The Crumbling of a Nation and other stories

by Ryan David Ginsberg

Ryan David Ginsberg bursts onto the literary scene with this hauntingly beautiful collection of satirical and speculative tales. From extraterrestrials observing Earth to human beings navigating dark, dystopian futures shaped by technology, capitalism, and authoritarianism, each story offers sharp, thought-provoking commentary on the state of our nation.

With a blend of dark humor and shattering insight, this collection takes readers on a compelling journey through the absurdities and shortcomings of modern life and the near future. As an added bonus, this collection concludes with the first three chapters of Ginsberg’s (hopeful) debut novel, In the Algorithm We Trust.

Genres: Dystopia, Fiction, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Politics, Fantasy, Booktok

198 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 25, 2024

About the author

RYAN DAVID GINSBERG is a writer of fiction and poetry. He lives in the Central Valley of California with his wife and three dogs.

Reviews

[Star Zhang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chilling. Maybe I'll stick to dystopian stories that are slightly further from real life moving forward. This was an uncomfortable read.

[Gina Baldoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fictional short stories that could easily be real life... probably one of the scariest books I've read. This book should be read by every American citizen.

[Rhoades · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is severely flawed… however, I will give the author credit for choosing some good subject matters. Nonetheless, none of the stories felt fully flushed out, only offering a brief cliffnotes look into the stories’ world. Now, I am well aware these are short stories; however, the author never managed to get me to connect with any of characters. In fact, none of them actually felt like characters; they more felt like avatars to briefly glimpse the world they are in.

[Allison Highley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the hardest books I've ever read. One of the best books I've ever read.

[georgia mackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wanted SO BADLY to be Black Mirror, but it was actually just really soulless.

Sure, some of the stories were much better than others. But each felt like a skit than a short story, with ideas so obvious and surface-level that they actually just pissed me off. It’s really a pity because there are some really compelling concepts in here but they’re almost all underdeveloped and too glaringly obvious to be overly interesting.

Ultimately this book is what Chat GPT would spit out if you asked it to write a series of fables about what’s wrong with America. They’re not wrong…….. but they’re not good

[Always-think-critically · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely an interesting and different read. Very Black Mirror like with the dystopian/government taking over your lives in every possible way, but focused on current Trump conservative ideals. So not far from the truth…many of the stories were disturbing to say the least. But I liked that Ginsberg wrote bluntly

3 stars because the first story, to me, was not a strong opening. I would have put that in the middle of the collection because I was close to returning the book. And I know these are short stories, but the author’s writing was pretty repetitive and frankly annoying at times. For example, you’ve already set the scene, you don’t need to continue doing so while using 2-3 word phrases. Move on with the writing.

This was a similar issue with the sneak peek to “In the Algorithm We Trust.” I could not continue past the first chapter because of the extreme overuse of the word “perfect.” The reader understands that this dystopian world is ruled by AI who curates every aspect of your life via an Algorithm. No need to write “perfect” in almost every other sentence as this ruins the flow and is irritating.

If Ginsberg reads this, I sincerely hope he takes this as constructive criticism because his story lines are ON IT. The delivery needs work, but not too much

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I fell for the TikTok promos...
Dark humor, short stories, speculative fiction--- all my favorite genres. I was primed to love this, but it fell so short. This book wants to be a horror story, a huge flashing warning sign. Instead, it is a road cone on a dark highway. It points out the problem, but doesn't give us a chance to react or the space and perspective to see our predicament.

Many of the premises felt cribbed from news stories or other media. That would have been fine, except that it was all tell and no show. Everything is from a 3rd person omniscient view. We aren't allowed to relate to any of the characters. We watch them do things.

And I get that that's supposed to be part of the horror of it. That they are supposed to mirror us, as we simply keep going along in the terrifying world in which we exist. But we *feel* things. These characters don't. There is no foreshadowing. There is no twist. There is no lesson. We simply walk along with these characters in their complicity and feel nothing, learn nothing about their worlds or about ourselves.

