John Joseph Adams

‘Wastelands’ has been on my to read list for a ridiculously long time, the better part of ten years, because it contains apocalyptic stories by a bunch of well-known sci-fi authors. My obsession with the end of the world is not a new development. I read most of the book while on a train, periodically distracted by entrancingly beautiful snowstorms. Given the arctic conditions currently prevailing in the UK, I was rather disappointed by the lack of Sudden New Ice Age stories. As ever with anthologies, this one was a mixed bag. Interestingly, it felt slightly dated, further fodder for theories that apocalyptic fiction closely reflects the fears and fixations of the time that spawned it. I also suspect that some of the stories were either later turned into full length novels that I read, or I’ve just read novels with extremely similar settings. There was a certain sense of deja vu with some of them, while others seemed entirely fresh and new.

I’m still caffeinated enough that I need to restrain myself from commenting on every story in turn. As there are 22 that would be tedious, so I’ll try and confine myself to picking the three I liked most and least. Possibly not coincidentally, my top three are all by women and my bottom three are all by men. My favourites, in no particular order:

- ‘And the Deep Blue Sea’ by Elisabeth Bear, a seemingly simple tale of a motorbike courier given a positively Dantean twist. This was definitely the most visceral of the stories, as I could practically feel the desert sun. The atmosphere reminded me of Mad Max: Fury Road, which is always a good sign as I adore that film. Despite the story showing only a snippet of the courier’s life, she felt like a fully realised character.

- ‘Speech Sounds’ by Octavia Butler, which uses a concept familiar from [b:The Flame Alphabet|11325011|The Flame Alphabet|Ben Marcus|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333576480s/11325011.jpg|16253260] and [b:The Silent History|16077613|The Silent History|Eli Horowitz|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1354052636s/16077613.jpg|21874221] and explores it much better in a short story than either of those managed in a novel. This tale was especially moving and managed a tightness of plot that’s particularly impressive in small space.

- ‘Inertia’ by Nancy Kress contained the most interesting thought experiment in the book and one that really showed up the intellectual laziness of the first story (‘The End of the Whole Mess’ by Stephen King). It was very clever about showing without telling.

My least favourites:

- ‘Salvage’ by Orson Scott Card, which didn’t really go anywhere or evoke a particularly interesting or distinctive world. The punchline was Mormons and I was left thinking, “So what?”

- ‘The End of the World As We Know It’ by Dale Bailey was trying to be all self-referential and profound but failed to pull it off. And it revolved around fridging the narrator’s wife.

- ‘Dark, Dark Were The Tunnels’ by George R. R. Martin is a flimsier miniature version of [b:Dark Universe|807806|Dark Universe|Daniel F. Galouye|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1178571835s/807806.jpg|793748] by David Galouye, which was written several decades prior and takes a much more sophisticated approach to the central concept.

Looking back through the book, though, I upgraded it from three to four stars overall because there is much more good than indifferent stuff. Nearly all of the stories not mentioned above included memorable, appealing, and interesting elements. Examples include the weeviltech in ‘The People of Sand and Slag’ by Paolo Bacigalupi, a post-apocalyptic piano recital in ‘A Song Before Sunset’ by David Grigg, and the purple flowers infesting old cars in ‘Episode Seven’ by John Langan. The perceptibly coherent apocalyptic aesthetic that runs through the whole book, reflecting the period the stories were chosen from (and the editor's taste), is also intriguing for the 2018 reader. I couldn’t necessarily describe it in detail, or put into words how apocalyptic fiction has shifted and changed in the subsequent decade, but I know it when I read it.… (meer)

FYI Review - This anthology of horror stories contains the following:
-Foreword by Jordan Peele
-Reckless Eyeballing by N.K. Jemisin
-Eye & Tooth by Rebecca Roanhorse
-Wandering Evil by Caldwell Turnbull
-Invasion of the Baby Snatchers by Lesley Nneka Arimah
-The Other One by Violet Allen
-Lasiren by Erin E. Adams
-The Rider by Tananarive Due
-The Aesthete by Justin C. Key
-Pressure by Ezra Claytan Daniels
-Dark Home by Nnedi Okorafor
-Flicker by L.D. Lewis
-The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World by Nalo Hopkinson
-The Norwood Trouble by Maurice Broaddus
-A Grief of the Dead by Rion Amilcar Scott
-A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree by Nicole D. Sconiers
-An American Fable by Chesya Burke
-Your Happy Place by Terence Taylor
-Hide & Seek by P. Njeli Clark
-Origin Story by Tochi Onyebuchi… (meer)