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How to Get to Apocalypse and Other Disasters
The apocalypse can take many forms. Possibly our end will come by way of an addictive cell phone game that manipulates its users into a crowd-sourced mass murder. Or perhaps our downfall involves aliens drugging us into bliss and then taking it away. Maybe it'll be technological redundancy that leaves loved ones without a purpose, or corporations replacing the natural world with creatures more amenable to market pressure.
All these apocalypses and many more can be found in Erica L. Satifka's debut collection, which gathers together twenty-three short stories from the past decade.
All these apocalypses and many more can be found in Erica L. Satifka's debut collection, which gathers together twenty-three short stories from the past decade.
336 pages, Paperback
First published November 9, 2021
About the author
Erica L. Satifka
34 books51 followersErica L. Satifka is the author of over forty published short stories, which have appeared in such places as Clarkesworld Magazine, Shimmer, Interzone, and The Dark. Her debut novel Stay Crazy (Apex Publications). won the 2017 British Fantasy Award for Best Newcomer, and her rural cyberpunk novella Busted Synapses was released in 2020 by Broken Eye Books. Originally from Pittsburgh, she now lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband/editor Rob and an indeterminate amount of cats.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 10, 2025
Rec. by: Previous work
Rec. for: Carbon kids with sinister diagrams (source)
Ya gotta understand, man—my to-read list is long and I can't always pick up books on it as soon as I would like. I put Erica L. Satifka's inaugural short-story collection How to Get to Apocalypse and Other Disasters on that list as soon as I heard about it, as soon as it was published back in November 2021, and... well, here we are, more than three years later. I really shouldn't have waited so long. On the other hand, sometimes a pleasure deferred is a pleasure enhanced—and How to Get to Apocalypse... was a great pleasure, one that I'm not sure I would have been as ready to appreciate as much any earlier, despite how much I've enjoyed Satifka's earlier work.
This is a substantial collection, containing most or all of the SF stories that Satifka published between 2015 and 2020. I found myself reading just one or two a day—stretching it out, making it last. Taking notes... Satifka's sharp-eyed prose makes me want to be a more careful observer too.
One of Satifka's better talents is the ability to see these futures from below—she's consistently writing from an underdog's perspective. Her protagonists tend to be the unemployed (or underemployed), the low-class, ordinary people who after all make up most of society. Compare this with other writers (looking at you, Neal Stephenson), who all too often feel comfortable showing their futures almost entirely from positions of privilege.
How to Get to Apocalypse... starts out with an Introduction—not to be skipped—by Nick Mamatas, whose own I Am Providence contains Erica Satifka's "amazing design for the 'zine pages" (look for them on pp.55-59 of that novel). Oh, and do not skip the story notes, Acknowledgements and other matter at the end, either—all of which provide more important context.
*
The stories collected here (Table of Contents from the Fairwood Press website, this time) are:
"States of Emergency"
A travelogue of sorts, through a U.S. even weirder than the one we're living in.
"Human Resources"
What does that phrase even mean? Parts of me—of us—already know...
"Days Like These"
Park and his dad, day after day, in their cozy suburban paradise.
"The Big So-So"
or maybe,
"A Child of the Revolution"
A story about the magic of cooptation—because, as T.Rex preached (via the Violent Femmes, at least in my case),
"You won't fool the children of the Revolution."
"Lucky Girl"
Portland. Alternative.
"Bucket List Found in the Locker of Maddie Price, Age 14, Two Weeks Before the Great Uplifting of Mankind"
Getting advance notice of the techno-Rapture ain't all that great—from Maddie's perspective, anyway.
"Can You Tell Me How to Get to Apocalypse?"
Gearing up for a very special episode of "Gumdrop Road"...
"After We Walked Away"
Leaving Omelas doesn't fix anything...
"Sea Changes"
This is the kind of story that speaks for itself:
"Loving Grace"
Richard Brautigan isn't mentioned in this story (or its Notes), but this is about that. Too.
"The Species of Least Concern"
Might be us.
"Thirty-Six Interrogatories Propounded by the Human-Powered Plasma Bomb in the Moments Before Her Imminent Detonation"
That title...
"A Slow, Constant Path"
"Sasquatch Summer"
Papa's little girl Helen is something of a rabble-rouser—and that's a compliment. There's plenty of local color in this one, too, as it's set just up the river...
"The Fate of the World, Reduced to a Ten-Second Pissing Contest"
What if our alien abductors are just... assholes?
"Signs Following"
What if the alien (a different one) could, now and then, grant you an unspoken wish?
"Act of Providence"
Hailey is tough. She's a survivor. Twice.
"Automatic"
Nick Mamatas even calls out this story's killer first line in his Introduction:
"Where You Lead, I Will Follow: An Oral History of the Denver Incident"
This is the dark flipside of Sterling's "Maneki Neko." Foreign influence via a viral app—how very 2024... the most ridiculous, impossible—hold on; I just got a text.
"Trial and Terror"
How to get along after the Cygnians blew off this popsicle stand.
"Useful Objects"
Job opportunities abound—but do you want to take them?
Another buncha alien assholes...
"The Goddess of the Highway"
A long and strong burst of acceleration, like some sort of amphetamine-fueled cross between Zelazny and Thompson... this is a tale you won't want to miss, and a good one to end with.
*
Now, it seems to me that getting to apocalypse (especially these days) is altogether too easy—after all, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows... but (sorry, Bob) sometimes it really helps to have a road map anyway. Or a native guide.
Erica L. Satifka is, it turns out, a pretty good guide.
Rec. for: Carbon kids with sinister diagrams (source)
Ya gotta understand, man—my to-read list is long and I can't always pick up books on it as soon as I would like. I put Erica L. Satifka's inaugural short-story collection How to Get to Apocalypse and Other Disasters on that list as soon as I heard about it, as soon as it was published back in November 2021, and... well, here we are, more than three years later. I really shouldn't have waited so long. On the other hand, sometimes a pleasure deferred is a pleasure enhanced—and How to Get to Apocalypse... was a great pleasure, one that I'm not sure I would have been as ready to appreciate as much any earlier, despite how much I've enjoyed Satifka's earlier work.
This is a substantial collection, containing most or all of the SF stories that Satifka published between 2015 and 2020. I found myself reading just one or two a day—stretching it out, making it last. Taking notes... Satifka's sharp-eyed prose makes me want to be a more careful observer too.
One of Satifka's better talents is the ability to see these futures from below—she's consistently writing from an underdog's perspective. Her protagonists tend to be the unemployed (or underemployed), the low-class, ordinary people who after all make up most of society. Compare this with other writers (looking at you, Neal Stephenson), who all too often feel comfortable showing their futures almost entirely from positions of privilege.
How to Get to Apocalypse... starts out with an Introduction—not to be skipped—by Nick Mamatas, whose own I Am Providence contains Erica Satifka's "amazing design for the 'zine pages" (look for them on pp.55-59 of that novel). Oh, and do not skip the story notes, Acknowledgements and other matter at the end, either—all of which provide more important context.
*
The stories collected here (Table of Contents from the Fairwood Press website, this time) are:
"States of Emergency"
A travelogue of sorts, through a U.S. even weirder than the one we're living in.
"Human Resources"
What does that phrase even mean? Parts of me—of us—already know...
"Days Like These"
Park and his dad, day after day, in their cozy suburban paradise.
"The Big So-So"
A few minutes later the music starts up, and it's more awful than I ever could have imagined.
—p.59
or maybe,
It took an alien invasion to do it, but I'm finally the best-dressed one in the room.
—p.61
"A Child of the Revolution"
A story about the magic of cooptation—because, as T.Rex preached (via the Violent Femmes, at least in my case),
"You won't fool the children of the Revolution."
"Lucky Girl"
Portland. Alternative.
Adina didn't bother asking what it was. "At least put on your raincoat."
Natalie smirked. "That's for tourists."
—p.92
"Bucket List Found in the Locker of Maddie Price, Age 14, Two Weeks Before the Great Uplifting of Mankind"
Getting advance notice of the techno-Rapture ain't all that great—from Maddie's perspective, anyway.
"Can You Tell Me How to Get to Apocalypse?"
Gearing up for a very special episode of "Gumdrop Road"...
"After We Walked Away"
Leaving Omelas doesn't fix anything...
"Sea Changes"
This is the kind of story that speaks for itself:
It takes all kinds of people to build America.
—p.131
Despite its name, there is no water in Mulberry Creek.
—p.131
I touched his gnarled hand with its delicate network of veins and looked out the window, up to the sky. The stars weren't out right then, but they would be soon.
—p.134
"Loving Grace"
Richard Brautigan isn't mentioned in this story (or its Notes), but this is about that. Too.
"The Species of Least Concern"
Might be us.
"Thirty-Six Interrogatories Propounded by the Human-Powered Plasma Bomb in the Moments Before Her Imminent Detonation"
That title...
Is this going to hurt?
—p.165
"A Slow, Constant Path"
The cats were the constants, and without them, the whole structure of the Lady May would fall in on itself like a house of cards.Sounds about right...
—p.166
"Sasquatch Summer"
Papa's little girl Helen is something of a rabble-rouser—and that's a compliment. There's plenty of local color in this one, too, as it's set just up the river...
"The Fate of the World, Reduced to a Ten-Second Pissing Contest"
What if our alien abductors are just... assholes?
"Signs Following"
What if the alien (a different one) could, now and then, grant you an unspoken wish?
"Act of Providence"
Hailey is tough. She's a survivor. Twice.
"Automatic"
Nick Mamatas even calls out this story's killer first line in his Introduction:
He rents his optic nerve to vacationers from Ganymede for forty skins a night.
—p.236
"Where You Lead, I Will Follow: An Oral History of the Denver Incident"
This is the dark flipside of Sterling's "Maneki Neko." Foreign influence via a viral app—how very 2024... the most ridiculous, impossible—hold on; I just got a text.
"Trial and Terror"
Our band's been on the road for five months now, spreading the power of positive thinking across the Midwest after the Great Happiness Collapse.
—p.257
How to get along after the Cygnians blew off this popsicle stand.
"Useful Objects"
Job opportunities abound—but do you want to take them?
Another buncha alien assholes...
"The Goddess of the Highway"
A long and strong burst of acceleration, like some sort of amphetamine-fueled cross between Zelazny and Thompson... this is a tale you won't want to miss, and a good one to end with.
He lick his lips. They are so dry. "Goddess."
—p.281
*
Now, it seems to me that getting to apocalypse (especially these days) is altogether too easy—after all, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows... but (sorry, Bob) sometimes it really helps to have a road map anyway. Or a native guide.
Erica L. Satifka is, it turns out, a pretty good guide.
Want to Read
December 10, 2021Jared Shurin picks this as a Best of 2021 book @ tor.com, https://www.tor.com/2021/12/07/tor-co...
"Erica Satifka’s How to Get to Apocalypse and Other Disasters (2021) is her first collection, hopefully the first of many. Every piece is excellent, but there are a few common threads: mostly near future science fiction, featuring ordinary, ‘non-extraordinary’ people, facing unsettling situations. They’re exquisite and character-focused, but, above and beyond that, Satifka is possibly the finest speculative world-builder of a generation. These are not simple ‘one twist’ SF tales; each of these stories features layer upon layer of speculative imagination. But rather than distracting from the plot, or the characters, Satifka interweaves the science fictional elements so insightfully that they feel entirely natural; they’re so organic that they never overpower the rest of the story. This collection is an absolute masterclass in writing science fiction."
I'm in. Never even heard of this author! She's young, sporty and likes cats! Some free stories online, mostly very short or older stuff: http://www.ericasatifka.com/p/stuff-i...
I'll try some of those first.
"Erica Satifka’s How to Get to Apocalypse and Other Disasters (2021) is her first collection, hopefully the first of many. Every piece is excellent, but there are a few common threads: mostly near future science fiction, featuring ordinary, ‘non-extraordinary’ people, facing unsettling situations. They’re exquisite and character-focused, but, above and beyond that, Satifka is possibly the finest speculative world-builder of a generation. These are not simple ‘one twist’ SF tales; each of these stories features layer upon layer of speculative imagination. But rather than distracting from the plot, or the characters, Satifka interweaves the science fictional elements so insightfully that they feel entirely natural; they’re so organic that they never overpower the rest of the story. This collection is an absolute masterclass in writing science fiction."
I'm in. Never even heard of this author! She's young, sporty and likes cats! Some free stories online, mostly very short or older stuff: http://www.ericasatifka.com/p/stuff-i...
I'll try some of those first.
June 25, 2022
This was a wildly inconsistent collection. Many of the ideas were interesting and I would love to see them fleshed out. A few too many tangents and asides to show the author had modern views. Don't disagree with them they just felt unnecessary. Would be very interested to see what they do in the future with a little more seasoning and some good editing. Over all enjoyable. Really 3 1/2 stars.
October 15, 2021
Fantastic and varied material from one of SF's working-class heroes.
September 21, 2022
2.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
A collection of speculative stories by Erica L. Satifka.
Review
I’ve been peripherally aware of Erica Satifka, though I can’t recall from where – maybe a convention, maybe I’ve read some of her work before. In any case, the name was familiar, so I was intrigued to read this collection, but I went in with no preconceptions.
The introduction by Nick Mamatas, former co-editor of Clarkesworld, was off-putting, but I ignored that, and went straight on to the stories themselves. On the plus side, I can say that Satifka had a consistent tone to the stories – a sort of dismal, dystopian feel. Virtually all were near-ish future situations of average men and women dealing with somewhat Kafka-esque societies. They seldom win, often lose, even more often don’t resolve anything at all. Many of the stories might be called mood pieces, and if so, the mood is glum.
The tone in itself didn’t bother me much. But I found too few of the pieces to have real resolutions, and just as few to have characters I cared very much about. The settings and societies were sometimes interesting, but the aspects and experiences Satifka chose to examine generally didn’t do very much for me. I found it hard to be interested in the characters, not because of who they were, but because so many seemed listless and bland.
The writing itself, on a line by line basis, is strong. It was more with the storytelling that I found fault.
The collection has attracted a fair amount of attention and accolades, so clearly others disagree. From my own reading, though, it seems Satifka will not be on my ‘to read’ list again soon.
Summary
A collection of speculative stories by Erica L. Satifka.
Review
I’ve been peripherally aware of Erica Satifka, though I can’t recall from where – maybe a convention, maybe I’ve read some of her work before. In any case, the name was familiar, so I was intrigued to read this collection, but I went in with no preconceptions.
The introduction by Nick Mamatas, former co-editor of Clarkesworld, was off-putting, but I ignored that, and went straight on to the stories themselves. On the plus side, I can say that Satifka had a consistent tone to the stories – a sort of dismal, dystopian feel. Virtually all were near-ish future situations of average men and women dealing with somewhat Kafka-esque societies. They seldom win, often lose, even more often don’t resolve anything at all. Many of the stories might be called mood pieces, and if so, the mood is glum.
The tone in itself didn’t bother me much. But I found too few of the pieces to have real resolutions, and just as few to have characters I cared very much about. The settings and societies were sometimes interesting, but the aspects and experiences Satifka chose to examine generally didn’t do very much for me. I found it hard to be interested in the characters, not because of who they were, but because so many seemed listless and bland.
The writing itself, on a line by line basis, is strong. It was more with the storytelling that I found fault.
The collection has attracted a fair amount of attention and accolades, so clearly others disagree. From my own reading, though, it seems Satifka will not be on my ‘to read’ list again soon.
January 22, 2022
Nobody knows for sure how the world will end, but many people have speculated. The subject has been written about more times than anyone could count. Erica Satifka has come up with a few ideas of her own, twenty-three in fact. How to Get to Apocalypse and Other Disasters is a collection of some of the most interesting, highly inventive short stories on the theme. Sarifka’s imaginative ends range from selling body parts to pay for luxuries, to a children’s show reboot with computer-controlled corpses, to a nuclear missile strike caused by a game app.
As Satifka explains, she preferred reading sci fi short stories. In this book, she proves you don’t need a lot of words to create great art. Some of her stories are whimsical, while others are more macabre. Many of the stories can be very thought provoking. While exploring multi-dimensional realities, one story also includes descriptions of self-harm that could be triggering to some readers. Don’t look to Satifka’s stories for sunshine and daisies. Her tales are more like dried roses: although dead, they remain beautiful while retaining their thorns. If you enjoy your end-of-day reading in short form, then this is a perfect book for you.
This review was originally published at https://manhattanbookreview.com/produ...
As Satifka explains, she preferred reading sci fi short stories. In this book, she proves you don’t need a lot of words to create great art. Some of her stories are whimsical, while others are more macabre. Many of the stories can be very thought provoking. While exploring multi-dimensional realities, one story also includes descriptions of self-harm that could be triggering to some readers. Don’t look to Satifka’s stories for sunshine and daisies. Her tales are more like dried roses: although dead, they remain beautiful while retaining their thorns. If you enjoy your end-of-day reading in short form, then this is a perfect book for you.
This review was originally published at https://manhattanbookreview.com/produ...
February 18, 2022
Mixed bag of stories, like most anthologies. I read every one but the final one in a day or two, but since the last one was longer and I wanted to take fewer books with me, I left it until I was finishing a couple. I should not have waited, I liked it better than average in this anthology and that says a lot.
December 1, 2021
Wild, wacky, delightfully antic tales told in a variety of voices. Each on a project of our own world into an end time. Some are scarily possible and some wildly impossible, but all are compelling page turners.
I want more!
I want more!
Currently Reading
January 20, 2022Fiction S2534h 2021
January 19, 2023
A wonderful collection of speculative short fiction that's dystopian, true to the title, but also full of hope & heart. I enjoyed every single story in it! I wish I could hug some of the characters.
November 24, 2025
One of the best short story collections I've read this year!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews