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The End: Visions of Apocalypse
Everyone knows the world is going to end on December 21st, 2012. The Mayans knew it – their calendar proved it. So what better way to go out than by reading this short story collection about The End? ...apart from telling your friends about it in 2013, of course.
This compilation brings together short stories by award-winning science fiction and fantasy authors Hugh Howey, Michael J. Sullivan and Tristis Ward, with fresh, new voices selected by their peers at SFFWorld.com - all brought to you in this first-of-its-kind anthology.
Each story explores a different end of the world. What is the limit of a computer virus? Can we save the world by stopping time itself, or will we just wither away in the relentless winds of the apocalypse?
Grab your copy now before the end of the world, and find out.
********
Contributors include: Michael Aaron, Liam Baldwin, R. F. Dickson, Wilson Geiger, Norman Gray, Hugh Howey, Stephen “B5” Jones, G. L. Lathian, Igor Ljubuncic, Pete McLean, Michael J. Sullivan, and Tristis Ward
This compilation brings together short stories by award-winning science fiction and fantasy authors Hugh Howey, Michael J. Sullivan and Tristis Ward, with fresh, new voices selected by their peers at SFFWorld.com - all brought to you in this first-of-its-kind anthology.
Each story explores a different end of the world. What is the limit of a computer virus? Can we save the world by stopping time itself, or will we just wither away in the relentless winds of the apocalypse?
Grab your copy now before the end of the world, and find out.
********
Contributors include: Michael Aaron, Liam Baldwin, R. F. Dickson, Wilson Geiger, Norman Gray, Hugh Howey, Stephen “B5” Jones, G. L. Lathian, Igor Ljubuncic, Pete McLean, Michael J. Sullivan, and Tristis Ward
111 pages, ebook
First published December 9, 2012
71 people are currently reading
552 people want to read
About the author
N.E. White
13 books52 followersN. E. White is a fantasy and science fiction author from Northern California. She's been writing since 2005, but only recently self-published her first trilogy, The Mapmaker Trilogy, and is working on a second, The Draghi Chronicles, starting with The Legend of Damndrake.
In another life, she creates geospatial models and maps to support environmental management decisions. When she is not writing, she's probably out on a hike, trying to reach the sky.
Visit www.nilaewhite.com for more.
In another life, she creates geospatial models and maps to support environmental management decisions. When she is not writing, she's probably out on a hike, trying to reach the sky.
Visit www.nilaewhite.com for more.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
June 17, 2015
This was a free ebook collection of short stories that I found on Amazon by accident, but ended up really liking. I've always enjoyed end of the world scenarios and this had all sorts of possible ways the apocalypse might go. After about the first 4 I had to stop reading them at night as they were giving me nightmares, but came back to it on a rainy weekend and am glad I kept going. Like many other reviewers, I gave up on the last story because it's written in graphic novel format but without drawings, and I found the blurry capitals too hard to read.
My favourite was Empty Nest, probably because the humour and ending lightened the collection; the creepiest was Julia's Garden and the scariest was Tick, although Let's see what tomorrow brings was pretty horrible too. Recommended even if you're not a sci-fi fan.
My favourite was Empty Nest, probably because the humour and ending lightened the collection; the creepiest was Julia's Garden and the scariest was Tick, although Let's see what tomorrow brings was pretty horrible too. Recommended even if you're not a sci-fi fan.
February 20, 2013
Mostly good stories. Well told. Simple premise: how might the end occur and/or what will it be like. Better than average anthology.
A good read
A good read
January 14, 2013
I'm reviewing this as a personal favour for one of my favourite blogging buddies, Nila E. White who is part of the SFFworld.com forum. Thanks guys for the review copy!
This is the sort of production that is really going to take off with the advent of digital publishing. Previously confined to small circulations in a fairly limited geographical radius, productions such as this anthology should go from strength to strength in the coming years - and about time. So what about this, the first volume from SFFWorld.com?
There are 12 stories in all and there is a brief introduction to the volume by Nila E. White, explaining what the volume is about - tongue in cheek explaining that as the end of the world is approaching, they best leave people with something to read on 21st December 2012. Each tale has a brief introduction to the writer; this is a nice touch as I'm sure that most of these names will not currently be familiar but by their bios, some probably will be in the coming years.
The first story is called Executable by Hugh Howey and is about a council hearing where a man has a horrific story to tell. Typical "computers gone made" tale at first glance, what was interesting for me how the proceedings were handled with a degree of flippancy that is probably pretty accurate. A short yet interesting introduction to the work.
Second on the agenda is Let's See What Tomorrow Brings by Igor Ljubuncic is a fascinating morality tale about how we might react when facing the end of everything. I really enjoyed this one; relentlessly bleak in the tradition of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Though we never find out what the disaster is because it doesn't matter, we do experience its horrific consequences and the lengths some people will go to to stay alive.
The third is Michael Aaron's Julia's Garden which is a warning against the dangers of over-cleanliness, our obsession with killing bugs, how superbugs rise up when we overuse antibiotics an other treatments instead of allowing our immune systems and the bugs in our systems to do their jobs. This was an interesting morality tale for our times that perhaps we shouldn't be quite so vigorous with our hand gel and that demanding antibiotics from our GP because we have a cold will harm us all in the long run.
Next is Tick by Wilson Geiger. This is a brief tale following a scientist involved in testing of a virus which suddenly gets loose and he is forced to make a decision. I felt a little unsatisfied with this; it was all over too quickly and was a little emotionless. Could have been more harrowing considering the direction it took. It would not have suffered for being longer and maybe even would have been more shocking.
Pete McLean's The Last Hand takes a different approach from the scifi theme of apocalypse and gives the end of the world the urban fantasy makeover. A pleasant surprise and an enjoyable tone of something slightly different makes this piece one of my favourites in the volume. I couldn't make up my mind whether this was in the tradition of Neil Gaiman or James Herbert; in some ways it feels a little of both so if you are fans of their work, you will probably enjoy this.
Next is the interestingly titled Fly the Moon to Me by Stephen "B5" Jones. Looking at his blog I was a little upset to see that the B5 does not refer to my all time favourite TV series Babylon 5 but never mind... The Earth has been destroyed and this is the story of a journey to Jupiter when the crew make a startling discovery about an object in orbit around the gas giant. I enjoyed the tone of this one too; there is a theme of the lengths we will go to as humans and of our destructiveness.
Relapse by Norman Gray takes a twist on the time travel theme to create a very personal story of a man being given a second chance. Personal stories are difficult to do well and when done well, they will often stand out in a volume like this. Kind of like Groundhog Day and a little like Flashforward this is an interesting tale that asks us some age old questions and sets some new ones.
Eighth is Michael J. Sullivan's Burning Alexandria. This is told in narrative form by a single character walled up inside his fortress against the elements. Electricity simply disappeared with humanity unable to use most of the mod cons we have become used to. The man in the story is burning the things he has hoarded in order to stay warm and we realise quickly that he is burning a little piece of history every time, even the junk mail that he burns with pleasure. Poignant in its own way, this is the story biggest on the idea of what the end of the world would mean for the survivors and the relics of our existence.
Number nine on the agenda is Silver Sky by Liam Baldwin. Thousands of years have passed and many animal species are sentient and working alongside us in our every day interactions. The sun is about to swell up to a red giant - the result of an accident - and will do so in the space of 24 hours. Despite this impending doom, this is a love story and despite the harrowing subject matter, I actually found it a very enjoyable read.
Three stories to go. Number ten is G.L.Lathain's Sacrifice. This story follows an altogether different idea of the apocalypse and one surprisingly rare in sci fi: the next Ice Age. Tim struggles to survive on a day to day basis, hunting and avoiding the elements and keeping his family alive. In these situations there can be a fine line between reality and fantasy and how we use mechanisms to cope with our harsh existence.
R.F. Dickson is number eleven with Empty Nest and it is time to see the end of the world as something to laugh about. If you can't do it then, when can you do it? Mother Earth has something to say about a lot of things and finally, she has had enough and wants the lodgers on her body to pay some attention for once! Short, sweet and welcome relief from some of the heavier stuff in this volume.
And finally, Tristis Ward's Mother and Child. Very short. Tristis' is a multiple flash fiction award winner on SFFWorld and this is a prelude to a novel that works as a stand alone. Another fantasy story in a concept dominated by science fiction. This is written in a unique panelled form of writing reminiscent of graphic novels but without the images. You would have to see it to believe it; personally it didn't work for me but others might appreciate the format. Reading on a basic Kindle or another small screen device you might struggle so the forum have a PDF version that they will email free of charge.
What was most interesting for me was how differently each of these writers interpreted the idea of the apocalypse, how they saw it happening, or how they saw what would happen next, how they chose to create personal stories or to look at the bigger picture. The writing is undoubtedly high quality; the stories I enjoyed or didn't enjoy were purely of personal preference. Everyone will probably find something in here to enjoy. I have only one question for the writers... what, no zombies?!
You can purchase this anthology at smashwords.com and it is presently just $0.99US - that is about £0.70 - and is available in a number of formats.
See more book reviews at my blog
This is the sort of production that is really going to take off with the advent of digital publishing. Previously confined to small circulations in a fairly limited geographical radius, productions such as this anthology should go from strength to strength in the coming years - and about time. So what about this, the first volume from SFFWorld.com?
There are 12 stories in all and there is a brief introduction to the volume by Nila E. White, explaining what the volume is about - tongue in cheek explaining that as the end of the world is approaching, they best leave people with something to read on 21st December 2012. Each tale has a brief introduction to the writer; this is a nice touch as I'm sure that most of these names will not currently be familiar but by their bios, some probably will be in the coming years.
The first story is called Executable by Hugh Howey and is about a council hearing where a man has a horrific story to tell. Typical "computers gone made" tale at first glance, what was interesting for me how the proceedings were handled with a degree of flippancy that is probably pretty accurate. A short yet interesting introduction to the work.
Second on the agenda is Let's See What Tomorrow Brings by Igor Ljubuncic is a fascinating morality tale about how we might react when facing the end of everything. I really enjoyed this one; relentlessly bleak in the tradition of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Though we never find out what the disaster is because it doesn't matter, we do experience its horrific consequences and the lengths some people will go to to stay alive.
The third is Michael Aaron's Julia's Garden which is a warning against the dangers of over-cleanliness, our obsession with killing bugs, how superbugs rise up when we overuse antibiotics an other treatments instead of allowing our immune systems and the bugs in our systems to do their jobs. This was an interesting morality tale for our times that perhaps we shouldn't be quite so vigorous with our hand gel and that demanding antibiotics from our GP because we have a cold will harm us all in the long run.
Next is Tick by Wilson Geiger. This is a brief tale following a scientist involved in testing of a virus which suddenly gets loose and he is forced to make a decision. I felt a little unsatisfied with this; it was all over too quickly and was a little emotionless. Could have been more harrowing considering the direction it took. It would not have suffered for being longer and maybe even would have been more shocking.
