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Weird World War #2
Weird World War IV
NEW STORIES OF FUTURE WARFARE FROM THE HOTTEST NAMES IN SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, AND HORROR
TALES OF THE WAR BEYOND THE NEXT
What if there were a war after Armageddon? How would the survivors emerging from World War III’s radioactive slag heaps fight in this conflict? Would they wage it with sticks and stones . . . and sorcery? Or would they use more refined weapons, elevating lawfare to an art and unleashing bureaucratic nightmares worse than death? Would they struggle against themselves or inter-dimensional invaders? What horrors from the desolate darkness might slither into the light? Wipe away the ashes of civilization and peer into a pit of atomic glass to witness the haunting visions of World War IV from today’s greatest minds in science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
Contributors
Jonathan Maberry
Steven Barnes
D.J. Butler
Brad R. Torgersen
Martin L. Shoemaker
T.C. McCarthy
Eric James Stone
Stephen Lawson
Freddy Costello and Michael Z. Williamson
Laird Barron
Nick Mamatas
Brian Trent
Erica L. Satifka
Kevin Andrew Murphy
Maurice Broaddus and Rodney Carlstrom
David VonAllmen
Deborah A. Wolf
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Julie Frost
Weston Ochse
John Langan
Praise for Weird World War
"Hazlett follows Weird World War III by looking even further into the future at the war after the next big one... the sheer weirdness of many of these pieces is a testament to the genre’s creativity and verve." — Publishers Weekly
"Stories in this anthology range from dystopian in nature to hard-core sci-fi... With the diversity of authors in this collection, the stories cover a wide range of genres, viewpoints, and styles. This book has it all... There is a short story for just about any type of audience. Come take a look at the absurdity of future wars."— Manhattan Book Review
"Although this might seem to be a limited theme, the various authors have risen to the challenge, and produced a wide variety of fiction incorporating science fiction and fantasy concepts into tales of struggles that do not always take place on battlefields."— Tangent Online
"This book raises questions about who has access to what technology and to what ends that technology is used. In some of these stories, there is a philosophical core that makes the heart-thumping action all the more meaningful... Much like the previous anthology, I enjoyed it quite a lot."— Never Was Magazine
Praise for Weird World War
"Weird World War III stokes our collective fears with tales of worst-case scenario nightmares by some of the best writers in the business."— This Is Horror UK
"A fascinating way to see how different authors of speculative fiction approach a similar theme... an enjoyable collection of speculative fiction presenting several interesting takes on WWIII scenarios between the US and Russia, the overall quality was high."— Tangent Online
"A collection that runs the gamut in terms of what it does with the premise."— Sea Lion Press
"Weird World War III is a buffet of war-related speculative fiction, guaranteed to entertain anyone who likes destroying humanity. Who would have known that blasting this species to Kingdom Come could be so fun?"— Never Was Magazine
TALES OF THE WAR BEYOND THE NEXT
What if there were a war after Armageddon? How would the survivors emerging from World War III’s radioactive slag heaps fight in this conflict? Would they wage it with sticks and stones . . . and sorcery? Or would they use more refined weapons, elevating lawfare to an art and unleashing bureaucratic nightmares worse than death? Would they struggle against themselves or inter-dimensional invaders? What horrors from the desolate darkness might slither into the light? Wipe away the ashes of civilization and peer into a pit of atomic glass to witness the haunting visions of World War IV from today’s greatest minds in science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
Contributors
Jonathan Maberry
Steven Barnes
D.J. Butler
Brad R. Torgersen
Martin L. Shoemaker
T.C. McCarthy
Eric James Stone
Stephen Lawson
Freddy Costello and Michael Z. Williamson
Laird Barron
Nick Mamatas
Brian Trent
Erica L. Satifka
Kevin Andrew Murphy
Maurice Broaddus and Rodney Carlstrom
David VonAllmen
Deborah A. Wolf
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Julie Frost
Weston Ochse
John Langan
Praise for Weird World War
"Hazlett follows Weird World War III by looking even further into the future at the war after the next big one... the sheer weirdness of many of these pieces is a testament to the genre’s creativity and verve." — Publishers Weekly
"Stories in this anthology range from dystopian in nature to hard-core sci-fi... With the diversity of authors in this collection, the stories cover a wide range of genres, viewpoints, and styles. This book has it all... There is a short story for just about any type of audience. Come take a look at the absurdity of future wars."— Manhattan Book Review
"Although this might seem to be a limited theme, the various authors have risen to the challenge, and produced a wide variety of fiction incorporating science fiction and fantasy concepts into tales of struggles that do not always take place on battlefields."— Tangent Online
"This book raises questions about who has access to what technology and to what ends that technology is used. In some of these stories, there is a philosophical core that makes the heart-thumping action all the more meaningful... Much like the previous anthology, I enjoyed it quite a lot."— Never Was Magazine
Praise for Weird World War
"Weird World War III stokes our collective fears with tales of worst-case scenario nightmares by some of the best writers in the business."— This Is Horror UK
"A fascinating way to see how different authors of speculative fiction approach a similar theme... an enjoyable collection of speculative fiction presenting several interesting takes on WWIII scenarios between the US and Russia, the overall quality was high."— Tangent Online
"A collection that runs the gamut in terms of what it does with the premise."— Sea Lion Press
"Weird World War III is a buffet of war-related speculative fiction, guaranteed to entertain anyone who likes destroying humanity. Who would have known that blasting this species to Kingdom Come could be so fun?"— Never Was Magazine
352 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2022
6 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Sean Patrick Hazlett
49 books22 followersSean is a technology and finance professional working in Silicon Valley. He writes horror and science fiction as well as nonfiction. He is a recent second place winner of the Writers of the Future Contest. He has published over a hundred research reports on clean energy, semiconductors, and enterprise software including Wall Street's first comprehensive market analysis of opportunities in the smart grid, which was cited twice in The Economist (See "Making Every Drop Count" and "Smart Grids: Wiser Wires"). His fiction has appeared in Writers of the Future, Grimdark Magazine, Abyss & Apex, Sci Phi Journal, Fictionvale Magazine, Plasma Frequency Magazine, Kasma SF, The Colored Lens, NewMyths.com, and Mad Scientist Journal, among others.
Before becoming working in finance and technology, Sean was a research associate at the Harvard-Stanford Preventive Defense Project where he worked on energy security issues that included the United States-India Strategic Partnership and policy options for confronting Iran's nuclear program. He won the 2006 Policy Analysis Exercise Award at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government for his work on policy solutions to Iran's nuclear weapons program. Sean also spent time at Booz Allen Hamilton as an intelligence analyst focusing on strategic war games and simulations for the Pentagon. Before graduate school, Sean was a cavalry officer in the United States Army where he trained American forces for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan at the National Training Center.
Sean holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and bachelor's degrees in History and Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.
Before becoming working in finance and technology, Sean was a research associate at the Harvard-Stanford Preventive Defense Project where he worked on energy security issues that included the United States-India Strategic Partnership and policy options for confronting Iran's nuclear program. He won the 2006 Policy Analysis Exercise Award at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government for his work on policy solutions to Iran's nuclear weapons program. Sean also spent time at Booz Allen Hamilton as an intelligence analyst focusing on strategic war games and simulations for the Pentagon. Before graduate school, Sean was a cavalry officer in the United States Army where he trained American forces for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan at the National Training Center.
Sean holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and bachelor's degrees in History and Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 7, 2023
This collection really comes through at the end. But the first half is disappointing at best. Which sucks. This had such potential and a lot of it fell flat.
I know not every story will land. You don't read a collection like this and expect every story to work for you. But even the ones I liked were good but not life changing or outstanding. Fun, intriguing, clever. But not 5 star worthy. And the ones I disliked? I HATED. I am still fuming about how hilariously bad Triplicate is.
This is not a collection I would suggest in its entirety. I would gladly reccomend a handful of the individual stories but not the whole book.
Please read: The Big Whimper, Lupus Belli, Ancient Enemy, Once and Future.
Please Avoid: TRIPLICATE
I know not every story will land. You don't read a collection like this and expect every story to work for you. But even the ones I liked were good but not life changing or outstanding. Fun, intriguing, clever. But not 5 star worthy. And the ones I disliked? I HATED. I am still fuming about how hilariously bad Triplicate is.
This is not a collection I would suggest in its entirety. I would gladly reccomend a handful of the individual stories but not the whole book.
Please read: The Big Whimper, Lupus Belli, Ancient Enemy, Once and Future.
Please Avoid: TRIPLICATE
April 2, 2024
Hazlett's WWWIII was already wildly uneven, but here the span of difference in quality beggars imagination, from the abysmal tale of a lawyerly warfare as imagined by two guys trying their hardest to be funny and failing even harder, to the apex of Merlin having a post-WWIII adventure. Unfortunately, not very many stories here even try to match the latter, some fail even at basic competence. In that the anthology is actually pretty close to what WWIV would be - a walk in a minefield, rarely enjoyable.
May 16, 2022
Albert Einstein once spoke about not knowing how World War III would be fought, but that the next war would be fought “with sticks and stones.” Not even Einstein could dream up the future wars written about in Weird World War IV. U.S. Army Veteran and speculative fiction writer Sean Patrick Hazlett compiled and curated twenty-one stories into this weird anthology. Contributing writers include Steve Barnes, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Jonathan Maberry, Weston Ochse, and many more award-winning and bestselling authors.
Stories in this anthology range from dystopian in nature to hard-core sci-fi. Some are more fantastical, and others are just plain odd. While not all stories are written from a post-war point of view, they all deal with life after a world-changing event. With the diversity of authors in this collection, the stories cover a wide range of genres, viewpoints, and styles. From novella to screenplay, this book covers it all. Many of these post-apocalyptic stories were written during the global pandemic and reflect the authors’ distrust and ideologies. There is a short story for just about any type of audience. Come take a look at the absurdity of future wars.
This review was originally published at https://manhattanbookreview.com/produ...
Stories in this anthology range from dystopian in nature to hard-core sci-fi. Some are more fantastical, and others are just plain odd. While not all stories are written from a post-war point of view, they all deal with life after a world-changing event. With the diversity of authors in this collection, the stories cover a wide range of genres, viewpoints, and styles. From novella to screenplay, this book covers it all. Many of these post-apocalyptic stories were written during the global pandemic and reflect the authors’ distrust and ideologies. There is a short story for just about any type of audience. Come take a look at the absurdity of future wars.
This review was originally published at https://manhattanbookreview.com/produ...
June 8, 2022
With an anthology on a topic such as a weird version of World War IV, the reader can expect a wide variation of stories in tone, length, and viewpoint. For example, you have the Brian Trent bringing technologically advanced dinosaurs coming sideways into the aftermath of WW III. Johnathan Mayberry brings creatures from the vasty deep to gain an advantage in a losing war. Steven Lawson has war between AI controlled groups. Julie Frost brings werewolves to the Moon. John Langan plays up a Merlin tale to end the book. I wished that some of the tales did not end so abruptly, but, in all, a very satisfying read!
April 8, 2023
I seldom read anthologies and am not sure why. They are great for when you don't have time for a longer novel, or even just want some quick reads. This particular anthology is fairly wacky - I commend the authors for their wild and entertaining imaginations. I enjoyed just about all of them. There were a few that weren't quite my cup of tea but they were still well-written. Very good use of my time!
July 17, 2023
Eclectic collection of stories about what happens after presumed the presumed nuclear Armageddon that World War III would bring.
Highlights for me:
"Deep Trouble" by Jonathan Maberry
"We Are Not Monsters" by Steven Barnes
"The Eureka Alternative" by Brad R. Torgersen
"A Line in the Stars" by Martin L. Shoemaker
"Blue Kachina" by T.C. McCarthy
"Triplicate" by Michael Z. Williamson and Freddy Costello
Highlights for me:
"Deep Trouble" by Jonathan Maberry
"We Are Not Monsters" by Steven Barnes
"The Eureka Alternative" by Brad R. Torgersen
"A Line in the Stars" by Martin L. Shoemaker
"Blue Kachina" by T.C. McCarthy
"Triplicate" by Michael Z. Williamson and Freddy Costello
June 25, 2024
Badly written stories, rebel against the prompt as much as possible. Half are “World War III” stories with a few lines of palette swap, half use the Einstein quote, half include some other nonsense.
Only stories I completed were “The Transformation Problem” and “Astral Soldier,” which I enjoyed and recommend.
Only stories I completed were “The Transformation Problem” and “Astral Soldier,” which I enjoyed and recommend.
April 30, 2022
Boring World War IV
June 8, 2023
Triplicate is by far my favorite in this set, now don't forget to itemize!
July 17, 2024
excellent short story collection
May 7, 2023
Thanks to Baen for the review copy of Weird World War IV; I have no connection with Baen or the writers in here.
Hazlett's introduction — focusing on modem politics, skepticism of institutions across political identities, fear of rising polarization and a war with China, an attempt at a big nonpartisan tent from an approximately center-right perspective — was a point of real interest for me. I chewed on it longer than any of the stories, wrote extensive thoughts, read more of the stories, and deleted those thoughts.
My final impression is that Hazlett made an honest attempt at putting together a politically diverse anthology that engages with current issues and shared fears. Many of the stories in here are quite strong and made a real impression on me. Seasoned names like Langan, Barron, and Barnes delivered a huge scope of imagination. I also really liked Brian Trent's 'Reflections in Lizard-Time' and Broaddus and Carlstrom's 'The Door of Return' — sort of eldritch Afrofuturism — among others. Tons of fun.
I won't be forgetting Langan's 'Future and Once' anytime soon. Baen somehow landed him to write quirky Arthuriana. Think Kieron Gillen's 'Once and Future' minus the Whedon-y side of the dialogue, with equal imagination and a broader emotional range.
Hazlett's common-ground, shared-power-of-humanity angle does get undermined by his choice to include Costello and Williamson's 'Triplicate,' a plodding us-versus-them attempted satire that spends most of its time sneering about pronouns. A couple other pieces (e.g. Mamatas' story) get obnoxious about politics in various directions, but it's worth noting that Hazlett made space for a wide variety of political stances and commentary. I could point to pieces that lean center-right, center-left/liberal, more progressive, anti-capitalist, or derisive about politics in general. An extension of Baen's 'something for everyone' approach to anthologies, apparently.
Hazlett's introduction — focusing on modem politics, skepticism of institutions across political identities, fear of rising polarization and a war with China, an attempt at a big nonpartisan tent from an approximately center-right perspective — was a point of real interest for me. I chewed on it longer than any of the stories, wrote extensive thoughts, read more of the stories, and deleted those thoughts.
My final impression is that Hazlett made an honest attempt at putting together a politically diverse anthology that engages with current issues and shared fears. Many of the stories in here are quite strong and made a real impression on me. Seasoned names like Langan, Barron, and Barnes delivered a huge scope of imagination. I also really liked Brian Trent's 'Reflections in Lizard-Time' and Broaddus and Carlstrom's 'The Door of Return' — sort of eldritch Afrofuturism — among others. Tons of fun.
I won't be forgetting Langan's 'Future and Once' anytime soon. Baen somehow landed him to write quirky Arthuriana. Think Kieron Gillen's 'Once and Future' minus the Whedon-y side of the dialogue, with equal imagination and a broader emotional range.
Hazlett's common-ground, shared-power-of-humanity angle does get undermined by his choice to include Costello and Williamson's 'Triplicate,' a plodding us-versus-them attempted satire that spends most of its time sneering about pronouns. A couple other pieces (e.g. Mamatas' story) get obnoxious about politics in various directions, but it's worth noting that Hazlett made space for a wide variety of political stances and commentary. I could point to pieces that lean center-right, center-left/liberal, more progressive, anti-capitalist, or derisive about politics in general. An extension of Baen's 'something for everyone' approach to anthologies, apparently.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews