The Earth Strikes Back: An Anthology of Ecological Horror

by Richard Chizmar (Editor)

Mother Earth has been suffering at the hands of her children: acid rain, toxic waste, polluted air, poisoned water, and a depleted ozone layer are only the most obvious signs of mankind's ingratitude to the planet.

In The Earth Strikes Back, twenty writers of fantastic fiction have contributed dark tales focusing on ecological terror and suspense.

The cautionary, often shocking volume, edited by World Fantasy Award winner Richard T. Chizmar, features brilliant new short stories from such best-selling authors as Dan Simmons, Richard Laymon, Poppy Z. Brite, Ed Gorman, Rick Hautala, Thomas Tessier, Charles de Lint, Nancy Collins, Hugh B. Cave, and many others.

Genres: Horror, Science Fiction, Anthologies, Fiction, Dystopia, Apocalyptic, Short Stories

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1994

About the author

Richard Chizmar is a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Amazon, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author.

He is the co-author (with Stephen King) of the bestselling novella, Gwendy’s Button Box and the founder/publisher of Cemetery Dance magazine and the Cemetery Dance Publications book imprint. He has edited more than 35 anthologies and his short fiction has appeared in dozens of publications, including multiple editions of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. He has won two World Fantasy awards, four International Horror Guild awards, and the HWA’s Board of Trustee’s award.

Chizmar (in collaboration with Johnathon Schaech) has also written screenplays and teleplays for United Artists, Sony Screen Gems, Lions Gate, Showtime, NBC, and many other companies. He has adapted the works of many bestselling authors including Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Bentley Little.

Chizmar is also the creator/writer of the online website, Stephen King Revisited. His fourth short story collection, The Long Way Home, was published in 2019. With Brian Freeman, Chizmar is co-editor of the acclaimed Dark Screams horror anthology series published by Random House imprint, Hydra.

His latest book, The Girl on the Porch, was released in hardcover by Subterranean Press, and Widow’s Point, a chilling novella about a haunted lighthouse written with his son, Billy Chizmar, was recently adapted into a feature film.

Chizmar’s work has been translated into more than fifteen languages throughout the world, and he has appeared at numerous conferences as a writing instructor, guest speaker, panelist, and guest of honor.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished the one on the right, The Earth Strikes Back. A collection of fascinating short stories where man bites his own ass. Well written and smartly chosen stories of warning man of his own follies with dire consequences. A horror collection of mans devices where the results are deadly. In my opinion 5star collection. I leave to others to form their own.
Now I will turn my attention to Cold Blood, by the same editor Richard Chizmar, with an uncanny attention to what scares the reader. Read on!!!

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a rather obscure anthology with an overall above average calibre of stories. All of the stories are based on the theme of ecological horror. The Dan Simmons and Gary Braunbeck stories are especially memorable, and I also remember liking the ones by Nancy Collins and Hugh Cave.

[Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's almost quaint to read about people's concerns over the ozone layer. This was hard to get into a first, but well worth the effort - "I Remember Me" by Thomas Tessier gave me the chills.

[John Nugent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Above average short story collection. A 3.5 rounded down. I'll leave my individual rankings below.

My Copsa Micas - 9/10. Very solid nonfiction piece.
Harvest - 5/10. A little hard to follow.
Toxic Wastrels - 2/10. Writing is solid, but is mostly splatterpunk without purpose.
The Forest is Crying - 6/10. Lots of typos in this one, but a nice message.
I Remember Me - 10/10. Phenomenal story.
Ground Water - 7/10. Short and sweet.
Cages - 1/10. Experimental, but poorly written, and gratuitous use of slurs.
Where It's Safe - 6/10. A little preachy.
Expiration Date - 10/10. Caught me by surprise.
The Dreaded Hobblobs - 10/10. One of the weirdest stories in here, but it works perfectly.
Cancer Alley - 3/10. Interesting idea, but did not work for me.
Binary - 8/10. A little predictable, but a good story.
Tyrophex-Fourteen - 7/10. The ending makes this one better.
Torrent - 10/10. Shortest story in here, but one of the best.
Toxic Shock - 9/10. There's maybe two different readings of this story, and the other one would net it a one star, but, as it stands, I'm choosing to believe the better is the correct one.
Please Stand By - 1/10. Cheesy as all get out.
Double-Edged Sword - 4/10. Cool idea, but the execution was mediocre.
The Fur Coat - 7/10. A little repetitive, which is unfortunate, since this story was good otherwise.
Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200 - 6/10. I like this story. I wish it had been a little longer. Definitely the least "horror" of the bunch.
Genesis II - 6/10. Again, I like this story. This one really needed to be longer for some contextual reasons. It also is a little heavy-handed with morality.

[Heather Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an interesting collection of stories all based on the idea of ecological disaster and horror. Especially applicable to the climate change that our world is experiencing right now….the world’s leaders should read this book. My favorite stories are: “The Forest is Crying”; “Ground Water”; “Expiration Date”; “The Dreaded Hobblobs”; “Cancer Alley”; and “Binary”. Overall an excellent book.

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 5 out of 5]

like to think that earth is alive. Is one big organism that some people call Gaia. I always thought that humans don't belong to mother earth ecosistem... I thought that if the trees are the blood of Gaia and animals are nourishment and the bacteria and virus were the defenses of it... Well, where do we enter here? We don't. We destroy mother earth... We bring nothing good to it. We are worst the virus and bacteria. We destroy without purpose and contempt. We are a surplus. And mother earth will have it's way.
I read once (and then again here in one of this stories) that if humans use radiation to threat cancer than mother earth uses ultraviolets rays to threat it's cancer... Us!
I read someplace that there are many diseases being discover, now we have the swine flu and bird flu that have cause some hysteria in the media... I like to think that it's mother earth revenge time. We will see..
Now back to the book... Some stories were good, some were not so good but only one was awful.
My Copsa Micas by Dan Simmons - A story of reckless pollution and disturbing dreams. It was one of the best story. It tells our story of humankind and some views on it. I like it. 7/10

Harvest by Norman Partridge - Cancer destroys a man's family and his sanity as well. I didn't enjoy this story very much. One of the weakest. 3/10

Toxic Wastrels by Poppy Z. Brite - The two adult wastrel children of a town's major polluter finally suffer a poetic justice. I didn't enjoy this story as much... 3/10

The Forest is Crying by Charles De Lint - A man regains his faith when visited by an angel from the future who helps him with her past. This story is a good one. It as very little to do with earth striking back but it's almost the other way around. 5/10

I Remember Me by Thomas Tessier - When memory fades, what will you do when no one else is capable of reminding you? This one is one of the best stories. I like the way he creates a plague that makes people forgetting things... love it. 9/10

Ground Water by James Kisner - A man's insistent request to be hooked up to the City's water supply has a very grisly twist. This views in this story are one of the spookiest of all stories in this anthology. Specially the family in the tub... Argh 7.5/10.

Cages by Ed Gorman - What would you do to help your drug addicted and crazy parents out? Didn't enjoy it. Didn't like it. I even didn't finish it. It was the only one I couldn't finish. Too strange for me... 1/10

Where It's Safe by John Shirley - Even all the money in the world can't keep you safe. One word... Eco-terrorism. 7.5/10

Expiration Date by William Relling Jr. - Does our planet have one? Strange and simple story. 6/10

The Dreaded Hobblobs by Gary A. Braunbeck - What if they moved next door to you? Even worse, what if they had plans for you? This one is a excelent story. Braunbeck creates a good story of something that would be good to happen to us... maybe that way we could help mother earth pollution... 9/10

Cancer Alley by Nancy A. Collins - Guess who's coming to the next town meeting? Good story. Good plot. 7/10

Binary by Roman A. Ranieri - A young boy's rescuer takes revenge for those that caused his death. This is a good story with a straightforward plot. One of the gems of this anthology. I have to see more books by Ranieri. 9/10

Tyrophex Fourteen by Ronald Kelly - A deadly burning gas is accidentally released and the company will do anything to cover their tracks. This story is another gem of this anthology. Maybe there is a conspiracy 8/10

Torrent by Mark Rainey - It won't quit raining, and the rain can kill... I don't even have to say more... It's a sad story... 9/10

Toxic Shock by Rick Hautala - A twist to the old abortion debate. 8/10

Please Stand By by Thomas F. Monteleone - Would you keep your mouth shut for enough money? I think story tells everything our world turn into it... Money buys everything. 10/10

Double-Edged Sword by Barry Hoffman - So you spray gases for the military, but what if you fall victim too? Probably my favourite story (not counting the sad one... :) ) 9.5/10

The Fur Coat by Richard Laymon - How far will an animal activist go? Again eco-terrorists but different kind... Some persons go to far and begin to take actions into their hands. Good story. It's too humane... 9/10

Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200 by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - How competitive will our world get? Not the best story but a good one 7.5/10

Genesis II by Hugh B. Cave - After its all over, will you be able to start again? Good story with a interesting plot... 8.5/10

In the end I would reccommend this book to anyone who loves nature... I would give this book to almost everyone.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic selection of eco-based stories of our relationship with the world and how it might turn on us and our attempts to tame it. Two stories stick in my mind the most - one where a lady in a fur coat ends up the victim of a role reversal and the other to do with our attempts to destroy landfill using chemicals. Still relevant today I am sure, and worth delving into for a new perspective.

[Angela Fuentez · Rating 5 out of 5]

If we want a beautiful and healthy environment for our children and grandchildren to grow up in, then we must make some positive changes to how we are living now. The authors in this book give us an eye-opening forewarning to what Mother Earth can bring if she decides she's finished with us.

Fantastically written. A definite must-read.

[Summer · Rating 3 out of 5]

(a detailed description with each story coming later)