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The End of the World: and Other Catastrophes
Sound the sirens! The end is here, and it comes in many forms in this new collection of apocalyptic short stories from the classic age of science fiction. Join humanity on the brink of destruction in 13 doom-laden visions from the 1890s to the 1960s, featuring rare tales from the Library’s vaults. Tales of plague seizing an over-polluted capital, a world engulfed in absolute darkness by some cosmic disaster, and of poignant dreams of a silent planet after the last echoes of humanity have died away. Extreme climate change, nuclear annihilation, comet strike; calamities self-inflicted and from beyond the steer of humankind vie to deal the last blow in this countdown from the first whisper of possible extinction to the Earth’s final sunrise.
330 pages, Paperback
Published May 16, 2019
13 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Mike Ashley
278 books130 followersMichael Raymond Donald Ashley is the author and editor of over sixty books that in total have sold over a million copies worldwide. He lives in Chatham, Kent.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 28, 2021
Quite a fun collection of stories. The first few are stories written in the late 19th century so are adorably naive (socially and scientifically), but some of them still have entertaining enough ideas. Then comes 'the madness of professor pye'. Which is about the lovable misanthrope professor pye and his quest to single handedly get revenge on the entire world. Absolutely hilarious tale, shame it's been lost to time.
And there is 'there will come soft rains' in there too, which is exceptional I guess.
And there is 'there will come soft rains' in there too, which is exceptional I guess.
February 12, 2025
Collection of short end of the world stories. I enjoyed some of them a lot, but others were just too weird.
Some unique ideas, especially if you consider when they were originally published.
Some unique ideas, especially if you consider when they were originally published.
September 10, 2019
A nice collection of classic SF stories, ranging from 1886 up to 1956. Comets on a collision course to Earth, nuclear disasters, a mad scientist wanting to take over the world... It's all here! As with all collections, there are, of course, some stories I don't like and stories I love. But all in all a very readable collection.
March 4, 2024
I picked up this collection of early science-fiction apocalypses from a second-hand store a while back, and since I’m slightly killing time before attempting Mann’s The Magic Mountain, I thought I may as well knock this off and a few other shorter things I’ve got lying around. Despite representing an interesting cross-section of the British Library’s collection of pulp magazines, the quality is pretty woeful, and really makes you appreciate the achievements of better-known authors in carving out some kind of literary credibility for science fiction. On the other hand, the book is a good way to flesh out the context in which speculative writing about technology and the future emerged, and highlights the ubiquity and popularity of the genre from the late-C19th onwards. For instance, consider how many varied characters turned their hand to the short stories presented here: Barr, for instance, was the co-editor of The Idler with our good friend Jerome K. Jerome; Mitchell founded Life Magazine in 1883; and ‘Owen Oliver’ was the pseudonym of a senior British civil servant, Sir Joshua Albert Flynn. Everybody was reading and writing science fiction, and I have a sense that its cultural impact is still under-appreciated.
Favourites: London’s Danger; Two By Two; Created He Them; There Will Come Soft Rains.
The End of the World (Helen Sutherland, 1930). Is this an anti-suffragist screed, or something approaching a more reconciliatory tone? Bizarre.
* London’s Danger (C.J. Cutcliffe Hyne, 1896). I have a recurring nightmare that goes something like this. Interesting that even at the apotheosis of Empire there’s a deep insecurity about its implosion. Well told.
The Freezing of London (Herbert C. Rideout, 1909). Rideout apparently invented the liner note when he was at Columbia Records! ‘The imagination staggers at the idea of London without a soul in its streets.’ And yet…
Days of Darkness (Owen Oliver, 1929). “Government message on the Radio. Royal Observatory reports that there are no signs of any damage to the solar system.” Oh, that’s good! The apocalypse itself is nicely imagined, everything else isn’t. Damn, I’ve got to read Blindness at some point.
Within an Ace of the End of the World (Robert Barr, 1900). What was the deal with the Edwardians’ obsession with nitrogen?
The Last American (John Ames Mitchell, 1889). ‘Historians are astounded that a nation … [could] leave so little behind. But to those familiar with [the Mehricans] … surprise is impossible. There was nothing to leave. The Mehrikans possessed neither literature, art or music of their own. Everything was borrowed. The very clothes they wore were copied with ludicrous precision from the models of other nations. They were a sharp, restless, quick-witted, greedy race, given body and soul to the gathering of riches.’ Occasionally an interesting attempt at reversing Orientalist perspectives, mostly not though. The hand-drawn illustrations by Mitchell himself are a nice touch.
The End of the World (Simon Newcomb, 1903). The outright commitment to pessimism is a daring and bracing attempt to refute both moral and material perfection as an end in itself. The image of human world totally effaced by a new primordial soup is nicely rendered at the end.
The Great Crellin Comet (George Griffith, 1897). Makes the amusing observation that, informed of imminent catastrophe, (post-)apocalyptic literature would take on the importance of religious canon. Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon (1865), Camille Flammarion’s The End of the World (1893) and H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds (1897) are given special mention - an interesting example of a genre defining itself in real time.
* Two By Two (John Brunner, 1956). Probably the most enjoyable so far, just in terms of pure simplicity and pulpy thrills (‘The sun’s blown up!’). There’s a nice mirroring effect which involves the crowning achievement of humanity coinciding with its nadir, and then the beginning of a new cycle of creation - a theme that’s been repeated a lot in these short stories.
Finis (Frank Lillie Pollock, 1906). The ‘boy’s own’ heroic vision of masculinity shared by a lot of these turn-of-the century pieces is really wearing thin at this point.
The Madness of Professor Pye (Warwick Deeping, 1934). A turgid, novella-length mad scientist narrative, with very little of interest apart from its reference to Rutherford and the possibilities of harnessing the atom and the fact that Mussolini is cast as a heroic protagonist.
* Created He Them (Alice Eleanor Jones, 1955). Finally, some real writing. The only apocalypse I’ve read in this collection that genuinely sends a shiver down my spine - a creeping decay presided over by strutting, impotent men.
* There Will Come Soft Rains (Ray Bradbury, 1950). Increasingly convinced that for an apocalyptic tale to possess an appropriate sense of scale you need to fix the narrative on a single viewpoint, and not flit around in an attempt to capture everything. Allowing time to develop a single, resonant image is more important, I think. Bradbury’s a good example of this - the deranged screaming of a smart home collapsing into itself vividly imagines our tools as the last remains of human consciousness, quite literally ghosts in the machine.
(20/2/24)
Favourites: London’s Danger; Two By Two; Created He Them; There Will Come Soft Rains.
The End of the World (Helen Sutherland, 1930). Is this an anti-suffragist screed, or something approaching a more reconciliatory tone? Bizarre.
* London’s Danger (C.J. Cutcliffe Hyne, 1896). I have a recurring nightmare that goes something like this. Interesting that even at the apotheosis of Empire there’s a deep insecurity about its implosion. Well told.
The Freezing of London (Herbert C. Rideout, 1909). Rideout apparently invented the liner note when he was at Columbia Records! ‘The imagination staggers at the idea of London without a soul in its streets.’ And yet…
Days of Darkness (Owen Oliver, 1929). “Government message on the Radio. Royal Observatory reports that there are no signs of any damage to the solar system.” Oh, that’s good! The apocalypse itself is nicely imagined, everything else isn’t. Damn, I’ve got to read Blindness at some point.
Within an Ace of the End of the World (Robert Barr, 1900). What was the deal with the Edwardians’ obsession with nitrogen?
The Last American (John Ames Mitchell, 1889). ‘Historians are astounded that a nation … [could] leave so little behind. But to those familiar with [the Mehricans] … surprise is impossible. There was nothing to leave. The Mehrikans possessed neither literature, art or music of their own. Everything was borrowed. The very clothes they wore were copied with ludicrous precision from the models of other nations. They were a sharp, restless, quick-witted, greedy race, given body and soul to the gathering of riches.’ Occasionally an interesting attempt at reversing Orientalist perspectives, mostly not though. The hand-drawn illustrations by Mitchell himself are a nice touch.
The End of the World (Simon Newcomb, 1903). The outright commitment to pessimism is a daring and bracing attempt to refute both moral and material perfection as an end in itself. The image of human world totally effaced by a new primordial soup is nicely rendered at the end.
The Great Crellin Comet (George Griffith, 1897). Makes the amusing observation that, informed of imminent catastrophe, (post-)apocalyptic literature would take on the importance of religious canon. Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon (1865), Camille Flammarion’s The End of the World (1893) and H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds (1897) are given special mention - an interesting example of a genre defining itself in real time.
* Two By Two (John Brunner, 1956). Probably the most enjoyable so far, just in terms of pure simplicity and pulpy thrills (‘The sun’s blown up!’). There’s a nice mirroring effect which involves the crowning achievement of humanity coinciding with its nadir, and then the beginning of a new cycle of creation - a theme that’s been repeated a lot in these short stories.
Finis (Frank Lillie Pollock, 1906). The ‘boy’s own’ heroic vision of masculinity shared by a lot of these turn-of-the century pieces is really wearing thin at this point.
The Madness of Professor Pye (Warwick Deeping, 1934). A turgid, novella-length mad scientist narrative, with very little of interest apart from its reference to Rutherford and the possibilities of harnessing the atom and the fact that Mussolini is cast as a heroic protagonist.
* Created He Them (Alice Eleanor Jones, 1955). Finally, some real writing. The only apocalypse I’ve read in this collection that genuinely sends a shiver down my spine - a creeping decay presided over by strutting, impotent men.
* There Will Come Soft Rains (Ray Bradbury, 1950). Increasingly convinced that for an apocalyptic tale to possess an appropriate sense of scale you need to fix the narrative on a single viewpoint, and not flit around in an attempt to capture everything. Allowing time to develop a single, resonant image is more important, I think. Bradbury’s a good example of this - the deranged screaming of a smart home collapsing into itself vividly imagines our tools as the last remains of human consciousness, quite literally ghosts in the machine.
(20/2/24)
October 4, 2024
The End of the World
Many of the older stories do show their age though they often do offer various interesting theories regarding the way the earth or at least human civilisation will finish. However, there are some brilliant pieces in the final one-hundred pages which includes short stories by John Brunner, Lillie Pollock, Alice Eleanor Jones, and Ray Bradbury. Not quite as good but still interesting is an early twentieth century short novel by Warwick Deeping. Of course there is the excellent historical introduction and information about the various authors which are provided by Mike Ashley.
As a whole many of the stories are worth dipping into but have little more than curiosity value.
Many of the older stories do show their age though they often do offer various interesting theories regarding the way the earth or at least human civilisation will finish. However, there are some brilliant pieces in the final one-hundred pages which includes short stories by John Brunner, Lillie Pollock, Alice Eleanor Jones, and Ray Bradbury. Not quite as good but still interesting is an early twentieth century short novel by Warwick Deeping. Of course there is the excellent historical introduction and information about the various authors which are provided by Mike Ashley.
As a whole many of the stories are worth dipping into but have little more than curiosity value.
July 9, 2021
Ah - the comfort and guilty pleasure of reading a century of stories about the apocalyptic annihilation of the human race. The Edwardian selection has a particular charm. Surprisingly no-one predicted that bloody bats would be the vector of doom, though.
September 24, 2023
A marvellous collection - 4.5 stars, rounded up.
I liked the variety; in fact, I was gambling on variety where it looked like there might not be much. What I mean is, normally I tackle short story collections by only reading one or two stories in between each novel. This keeps the tales from all merging together, or erasing from my memory what went on in a story a mere three stories ago. Plus, if there really is samey-ness, it’s dissipated by not running through the book in a few hours.
Nevertheless, as I decided to read this book “all at once” - probably not in one sitting, mind you, but without diverting to other reads - I did worry that this was not the right collection for that approach. “Is there not going to be too much similarity within the selections? End of the World, that sort of suggests the same kind of story arc, the same sorts of scenes of fear and panic and destruction, even if we’re freezing one moment, or scorched in the next…”.
I ended up compromising; I took the stories in bunches, diverted for one novel, and also, with only a handful of apocalypses left on my plate, allowed myself to be distracted by rival shorties…in Whispering Death, by Fredric Brown.
It all worked out wonderfully. Not only did everything I read in this mishmash - including Fred Brown and the novel Children of Chicago - deliver better than possibly anything else I read in September, but end-of-the-world samey-loopy-ness got offset just enough to ensure this is the best short story collection I have pleasured my brain with in a long time. Panicked crowds swarming streets, big brains in little rooms cooking up potential solutions, last person or couple on Earth reflecting, finding inner peace, or doing the “I love you” bit as the heatwave races closer…it’s these repetitions that would maybe grate, even if big plot points differed.
The key is in that subtitle, ‘And Other Catastrophes’. That’s a great loophole, unless you insist the world be dead by every finale. If you can stomach the odd last-minute salvation, if you aren’t too peeved at seeing just one city go down instead of an entire planet, if you aren’t pissed that one of the tales is kind of funny, and - most significant of all - if you can brace yourself painfully for a damn happy ending thrown in…well then, “Other Catastrophes” won’t be the cheat that ruins it for you.
I do know I needed at least one evil scientist with a doomsday weapon in the mix somewhere - not just comets, sunspots, or tsunamis. I mean, I hate to sweat the small stuff when it comes to the world ending, but let’s face it, in the Introduction, Mike Ashley, as he classified Apocalypse sub-sets and mentioned relevant novels, did hype the mad scientist option. And by the time I was deep into this collection, I was getting a mite worried: “No dictator with Death Ray?? No atomic-addicted asshole?? What’s with all the natural disaster and cosmic collision? C’mon…some Mad, Bitter Penis is what’s going to take us all down, we all know it. Show it!”.
And…because I did the stories slightly out of order due to wanting a long one last…request granted! With bells on. Doing their death-knell thing. And the perfect story to end the book with, even though it doesn’t actually end the book, I just re-arranged things and enjoyed the book all the more (don’t worry, it’s still a stupendous group of tales even if you don’t put the genocidal dickhead last.)
I liked the variety; in fact, I was gambling on variety where it looked like there might not be much. What I mean is, normally I tackle short story collections by only reading one or two stories in between each novel. This keeps the tales from all merging together, or erasing from my memory what went on in a story a mere three stories ago. Plus, if there really is samey-ness, it’s dissipated by not running through the book in a few hours.
Nevertheless, as I decided to read this book “all at once” - probably not in one sitting, mind you, but without diverting to other reads - I did worry that this was not the right collection for that approach. “Is there not going to be too much similarity within the selections? End of the World, that sort of suggests the same kind of story arc, the same sorts of scenes of fear and panic and destruction, even if we’re freezing one moment, or scorched in the next…”.
I ended up compromising; I took the stories in bunches, diverted for one novel, and also, with only a handful of apocalypses left on my plate, allowed myself to be distracted by rival shorties…in Whispering Death, by Fredric Brown.
It all worked out wonderfully. Not only did everything I read in this mishmash - including Fred Brown and the novel Children of Chicago - deliver better than possibly anything else I read in September, but end-of-the-world samey-loopy-ness got offset just enough to ensure this is the best short story collection I have pleasured my brain with in a long time. Panicked crowds swarming streets, big brains in little rooms cooking up potential solutions, last person or couple on Earth reflecting, finding inner peace, or doing the “I love you” bit as the heatwave races closer…it’s these repetitions that would maybe grate, even if big plot points differed.
The key is in that subtitle, ‘And Other Catastrophes’. That’s a great loophole, unless you insist the world be dead by every finale. If you can stomach the odd last-minute salvation, if you aren’t too peeved at seeing just one city go down instead of an entire planet, if you aren’t pissed that one of the tales is kind of funny, and - most significant of all - if you can brace yourself painfully for a damn happy ending thrown in…well then, “Other Catastrophes” won’t be the cheat that ruins it for you.
I do know I needed at least one evil scientist with a doomsday weapon in the mix somewhere - not just comets, sunspots, or tsunamis. I mean, I hate to sweat the small stuff when it comes to the world ending, but let’s face it, in the Introduction, Mike Ashley, as he classified Apocalypse sub-sets and mentioned relevant novels, did hype the mad scientist option. And by the time I was deep into this collection, I was getting a mite worried: “No dictator with Death Ray?? No atomic-addicted asshole?? What’s with all the natural disaster and cosmic collision? C’mon…some Mad, Bitter Penis is what’s going to take us all down, we all know it. Show it!”.
And…because I did the stories slightly out of order due to wanting a long one last…request granted! With bells on. Doing their death-knell thing. And the perfect story to end the book with, even though it doesn’t actually end the book, I just re-arranged things and enjoyed the book all the more (don’t worry, it’s still a stupendous group of tales even if you don’t put the genocidal dickhead last.)
June 25, 2025
Nothing ages faster than the end of the world, especially when means and ends are spelled-out in technical detail.
"The Last American" is the most rewarding, despite the clever-not clever use of "funny" foreign names.
❖
The End of the World • Helen Sutherland A future world dominated by women faces a drastic decline in the male population due to plague and catastrophe. The last man's death ushers in humanity's end, with a female-led society helplessly watching.
London’s Danger • C.J. Cutcliffe Hyne A sudden, severe cold snap and hurricane-force winds trigger immense fires across London. With water frozen and the city in chaos, survivors flee as the capital is consumed by a destructive inferno.
The Freezing of London • Herbert C. Ridout An eccentric scientist, denied by the government, unleashes a freezing agent on London. The city's millions are instantly frozen in place, turning the bustling metropolis into a silent, icy graveyard.
Days of Darkness • Owen Oliver An inexplicable, total darkness descends upon London, plunging its citizens into disarray. A man and woman navigate the fear, dwindling resources, and societal collapse, finding solace and love amidst the chaos.
Within an Ace of the End of the World • Robert Barr Overproduction of synthetic food rapidly depletes Earth's atmospheric nitrogen, causing universal oxygen intoxication. The world descends into irrationality and fire, leaving a handful of survivors to restart humanity.
The Last American • John Ames Mitchell A Persian expedition discovers a desolate, ruined America centuries after its collapse. They encounter the last three remaining inhabitants, a family struggling to survive amidst the relics of a forgotten civilization.
The End of the World • Simon Newcomb A dark star falls into the sun, causing it to intensify catastrophically. Humanity faces scorching heat, floods, and destruction, with only a few sheltered scientists surviving deep underground.
The Great Crellin Comet • George Griffith A massive comet is on a collision course with Earth. Scientists race to build a colossal cannon to fire a projectile at it, hoping to avert global catastrophe and transform the threat into a spectacular fireworks display.
Two by Two • John Brunner A lone astronaut on the moon witnesses Earth's destruction as a solar nova erupts. Returning to a desolate planet, he finds no human life, only a single bacterial colony, offering a slim hope for life's renewal.
Finis • Frank Lillie Pollock A newly discovered central sun's light finally reaches Earth, causing devastating heat and storms. As the world burns and floods, two survivors face the inevitable end, contemplating life's fragile beauty.
The Madness of Professor Pye • Warwick Deeping A misanthropic physicist, Professor Pye, unleashes a silent, invisible atomic "On-force" that instantly kills all life within a growing radius. He revels in his power until the world conspires against him.
Created He Them • Alice Eleanor Jones In a post-nuclear world, a couple endures a harsh existence, their only comfort being their ability to have "normal" children, who are then taken by the State at age three.
There Will Come Soft Rains • Ray Bradbury A fully automated house continues its daily routines, unaware that its human occupants, and indeed all humanity, have been vaporized by a nuclear blast, leaving only their shadows burned onto the walls.
"The Last American" is the most rewarding, despite the clever-not clever use of "funny" foreign names.
❖
The End of the World • Helen Sutherland A future world dominated by women faces a drastic decline in the male population due to plague and catastrophe. The last man's death ushers in humanity's end, with a female-led society helplessly watching.
London’s Danger • C.J. Cutcliffe Hyne A sudden, severe cold snap and hurricane-force winds trigger immense fires across London. With water frozen and the city in chaos, survivors flee as the capital is consumed by a destructive inferno.
The Freezing of London • Herbert C. Ridout An eccentric scientist, denied by the government, unleashes a freezing agent on London. The city's millions are instantly frozen in place, turning the bustling metropolis into a silent, icy graveyard.
Days of Darkness • Owen Oliver An inexplicable, total darkness descends upon London, plunging its citizens into disarray. A man and woman navigate the fear, dwindling resources, and societal collapse, finding solace and love amidst the chaos.
Within an Ace of the End of the World • Robert Barr Overproduction of synthetic food rapidly depletes Earth's atmospheric nitrogen, causing universal oxygen intoxication. The world descends into irrationality and fire, leaving a handful of survivors to restart humanity.
The Last American • John Ames Mitchell A Persian expedition discovers a desolate, ruined America centuries after its collapse. They encounter the last three remaining inhabitants, a family struggling to survive amidst the relics of a forgotten civilization.
The End of the World • Simon Newcomb A dark star falls into the sun, causing it to intensify catastrophically. Humanity faces scorching heat, floods, and destruction, with only a few sheltered scientists surviving deep underground.
The Great Crellin Comet • George Griffith A massive comet is on a collision course with Earth. Scientists race to build a colossal cannon to fire a projectile at it, hoping to avert global catastrophe and transform the threat into a spectacular fireworks display.
Two by Two • John Brunner A lone astronaut on the moon witnesses Earth's destruction as a solar nova erupts. Returning to a desolate planet, he finds no human life, only a single bacterial colony, offering a slim hope for life's renewal.
Finis • Frank Lillie Pollock A newly discovered central sun's light finally reaches Earth, causing devastating heat and storms. As the world burns and floods, two survivors face the inevitable end, contemplating life's fragile beauty.
The Madness of Professor Pye • Warwick Deeping A misanthropic physicist, Professor Pye, unleashes a silent, invisible atomic "On-force" that instantly kills all life within a growing radius. He revels in his power until the world conspires against him.
Created He Them • Alice Eleanor Jones In a post-nuclear world, a couple endures a harsh existence, their only comfort being their ability to have "normal" children, who are then taken by the State at age three.
There Will Come Soft Rains • Ray Bradbury A fully automated house continues its daily routines, unaware that its human occupants, and indeed all humanity, have been vaporized by a nuclear blast, leaving only their shadows burned onto the walls.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2025
This collection of short stories are all pretty old (in the range of 60 to 120 years or so) so bear that in mind. The first few in particular sound really old and some of the science is a bit laughable by today's standards. I wouldn't say any of the stories are amazing, except maybe the last one, but none are terrible. The stories are:
"The End of the World" - Helen Sutherland - Weird and short. All the men are dying.
"London's Danger" - C J Cutcliffe Hyne - There's a huge fire in London in 1972 (although it reads like Victorian times).
"The Freezing of London" - Herbert C Ridout - Basically what the title says.
"Days of Darkness" - Owen Oliver - The Sun appears to go out and no sources of light work.
"Within an Ace of the End of the World" - Robert Barr - Nonsense scientifically but really interesting. The atmosphere's composition changes due to all the plants being grown to feed the Earth's population (which isn't that big by today's standards).
"The Last American" - John Ames Mitchell - An expedition from Persia explores a long-abandoned USA where everything is ruins.
"The End of the World" - Simon Newcomb - Set in a world where all science has been 'completed' so that everything is known, which is clearly nonsense as things happen that nobody can explain. In particular, there are sentient beings on Mars that nobody has bothered to go and investigate.
"The Great Crellin Comet" - George Griffith - As implied by the title, a comet is discovered that's going to hit the Earth.
"Two by Two" - John Brunner - A single astronaut on the Moon is the only person left alive when the Earth is destroyed.
"Finis" - Frank Lillie Pollock - A second Sun is predicted to appear.
"The Madness of Professor Pye" - Warwick Deeping - A bitter hermit physicist invents a kind of death ray.
"Created He Them" - Alice Eleanor Jones - Quite a slow story that feels sinister even though most of the action is mundane. Something has happened regarding children.
"There Will Come Soft Rains" - Ray Bradbury - An automated house carries out its programming after its occupants are killed in a nuclear attack.
"The End of the World" - Helen Sutherland - Weird and short. All the men are dying.
"London's Danger" - C J Cutcliffe Hyne - There's a huge fire in London in 1972 (although it reads like Victorian times).
"The Freezing of London" - Herbert C Ridout - Basically what the title says.
"Days of Darkness" - Owen Oliver - The Sun appears to go out and no sources of light work.
"Within an Ace of the End of the World" - Robert Barr - Nonsense scientifically but really interesting. The atmosphere's composition changes due to all the plants being grown to feed the Earth's population (which isn't that big by today's standards).
"The Last American" - John Ames Mitchell - An expedition from Persia explores a long-abandoned USA where everything is ruins.
"The End of the World" - Simon Newcomb - Set in a world where all science has been 'completed' so that everything is known, which is clearly nonsense as things happen that nobody can explain. In particular, there are sentient beings on Mars that nobody has bothered to go and investigate.
"The Great Crellin Comet" - George Griffith - As implied by the title, a comet is discovered that's going to hit the Earth.
"Two by Two" - John Brunner - A single astronaut on the Moon is the only person left alive when the Earth is destroyed.
"Finis" - Frank Lillie Pollock - A second Sun is predicted to appear.
"The Madness of Professor Pye" - Warwick Deeping - A bitter hermit physicist invents a kind of death ray.
"Created He Them" - Alice Eleanor Jones - Quite a slow story that feels sinister even though most of the action is mundane. Something has happened regarding children.
"There Will Come Soft Rains" - Ray Bradbury - An automated house carries out its programming after its occupants are killed in a nuclear attack.
October 7, 2019
Don't worry about the lack of hard science, this is more about the fiction. Mostly science fiction written in the HG Wells era. Some good, some indifferent, some weird. The vast majority are by authors I have never heard of which is fine by me. It means I can investigate them further. Decent collection.
Ray Smillie
Ray Smillie
April 13, 2024
There are some brilliant stories in this compilation about different catastrophic events. My favourite either being the mad professor pye or the expedition to America. They explore a range of themes, with many of the stories being late 19th to early 20th century.
I wasn’t sure about the second last story as it lacked proper substance, but other than that one, I thoroughly enjoyed the book!
I wasn’t sure about the second last story as it lacked proper substance, but other than that one, I thoroughly enjoyed the book!
May 6, 2025
A good collection of sci-fi disaster short stories. The first three are London-focused. It is interesting to read them back-to-back, though there is an element of repetition. However, the book becomes more varied.
September 25, 2020
There were three stories that I really really enjoyed and only one story that I skipped, perks of a short story anthology!
September 19, 2022
Very patchy to say the least. A few gems though
June 28, 2024
More racist than a lot of what's in this series.
November 14, 2024
A fun collection of classic SF stories from some lesser known writers. It was interesting to read stories from that period of time. A lot of them had great concepts, and I liked them. 3.75*
August 28, 2025
A fun collection of short stories around a general post-apocalyptic theme. Some old, some new - read for my PhD but ended up finishing fully afterwards!
February 2, 2025
Such a great collection of stories and Scenarios of how the world could end
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews