one of these ships to come, since she wants to enrol into its crew. This could be a good introduction for a bigger book, but in this shape seemed to lack something.
Never Despair by [a: Jack McDevitt|73812|Jack McDevitt|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1225722326p2/73812.jpg] displays a nice concept. Two explorers are taking shelter from a storm, in what seems to be some ruins from a collapsed past, and somehow "someone" from that past is able to communicate with them. Quite Fallout-ish!
I found When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth, by [a: Cory Doctorow|12581|Cory Doctorow|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1361468756p2/12581.jpg], quite interesting due to my own background (Software Engineering). Things go quite wrong due to some terrorist attack, and due to how it was arranged, it happens to leave many sysadmins unharmed around the world. Soon after, they start to organise. While the idea and the initial development are quite good, I think it loses interest after a while.
The Last of the O-Forms, by [a: James Van Pelt|645132|James Van Pelt|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1276554006p2/645132.jpg], describes one of these futures that don't seem necessarily impossible. In this story, nature has gone wrong (I can't remember if it is stated that we are to blame or not), and most living beings start producing malformed offspring. The idea is sad and scary, and the story makes it look quite plausible.
Still Life With Apocalypse, by [a: Richard Kadrey|37557|Richard Kadrey|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1252945001p2/37557.jpg], is more a description of the collapse of the world due to people going on a violent rampage rather than a short story.
I liked Artie’s Angels, by [a: Catherine Wells|528175|Catherine Wells|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. After the world is no longer safe to stay outdoors, some communities exist under "domes" protecting them. However, these domes have a limited capacity, and you have to be valuable somehow to be allowed in. This is a sort of futuristic, cavalry tale, about some of the inhabitants in the dome.
I found Judgment Passed, by [a: Jerry Oltion|12580|Jerry Oltion|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], very, very good. It describes some astronauts coming back to the Earth to find out that God arrived and the Last Judgement took place. Simply brilliant!
Mute, by [a: Gene Wolfe|23069|Gene Wolfe|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1207670073p2/23069.jpg], was a disturbing story about two brothers that get home somehow, and find that nobody is there. But somebody was there when they were arriving. Or maybe not. Really unsettling.
Inertia, by [a: Nancy Kress|21158|Nancy Kress|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1232323985p2/21158.jpg], tells the story of the inhabitants of a community of diseased people that somehow survive against all odds. When people in the outside join them to study why they still survive and how their society manage their limitations, some struggle happens between the changes proposed by the outsiders and the attitude from the insiders.
And the Deep Blue Sea, by [a: Elizabeth Bear|108173|Elizabeth Bear|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1422586829p2/108173.jpg], talks about a courier that has to deliver a package in a wasted world. I didn't like it too much.
Speech Sounds, by [a: Octavia E. Butler|29535|Octavia E. Butler|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1242244143p2/29535.jpg]: take [a: Saramago|1285555|José Saramago|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1437073728p2/1285555.jpg]'s [b: Blindness|2526|Blindness (Blindness, #1)|José Saramago|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327866409s/2526.jpg|3213039] and replace sight with speech. A nice setting and development, I liked this story.
To me, Killers, by [a: Carol Emshwiller|54462|Carol Emshwiller|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1334335881p2/54462.jpg], was a story about how, even in a post-apocalyptic world, primary instincts like lust or jealously still define everything. A sick and injured person gets to a town, it is helped by one of the residents, and then things get ugly when she introduces him to the rest of the community.
Ginny Sweethips’ Flying Circus, by [a: Neal Barrett, Jr.|7065145|Neal Barrett Jr.|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1383457304p2/7065145.jpg], is a story about a small party that try to earn some money to survive in a wasted world, tricking people using sex as a bait, and their guns as a deterrent. It was OK.
The End of the World as We Know It, by [a: Dale Bailey|91717|Dale Bailey|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1335278122p2/91717.jpg], is probably the best one in this collection. It is a reflection on what we expect from end of the world stories, on what the stereotypes are, on how the end of the world already happens every day for people that experience a terrible lost or trauma. With plenty of references to classic books in the genre, this story is a must read.
A Song Before Sunset, by [a: David Grigg|12868490|David Grigg|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], is an example about how priorities would shift if the end would come, about barbarians, about appreciating arts... About how humans could survive but still Civilization could fall.
Episode Seven... by [a: John Langan|7083558|John Langan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is an interesting story about a deadly chase that gets the best out of these survivors, but also the worst, things that even they didn't know about.