Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse ~edited by John Joseph Adams

–published 2008
–327 pages, Night Shade Books
–4.5/5 stars

As 2008 began I found myself not only craving science fiction but craving it in the short story format. I have always been a fan of the short story but a review of my reading lists for the past couple of years finds short stories sorely underrepresented. My determination to remedy that had me on the lookout for new collections and the fabulous Daniel Kvasznicza cover image on Wastelands was quick to catch my eye. I enjoy post-apocalyptic stories but did not recall reading many in the short story format and that intrigued me as well.

Editor John Joseph Adams’ collection of 22 stories, representing a wide-variety of post-apocalyptic scenarios from some of the field’s most prolific authors, is a must-have volume for fans of the this subgenre of science fiction. What makes Wastelands great, however, is that it contains the type and caliber of stories that should appeal to those who are simply fans of the format and are unsure of their feelings about post-apocalyptic literature.

Although I gave the anthology itself a rating based on the 5 star system I adopted this year with my reviews, I am going to give each individual story a grade as I feel that it gives me a slightly wider range within which to rate my impressions. And now, on to the stories:

The End of the Whole Mess ~Stephen King:

An engaging story that goes a long way towards proving that King can write damn good short stories as well as novels, even if it is not in his trademark horror vein. The ending gimmick was a bit silly, which, without revealing any spoilers, was the point. However I felt that it drug on a bit too long to do justice to what was a well-crafted story. A-

Salvage ~Orson Scott Card:

Having recently become a card carrying member of the Orson Scott Card fanclub (badum-ching), I was curious to sample some of his short story work. This is a nicely told melancholy tale that touches on Card’s Mormon faith without being preachy in any way. In fact it is a very accessible story for people of any, or no, faith. A-

The People of Sand and Slag ~Paolo Bacigalupi

This is the type of short story that those afraid of science fiction would possibly point to as a reason why. It takes a bit of concentration to get past the technical future-speak to determine just what is going on, and yet doing so rewards the reading with a story that is at once fascinating and disturbing. Is it possible to like and dislike a short story at the same time? Certainly! Having reading Charles Stross’ Halting State recently I was in the mood for more of this sort of future-tech writing. While this is an inventive take on the post-apocalyptic future of mankind, the ending made me weep for humanity and question how a world like that would truly define the term. Bacigalupi has a new short story collection out from Night Shade Books and this taste of his writing certainly has me curious about his other work. This story was a Hugo and Nebula finalist. A

Bread and Bombs ~M. Rickert

A deceptively dark story that with a disturbingly eerie end . It reminded me of some of Neil Gaiman’s short stories and how they can sort of creep up on you. B+

How We Got in Town and Out Again ~Jonathan Lethem

A very odd story that had a Mad Max feel to it in regards to the post-apocalyptic world that Lethem envisioned. Virtual reality gaming combined with a satirical look at reality television addiction makes for an inventive tale. B+

Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels ~George R.R. Martin

An interesting speculation of the post-apocalyptic evolution of man. A beautifully rendered, ultimately tragic tale. My first GRRM short story. This one has stayed with me long after moving on to other stories. Mmmmm…good! A+

Waiting for the Zephyr ~Tobias S. Buckell

It rarely takes more than the inclusion of a zephyr to have me psyched about a story of this kind. I just love them. This tale, my first experience reading Tobias Buckeel, had a good flow right up until the end. Had it ended a sentence or two earlier it would have felt more like a short story and less like a chapter taken out of a book. What it did succeed in doing was to ensure me that I will mostly likely enjoy Buckell’s novels when I get around to reading them. B

Never Despair ~Jack McDevitt

I have several Jack McDevitt novels waiting for me on my shelves and reading this brief, quirky adventure makes me want to read them all the more. Nicely encapsulated tale with a historical twist that left me wanting nothing more. A

When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth ~Cory Doctorow

This story won the 2007 Locus Award for Best Novelette. As I read the closing words it was abundantly clear why. At roughly 30 pages this felt like a more complete story than many of the shorter stories. While I think computer nerds, particularly IT folks and Systems Administrators would find a great deal more to like in this story than even I did, it has all the ups and downs of a novel length story and should appeal to anyone who likes a good tale. I have told more than one person already that this is a story they need to read. A+

The Last of the O-Forms ~James Van Pelt

An interesting story that called to mind the YA novel Freaks by Annette Curtis Klause, had that story been set in the future. Van Pelt’s story held my interest but it wasn’t until the end that I felt the true horror of what he was writing. A dark and darkly humorous ending. This one was a Nebula Award finalist. A-

Still Life with Apocalypse ~Richard Kadrey

Still life…it is just that. A very brief glimpse into a world after a disaster. Like the opening chapters of A Brief History of the Dead, I found paragraphs in this story that thrilled me just for what they said or hinted at. Nothing profound, but it works well and I would be intrigued to read a much longer version. B-

Artie’s Angels ~Catherine Wells

A very nice reworking of the Arthurian legend and its ideals. A brief story in which Ms. Wells managed to make me care deeply about both the narrator of the story and its titular character. A

Judgment Passed ~Jerry Oltion

Despite the preface to the story indicating that Oltion believes religion to be “a scourge on humanity” I found this story to be less of a criticism of religion (which is what I expected) and more of an interesting ‘what if’ scenario that proposes what it might be like to be left behind. I have an Oltion novel on my to-read pile and if this story is any indication of his talent I will certainly enjoy getting to it. A-

Mute ~Gene Wolfe

As Adams writes in his introduction, “this story is about two children who return home, find an empty house, and have to grow up in a hurry”. I became a fan of Wolfe after reading The Knight and The Wizard and it was a pleasure to begin my foray into his short stories with this tale. While I found the end to be ever so slightly confusing and more disturbing than I expected, I have to say that, like King, Wolfe’s skill is not limited to his longer fiction. A-

Inertia ~Nancy Kress

A well-told story about disease and the nature of isolation. I found myself thinking of an episode of Deep Space Nine and about the story of the Reavers as told in the film Serenity as I read this. While the story is certainly filled with sadness I found the idea to be very intriguing. A-

And the Deep Blue Sea ~Elizabeth Bear

A fun, Faustian take on post-apocalyptic fiction. This is my first experience with Bear’s work and I really enjoyed it. A

Speech Sounds ~Octavia E. Butler

This was a very unusual and unique story. It won the Hugo in 1984 and after reading it I could see why. I loved the take on communication, or the lack thereof, and how this might possibly stratify society after a cultural/societal collapse. A

Killers ~Carol Emshwiller

As a piece reflecting the authors feelings on the Iraq war this story delivers a strong and unmistakable message. I found the main character’s actions at the end to be quite unexpected and disturbing and thought provoking. Not a tale I would want to read again and again but it was very well done. A-

Ginny Sweethips’ Flying Circus ~Neal Barrett, Jr.

This story also caused me to envision a Mad Max style post-apocalyptic world but in a much more fun and entertaining vein. Of all the stories I read in the collection it is this one that I was somehow able to ‘see’ most clearly. I think some of that may have been due to comparisons with Resident Evil: Apocalypse that it conjured up in my mind. A fun story that was both a Hugo and Nebula finalist. A-

The End of the World As We Know It ~Dale Bailey

This was a very unique (for me anyway) take on the last man on earth scenario. I really enjoyed how Bailey inserted various reflections on the many types of end of the world stories. I certainly did not expect it to end the way that it did, with a sort of wry humor, and that too led to my enjoyment of the story. This was a Nebula finalist. A

A Song Before Sunset ~David Grigg

Wow, this one was profoundly sad. It touched on themes of beauty and culture, humanity and civilization. And all this in a mere nine pages. A+

Episode Seven: Last Stand Against the Pack in the Kingdom of the Purple Flowers ~John Langan

This story was every bit as entertaining as its title would suggest. Borrowing on themes of post-apocalyptic-zombie-attack films it tells the story of 2 young people–a pregnant girl and the male friend who saves her when the creatures attack. I found so many images from so many films crowding my head as I enjoyed this final story in the Wastelands anthology. There were comic book and cultural references that were fun and an underlying darkness to the story that left the reader wondering even after the story ended. A

As you can see from my grading I did not really find any mangy dogs among the litter. Wastelands certainly proves that John Joseph Adams can hold his own in regards to choosing stories for an anthology and I hope that this is only the beginning of what he has to offer. I discovered so many authors whose work I had never before read and was able to sample the short fiction of some authors whose larger works I really enjoy. The book ends with a really nice ‘suggested readings’ list that does nothing but make my to-read pile grow larger. Wastelands is available at your local bookstore in the science fiction section and should be picked up immediately.