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The Apocalypse Reader
These are the ways the world ends. Thirty-four new and selected Doomsday scenarios: an enthralling collection of work by canonical literary figures, contemporary masters, and a few rising stars, all of whom have looked into the future and found it missing. Across boundaries of place and time, these writers celebrate the variety and vitality of the short story as a form by writing their own conclusions to the story of the world. Obliteration has never hurt so good. Contributors include Grace Aguilar, Steve Aylett, Robert Bradley, Dennis Cooper, Lucy Corin, Elliott David, Matthew Derby, Carol Emshwiller, Brian Evenson, Neil Gaiman, Jeff Goldberg, Theodora Goss, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jared Hohl, Shelley Jackson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Stacey Levine, Tao Lin, Kelly Link, H.P. Lovecraft, Gary Lutz, Rick Moody, Michael Moorcock, Adam Nemett, Josip Novakovich, Joyce Carol Oates, Colette Phair, Edgar Allan Poe, Terese Svoboda, Justin Taylor, Lynne Tillman, Deb Olin, Unferth, H.G. Wells, Allison Whittenberg, and Diane Williams.
336 pages, Paperback
First published May 21, 2007
20 people are currently reading
1425 people want to read
About the author
Justin Taylor
18 books73 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Justin Taylor is the author of the novel “The Gospel of Anarchy” and the story collection “Everything Here Is The Best Thing Ever.”
The Millions called “The Gospel of Anarchy” a “bold casserole of sensual encounter and deranged proclamation… Loudly, even rapturously, Taylor succeeds in making the clamoring passion of his characters real, their raw, mercurial yearning a cry for ‘a world newly established.’ In terms of acts of God, The Gospel of Anarchy is a tornado, tearing up the hill where rock ‘n roll and cult meet.”
And the New York Times raved that “Everything Here Is The Best Thing Ever ” is a “spare, sharp book” which “documents a deep authority on the unavoidable confusion of being young, disaffected and human. … [T]he most affecting stories in … are as unpredictable as a careening drunk. They leave us with the heavy residue of an unsettling strangeness, and a new voice that readers — and writers, too — might be seeking out for decades to come.”
His stories have been published in many shitty literary journals, and his non-fiction has appeared in the New York Times, BookForum and The Believer, among other publications.
He lives in New York.
Justin Taylor is the author of the novel “The Gospel of Anarchy” and the story collection “Everything Here Is The Best Thing Ever.”
The Millions called “The Gospel of Anarchy” a “bold casserole of sensual encounter and deranged proclamation… Loudly, even rapturously, Taylor succeeds in making the clamoring passion of his characters real, their raw, mercurial yearning a cry for ‘a world newly established.’ In terms of acts of God, The Gospel of Anarchy is a tornado, tearing up the hill where rock ‘n roll and cult meet.”
And the New York Times raved that “Everything Here Is The Best Thing Ever ” is a “spare, sharp book” which “documents a deep authority on the unavoidable confusion of being young, disaffected and human. … [T]he most affecting stories in … are as unpredictable as a careening drunk. They leave us with the heavy residue of an unsettling strangeness, and a new voice that readers — and writers, too — might be seeking out for decades to come.”
His stories have been published in many shitty literary journals, and his non-fiction has appeared in the New York Times, BookForum and The Believer, among other publications.
He lives in New York.
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February 25, 2018This was meant to be airline reading, but it's very poor. It's an uneasy mixture of escapism (more or less what I expected), literary pretensions, and selections from history (Hawthorne, Poe). The writing is full of solecisms, awkward overstuffed tropes, and poorly managed anachronisms meant to sound ancient or portentous (Lovecraft is the model there).
Rick Moody's piece is accomplished and glib. I wonder how quickly the sense of accomplishment fades for a writer like that. Reading it is like watching a sparkler: it's out in seconds.
Dennis Cooper's piece is a meditation on the asshole of a 13-year-old boy: it is harsh and strident, and reminds me of a critique of "The Exorcist": someone said it was like grain alcohol, very strong but probably not good for you. Is a single strong image really an effective strategy for a text of any length?
The rest tends to be weakly imagined fluff, with the usual one-off lines that sprinkle postmodern fiction and make it seem worthwhile: the moment the President comes on TV and shows people it's OK to eat cockroaches; an apocalypse that happens suddenly at the end of a story, when "a torrent of blood comes crashing through the trees." (Robert Bradley) The emotions that are depicted in this book are tiny, sharp things that can only be captured haphazardly, in minute quantities, like pins found in a haystack.
What I'm saying here isn't new, and could be generalized to a lot of contemporary fiction. Nietzsche's critique of Wagner is a good starting point for understanding work in which a sense of the overall architecture of an artwork has given way to momentary effects, a reliance on local color, what are now called "minor aesthetic qualities," and an artistic sensibility that demands continuous stimulation. Since Nietzsche these issues have been developed by many writers, from Adorno to Karsten Harries, and recently, in a different register, Sianne Ngai. This book is only another example.
Rick Moody's piece is accomplished and glib. I wonder how quickly the sense of accomplishment fades for a writer like that. Reading it is like watching a sparkler: it's out in seconds.
Dennis Cooper's piece is a meditation on the asshole of a 13-year-old boy: it is harsh and strident, and reminds me of a critique of "The Exorcist": someone said it was like grain alcohol, very strong but probably not good for you. Is a single strong image really an effective strategy for a text of any length?
The rest tends to be weakly imagined fluff, with the usual one-off lines that sprinkle postmodern fiction and make it seem worthwhile: the moment the President comes on TV and shows people it's OK to eat cockroaches; an apocalypse that happens suddenly at the end of a story, when "a torrent of blood comes crashing through the trees." (Robert Bradley) The emotions that are depicted in this book are tiny, sharp things that can only be captured haphazardly, in minute quantities, like pins found in a haystack.
What I'm saying here isn't new, and could be generalized to a lot of contemporary fiction. Nietzsche's critique of Wagner is a good starting point for understanding work in which a sense of the overall architecture of an artwork has given way to momentary effects, a reliance on local color, what are now called "minor aesthetic qualities," and an artistic sensibility that demands continuous stimulation. Since Nietzsche these issues have been developed by many writers, from Adorno to Karsten Harries, and recently, in a different register, Sianne Ngai. This book is only another example.
November 18, 2009
The most important thing that those attracted to the title should know is that this book is about the literal Greek meaning of the word apocalypse, which is "a revelation" or "an unveiling," the author also says that it can be "cataclysmic changes of any sort," for instance "the micro-Apocalypses that mark moments in our lives: childhood's end, a relationship's sudden explosion, Death." So instead of this being a book about the Apocalypse that we all know, love, fear and obsess over, he's put together a book where the Apocalypse can be, well...anything. So most of the suspense in the book is when you start another story and are hanging in there hoping that it is indeed about the title's namesake and not some porkknob with a problem. That's not to say that it's a bad collection, just not what I was expecting. This sucks considering he took a specific subject that I was interested in and manipulated it into something as broad as a school textbook.
He picks from a wide range of sources, from classics like Poe and Hawthorne, to sci-fi from Neil Gaiman and Michael Moorcock. Most of it is that kind of stuff that's all non-linear and arty and magically-realismy and full of pretentious language. I don't know what you'd call it. Post-modern? Probably. This is obviously, a style preference of the editor and while there's lots of other stuff in here, it shows. The problem with that kind of writing is that while I often like it, more often than not it's pretentious, jerk-off session. With this book that still holds true and considering the amount included it really throws off the averages.
When I was a little kid I used to keep score when reading a book of short stories. I marked each one good or bad and made a verdict on whether it was a good book or not based on the higher score. Just for old times sake I'm going to do that with each of these stories.
OK, What I end up with is good stories: 15, bad stories: 19. That's a shitty ratio, folks, so if I were still an obsessive-compulsive kid, I would say this was bad book.. Still I really, liked some what I liked so I can't say I regret reading it. Read at your own discretion.
He picks from a wide range of sources, from classics like Poe and Hawthorne, to sci-fi from Neil Gaiman and Michael Moorcock. Most of it is that kind of stuff that's all non-linear and arty and magically-realismy and full of pretentious language. I don't know what you'd call it. Post-modern? Probably. This is obviously, a style preference of the editor and while there's lots of other stuff in here, it shows. The problem with that kind of writing is that while I often like it, more often than not it's pretentious, jerk-off session. With this book that still holds true and considering the amount included it really throws off the averages.
When I was a little kid I used to keep score when reading a book of short stories. I marked each one good or bad and made a verdict on whether it was a good book or not based on the higher score. Just for old times sake I'm going to do that with each of these stories.
OK, What I end up with is good stories: 15, bad stories: 19. That's a shitty ratio, folks, so if I were still an obsessive-compulsive kid, I would say this was bad book.. Still I really, liked some what I liked so I can't say I regret reading it. Read at your own discretion.
May 31, 2011
If T.S Eliot read 'The Apocalypse Reader' he would have said:
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a YAWN.
This book was one of the most boring collection of short stories I have ever read. The stores full of heavy handed symbolism and "experimental" writing reminded me of Freshman Creative Writing Class. And the sad thing is that I feel like I am insulting Freshman writers everywhere because at least they have the humility to admit they need to hone their craft. The writers in 'The Apocalypse Reader' seem to revel in their lack of talent.
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a YAWN.
This book was one of the most boring collection of short stories I have ever read. The stores full of heavy handed symbolism and "experimental" writing reminded me of Freshman Creative Writing Class. And the sad thing is that I feel like I am insulting Freshman writers everywhere because at least they have the humility to admit they need to hone their craft. The writers in 'The Apocalypse Reader' seem to revel in their lack of talent.
September 11, 2025
This is more of a 2.5 than three stars, so I rounded up.
It's an ambitious anthology of multiple genres, ranging from the mid 1800s to stories that first appeared here. It looks at different kinds of Apocalypses, but the end of the world scenarios predominate. Unfortunately, most of the selections are misses rather than hits. The best ones have appeared in other anthologies.
Selections:
* "Introduction" by Our Editor. A decent intro that tantalizes but doesn't reveal too much. Includes a passionate defense of the short story, and a look into the word "Apocalypse."
* "Nyarlathotep" by H. P. Lovecraft. Oh, HPL, you card. Doing a parody of yourself in 1920. Tis to laugh.
* "The Apocalypse Commentary of Bob Paisner" by Rick Moody. My Mom nearly made me to go to grad school at Temple University. I managed to avoid that, but I can fully understand the Apocalypse happening inside of someone's head in Philadelphia.
* "Sweethearts" by Stacey Levine. Good luck trying to figure this one out. At least it's short.
* "Fraise. Menthe. Et Poivre 1978" by Jared Hohl. The sun turns green and the very last people are in Paris, living in the Odeon.
* "What Is It When God Speaks" by Dianne Williams. Flash fiction which means whatever you want it to mean.
* "KraftMark" by Matthew Derby. This is a difficult sci-fi story about a man forced to shoot his son. Fortunately, the Kraft Heinz Company (then called Kraft Foods) didn't have a problem with it.
* "The Hook" by Shelley Jackson. Heartbreaking -- particularly if you love dogs.
* "Sixteen Small Apocalypses" by Lucy Corin. Um ... yeah. NEXT.
* "The Last Man" by Adam Nemett. Decent flash fiction about a worldwide flood.
* "Earth's Holocaust" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. A sort of prologue to Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire."
* "I Always Go To Particular Places" by Gary Lutz and Deb Olin Unferth. Totally incomprehensible, but at least it's short.
* "An Accounting" by Brian Evanson. A post-apocalyptic story set in what used to be America that has turned up in other anthologies, for good reason. WARNING: A dog is killed. Poor Finger.
* "Square of the Sun" by Robert Bradley. Bad sex leading to the end of the world? Actually, that explains a lot.
* "The End" by Josip Novakovitch. One of the best stories so far, about a personal Apocalypse to an American immigrant.
* "Some Approaches to the Problem of the Shortage of Time" by Ursula K. LeGuin. Don't waste your time reading this.
* "Think Warm Thoughts" by Allison Whittenburg. A post-apocalyptic prose poem.
* "The Ash Gray Proclamation" by Dennis Cooper. It's either trying to purposefully be pretentiously provocative, or police need to impound Cooper's computer. No, I'm not familiar with Cooper. Does he write about pedophiles often?
* "Pole Shift" by Our Editor. Um, I'm still trying to figure out this bit of flash fiction ... oh, never mind.
* "Miss Kansas on Judgement Day" by Kelly Link. Funny but poignant pair of honeymooners watch the best beauty pagent ever.
* "The Star" by H. G. Wells. There's a bigger point in this almost quaint Apocalypse story than at first meets the eye, which is revealed only in the last paragraph.
* "When We Went to See the End of the World, by Dawnie Morningside, Age 11 1/4" by Neil Gaiman. Like with most of Gaiman's works, this has a lot of layers to it. Whether Dawnie was an accurate reporter about her family's trip isn't the point.
* "I Am 'I Don't Know What I Am' and You Are Afraid of Me and So Am I" by Tao Lin. Another flash fiction piece. I was once locked in a room with a woman experiencing full-blown mania and this looks a lot like how she sounded.
* "The Escape -- A Tale of 1755" by Grace Aguilap. The longest story in this anthology. It's also the worst written. It's like the parody of a parody of Edgar Allan Poe.
* "So We Are Very Concerned" by Elliot David. Helpful tip for Americans to avoid the Apocalypse -- move to Manhattan.
* "Gigantic" by Steve Aylett. The rhythm isn't steady, but you can still dance to it.
* "The End of the Future" by Collette Phair. A small group of scavengers try to survive before the bombs go off. Metaphor about life, really.
* "Crossing Into Cambodia" by Michael Moorcock. This was a bizarrely noxious mix of sex and senseless violence to people and horses. Written in 1978.
* "'80's Lilies" by Terese Svoboda. Good luck figuring this one out. At least it's short.
* "These Zombies are Not a Metaphor" by Jeff Goldberg. Well, some people need practical advice. This has appeared in other anthologies, for good reason.
* "The Rapid Advance of Sorrow" by Theodora Goss. Very good multi-layered story, also appearing in other anthologies for good reasons.
* "The Conversation of Eiros and Charmain" by Edgar Allan Poe. Huh?
* "Apocalypse: A Diptych" by Joyce Carol Oates. Begins great and then just nosedives.
* "After All" by Carol Emschwiller. Moral of the story -- don't have kids.
* "Save Me from the Pious and the Vengeful" by Lynne Tillman. Yeah, whatever.
It's an ambitious anthology of multiple genres, ranging from the mid 1800s to stories that first appeared here. It looks at different kinds of Apocalypses, but the end of the world scenarios predominate. Unfortunately, most of the selections are misses rather than hits. The best ones have appeared in other anthologies.
Selections:
* "Introduction" by Our Editor. A decent intro that tantalizes but doesn't reveal too much. Includes a passionate defense of the short story, and a look into the word "Apocalypse."
* "Nyarlathotep" by H. P. Lovecraft. Oh, HPL, you card. Doing a parody of yourself in 1920. Tis to laugh.
* "The Apocalypse Commentary of Bob Paisner" by Rick Moody. My Mom nearly made me to go to grad school at Temple University. I managed to avoid that, but I can fully understand the Apocalypse happening inside of someone's head in Philadelphia.
* "Sweethearts" by Stacey Levine. Good luck trying to figure this one out. At least it's short.
* "Fraise. Menthe. Et Poivre 1978" by Jared Hohl. The sun turns green and the very last people are in Paris, living in the Odeon.
* "What Is It When God Speaks" by Dianne Williams. Flash fiction which means whatever you want it to mean.
* "KraftMark" by Matthew Derby. This is a difficult sci-fi story about a man forced to shoot his son. Fortunately, the Kraft Heinz Company (then called Kraft Foods) didn't have a problem with it.
* "The Hook" by Shelley Jackson. Heartbreaking -- particularly if you love dogs.
* "Sixteen Small Apocalypses" by Lucy Corin. Um ... yeah. NEXT.
* "The Last Man" by Adam Nemett. Decent flash fiction about a worldwide flood.
* "Earth's Holocaust" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. A sort of prologue to Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire."
* "I Always Go To Particular Places" by Gary Lutz and Deb Olin Unferth. Totally incomprehensible, but at least it's short.
* "An Accounting" by Brian Evanson. A post-apocalyptic story set in what used to be America that has turned up in other anthologies, for good reason. WARNING: A dog is killed. Poor Finger.
* "Square of the Sun" by Robert Bradley. Bad sex leading to the end of the world? Actually, that explains a lot.
* "The End" by Josip Novakovitch. One of the best stories so far, about a personal Apocalypse to an American immigrant.
* "Some Approaches to the Problem of the Shortage of Time" by Ursula K. LeGuin. Don't waste your time reading this.
* "Think Warm Thoughts" by Allison Whittenburg. A post-apocalyptic prose poem.
* "The Ash Gray Proclamation" by Dennis Cooper. It's either trying to purposefully be pretentiously provocative, or police need to impound Cooper's computer. No, I'm not familiar with Cooper. Does he write about pedophiles often?
* "Pole Shift" by Our Editor. Um, I'm still trying to figure out this bit of flash fiction ... oh, never mind.
* "Miss Kansas on Judgement Day" by Kelly Link. Funny but poignant pair of honeymooners watch the best beauty pagent ever.
* "The Star" by H. G. Wells. There's a bigger point in this almost quaint Apocalypse story than at first meets the eye, which is revealed only in the last paragraph.
* "When We Went to See the End of the World, by Dawnie Morningside, Age 11 1/4" by Neil Gaiman. Like with most of Gaiman's works, this has a lot of layers to it. Whether Dawnie was an accurate reporter about her family's trip isn't the point.
* "I Am 'I Don't Know What I Am' and You Are Afraid of Me and So Am I" by Tao Lin. Another flash fiction piece. I was once locked in a room with a woman experiencing full-blown mania and this looks a lot like how she sounded.
* "The Escape -- A Tale of 1755" by Grace Aguilap. The longest story in this anthology. It's also the worst written. It's like the parody of a parody of Edgar Allan Poe.
* "So We Are Very Concerned" by Elliot David. Helpful tip for Americans to avoid the Apocalypse -- move to Manhattan.
* "Gigantic" by Steve Aylett. The rhythm isn't steady, but you can still dance to it.
* "The End of the Future" by Collette Phair. A small group of scavengers try to survive before the bombs go off. Metaphor about life, really.
* "Crossing Into Cambodia" by Michael Moorcock. This was a bizarrely noxious mix of sex and senseless violence to people and horses. Written in 1978.
* "'80's Lilies" by Terese Svoboda. Good luck figuring this one out. At least it's short.
* "These Zombies are Not a Metaphor" by Jeff Goldberg. Well, some people need practical advice. This has appeared in other anthologies, for good reason.
* "The Rapid Advance of Sorrow" by Theodora Goss. Very good multi-layered story, also appearing in other anthologies for good reasons.
* "The Conversation of Eiros and Charmain" by Edgar Allan Poe. Huh?
* "Apocalypse: A Diptych" by Joyce Carol Oates. Begins great and then just nosedives.
* "After All" by Carol Emschwiller. Moral of the story -- don't have kids.
* "Save Me from the Pious and the Vengeful" by Lynne Tillman. Yeah, whatever.
October 2, 2022
There should be a name for the book you put down long, long ago but didn't technically "finish" but can't bring yourself to actually review on Goodreads because it's such an aggravating thing.
Gently, this book was published in 2007 and it hasn't aged well. Less kindly: when a book trots out Lovecraft without apology as its first story, you can be sure what overdone white dude perspective this collection is coming from. Lots of these "apocalypses" include titty descriptions, because that's what's vital at the end of the world! SEXY. LADIES.
Writers I knew (Kelly Link, Joyce Carol Oates, Neil Gaiman) disappointed me, and new writers that I liked were few and far between--though I did encounter a lot of writers I hope to never read again, so that was helpful in its own way.
Brian Evenson, of course, understood and excelled at the assignment with "An Accounting" and I was happy to run back into Carol Emshwiller.
Not counting this in my 222 of 2022 stories (a fact that also didn't endear me to this book)--too many of these (in good ol MFA-ese) haven't "earned" the designation of story.
Gently, this book was published in 2007 and it hasn't aged well. Less kindly: when a book trots out Lovecraft without apology as its first story, you can be sure what overdone white dude perspective this collection is coming from. Lots of these "apocalypses" include titty descriptions, because that's what's vital at the end of the world! SEXY. LADIES.
Writers I knew (Kelly Link, Joyce Carol Oates, Neil Gaiman) disappointed me, and new writers that I liked were few and far between--though I did encounter a lot of writers I hope to never read again, so that was helpful in its own way.
Brian Evenson, of course, understood and excelled at the assignment with "An Accounting" and I was happy to run back into Carol Emshwiller.
Not counting this in my 222 of 2022 stories (a fact that also didn't endear me to this book)--too many of these (in good ol MFA-ese) haven't "earned" the designation of story.
November 14, 2015
This book was a huge disappointment. It contains 34 short stories supposedly on the theme of the end of the world. I have read a few collections like this and knew that it's unreasonable to expect to like every story, but I can honestly say that I found at least 30 of them confusing and/or a chore to finish. Almost none of them have any understandable link to an apocalypse of any sort, and some of them made no sense at all to me. I literally couldn't understand what the story was about. I kept thinking that the next story would be better and that it didn't matter if one story was bad because most of them are so short, but I was wrong - the next one was rarely any more enjoyable. Some of the stories aren't terrible as stories in their own right, but they simply aren't apocalyptic fiction in the sense that most people would expect.
July 19, 2007
Some stories are way better than others. . . I like These Zombies Are Not a Metaphor by Jeff Goldberg and The Apocalypse Commentary of Bob Paisner by Rick Moody.
October 23, 2018
Some of these stories are very enjoyable, some feel contrived, several are far more absurdist than apocalyptic, and a few are just poorly written. Overall, I felt like the book was a waste of time, and would not recommend.
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
January 11, 2022
Loved the Poe story the most.
May 9, 2022
Horror. Don't bother. Unless you are ready for writings of very disturbing content.
November 4, 2022
A few of these stories I really liked, particularly the one by Shelley Jackson, but some I truly hated (coughnathanielhawthornecough)
August 28, 2024
Some good, some bad, but if that had been my first introduction to tao lin I would have wondered why anyone would want him for any publication ever...
November 23, 2007
I started reading this after listening to Kai Ryssdal introduce a miniseries about the American consumer, and finished reading it in some turbulence landing in Austin and both times it made these situations seem foreboding in a way that made me feel so so gullible!
I'm not a big fan of ghost stories, scary stories, gory stories in general, but this book is a good mixture of versions of the apocalypse from the mundane, cerebral and personal, to the regular old retribution, starvation, looting, etc. There are a lot of times when it seems to be the sun's fault that the earth is ending? Which seems to be a very old-fashioned Twilight Zone era sort of reason.
But I actually like the Twilight Zone a lot so I can't fault Rebecca for giving this to me. I enjoy how the Twilight Zone uses parallel universes not just to screw around like other shows seem to, but to try to put people on unlevel ground so they can get the fear of God put back into them. Let's have some serious moralizing whenever we talk about the End Times, is what I think.
There's one story about how the world will end by fallling dead bodies of the past onto those responsible for the deaths (crushing them, in turn) that especially fits the mold. (It would be awesome if they could make this happen during one of the upcoming presidential candidate debates because I'm pretty sure Giuliani has been responsible for a hell of a lot of people dying, and it really makes me ill to see him a serious contender. I guess only 1% of voters watch the actual debate but I think the image could translate well to a Youtube video.)
I'm not a big fan of ghost stories, scary stories, gory stories in general, but this book is a good mixture of versions of the apocalypse from the mundane, cerebral and personal, to the regular old retribution, starvation, looting, etc. There are a lot of times when it seems to be the sun's fault that the earth is ending? Which seems to be a very old-fashioned Twilight Zone era sort of reason.
But I actually like the Twilight Zone a lot so I can't fault Rebecca for giving this to me. I enjoy how the Twilight Zone uses parallel universes not just to screw around like other shows seem to, but to try to put people on unlevel ground so they can get the fear of God put back into them. Let's have some serious moralizing whenever we talk about the End Times, is what I think.
There's one story about how the world will end by fallling dead bodies of the past onto those responsible for the deaths (crushing them, in turn) that especially fits the mold. (It would be awesome if they could make this happen during one of the upcoming presidential candidate debates because I'm pretty sure Giuliani has been responsible for a hell of a lot of people dying, and it really makes me ill to see him a serious contender. I guess only 1% of voters watch the actual debate but I think the image could translate well to a Youtube video.)
September 28, 2007
"THESE ARE THE WAYS THE WORLD ENDS—THIRTY-FOUR NEW AND SELECTED DOOMSDAY SCENARIOS"
This is a gorgeous book, from presentation to content. The selections are humorous, serious, simple, complex, and much more—thirty-four stories, some short, some long, make for a wide spectrum of apocalypses. Taylor, in the foreword, expounds on his conception of an apocalypse:
"It's worth pointing out that the word Apocalypse comes from the Greek, and literally means "a revelation" or "an unveiling." It can be used to describe cataclysmic changes of any sort. Revolution, for example, or social upheaval. [...] There are micro-Apocalypses that mark moments in our lives: childhood's end, a relationship's sudden implosion, Death."
The selections do span the gamut—some were written so long ago as to be in the public domain, and some were freshly minted in the late 2000's; some focus on religious upheavals, some macro, some micro; there are personal upheavals, student rantings, surreal recountings of madmen; and of course many take the reader through more conventional "end of the world" scenarios. And even with all that diversity, perhaps guided by the introduction, the theme of the anthology runs strong.
Again, this review is too long for the box. You can read the rest on GUD's site (at http://www.gudmagazine.com/review/arc...).
This is a gorgeous book, from presentation to content. The selections are humorous, serious, simple, complex, and much more—thirty-four stories, some short, some long, make for a wide spectrum of apocalypses. Taylor, in the foreword, expounds on his conception of an apocalypse:
"It's worth pointing out that the word Apocalypse comes from the Greek, and literally means "a revelation" or "an unveiling." It can be used to describe cataclysmic changes of any sort. Revolution, for example, or social upheaval. [...] There are micro-Apocalypses that mark moments in our lives: childhood's end, a relationship's sudden implosion, Death."
The selections do span the gamut—some were written so long ago as to be in the public domain, and some were freshly minted in the late 2000's; some focus on religious upheavals, some macro, some micro; there are personal upheavals, student rantings, surreal recountings of madmen; and of course many take the reader through more conventional "end of the world" scenarios. And even with all that diversity, perhaps guided by the introduction, the theme of the anthology runs strong.
Again, this review is too long for the box. You can read the rest on GUD's site (at http://www.gudmagazine.com/review/arc...).
April 11, 2009
A month or so ago Cari and I went to see local Author Jemiah Jefferson read from her new Cyberpunk web novel First world. She did an excellent reading, from talking to Jemiah at events around town I was already sold on the project but her reading was quite good. You can read the novel for free online, and vote on the direction of the remaining chapters.
There was another author reading that night who has a book out with the same publisher. Brian Evenson, who I had not heard and now I feel bad for having missed him. I saw him before the reading looking at Thomas Liggoti books which is a fanstastic sign.
He read from his book Last Days, and I was sold. A couple days ago i looked him up at the library and I found short story collection which I put on hold and I am waiting for, and an anthology that he has a short story in called The Apocalpse Reader.
I started reading the AR and I have to say this is a must read for fans of dystopias, end of the world fiction or dark fiction in general. It features HP Lovecraft, Ursala K Leguin,Michael Moorcock, HG Wells and many more.
Evenson's story about a post apoc midwestern cannibal man mistaken for Jesus is a stand out but It is alot of the classics that really make this a must read. HG Wells's story "The star" written in 18th century about stray planet coming the earth way is an amazing read.
Most powerful to me was a story written in 1844 called the Earth Holocaust by Nathaniel Hawthrone. Gotta read it.
There was another author reading that night who has a book out with the same publisher. Brian Evenson, who I had not heard and now I feel bad for having missed him. I saw him before the reading looking at Thomas Liggoti books which is a fanstastic sign.
He read from his book Last Days, and I was sold. A couple days ago i looked him up at the library and I found short story collection which I put on hold and I am waiting for, and an anthology that he has a short story in called The Apocalpse Reader.
I started reading the AR and I have to say this is a must read for fans of dystopias, end of the world fiction or dark fiction in general. It features HP Lovecraft, Ursala K Leguin,Michael Moorcock, HG Wells and many more.
Evenson's story about a post apoc midwestern cannibal man mistaken for Jesus is a stand out but It is alot of the classics that really make this a must read. HG Wells's story "The star" written in 18th century about stray planet coming the earth way is an amazing read.
Most powerful to me was a story written in 1844 called the Earth Holocaust by Nathaniel Hawthrone. Gotta read it.
April 23, 2010
The same idea that prompted me to pick up Andre Norton's Darkness and Dawn lead me to read this book, too. As an anthology, I was thinking that it'd be a great place to find new writers, new ideas, new stories, established greats (Poe! Gaimen! Le Guin! Hawthorne!) and so much more. It didn't exactly live up to this potential. Sure, there were authors I'd never heard of published next to classic authors and a whole book full of apocalyptic tales of all varieties, but it landed off-mark for me. There's a class of fantasy that dives way of the deep end of weird, wandering around in nonsensical realms with all the logic of a Dali painting but none of the artistry; that's how I felt about most of this book.
I've summarized a few stories here
Too many stories in the collection relied on content rather than writing, and most of the content was unnecessarily sexual. Though if you took out the sex you'd be left without content, so maybe it was necessary? Either way, I didn't enjoy those. In sum, there are a few gems included in this collection, but I imagine that you could find those either on their own or in a better collection than this.
I've summarized a few stories here
Too many stories in the collection relied on content rather than writing, and most of the content was unnecessarily sexual. Though if you took out the sex you'd be left without content, so maybe it was necessary? Either way, I didn't enjoy those. In sum, there are a few gems included in this collection, but I imagine that you could find those either on their own or in a better collection than this.
Read
August 8, 2011Discovered this at the library - how could I NOT take a book like this home?? Interesting mix of writers from H.P. Lovecraft to Neil Gaiman.
Have not gotten very far but ran across this in the first story I read: "Once we looked at the pavement and found the blocks loose and displaced by grass, with scarce a line of rusted metal to shew where the tramways had run. And again we saw a tram-car, lone, windowless, dilapidated and almost on its side. When we gazed around the horizon, we could not find the third tower by the river, and noticed the silhouette of the second tower was ragged at the top." H.P. Lovecraft
I don't really "get" H.P. Lovecraft but this description raised a thrill on my spine and pretty much nails what I love about Apocalyptic stories... Can't wait to see what the rest brings!
Have not gotten very far but ran across this in the first story I read: "Once we looked at the pavement and found the blocks loose and displaced by grass, with scarce a line of rusted metal to shew where the tramways had run. And again we saw a tram-car, lone, windowless, dilapidated and almost on its side. When we gazed around the horizon, we could not find the third tower by the river, and noticed the silhouette of the second tower was ragged at the top." H.P. Lovecraft
I don't really "get" H.P. Lovecraft but this description raised a thrill on my spine and pretty much nails what I love about Apocalyptic stories... Can't wait to see what the rest brings!
August 21, 2010
I am sadly disappointed by this collection of work. I was (mistakenly) expecting science fiction, which this book is NOT. It's more literary reading, something I do not enjoy. This is my own fault perhaps as I believe now that misunderstood the title.
That however is not the extent of my disappointment with the book. While it did have a couple of excellent stories (perhaps 5% of those included), some work was far to esoteric for my enjoyment. Still others, I didn't understand at all.
This was supposed to be a collection of stories that describe 'apocalyptic situations' but, I felt like I was reading a collection bad poetry disguised as short story work.
I can't recommend it, but there are obviously people out there who enjoy this sort of work.
That however is not the extent of my disappointment with the book. While it did have a couple of excellent stories (perhaps 5% of those included), some work was far to esoteric for my enjoyment. Still others, I didn't understand at all.
This was supposed to be a collection of stories that describe 'apocalyptic situations' but, I felt like I was reading a collection bad poetry disguised as short story work.
I can't recommend it, but there are obviously people out there who enjoy this sort of work.
April 18, 2008
I think you either share his taste in stories or you don't, and I don't. Most of the stories were very abstract and I'd say only a quarter dealt with the apocalypse in a traditional sense, the rest seemed to deal more with cataclysmic change in an individual's life. Only a few were character based and two of those were very similar stories about some one either comparing his life to or pretending to be the next Jesus. Both stories were fine but I think they were too similar to include in the same anthology.
December 4, 2016
A crummy read. So-called genre crit-lit at its worst. Go with The Dog Stars or Zone One or The Passage. They're novels but easier reading than what's in this book.
May 17, 2008
Disappointing. I found the content and quality of the chosen stories very inconsistent and, as other reviews have stated, many are only connected to the 'apocalypse' in the vaguest sense of the word. The most enjoyable selection for me was 'These Zombies Are Not a Metaphor,' which was unfortunately only two pages long. Of the rest, 'The Hook' stands out as an excellent read. Otherwise, most of the rest were disappointing in the extreme.
April 17, 2010
This is a selection of several short stories about the end of the world, in various ways. Some of them I enjoyed very much, like Hawthorne's tale of the people of the world throwing the tools of civilization into the fire.
In general though, I feel like it was really hit-or-miss. Some of the stories I found nearly intolerable. I guess the good thing about a collection of short stories is that if you don't like a particular selection, you can just skip to the next one.
In general though, I feel like it was really hit-or-miss. Some of the stories I found nearly intolerable. I guess the good thing about a collection of short stories is that if you don't like a particular selection, you can just skip to the next one.
March 11, 2012
A bunch of great short stories. Authors I’d like to read more from: Stacey Levine, Jared Hohl, Lucy Corin, Allison Whittenberg, Kelly Link, Steve Aylett, Colette Phair, Terese Svoboda, Theodora Goss, and Joyce Carol Oates.
My favorite was the hilarious “These zombies are not a metaphor” by Jeff Goldberg, where a man tries in vain to convince his imbecilic roommates that the zombies outside their door are NOT a metaphor, but are in fact literally zombies.
My favorite was the hilarious “These zombies are not a metaphor” by Jeff Goldberg, where a man tries in vain to convince his imbecilic roommates that the zombies outside their door are NOT a metaphor, but are in fact literally zombies.
April 28, 2011
A mixed bag as I'd expect from this kind of collection. I thought I would enjoy the modern stuff more, but some of it actually irritated me the most. Unlike some critics I liked the fact that 'apocalypse' was interpreted in many different ways, personal as well as public. Highlights for me were the Moody, Hohl, Corin, Link and Goss. It's given me a few new authors I'd like to check out.
December 10, 2014
This eclectic collection of stories defines "apocalypse" very loosely and covers quite a range, from nineteenth century fiction to contemporary, from traditional to the . . . ah . . . experimental. Some of the stories are classics, some are very good, and some simply make one shake one's head in puzzlement.
May 12, 2014
The Apocalypse Reader was an abysmal anthology of “experimental” (read amateur) mixed in with some public domain material by legendary writers and a couple accomplished writers who ought to be embarrassed to have their material published here. Seldom have I ever been so disappointed in a collection of short stories. Avoid this book at all costs. It’s not worth the struggle.
August 4, 2007
Disappointing. I really wanted end of the world stories, of which there were several. However the editor chose to define apocalypese as any revolutionary change. Fair enough, and certainly led to including some very interesting stories. But it's just not what I signed on for.
December 4, 2008
A hit and miss collection that got old pretty quick--in the end there are only so many stories about eating "the last can of beans on earth" a reader can take. The story "These Zombies Are Not A Metaphor" is worth a read in the stacks the next time you come across this book in a store or library.
February 2, 2012
A little toooo esoteric. "An apocalypse of POETRY!" while whimsical, does not a readable story make. However, the short story "Miss Kansas on Judgement Day" is one of the great apocalyptic love stories of all time and for that I give it 3 stars.
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