Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse
by John Joseph Adams (Goodreads author!), Cory Doctorow, George R.R. Martin
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Read in February, 2008
recommended to Rob by:
Amy recommends it for: DOOM! DOOM! DOOM!
A tightly themed, well executed collection: Wastelands captures our apocalypse fears and fantasies equally well and sometimes even simultaneously.
Adams wisely chooses Stephen King's "The End of the Whole Mess" as an opener and moves into all manner of exciting territory from there. Wastelands is the expected mix of strong (and some average) short stories; most of them have a high re-read score and there is an goo...more
Adams wisely chooses Stephen King's "The End of the Whole Mess" as an opener and moves into all manner of exciting territory from there. Wastelands is the expected mix of strong (and some average) short stories; most of them have a high re-read score and there is an goo...more
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Read in April, 2008
I've read other sci/fi anthologies about the end of the world/civilization. Many fall into a variety of scenarios.
Usually there is a reluctant hero trying to survive among the savage hoardes of a post apocalyptic landscape. Sometimes its a small group of people assembling the pieces for a new civilization.
This book is very differnt. Most of these short stories have a post 9/11 twist which makes them more conceivable and terrifying. Before 9/11 these types of stories were very abstrac...more
Usually there is a reluctant hero trying to survive among the savage hoardes of a post apocalyptic landscape. Sometimes its a small group of people assembling the pieces for a new civilization.
This book is very differnt. Most of these short stories have a post 9/11 twist which makes them more conceivable and terrifying. Before 9/11 these types of stories were very abstrac...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to Clackamas by:
Amazonrecommends it for: Lovers of post-apocalyptic lit
If you are a big fan of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, or even fantasy/sci-fi you'll recognize most of these authors. You may even be familiar with some of the stories. That said, this isn't just a random collection of a bunch of stuff you've already seen.
The editor picked the material for this volume carefully. These stories together pretty fairly represents the "end of the world is nigh" genre. Some of the stories have detailed accounts of what caused the apocalypse, ...more
The editor picked the material for this volume carefully. These stories together pretty fairly represents the "end of the world is nigh" genre. Some of the stories have detailed accounts of what caused the apocalypse, ...more
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Read in April, 2008
Out of the 22 stories in the compilation, the only story I've read in full was Cory Doctorow's "When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth." I like that story A LOT. Hopefully, I'll be able to acquire the book and read other stories that'll hopefully measure up.
Did I just use the word "hopefully" twice in the previous sentence?
At any rate, before the day comes when I'll own a copy of this promising compilation, at least I can go to
http://www.johnjosephadams.com...
and...more
Did I just use the word "hopefully" twice in the previous sentence?
At any rate, before the day comes when I'll own a copy of this promising compilation, at least I can go to
http://www.johnjosephadams.com...
and...more
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Read in March, 2008
Twenty two stories post-apocalyptic tales that do not deal with a)aliens or b) zombies. Tone varies from bleakest bleak to possibly hopeful.
Personal favorites were: "The People of Sand and Slag" by Paolo Bacigalupi; "Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels" by George R.R. Martin (easily the story that falls most in the horror genre); "Speech Sounds" by Octavia Butler; "Killers" by Carol Emshwiller; and, Dale Bailey's "The End of the World as We Know It"...more
Personal favorites were: "The People of Sand and Slag" by Paolo Bacigalupi; "Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels" by George R.R. Martin (easily the story that falls most in the horror genre); "Speech Sounds" by Octavia Butler; "Killers" by Carol Emshwiller; and, Dale Bailey's "The End of the World as We Know It"...more
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Read in February, 2008
Riding the literary coat-tails of Cormac's The Road, this Stories of the Apocalypse was likely tossed together in hopes of catching a bit of literary spill-over from McCarthy. Luckily for the editor the stories he chose are mostly classics and therefore can't and don't miss. There are a sprinkling of new unknowns who make decent showings, but the standard was literary names (Lethem is in the mix with one of his first published stories - Stephen King contibutes as well) with calculated appeal. Th...more
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Read in May, 2008
A great collection of post-apocalyptic short stories. I'm not saying I liked every SS in the collection, but the range and the difference between them all was nice. Quite a few of them left me wanting more - and that's what I love about a good collection/anthology of SS, you get introduced to authors you haven't read before and most of them have a whole body of work just waiting for you. John Joseph Adams also put together a selected bibliography of post-apocalyptic fiction for further reading a...more
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Read in March, 2008
Fabulous. Really I don't know if a book could be more suited for me. Still, if I am honest with myself, there were some stories that didn't quite do it for me (hence the four star rating).
My favorite short stories were "The People of Sand and Slag" by Paolo Bacigalupi and "Mute" by Gene Wolfe. There is also a great For Further Reading list at the end of the collection. It gave me butterflies just thinking of all the new post-apocalyptic worlds I can look forward to
My favorite short stories were "The People of Sand and Slag" by Paolo Bacigalupi and "Mute" by Gene Wolfe. There is also a great For Further Reading list at the end of the collection. It gave me butterflies just thinking of all the new post-apocalyptic worlds I can look forward to
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I'm writing my senior thesis on apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic writing, and this was my kick-off book. The stories are variable, but a lot of them are really, really good. "People of Sand and Slag" was absolutely devastating, and I don't say that in a melodramatic way. I literally couldn't do anything for about a half an hour afterward but sit and stare at the ceiling.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
Anyone who's just a little pessimistic about the direction the world is headed...
I got this book from my old volunteer job for free, because they had an advance copy of it. I took it and a couple other books completely blindly. From the beginning, I was delighted and surprised by it. While many stories bore similarities, I have been inspired to laugh, to cry, to turn the page, and to be even more inspired by both short- and science-fiction.
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This was a set of apocalyptic short stories. Some were good, one or two great, and the rest just ok or bad. I didn't even read the Orson Scott Card one. call me judgemental. I liked the Cory Doctorow one, and "The People of Sand and Slag" by Paolo Bacigalupi gave me chills. It's a quick volume. More fantasy writers than your usual canon of scifi writers.
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Read in February, 2008
I enjoyed this book because it contained 22 short stories, which made it nice to read one per night for my dose of fun, apocalyptic fiction. Some stories were a bit weird, but some I really enjoyed. I wouldn't recommend it to others though unless they were into this type of book (end of the world, surviving after wars, surviving plagues, etc)
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So far, it's a mixed bag. Most stories are just okay. Stephen King's opener is good. I'm not sure the post-apocalyptic thing lends itself to short stories. There's too much ground to cover to explain how the end came and how things are now, and without that, it can be dull.
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Read in February, 2008
An excellent collection of short stories of how post apocalyptic survivors would cope with the environment they find themselves in. It's a good introduction into the genre and most of the stories have a more hopeful mood rather than utter despair.
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Read in May, 2008
I really wanted to give this four stars but its lack of older stories and the addition of one that I thought was out of place keeps me from doing so.
I had forgotten the power Octavia Butler's speech sounds (included in this volume). A perfect SF short story.
I had forgotten the power Octavia Butler's speech sounds (included in this volume). A perfect SF short story.
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Can't wait for this to come out - stephen king and the apocalypse! plus other awesome writers. Right up my alley.
-- ETA: Man, I've started it, but so far the stories just aren't catching my imagination. To top it off, I'd already the Orson Scott Card story.
-- ETA: Man, I've started it, but so far the stories just aren't catching my imagination. To top it off, I'd already the Orson Scott Card story.
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Read in August, 2008
I really enjoyed this anthology. The various views of the end were quite diverse, from human to biological to completely unknown to the rapture. Before it happens, as it happens, millenia later. I now have a load of new authors to check out, too.
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Read in June, 2008
Definitely a darker read, though an interesting look at the many faces of apocalypse.
Some of the stories I liked, some I didn't so much. It introduced me to new authors which I wouldn't have read normally. But I enjoyed it over all!!
Some of the stories I liked, some I didn't so much. It introduced me to new authors which I wouldn't have read normally. But I enjoyed it over all!!
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Read in January, 2008
This book had a number of stories that I really liked. the first by King was excellant and reminds you of just how well he can tell a story. Some of them I found very moving while others left me confused.
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Read in August, 2008
I enjoyed reading this book while eating a roast beef sandwich in my SUV with the air conditioner on while spraying CFCs into the air when recovering from a virus that I was treating with antibiotics.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.90 (105 ratings) number of reviews: 29popular shelves
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trivia question
In John Joseph Adams' short story collection Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse, which of the following causes for the apocalypse (i.e., collapse of civilization) would NOT have been a candidate for inclusion?
a. man-made, genetically engineered virus
b. nuclear holocaust
c. peak oil
d. zombie uprising
more »
a. man-made, genetically engineered virus
b. nuclear holocaust
c. peak oil
d. zombie uprising
more »