After the Apocalypse in Apocalypse Whenever

Dec 25, 2020 Netanella rated it really liked it

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, single-author-collection, science-fiction, 2020-december-reading-challenges

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I've recently finished this author's excellent short story "Yellow and the Perception of Realty" on Tor.com, and wanted to look for more stories by her. I was thrilled that I found this.

The story begins with a bang (zombie penal colony) and ends with a story that stays with you. In between, there are haunting, thoughtful stories of the aftermath. Very well done.

"The Naturalist" - In a post-zompoc world, criminals are dropped into wastelands that have been abandoned to the elements and to zombie I've recently finished this author's excellent short story "Yellow and the Perception of Realty" on Tor.com, and wanted to look for more stories by her. I was thrilled that I found this.

The story begins with a bang (zombie penal colony) and ends with a story that stays with you. In between, there are haunting, thoughtful stories of the aftermath. Very well done.

"The Naturalist" - In a post-zompoc world, criminals are dropped into wastelands that have been abandoned to the elements and to zombies. Welcome to the penal colonies of the future. One survivor, a psychopathic survivor, begins to study and experiment on the zombies and their food choices. This is a horrific tale that demonstrates that humans are just as savage as monsters.

"Strange Economics" - In a China where much of the population has been wiped out by bird flu, labor shortages can be a real problem. In this story, one young girl encounters difficulties when she starts a new job that is seemingly too good to be true.

"Useless Things" - This one was a slow burn, about an older woman living alone and eking out a living as a doll and dildo sculptor on the edge of the desert in New Mexico, about 20 years after America's economic collapse. I enjoyed it nevertheless.

"The Lost Boy: A Reporter at Large" - A short story that covers the topic of amnesia, focused on a young school boy who is lost in the city after two dirty bombs explode, and reemerges in another city with complete memory loss. I always connect more strongly with stories of children in distress, but here I felt more for the plight of the mother, who kept trying to go back to the city for her child and getting turned back by the authorities.

"The Kingdom of the Blind" - Two computer programmers discuss the possibilities that one of the programs that they oversee has become self-aware. For computer geeks, this is a fun one.

"Going to France" - A man who owns a small boat is hired by a small group to go out into the ocean so that they (the group) can fly across the ocean France. And after this sudden and startling occurrence, the boatman decides to buy a plane ticket and fly to France himself. What a strange story - it flew completely over my head.

"Honeymoon" - I loved this story, which starts with an angry fat bride, striding down a county road while her dumb but good looking groom follows along in his pick up, begging her to get in.

"The Effect of Centrifugal Forces" - A sad story about the devastation caused by prions, a transmissible neurological disease that can jump species. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Mad cow disease. Chronic wasting disease in deer. There's a feline version. A human version. What if there were an avian version, and in a few years, our brains turn in to swiss cheese from eating chicken nuggets?

"After the Apocalypse" - ...more

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Nov 27, 2011 Mitchell Friedman rated it really liked it

Shelves: published-2011, short-stories, science-fiction, four-star, four-star-science-fiction, library, liked-reviews

Pretty good collection of sf short stories set in the near future. A bit creepy and stylistically a bit weird - a number of them basically with beginnings or endings - but a bit what I expect from decent sf short stories. Good to see anything from McHugh - though it looks like I may have missed an earlier collection and don't recall if I've read Nekropolis. ...more

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Oct 14, 2014 Dani rated it really liked it

Shelves: dystopian-sci-fi

I usually don't go for short stories, but I immediately loved the first story in this collection, even though I usually don't go for zombie stories either. And even though that story is ultimately horrifying. But I like that sometimes. I like to be impressed.

The first story was like some really awesome novella that just grabs you immediately and doesn't let go. I wanted to read that thing alllll dayyyyy. And it was long enough that I got my wish for a reasonable part of that day.

I don't remember ...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Chris rated it it was ok

A lot of people really liked this collection, and there is a lot to admire, but in the end it just wasn't for me. ...more

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May 22, 2013 Rachel rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult-fic

This was an interesting book of short stories that usually have some take on the world after some kind of major breakdown. Some quite depressing ones but they make you think.

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