[Jillian Humke · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read this primarily to look for literature for speech and debate and there is definitely some good stuff in there. i think some of the stories were a little unrealistic, like i didn’t know how the actions in our world could lead to the dystopian world. maybe that’s a harsh critique though. it served the purpose i wanted it to

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

i think this was my first speculative fiction book, and yeah it was pretty weird but really good!

[ines García Mendizábal · Rating 5 out of 5]

a la madreeee wooooow

[Lindsey Chrisman · Rating 1 out of 5]

The 5 star ratings must be family and friends. To write a review and state this book compares to any popular classic dystopian writer is beyond a stretch, but to also state the writing was “phenomenal” and “sensational”.
Here’s how the book reads: It was the hottest day. And on the hottest day ever recorded in the history of earths existence, my gas tank was empty. For in my absentmindedness last night I drove straight home without thinking about it. (Main character struggles to find gas while pondering the rising heat index)… and on the hottest of days ever recorded in the history of Earths existence, a sharp light caught my attention. As it was very hot today, sweat seeped into my eyes and blurred my vision until I could finally make out the flickering neon light beaming at me like lights on a Christmas tree: Gas Station.
The end

Now if you’re into that repetitive, clumsy, pretentious writing then yes, you’ve found a masterpiece.

[Riley Birchall · Rating 4 out of 5]

uncomfortable, some of the stories i had to shut the kindle for a bit bc ive never read dystopian like this. could easily see some of these stories being a reality. but nonetheless, liked how this made me really think.

[cherubees · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 48 pages. Incredibly boring & predictable. Was hoping for something like Black Mirror :/ Also, not a fan of the author using AI for the cover originally

[Emily DePaolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

a GOOD think piece that COULD be great.

i really enjoyed the premise of most of these stories, with "Amber's Son" being the best. HOWEVERRRRRRR, most of it just fell flat for me. i think this was trying really hard to be a black-mirror-esque satire/speculative/whatever book, but it just didn't make it.

like i said, the premise was THERE, but the actually meat of it was a bit AI-feeling. the order felt kind of random, as the strongest stories were all back to back while the lackluster ones were beginning and end.

not a bad book by any means, though! i would recommend the read, as its super short, thoughtful, and an easy read.

3.5/5 stars

[when_the_rest_of_heaven_was_blue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love dystopian books so much. This book was really fun to read because it dealt with modern issues, stuff I am seeing today taken to the extreme.
The story of the cover of this book is also insane as well.
10/10 would recommend.

(There was one story that I didn’t enjoy, that is why it is not 5 stars, I would still recommend the book though!)

[Alexia Barraza · Rating 5 out of 5]

So quick, so alarming, but so relevant. A warning, a call to action, a MUST READ

[Norren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here are my reviews of every short story with the overall at the end.

P1: Tommy Longhorn- Not a fan of alien stories. I'm surprised the collection about critiquing America started with this. 1/5

P2: Amber's Son- "They were just kids when their captain, Heather's Son, yelled, 'attack!'" God. This is more like what I was expecting. The layers to this one. Children fighting war adults sent them too, everyone being their mother's child instead of their own names to show all soliders are someone's kids and helpless to the decisions of their leaders. I sincerely think I will never forget this short story. 5/5

P3: A Million Times Over Again- This one definitely wasn't my favorite. The ending, however, was quite touching. 2/5

P4: It Was Just Another Day in America- Oh... Oh that's enough to make me tear up. 5/5

P5: Preparing to Die- I think this story has a lot less effect on me since I've never had to make arrangements before/after a death before. Still, it's unsettling to see how streamlined it is in this story. 3/5

P6: The Crumbling of a Nation- Good. Let himself feel guilt. Also love that this is halfway through the book. Feels like it's symbolic events coming half way to fruition. 4/5

P7: The Termination Bureau- Handmaid's Tale-esk, if not somehow worse (not the writing. The writing was great. The treatment of human beings being the worse thing). Love that he chose to have this take place in Florida, and all the talk of citizenship makes me wonder what would have happened if Jocelyn or her father weren't citizens. 5/5

P8: A Baby is Born- We love corporate America! 5/5

P9: Love, the Way God Intended- I frankly don't have the energy to write things right now. It's good. 4/5

P10: We See You- Harrowing and disturbing. The bystander effect is terrifying. 5/5

P11: The Unknown Writer- Poor guy. 2/5

P12: Bye, Bye Sadness- I doubt other big corporate CEOs have this sort of guilt, but I wish they did. 5/5

P13: Ch1-3 of In the Algorithm We Trust- My curiosity is piqued and I need to know more. 5/5

Overall: I averaged everything to get the rating of a 3.9. 4/5 stars! This book is very haunting, considering the current state of the world in multiple ways. Ginsberg encapsulates so many issues we face, or are on the cusp of facing, and doesn't sugar coat a bit of it. I can't wait to read Ginsberg's full novel of In the Algorithm We Trust!

[Trent · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the very first short story, I was in awe. This book was easy to read and fast paced since it was made up of multiple short stories; however, none of them were lost on me. I remember each of these stories and the impact it made on me. The twists in each one made each dose of this collection more and more potent, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Dylan Elkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Crumbling of a Nation and other stories is a decent book. The writing style is simple; there are no fancy words, no complex dialogs and, due to being a collection of short stories, very little characterization. As a whole, it isn't especially impressive.

A scathing indictment of American culture (clearly written by someone who is heavily left leaning, though that isn't necessarily a bad thing), it felt quite on the nose. Everything was a near-satirical example of many issues that plague and pervade American society. I'll do a mini review on each story.

Tommy Longhorn -- Nothing was especially impressive about this story, and it felt like kind of a weak way to start the book. An alien is killed just before returning home from a long mission on Earth, as a victim of a mass shooting. I find that the thing this spoke mostly to, to me, was the expectations of carrying on familial legacy:

"They were born to walk among the evilness of the Universe in search of the good that is out there."

Amber's Son -- A criticism of how the U.S. military sends children to war, while older people send down orders from far away. Not much to say about this one, as it is quite real and realized within U.S. society.

A Million Times Over Again -- This one was beautiful to me; a story of soulmates, how they work, why they are how they are. We don't find the loves of our lives early a lot of the time, because our soulmate is still within someone else, for the time being.

"...That is why we seek, with such fervor, love in all that we do: for we are, in actuality, influenced by an inner Soul in its everlasting pursuit of its eternal mate.”"

It was Just Another Day in America -- Yeah. The gun issues are super fucking real.

"They dropped their blankets, their pillows, their chairs, their cardboard boxes. They pushed over their freshly constructed forts and sprinted to the back of the class, to their assigned bunkers. These bunkers looked like lockers, only large enough for a tiny child to squeeze inside."

"All around the class, groups of 5 had been turned into groups of 4, 3, 2, or even 1. A substitute teacher was needed to cover for the rest of the day. And the seat to Jasper’s left was now empty of his best friend. “I am sorry for the disturbance,” said the omnipresent voice over the speaker once all had been settled. “But our school day is now clear to resume.”"

Preparing to Die -- I mean, clearly just a criticism with how morbid the funeral business is. Nothing overtly complex to analyze.

"Death isn’t easy, but humor makes it easier—that, and Death Coordinators."

The Crumbling of a Nation -- This one is GOOD. A representation of how the rich will always destroy things, blame the destruction on the poor, then move on and constantly repeat the cycle while ensuring they and their families will be set up for decades, millennia. And continue to be worshipped for it, as the 'American Dream'.

The Termination Bureau -- This one is absurdly dark. The babies being murdered is a clear criticism of how those who oppose abortion don't care what happens to the babies after. The denial of 'selling' a baby without permission from the father being a representation of taking rights away from women.

"“It matters not who the man is—whether he be a blood relative, a rapist, a liberal, an atheist, a retard, or all of the above—if he is an American citizen, then it is his right to choose what becomes of his unborn child; the woman he impregnates is simply the carrier of his property, not the owner or decider of what happens to it.”"

A Baby is Born -- Sell rights to buy things to companies for money. Ads everywhere. I don't know. They're great criticisms of American society, but I'm really struggling with the fact that it's all SO on the nose. Maybe that is another point of American society being dark...

Love, the Way God Intended -- Not only is the right to be gay taken away, something very real to the LGBTQ+ community today, but also there is censorship, rights of privacy violently stripped away. Guns and knives at school are okay, but a book about gay love is an arrestable offense.

"Onward they moved, on to the next student, where again the officer dumped out everything within their backpack: a loose pencil, a notebook, a pocketknife, a sandwich in a plastic bag, a handheld video game console, and even a handgun. The officers crowded around the table again. One lifted the gun and found it to be loaded. He rolled the bullets around in his hand before slotting them back inside the gun, then placed it back among the items. Another officer picked up the pocketknife and ejected each of the tools—several of them seemed to have been freshly sharpened. One of them even cut the officer as he fiddled around with it. Then: “Clear,” said one of the officers."

We See You -- This one feels more a criticism of the fact that people don't help and are addicted to social media. I originally thought it a criticism of police, but that doesn't feel right for this one.

"They simply continued their recordings of the man until he disappeared around the corner. Then they opened their favorite social media app—Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram—and posted their video for the world to see. Then they set their phones down and forgot all about Anna Lee, their attention instead drawn back to their ice cream cones or their espresso martinis or their plates of spaghetti or the work on their desks—though they did remember the incident momentarily each time their phones lit up with another like or comment or share. And at the shiny notification that lit their faces blue, they smiled."

The Unknown Writer -- I didn't have many thoughts about this one. It seems to be an issue with art falling to the wayside in favor of porn/porn-adjacent content, and short form entertainment.

Bye, Bye, Sadness -- Someone with good intentions, loses those good intentions of the pursuit of more and more money.

"“We’re sorry, William,” said the first. “This is a business after all. The good of the stockholder comes first. That’s just how it goes.”"

Dinner and a Show -- Rich people eating people, using the massacre of citizens from their own country, and probably another country, though they don't know which one, as their post-dinner entertainment. Just another criticism of the rich using the poor.

In the Algorithm We Trust -- The first 3 chapters of another book, I don't feel it necessary to write a review of an excerpt.

[Elle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Here's a story inspired by this collection's subtle, artful prose:

A little boy put on his hat and picked up his backpack to walk to school.

"I am innocent," he said.

His mother, who'd been busy firing rounds at the immigrant family who lived next door, holstered her Cool Ranch Doritos-branded pistol just long enough to tell him goodbye.

"Once you pop, you just can't stop," she said.

"Those kinds just need a little motivation to pray to our lord and savior," she explained.

"By the way, I put the check for our Diamond Ultra Plus insurance bill in the mail this morning," she said.

The boy walked to school, looking at all the plastic bags snagged on barren tree branches, the black puddles of crude oil...

Suddenly, a car hopped the curb and ran him over.

The very important CEO in the driver's seat honked his horn: BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEP!

"You're fired," he said enragedly.

An ambulance pulled up and began to search the boy's bloodied backpack. When they failed to locate a credit card in any of its pockets, they sped off again.

A bald eagle screeched as it flew overhead.

[Michaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

In reality, I’d give this book 3.5 out of five stars. The writing was really good. I do just feel like some topics could’ve been talked about better. This book also starts out a bit weird. The first chapter didn’t really draw me in, and I kind of had to force myself until the end of the chapter which made sense after you’ve read the whole thing and it’s kind of like whoa, but Until that point I was confused on how any of this was relevant. I feel like it went into a bit too much detail on certain aspects of the alien that it was talking about that weren’t too important to the storyline it was trying to portray, it kind of took away of the important aspect and message it was trying to show us. Overall, though this was a really good book certain short stories were better than others, but that might’ve just been because I could visualize them better throughout points in my life.

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buku ini berisi kumpulan cerita pendek yg menghadirkan berbagai karakter yg menghadapi situasi ekstrem di dunia 💣 Di setiap ceritanya menawarkan pandangan mendalam tentang kehidupan manusia 🔥

Di samping itu, seluruh ceritanya mencerminkan nilai-nilai budaya yg berbeda, seperti perdebatan moral tentang HAM & kebebasan seseorang ❤️ Situasi ini terlihat dalam cerita tentang seseorang jenius yg ingin menghapus kesedihan dari dunia 😔

Di sisi lain, setiap ceritanya jg dipengaruhi oleh isu-isu sejarah & politik ❤️ Seperti, peperangan & kebijakan yg mengekang kebebasan seseorang, seperti dalam cerita tentang gadis muda yg hamil akibat kekerasan di negara yg melarang aborsi 🔥

Buku ini menyampaikan pesan tentang pentingnya kemanusiaan & empati dalam menghadapi ketidakadilan & penderitaan ❤️ Di setiap ceritanya, aku merasakan & memahami perasaan tokoh-tokohnya 🙃 Misalnya, penderitaan seorang anak yg terjebak dalam perang 😭

Di samping itu, banyak cerita dalam buku ini sebagai kritik terhadap sistem sosial & politik yg ada ❤️😂 Misalnya saja, cerita tentang seorang guru yg melawan sensor di sekolahnya 🔥 Aku terhubung dengan dia, bagaimana kebebasan berpendapat & pendidikan seringkali dikekang oleh otoritas 🔥

Meskipun banyak ceritanya yg menampilkan situasi yg suram, tp pesan keseluruhan buku ini adalah tentang mencari harapan di tengah keputusasaan 🙂

[Audrey Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

First: I think that there are some stories in here that would be a welcome addition to secondary English classes!

Other than that I thought this was all just kind of… fine. Passable. I went into this trying to have an open mind, particularly insofar as I wasn’t looking for perfect writing, but potential for future works. The potential is there, but I don’t think that the writing is phenomenal yet.

I did rate each story individually. A lot of them I just didn’t vibe with, a couple disappointed me, but some of them I thought were really significant. A lot of it was pretty on-the-nose which made it a little harder to read given the social and political context, but honestly I think that that means it might age really well, even if the stories feel a bit heavy handed at present.

I was worried about how I would ultimately rate a collection of short stories so I’m including my rating for each story, and my overall rating is an average of those.

Tommy Longhorn: 2/5
Amber’s Son: 4/5
A Million Times Over Again: 2.5/5
It was Just Another Day in America: 4/5
Preparing to Die: 2/5
The Crumbling of a Nation: 3/5
The Termination Bureau: 4/5
A Baby is Born: 4/5
Love, the Way God Intended: 3.5/5
We See You: 3/5
The Unknown Writer: 3/5
Bye, Bye Sadness: 2.5/5
Dinner and a Show: 3/5

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a difficult read, for good reasons.

All in all, I really appreciated this book, it's probably the first one I've ever wanted to really annotate. 

I only have a few minor criticisms. The first being some of the grammar, sentence structure, and redundancy of some sentences in the first two chapters but after that it the author seems to find his rhythm.

The second is that some chapters really needed a trigger warning, specifically The Termination Bureau and We See You chapters. Readers my find other chapters hard to read but these two were the worst for me. Some of the TW for these two are: graphic abortion, gore, SA. So reader beware. Other themes to beware of are child death.

Personally, I still really liked this book, it had me hooked from beginning to end. The stories are short enough and powerful enough to keep me engaged and challenged. My favorite chapter was A Million Times Over Again. The ending to that one had me very wtf, and not knowing how I felt about it. The rest of the stories were a mix of too real and not too distant dystopian, good for 2025. I'm excited to read the next book Ryan comes out with, hopefully In The Algorithm We Trust.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saw this promo'd on TikTok so decided to pick up a copy. I listened to it on Audible. It was interesting that the author narrated it himself.

Some of the stories were better than others. Some were unsettling as most speculative fiction is of course. Some of it was incredibly close to current reality in the USA right now. The best story to me was the one about the man planning his death. I'm a sucker for stories with a loyal dog.

Although all short stories, some of the stories were more in depth and others seemed more surface level. I get that some were social commentary and you need to understand the background news story. But in all, even the general ones that were lacking in character development, made their point. Especially the one about the abortion situation juxtaposed against the State dealing with unwanted babies. To some extent, the shallow characters made them more dystopian and part of the machine.

Overall, good debut. Can definitely use more character development. But great commentary on the world we live in.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into The Crumbling of a Nation and Other Stories by Ryan Ginsberg not quite knowing what to expect, but I was not prepared for how unsettling it would feel.

This is not an easy or “enjoyable” read in the traditional sense. The collection of short stories and essays paints a version of America that feels uncomfortably close to what we see reflected in the media every day. At times, it felt so current that I had to double-check when it was published.

There is something sobering about the way Ginsberg captures the mood of a society that feels like it is fraying at the edges. Each piece adds to a growing sense of unease, raising questions about where we are heading and what we are becoming.

This is not a book I would describe as fun, but it is thought-provoking and difficult to ignore once you start! One of those reads that lingers, not because you enjoyed it, but because it holds up a mirror that is hard to look away from.

[Sadie Canaday · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. For a debut work the stories in this collection are poignant and incredibly well written. Although I have a few gripes, they are mostly stylistic choices - things like when a longer thought would get going and be ended abruptly with ellipses. Aside from that the stories were interesting and fast paced. I found “A Million Times Over Again” particularly beautiful and a prime example of the voice this author can imbue into his characters. The messages conveyed through each short were clear and relevant, and although perhaps they could have been communicated with a little more subtly I think the message would not have left as strong a mark. I am personally incredibly impressed and found some great meaning in this collection, although with the subject matter not all sections can be described as enjoyable.

[Max · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only made it about 100 pages into this book before I had to put it down. The writing and pacing were difficult to get through, and the stories relied too heavily on shock value, which quickly becomes tiresome. There wasn’t enough character development to feel anything. We’d meet a character for a moment, like a boy who ends up finding his best friend dead, and we’re just expected to feel something without knowing who these people are. Even in short stories, characters need to be fleshed out to make an impact.

Instead of trying to fit so many stories into one book, I wish the author had focused on just a few and given them the depth they deserve, especially since the topics are serious and sensitive, and they deserve more care. Honestly, I’m disappointed I bought this. It had potential, but it just didn’t land for me

[Isla Woodfin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up after watching a Instagram reel recommending it, it sounded interesting and quite topical. However I feel a little disappointed as the stories were very generic, predictable and very ‘surface level deep’ .This book could maybe serve as a teenagers introduction to dystopian fiction? Even then I’ve read young adult fiction with more depth and nuance. The author also makes a comment about rape culture in one short story and in the very next one describes a woman and only refers to her form that point on as “the large breasted woman” with her ‘talent’ being just shaking her breasts…
Yeah… I am giving it two stars as there was a few stories I did find pleasant. Just not enough to read again.

[Sabrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a fan of dystopian fiction and politics, I thought this book would be right up my alley. While the intention was clear, the content of the stories themselves lacked depth. Every story was a glaring commentary on the political and social climate of the United States that felt spelled out letter by letter. The ideas are tired, overdone, and frankly, obvious. It would be a good introduction to someone who doesn’t follow any sort of politics or read any sort of dystopian fiction, or perhaps to Americans who are still blind to the problems they face in their country. But speaking as someone not from the US, we’ve known your nation has been crumbling, it’s not news. You’ve just taken a long time to catch up.