Pete McLean's The Last Hand takes a different approach from the scifi theme of apocalypse and gives the end of the world the urban fantasy makeover. A pleasant surprise and an enjoyable tone of something slightly different makes this piece one of my favourites in the volume. I couldn't make up my mind whether this was in the tradition of Neil Gaiman or James Herbert; in some ways it feels a little of both so if you are fans of their work, you will probably enjoy this.
Next is the interestingly titled Fly the Moon to Me by Stephen "B5" Jones. Looking at his blog I was a little upset to see that the B5 does not refer to my all time favourite TV series Babylon 5 but never mind... The Earth has been destroyed and this is the story of a journey to Jupiter when the crew make a startling discovery about an object in orbit around the gas giant. I enjoyed the tone of this one too; there is a theme of the lengths we will go to as humans and of our destructiveness.
Relapse by Norman Gray takes a twist on the time travel theme to create a very personal story of a man being given a second chance. Personal stories are difficult to do well and when done well, they will often stand out in a volume like this. Kind of like Groundhog Day and a little like Flashforward this is an interesting tale that asks us some age old questions and sets some new ones.
Eighth is Michael J. Sullivan's Burning Alexandria. This is told in narrative form by a single character walled up inside his fortress against the elements. Electricity simply disappeared with humanity unable to use most of the mod cons we have become used to. The man in the story is burning the things he has hoarded in order to stay warm and we realise quickly that he is burning a little piece of history every time, even the junk mail that he burns with pleasure. Poignant in its own way, this is the story biggest on the idea of what the end of the world would mean for the survivors and the relics of our existence.
Number nine on the agenda is Silver Sky by Liam Baldwin. Thousands of years have passed and many animal species are sentient and working alongside us in our every day interactions. The sun is about to swell up to a red giant - the result of an accident - and will do so in the space of 24 hours. Despite this impending doom, this is a love story and despite the harrowing subject matter, I actually found it a very enjoyable read.
Three stories to go. Number ten is G.L.Lathain's Sacrifice. This story follows an altogether different idea of the apocalypse and one surprisingly rare in sci fi: the next Ice Age. Tim struggles to survive on a day to day basis, hunting and avoiding the elements and keeping his family alive. In these situations there can be a fine line between reality and fantasy and how we use mechanisms to cope with our harsh existence.
R.F. Dickson is number eleven with Empty Nest and it is time to see the end of the world as something to laugh about. If you can't do it then, when can you do it? Mother Earth has something to say about a lot of things and finally, she has had enough and wants the lodgers on her body to pay some attention for once! Short, sweet and welcome relief from some of the heavier stuff in this volume.
And finally, Tristis Ward's Mother and Child. Very short. Tristis' is a multiple flash fiction award winner on SFFWorld and this is a prelude to a novel that works as a stand alone. Another fantasy story in a concept dominated by science fiction. This is written in a unique panelled form of writing reminiscent of graphic novels but without the images. You would have to see it to believe it; personally it didn't work for me but others might appreciate the format. Reading on a basic Kindle or another small screen device you might struggle so the forum have a PDF version that they will email free of charge.
What was most interesting for me was how differently each of these writers interpreted the idea of the apocalypse, how they saw it happening, or how they saw what would happen next, how they chose to create personal stories or to look at the bigger picture. The writing is undoubtedly high quality; the stories I enjoyed or didn't enjoy were purely of personal preference. Everyone will probably find something in here to enjoy. I have only one question for the writers... what, no zombies?!
You can purchase this anthology at smashwords.com and it is presently just $0.99US - that is about £0.70 - and is available in a number of formats.
See more book reviews at my blog
February 12, 2013
I picked this up because one of my favorite authors, Michael J. Sullivan, made a post about it and that he had a short story in it.
Each story was a world in itself, and gave me enough of a glimpse into these writer's styles that I bought books from all of them for my kindle shortly after finishing.
I can not recommend this enough if you love that little bit of exposition to a world that every story has, and being OK with having an entire story wrap itself up in a few minutes. Great book.
Each story was a world in itself, and gave me enough of a glimpse into these writer's styles that I bought books from all of them for my kindle shortly after finishing.
I can not recommend this enough if you love that little bit of exposition to a world that every story has, and being OK with having an entire story wrap itself up in a few minutes. Great book.
Read
November 18, 2013I'm a contributor to this anthology and I also read all the stories in it. A very impressive line up. These are mainly new authors who have been selected by N.E. White as part of a contest she runs on SFFWorld. In addition to the "new authors" are anchor authors including: myself, Hugh Howey, and Tristis Ward.
I won't give it a ranking, as I'm a contributor - but I do recommend it.
I won't give it a ranking, as I'm a contributor - but I do recommend it.
April 23, 2017
Apologies to the authors of the last few stories, but it got so depressing that I had to put the book down after reading only the first eight.
Apparently I can stomach the world's destruction no more than eight times in one sitting.
I will definitely return to this anthology another day, since what I did read was really good.
To sum up my praise for the writers' good work, here's a quote from another tale of a destroyed Earth: "So long, and thanks for all the fish."
Apparently I can stomach the world's destruction no more than eight times in one sitting.
I will definitely return to this anthology another day, since what I did read was really good.
To sum up my praise for the writers' good work, here's a quote from another tale of a destroyed Earth: "So long, and thanks for all the fish."
March 23, 2013
I came across this collection when I was searching for Hugh Howey after seeing "Wool" reviewed by the ABC Book Club. Howey has a short story in this collection, and the collection was free. That was a good start.
A collection of short stories about the apocalypse. All very original, with a wide range of ideas. The end of the world by lack of bacteria, by devils, by saboteurs, by climate change (cold, not hot), as well as stories of the few survivors left. It's not a depressing anthology - indeed there's some great humor and witty takes on our doom.
The writing is fairly uneven. Some stories have excellent ideas let down by clunky execution - if it weren't for those two or three, I would give this four stars.
My personal favorites were "Julia's Garden" (one of the more complex stories in the book, with characters I really cared about), "The Last Hand" (the ending was never in doubt, but by golly the ride was a good one) and "Empty Nest" (fantastic idea, loved the idea of Mother Earth taking her retirement at Alpha Centauri).
I was unable to read the final story "Mother and Child" due to my small screen (it has an unusual layout). A pity, as strangely, this is the only story in the collection written by a woman.
Well worth the download.
A collection of short stories about the apocalypse. All very original, with a wide range of ideas. The end of the world by lack of bacteria, by devils, by saboteurs, by climate change (cold, not hot), as well as stories of the few survivors left. It's not a depressing anthology - indeed there's some great humor and witty takes on our doom.
The writing is fairly uneven. Some stories have excellent ideas let down by clunky execution - if it weren't for those two or three, I would give this four stars.
My personal favorites were "Julia's Garden" (one of the more complex stories in the book, with characters I really cared about), "The Last Hand" (the ending was never in doubt, but by golly the ride was a good one) and "Empty Nest" (fantastic idea, loved the idea of Mother Earth taking her retirement at Alpha Centauri).
I was unable to read the final story "Mother and Child" due to my small screen (it has an unusual layout). A pity, as strangely, this is the only story in the collection written by a woman.
Well worth the download.
April 20, 2013
This is a really good collection of short stories.
All except for the last one, which I can't comment on because the author had the bright idea of putting the text in several squares on each page, requiring very small typeface and rendering it unreadable on a Kindle. (And the editor saw fit to publish it that way, calling it unique.)
Aside from that, I was very pleased with the quality of the stories, and even more pleased with how well-written they were.
I've read several indie ebooks lately and some of them should not be seeing the electronic light of day until they've been edited - extensively. Many of them read like unedited first drafts and I think that makes all of us look bad.
Anyway, if you like SciFi (or SF, for the purists) you can't go wrong with this collection. I got it for 99 cents and would have gladly paid much more if I knew how good it was going to be.
All except for the last one, which I can't comment on because the author had the bright idea of putting the text in several squares on each page, requiring very small typeface and rendering it unreadable on a Kindle. (And the editor saw fit to publish it that way, calling it unique.)
Aside from that, I was very pleased with the quality of the stories, and even more pleased with how well-written they were.
I've read several indie ebooks lately and some of them should not be seeing the electronic light of day until they've been edited - extensively. Many of them read like unedited first drafts and I think that makes all of us look bad.
Anyway, if you like SciFi (or SF, for the purists) you can't go wrong with this collection. I got it for 99 cents and would have gladly paid much more if I knew how good it was going to be.
April 18, 2013
This was a fun book! Full of unique ideas about how the world could end. A few of the stories aren't as strong as the others, but the good ones more than make up for the weaker. A few of my favorite out of the 12 stories:
"Let's See What Tomorrow Brings" by Igor Ljubuncic (very honest, human action/reaction)
"Julia's Garden" by Michael Aaron (excellent reason to lead an apocalypse!)
"Burning Alexandria" by Michael J. Sullivan(one reason I liked this is due to the fact that "I" could be the main character!!)
"Sacrifice" by G. L. Lathian (has the same feel as "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy)
"Let's See What Tomorrow Brings" by Igor Ljubuncic (very honest, human action/reaction)
"Julia's Garden" by Michael Aaron (excellent reason to lead an apocalypse!)
"Burning Alexandria" by Michael J. Sullivan(one reason I liked this is due to the fact that "I" could be the main character!!)
"Sacrifice" by G. L. Lathian (has the same feel as "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy)
September 21, 2014
As this is an anthology, I'll review each one as I read it.
25/2 - Executable: I'm not quite sure of what the apocalypse of this story was, not sure exactly how the machines took over and what they did to the world. How did they effect non-mechanical things like gavels? I understand why there might not be any new ones being made, but what happened to all the gavels made prior to the apocalypse? Did the machines break them all? That seems unlikely. The author did a good job of teasing us with the story, while still keeping the story really short. To be continued...
26/2 - Let's See What Tomorrow Brings: I liked this story because it had a different apocalypse, it wasn't the usual global pandemic, nuclear war or asteroid that feature in a lot of apocalypse story lines. I would love to read it as a full length novel.
Julia's Garden: This really played on a fear that I have of the overuse of antibiotics and the consequences that we're all going to suffer because of that. I'm not quite sure I understand why Julia felt the need to eat the bacteria from the petri dishes. It seemed that the author was trying to say that the death of everyone's gut flora also meant the dulling, if not death, of the population's sense of taste. I might have to google that. Did the appearance of 'gas gangrene' on Julia's wound signify that if people managed to hold on a little bit longer, the world wouldn't end after all? That's what I got from the final scene, which made Julia's impending suicide a little illogical.
Tick: I really liked the slightly different format of this story, where a paragraph or so from current time was followed by a flashback, which we eventually found out were journal entries made by the narrator. I could see this being a movie and that's how I saw it as I was reading it. It sort of reminded me of Resident Evil in that the background of the apocalypse is told in flashbacks from the main character's slowly returning memory. Another one worthy of being extended into a full length book.
The Last Hand: I didn't enjoy this one as much as the previous four stories. As soon as I started reading I could see definite overtones of a drunker, even more disreputable version of Paul Blackthorne's Harry Dresden in The Dresden Files. Spells on the floor, an imprisoned supernatural being who makes smart remarks and helps out his 'master' when forced to. The method of apocalypse was certainly different, but it seemed more like it had been thrown in at the end of a sci-fi short story, instead of being written solely as an apocalypse story. Maybe the author forgot the due date for his contribution, so just changed the ending of an unpublished sci-fi story and handed that in, hoping no one would notice. If I was only rating this story I would give it 2 stars. To be continued...
27/2 - Fly the Moon to Me: This one had a more depressing view of human nature than the previous stories. The moral of the story seemed to be 'work together and we'll all come out ahead, try to be greedy and no one wins', which I think is absolutely true. I'd be Timo, trying to see the good in all people but still being wary of the motives of both strangers and friends.
Relapse: The second sentence of this story is 'Dr. Emil Werner and Dr. Joseph Heinrich worked tediously.' Is that meant to be 'tirelessly'? Because tediously just doesn't make sense in this context. Oops, there's another one - I'm pretty sure 'a gigantic object hurdled through the sky,' is supposed to be 'a gigantic object hurtled through the sky,'. Are these typos or does the author simply not know the difference between the meaning of the two pairs of words? I hope it's the former, because the latter makes me worried for his future career as a writer. On to the actual story, which was good, but also slightly fantasy-destroying. I've always wished I could go back to somewhere around the age of five and do my life over again, with all my current memories of course to help me make better choices. It never occured to me that I wouldn't be able to make better choices and have my life turn out more as I still imagine it one day might, just earlier in my timeline. When I realised that John was going to go back 10 years and be able to re-do that decade of his life, I thought 'Great, he'll be able to pull himself out of the dark part of his life early, meet his wife early and be happy for more of the final decade of his life than he was the first time around, and each successive time be with her and their children longer and longer.' Him killing himself over and over in despair because he couldn't find the right sequence of events to meet his wife again wasn't how I imagined a life re-do going.
Burning Alexandria: I really liked all the book references. It showed me that the author is well, and variedly, read, which I think is an important personality trait in any good author. I feel the same as Irwin (and presumably the author) about e-readers, although possibly in a slightly less drastic way. I'm not worried, maybe because it hadn't occurred to me till I read this story, that the libraries will be overrun by e-books and eliminate all the real books, but I definitely get angry when the only way to borrow a certain book from the library is in an electronic form. Strangely enough, especially with this particular story, I'm reading this book on Kindle software for my laptop (I still refuse to get an actual e-reader), but that's only because the authors are unknown to me and I didn't want to spend money buying it and having it shipped to me when I could get this electronic version for free. I look at e-books as a sort of free trial, and then if I like the book enough to know I'll want to read it again I buy a real copy of it. Plus, except for a few exceptions of author requested reviews for Smashwords published books, I haven't paid for any of my 149 Kindle e-books, and I don't feel like I'm cheating the authors, because if their story is good I'll buy a real copy for my real library. It's just not the same, you can't proudly display your Kindle library to guests via your laptop like I can with my new purpose built library/reading room. One day I hope to have enough room for as many books as Irwin had, without the hoarder tendencies. To be continued...
28/2 - Silver Sky: I like space/sci-fi and the addition of evolved intelligent animals was very interesting, although I have to wonder if the dolphins and chimpanzees would be willing to work with us after all the damage we've done to their world. I mean, if they've evolved so much why wouldn't they build a ship for their own use, especially after we broke the sun in the first place? I'm sure humans wouldn't help intelligent animals escape the planet if we blamed them for the end of the world. So why would they help us? Their morals must have evolved along with their intelligence. As soon as Clara grabbed Allan and dragged him off to bed I was suspicious of her motives. Then when she didn't really want to meet Ruiz I knew she was going to turn out to be a suicidal zealot who was part of the final plan. It was a good, 3 star story that would have been better as a full length novel going back to the appearance of the evolved mammals. To be continued...
1/3 - Sacrifice: This was the shortest story of the anthology. It was so short that it was hard to get a feel for it, I'm not sure whether I liked it or not. It did kind of remind me of the conclusion of the movie The Day After Tomorrow, with snow covering most of the planet, only the survivors were triumphant and happy to be rescued not murdering each other over flint. One of the lesser stories in this anthology for me.
Empty Nest: Very interesting idea, I especially liked the way Mother Earth dismissed anyone who had been elected as a VIP, rather than simply working hard to become one without anyone elses help - there are too many VIPs elected into their positions. I would love to know which planet Esther is.
Mother and Child: Due to the comic format the story was laid out in I was unable to read the final story. There are instructions to contact the editor to get a pdf copy of the story in order to read it, but I can't be bothered - that's too much work to go to just to read a 5-10 page story.
Overall, I enjoyed this apocalypse anthology, gave me a few new ways for me to worry about the world ending after the anticlimax of 21/12/2012.
25/2 - Executable: I'm not quite sure of what the apocalypse of this story was, not sure exactly how the machines took over and what they did to the world. How did they effect non-mechanical things like gavels? I understand why there might not be any new ones being made, but what happened to all the gavels made prior to the apocalypse? Did the machines break them all? That seems unlikely. The author did a good job of teasing us with the story, while still keeping the story really short. To be continued...
26/2 - Let's See What Tomorrow Brings: I liked this story because it had a different apocalypse, it wasn't the usual global pandemic, nuclear war or asteroid that feature in a lot of apocalypse story lines. I would love to read it as a full length novel.
Julia's Garden: This really played on a fear that I have of the overuse of antibiotics and the consequences that we're all going to suffer because of that. I'm not quite sure I understand why Julia felt the need to eat the bacteria from the petri dishes. It seemed that the author was trying to say that the death of everyone's gut flora also meant the dulling, if not death, of the population's sense of taste. I might have to google that. Did the appearance of 'gas gangrene' on Julia's wound signify that if people managed to hold on a little bit longer, the world wouldn't end after all? That's what I got from the final scene, which made Julia's impending suicide a little illogical.
Tick: I really liked the slightly different format of this story, where a paragraph or so from current time was followed by a flashback, which we eventually found out were journal entries made by the narrator. I could see this being a movie and that's how I saw it as I was reading it. It sort of reminded me of Resident Evil in that the background of the apocalypse is told in flashbacks from the main character's slowly returning memory. Another one worthy of being extended into a full length book.
The Last Hand: I didn't enjoy this one as much as the previous four stories. As soon as I started reading I could see definite overtones of a drunker, even more disreputable version of Paul Blackthorne's Harry Dresden in The Dresden Files. Spells on the floor, an imprisoned supernatural being who makes smart remarks and helps out his 'master' when forced to. The method of apocalypse was certainly different, but it seemed more like it had been thrown in at the end of a sci-fi short story, instead of being written solely as an apocalypse story. Maybe the author forgot the due date for his contribution, so just changed the ending of an unpublished sci-fi story and handed that in, hoping no one would notice. If I was only rating this story I would give it 2 stars. To be continued...
27/2 - Fly the Moon to Me: This one had a more depressing view of human nature than the previous stories. The moral of the story seemed to be 'work together and we'll all come out ahead, try to be greedy and no one wins', which I think is absolutely true. I'd be Timo, trying to see the good in all people but still being wary of the motives of both strangers and friends.
Relapse: The second sentence of this story is 'Dr. Emil Werner and Dr. Joseph Heinrich worked tediously.' Is that meant to be 'tirelessly'? Because tediously just doesn't make sense in this context. Oops, there's another one - I'm pretty sure 'a gigantic object hurdled through the sky,' is supposed to be 'a gigantic object hurtled through the sky,'. Are these typos or does the author simply not know the difference between the meaning of the two pairs of words? I hope it's the former, because the latter makes me worried for his future career as a writer. On to the actual story, which was good, but also slightly fantasy-destroying. I've always wished I could go back to somewhere around the age of five and do my life over again, with all my current memories of course to help me make better choices. It never occured to me that I wouldn't be able to make better choices and have my life turn out more as I still imagine it one day might, just earlier in my timeline. When I realised that John was going to go back 10 years and be able to re-do that decade of his life, I thought 'Great, he'll be able to pull himself out of the dark part of his life early, meet his wife early and be happy for more of the final decade of his life than he was the first time around, and each successive time be with her and their children longer and longer.' Him killing himself over and over in despair because he couldn't find the right sequence of events to meet his wife again wasn't how I imagined a life re-do going.
Burning Alexandria: I really liked all the book references. It showed me that the author is well, and variedly, read, which I think is an important personality trait in any good author. I feel the same as Irwin (and presumably the author) about e-readers, although possibly in a slightly less drastic way. I'm not worried, maybe because it hadn't occurred to me till I read this story, that the libraries will be overrun by e-books and eliminate all the real books, but I definitely get angry when the only way to borrow a certain book from the library is in an electronic form. Strangely enough, especially with this particular story, I'm reading this book on Kindle software for my laptop (I still refuse to get an actual e-reader), but that's only because the authors are unknown to me and I didn't want to spend money buying it and having it shipped to me when I could get this electronic version for free. I look at e-books as a sort of free trial, and then if I like the book enough to know I'll want to read it again I buy a real copy of it. Plus, except for a few exceptions of author requested reviews for Smashwords published books, I haven't paid for any of my 149 Kindle e-books, and I don't feel like I'm cheating the authors, because if their story is good I'll buy a real copy for my real library. It's just not the same, you can't proudly display your Kindle library to guests via your laptop like I can with my new purpose built library/reading room. One day I hope to have enough room for as many books as Irwin had, without the hoarder tendencies. To be continued...
28/2 - Silver Sky: I like space/sci-fi and the addition of evolved intelligent animals was very interesting, although I have to wonder if the dolphins and chimpanzees would be willing to work with us after all the damage we've done to their world. I mean, if they've evolved so much why wouldn't they build a ship for their own use, especially after we broke the sun in the first place? I'm sure humans wouldn't help intelligent animals escape the planet if we blamed them for the end of the world. So why would they help us? Their morals must have evolved along with their intelligence. As soon as Clara grabbed Allan and dragged him off to bed I was suspicious of her motives. Then when she didn't really want to meet Ruiz I knew she was going to turn out to be a suicidal zealot who was part of the final plan. It was a good, 3 star story that would have been better as a full length novel going back to the appearance of the evolved mammals. To be continued...
1/3 - Sacrifice: This was the shortest story of the anthology. It was so short that it was hard to get a feel for it, I'm not sure whether I liked it or not. It did kind of remind me of the conclusion of the movie The Day After Tomorrow, with snow covering most of the planet, only the survivors were triumphant and happy to be rescued not murdering each other over flint. One of the lesser stories in this anthology for me.
Empty Nest: Very interesting idea, I especially liked the way Mother Earth dismissed anyone who had been elected as a VIP, rather than simply working hard to become one without anyone elses help - there are too many VIPs elected into their positions. I would love to know which planet Esther is.
Mother and Child: Due to the comic format the story was laid out in I was unable to read the final story. There are instructions to contact the editor to get a pdf copy of the story in order to read it, but I can't be bothered - that's too much work to go to just to read a 5-10 page story.
Overall, I enjoyed this apocalypse anthology, gave me a few new ways for me to worry about the world ending after the anticlimax of 21/12/2012.
July 22, 2014
reviews.metaphorosis.com
2.5 stars
A collection of stories about the end of the world, in one form or another.
The anthology was built from an online discussion group contest, and unfortunately, it has that feel. There are some decent stories in here, but not really anything that stands out, including from the better known authors. Several of the stories are really just scenes or vignettes, not 'proper stories', and some others are obvious enough that there's not much payoff in reading past the first few pages. One is largely a collection of references to SFF classics, with a loose story built around it. One other was in graphic form that was unreadable on my Nook.
The best stories in the group are:
"Silver Sky" by Liam Baldwin - an extravagant plan to save the Earth is under threat by terrorists. Baldwin does a nice job here. While the story could use some polish and edits for clarity, it works pretty well as is.
"Empty Nest", by R. F. Dickson - the Earth gives warning. Original and clever, though by nature a slight idea that could have been dealt with more concisely.
Other interesting stories are:
"Relapse" by Norman Gray - Groundhog day at the end of the world. Again, a story that almost worked, but didn't quite. Here, while I think the author had a good idea for the end, I wish he'd done a little more with the emotions.
January 18, 2013
I found four stories I thought were great - "Executable", "Let's See What Tomorrow Brings", "Burning Alexandria", and "Silver Sky". The rest are okay to pretty good, with a couple of original ideas included. This is my opinion, of course.
I believe most folks would find enough they like in this book to make the purchase and reading time worthwhile.
Added note - I think publishing a collection from a writing forum is an excellent idea. I hope there will be more to come.
I believe most folks would find enough they like in this book to make the purchase and reading time worthwhile.
Added note - I think publishing a collection from a writing forum is an excellent idea. I hope there will be more to come.
March 7, 2013
I don't normally read short stories, but I was intrigued by the premise here: Authors take on the apocalyptic end of the world. Other than that, the authors were apparently free to do as they will with their stories. Some are more futuristic, others could take place today. The quality was generally good, though--as always--some seemed not-so-hot. In general, though, I enjoyed this exercise in imagination.
January 15, 2013
There were some really great stories in here, and some that were just meh... Hugh Howey's short had a very cool premise, but seemed too short (I love his stuff and wanted more). Igor Ljubuncic's was great as well. This one is definitely worth a read, although I probably won't come back to it too often.
February 1, 2013
This was a quick read I took a gamble over and I must admit I was greatly surprised. The stories are an interesting mix of styles and ideas which gave a thoroughly enjoyable read. It's not particularly long which I think added to the effectiveness of each story.
May 11, 2013
Out of the 12 stories in the book I liked three.
Executable by Hugh Howey.
Julia's Garden by Michael Aaron.
Relapse by Norman Gray.
Had these been the only stories I would have rated the book four stars.
Executable by Hugh Howey.
Julia's Garden by Michael Aaron.
Relapse by Norman Gray.
Had these been the only stories I would have rated the book four stars.
February 7, 2013
I love post-apocalyptic stories and this is a collection of the cream of the crop!! Every one of them is totally worthy! Great, great job!
August 18, 2020
Scary to read about some of these things today
I know this came out in 2012, but I'm reading it here in 2020. And some of these things are scary to read about with everything that is going on right now. I did enjoy some of the stories, but for me short stories are really not my cup of tea.
I know this came out in 2012, but I'm reading it here in 2020. And some of these things are scary to read about with everything that is going on right now. I did enjoy some of the stories, but for me short stories are really not my cup of tea.
August 8, 2019
Excellent bite sized tales
An excellent selection of original stories and ideas to give the reader an idea about each author’s story telling skills.
See my review also at:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/End-Visions-...
An excellent selection of original stories and ideas to give the reader an idea about each author’s story telling skills.
See my review also at:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/End-Visions-...
July 3, 2021
Very original
Short,tight little stories, 90% very enjoyable. Some humorous, some terrifying. (Almost) all satisfying the apocalyptic scratch you have. And Hugh Howey’s isn’t the best one.
Short,tight little stories, 90% very enjoyable. Some humorous, some terrifying. (Almost) all satisfying the apocalyptic scratch you have. And Hugh Howey’s isn’t the best one.
August 7, 2013
In this anthology which consists of twelve tales of the world ending you can find apocalypse scenarios of various type. Computer viruses run amok, unknown menaces from space taking out the planet, or the ever popular infection of the human race. The stories are all fairly short which makes for a relatively quick and enjoyable read.
While all of the stories were well written, even if you had no idea of how the end came about, there were four that made me like this more than I might have otherwise.
The most fun for me was Empty Nest, Mother Nature (the planet) decides that she should speak to someone in charge about her future plans for the Earth. You can imagine the scramble as everyone around the world wants to be the person that actually gets to converse with our home. Not so much an apocalypse but earth moving at least.
Burning Alexandria was more of a claustrophobic story than apocalyptic because the action all takes place within a home. All we know about the outside world is that it is cold and heat needs to be generated. This is about one man but does not say how the world fell apart.
The love story in Silver Sky seems to be the main focus while the impending end of the world is secondary. But at least we get to know what is going to happen to cause the planet to end. As with most shorts you don't really get a chance to like or dislike the characters before it ends.
Finally, Julia's Garden has a group of scientists hold up and trying to find a cure for a peril they created. They are all going slowly crazy as they wait for the end.
If you like end of the world plots then this is a good place to get a fix and not a zombie in sight.
While all of the stories were well written, even if you had no idea of how the end came about, there were four that made me like this more than I might have otherwise.
The most fun for me was Empty Nest, Mother Nature (the planet) decides that she should speak to someone in charge about her future plans for the Earth. You can imagine the scramble as everyone around the world wants to be the person that actually gets to converse with our home. Not so much an apocalypse but earth moving at least.
Burning Alexandria was more of a claustrophobic story than apocalyptic because the action all takes place within a home. All we know about the outside world is that it is cold and heat needs to be generated. This is about one man but does not say how the world fell apart.
The love story in Silver Sky seems to be the main focus while the impending end of the world is secondary. But at least we get to know what is going to happen to cause the planet to end. As with most shorts you don't really get a chance to like or dislike the characters before it ends.
Finally, Julia's Garden has a group of scientists hold up and trying to find a cure for a peril they created. They are all going slowly crazy as they wait for the end.
If you like end of the world plots then this is a good place to get a fix and not a zombie in sight.
February 21, 2013
I enjoyed most of the stories in this collection although one or two felt slightly out of place in this anthology due to excessive language or erotic elements. Nothing wrong with either of those things, but as there were only one or two stories in the collection with those elements, they felt slightly off-kilter.
I felt that the science behind some of the ideas was a little weak, or poorly researched. The collection as a whole made up for that though, with some very believable and plausible stories in there too.
Some of the stories felt somewhat familiar (I have read lots of PA stories), but there are many little gems in here that seem very fresh and original, and one or two that are just begging to be turned into much longer tales so that the worlds hinted at could be expanded fully.
I have to make mention of my absolute favourite story in the collection, Mother and Child by Tristis Ward. I don't want to spoil it by saying what happens (I came to it with no idea what it contained and I think my experience was the better for it) but I have to say it was very deftly written. It isn't often that a PA story could be described as heart-warming or amusing but this one was. I'll be looking up further works by Tristis Ward and a few of the other contributers too, particularly Norman Gray and Pete McLean.
I felt that the science behind some of the ideas was a little weak, or poorly researched. The collection as a whole made up for that though, with some very believable and plausible stories in there too.
Some of the stories felt somewhat familiar (I have read lots of PA stories), but there are many little gems in here that seem very fresh and original, and one or two that are just begging to be turned into much longer tales so that the worlds hinted at could be expanded fully.
I have to make mention of my absolute favourite story in the collection, Mother and Child by Tristis Ward. I don't want to spoil it by saying what happens (I came to it with no idea what it contained and I think my experience was the better for it) but I have to say it was very deftly written. It isn't often that a PA story could be described as heart-warming or amusing but this one was. I'll be looking up further works by Tristis Ward and a few of the other contributers too, particularly Norman Gray and Pete McLean.
April 17, 2015
Most of these stories were really good! I was surprised that I felt like Hugh Howey's contribution was one of the weaker ones; I've really liked pretty much everything else he's published. I guess maybe I know just enough about computers and networks and I dislike technology cautionary tales enough that I wasn't really destined to like it, no matter how well written it was. I liked the premise of "Relapse" best; thought it was an interesting what-if. "Empty Nest" was silly, but short and sweet.
October 21, 2013
A nice anthology of stories.
Most were good, one was excellent, a few were eh. The last one was near impossible to read on the Kindle, which the editor pointed out in the preview and offered to send a .pdf But why, I ask sincerely, do you include a story that can't be read on a Kindle in a book that, as far as I can tell, is only available on the Kindle?
Most were good, one was excellent, a few were eh. The last one was near impossible to read on the Kindle, which the editor pointed out in the preview and offered to send a .pdf But why, I ask sincerely, do you include a story that can't be read on a Kindle in a book that, as far as I can tell, is only available on the Kindle?
August 22, 2016
Decent stories
I would have to say Relapse was my favorite story of the bunch. Granted it follows like ground hog day but with a nice twist and it is a short story so nice and to the point. Mother and child was my second favorite of the group. This was was a surprise at the end. Overall I would recommend this to friends and others. Well worth the time spent on it.
I would have to say Relapse was my favorite story of the bunch. Granted it follows like ground hog day but with a nice twist and it is a short story so nice and to the point. Mother and child was my second favorite of the group. This was was a surprise at the end. Overall I would recommend this to friends and others. Well worth the time spent on it.
June 28, 2016
Great collection of stories, amazing the different interpretations of the end of the world. The only criticism I have is the last story, which is impossible to read on my Kindle. They do offer a free PDF, but who wants to go to that much trouble? I read in bed, so the last story was a big disappointment and should not have been included in the ebook anthology. Otherwise highly recommended.
September 8, 2013
I liked the anthology for the most part. I'm not big on short stories but the subject "The End" lends it's self to short format. I mean It is the end. Nothing happens after. It was inexpensive vacation reading. I will put some of the authors on the Want to read list.
September 2, 2013
Ya know, for a bunch of nutjobs on a fantasy and sci-fi forum, we didn't do too bad!
Admittedly, one of my stories was included in this anthology, and I certainly can't rate my own work. But there are some real gems in this collection, and it was a great read.
Admittedly, one of my stories was included in this anthology, and I certainly can't rate my own work. But there are some real gems in this collection, and it was a great read.
August 27, 2013
I liked these stories. Most short stories can be hit or miss. Most of these were well written. I didn't read the last story as I am not into comic books. If I wanted to read a comic book, I would buy one.
December 9, 2013
You know, for an anthology book about the many possible (and one improbable) ways that doom and gloom can hit us, this was a pretty great read. My favorite was written by my favorite author Micheal J. Sullivan. Give this one a look see, if you can handle the many end of the world scenarios.
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