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Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse |  | Authors: Stephen King, Cory Doctorow, George R. R. Martin, Octavia E. Butler, Jonathan Lethem, Orson Scott Card, Gene Wolfe, Jack McDevitt, Tobias S. Buckell
Creator: John Joseph Adams
Publisher: Night Shade Books
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $10.56
as of 11/21/2009 14:30 CST details
You Save: $5.39 (34%)
New (20) Used (18) from $10.56
Seller: bookrackrh
Rating:  46 reviews
Sales Rank: 1730
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 331
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 1.1
ISBN: 1597801054
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.0876208
EAN: 9781597801058
ASIN: 1597801054
Publication Date: January 15, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Famine, Death, War, and Pestilence: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the harbingers of Armageddon - these are our guides through the Wastelands... From the Book of Revelations to The Road Warrior; from A Canticle for Leibowitz to The Road, storytellers have long imagined the end of the world, weaving tales of catastrophe, chaos, and calamity. Gathering together the best post-apocalyptic literature of the last two decades from many of today's most renowned authors of speculative fiction, including George R.R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, Orson Scott Card, Carol Emshwiller, Jonathan Lethem, Octavia E. Butler, and Stephen King, Wastelands explores the scientific, psychological, and philosophical questions of what it means to remain human in the wake of Armageddon.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 46
loved it! November 19, 2009
Ang * ) (VA)
Some were really, really good, some were okay, and some were a little disturbing. It was a good mix. I highly recommend this for any fan of post-apocalyptic fiction!
 A Must for Fans of Post-Apocalypse October 30, 2009
Shilom (MI)
There really are so many scenarios of post-apocalypse in here it keeps your imagination going. Everything from mutations to computer geeks; a destroyed world to an empty one. There are so many excellent, award-winning authors that contributed to this collection. The only negative for me though is that some are too short, but thats always a challenge when reading short stories. Not that they lack closure, just that each story holds my interest and leaves me wanting more. I must follow up with a full length P-A now. Highly recommended!
A Mixed Trick-or-Treat Bag With A Surprising Number Of Goodies October 9, 2009
Martin Mcgoey (Anoka, MN)
Wastelands is an intriguing collection of post-apocalyptic short stories. What is surprising is the range of topics the stories cover. Don't worry. You're not going to find stereotypical tales of Mel Gibson driving around in the desert or Kevin Costner portraying a heroic leader. Though there are 22 stories here, a great unifying factor throughout is the exploration of personal reactions in end-of-the-world scenarios. Some react with indifference, some with violence, and some with hope.
Many of the stories look at the post-apocalyptic genre with an eye for horror. Stephen King, Richard Kadrey, Gene Wolfe, Carol Emshwiller, and David Grigg all have horror as the focus. George R.R. Martin's story, "Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels" stands as the best horror piece from this collection, and is one of the most gripping horror short stories I've ever read.
Some have a fantasy flair to them. These include Paolo Bacigalupi, Tobias S. Buckell, Jack McDevitt, James Van Pelt, Elizabeth Bear, and Catherine Wells. Jack McDevitt's "Never Despair" is the best example from this group.
Naturally some take a sci-fi approach. These are the stories of Jonathan Lethem, Cory Doctorow, Nancy Kress,Octavia E. Butler, and Neal Barrett Jr. Lethem's "How We Got In Town and Out Again" is the best here.
And the last type is the philosophical/religious approach. These include Orson Scott Card, M. Rickert, Jerry Oltion, Dale Bailey, and John Langan. Bailey's "The End of the World As We Know It" is the best here and I would argue the best piece from the entire collection as it shatters the stereotypes of the genre, especially those clichés of Hollywood.
Some of my favorites also include "When Sysadmins Ruled the World", "Still Life With Apocalypse", "A Song Before Sunset" and "Judgment Passed".
There were a few off beat ones as well. Wolfe's "Mute" was nearly indecipherable, Card's "Salvage" was too religious, Rickert's "Bread and Bombs" will be outdated all too soon, and "Episode Seven" by John Langan, which is actually a response to Bailey's brilliant piece "The End of the World As We Know It" is probably the worst in the book and an unfortunate ending to a great collection.
Still, this book is overall an excellent collection and I would recommend it highly.
A great collection of dystopic visions September 9, 2009
Arvin (USA)
After finishing this book, I feel well versed in the various aftermaths society might face. This book had an excellent and unique collection of apocolyptic stories that were well written and well suited for such a topic. I found the short story format of these stories to work well; after all, one can only handle so much depravity at one time.
In all, I enjoyed this book and the stories within very much. There was enough intellectual stimulation for pondering the implications of the stories, but without too much proselytizing on the authors' parts.
Certainly recommended for all people interested in the dark futures of fiction.
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse August 26, 2009
Fredericka Cordaro (Pottstown, PA USA)
This is a book for people who enjoy a little bit of everything, a little "the day after" a little "far in the future" a little "what would and what if" and some heart tugging strings stories. These stories are perfect for people like me who do not really know what type of SF is for them. I read another book that John Joseph Adams put together, stories about zombies and I loved reading that one too. I appreciate his "for further reading" list at the end of each book it has helped me decide other books I might like to read. You will not regret reading this book. Fun and fast....
Showing reviews 1-5 of 46
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