From the Ashes: Stories from The Fallen World

The Fallen World #3

by Chris Kennedy, Christopher Woods, Marisa Wolf

The world has Fallen, but life goes on…

In the late 2020’s and early 30’s corporations managed to render the major governments of the world obsolete. The big corporations owned most of the territories as well as the majority of the world’s wealth. While many of the old traditions were still observed in various parts of the world, the true power was with the corporations.

In the late 30’s, what would be known as the Corporate Wars began as larger companies initiated hostile takeovers in a whole new fashion. Employees, armed with corporate weapons, warred for dominance. It was a bloody time, and many small corporations were destroyed, as were a lot of civilians in the wrong place at the wrong time…as well as those who’d been buying the wrong products.

On May 1st, 2067, it all ended in nuclear fire.

Sixteen outstanding authors have come to this Fallen World with stories that take place from the islands off the coast of Washington to the plains of central Europe; from the swamps of Florida to the streets of Philadelphia. These stories document the fall…and introduce you to people who might just drag civilization back from the ashes…

With stories by:
Chris Kennedy
Brisco Woods
Jamie Ibson
David Carrico
Kevin Steverson
Philip S. Bolger
Joseph Capdepon II
Alex Rath
David Alan Jones
Derek Shupert
Ian J. Malone
Jan Kotouc
Jon R. Osborne
Mark Wandrey
Marisa Wolf
Christopher Woods

Genres: Post Apocalyptic

579 pages, Paperback

First published July 30, 2019

About the author

A Webster Award winner and three-time Dragon Award finalist, Chris Kennedy is a Science Fiction/Fantasy author, speaker, and small-press publisher who has written over 50 books and published more than 400 others. Get his free book, “Shattered Crucible,” at his website, https://chriskennedypublishing.com.

Called “fantastic” and “a great speaker,” he has coached hundreds of beginning authors and budding novelists on how to self-publish their stories at a variety of conferences, conventions, and writing guild presentations. He is the author of the award-winning #1 bestseller, “Self-Publishing for Profit: How to Get Your Book Out of Your Head and Into the Stores.”

Chris lives in Coinjock, North Carolina, with his wife. Follow Chris on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ckpublishing/.

Reviews

[Ami · Rating 5 out of 5]

FtA is an excellent collection of stories that take place in The Fallen World universe, which I love! I quickly became infatuated with this universe and want to read every book available. Although I didn’t expect super high quality in these stories because of the many authors, I was not only pleasantly surprised but blown away by the intriguing characters and varied storylines! I highly recommend it.

Read via Kindle Unlimited

[Wampuscat · Rating 4 out of 5]

These 16 Stories in the Fallen World universe are a great addition to the series. They should serve to whet your appetite for more to come. I found almost all of them to be quite good. I was excited to learn new details about the tech of the Fallen World, both pre & post Fall. The writing from all the authors was top notch. It was a blend of apocalypse and hope that you like to see rather than total morbidity. I thoroughly enjoyed it and definitely recommend it to you Happy Readers!

What follows are individual story reviews. The way I reach my overall rating is to review each story (0-5 stars) and average them together for the book. For this anthology, I give 3.4 stars overall, and I call it a Terrific Read.

Be warned, the individual reviews contain spoilers:

What’s In A Name by Chris Kennedy (4 stars)

Straight after the events of Don’t Call Me Ishmael” our old friend ‘Fred’ decides he has to chance a run to Philly to find a rumored Imprinter that can restore his true identity.

Kennedy rolls out another kicker as the MC finds the path to his past is blocked by a whole lot of ‘bad stuff’ like Clowns & Geno Freaks, but ends up with some potential allies.

Spec Shey by Brisco Woods (5 stars)

Spec Shey joined Teledyne for payback against Obsidian. Now the world has Fallen, and he was stuck in a booth getting some upgrades when it happened. Luckily, he was found by someone who’s first instincts were not to rob, maim and kill.

The story was terrific. A nice backstory the leads to a great payoff at the end. I like a good twist that I didn’t see coming because of the other cool stuff going on around it. Top notch!

Daimyo by Jamie Ibson (3 stars)

Survivors flee the Fall by way of an island and institute Feudalism in the Japanese style to help them survive. Three Agents serve and rule them well. Twenty years on, they now face pressure from other outside survivors led by an Agent who is much more malevolent and power hungry… Gaunt.

A decent story. Good fight scenes. Tension was built and the climax was on point.

A Winter’s Day by David Carrico (4 stars)

Post Fall Montana is about to get its first taste of lawlessness as one family fights for its own survival. After, the law that was must give way to the justice of the Fallen World.

Good story in the vein of an old school wild west homestead defense. Not tame and lossless like most stories. I enjoyed this, and I hope to read its sequel someday.

King of the Mountain by Kevin Steverson (4 stars)

What would you do if you knew the nukes were going to fly tomorrow? Make a survival plan, buy as much gear and food as you can, and head for the hills, right?

I really liked this one. It has made me a fan of Steverson’s writing style. I plan to check out some of his books including Salvage Title.

A Smile for Napalm by Philip S. Bolger (3 stars)

Obsidian Agents did bad things before the Fall. Surviving and helping others to survive the nukes is one way Lucia Frausto is making amends. Her past still manages to find her though, and she must fight for her own survival, and that of her town when it does.

Decent story. The battle scene was cool.

What Passes For Human by Joseph Capdepon (4 stars)

A former Obsidian scientist and his wife struggle for survival after the Fall. It’s especially hard for her since she’s a cyborg. When his wife is abducted by an anti-Tech cult who uses torture to convert and destroys all technology, even if it keeps someone alive, there is no place for half-measures in her rescue.

This was a well built tale that made you care for the characters and brought a new nuance to the Fallen World. I really enjoyed this one.

Mr. Smith Goes To Toronto by Alex Rath (2.5 stars)

Forced to leave his doomsday bunker to deactivate a nuke, Mr. Smith sees what the world is like up close and personal for the first time and decides to hang around and help.

An OK story, but very low-key compared to others in the anthology

Bloody Monday by David Alan Jones (4 stars)

Monday Fulcher is a drifter in the Fallen World, but he takes a liking to a local lass that’s mutual. Unfortunately, the town has a secret that he just can’t go along with… so he ends up dead… at first.

Another great story. It introduced a concept about the nanite tech that is new to the reader. I think it has potential to be expanded upon and I hope for a sequel for this story also.

Justice For All by Derek Shupert (2.5 star)

A soldier of the Corporate Wars seeks meaning and redemption in the Fallen World. When he saves a girl from cannibals and discovers they are lead by a Geno Freak, he decides to help save her whole town.

A bit corny & navel gazzey at the start, but the actual action & plot of the story is good.

The Coward of Leon County by Ian J Malone (1 star)

Just go listen to Kenny Rogers.

Take the song Coward of the County and twist it a bit to make it fit in the Fallen World. I would have liked it if not for the blatant plagiarism of the plot. It wasn’t bad writing, but I was thrown out immediately and constantly by the deliberate parallel to the song. I know that was the point. I did not like that point. YMMV.

Hippocratic Oath by Jan Kotouc (3 stars)

An international story that takes place in the Czech Republic. A man is trying to find medical supplies to create an antidote for a drug used by a rising power that turns people into berserker addict soldiers to fight their invasions.

Good story, but I was lost behind the language barrier at times, especially with regards to place names and roads. Still, the plot was good as was the writing.

Shiva by Jon R. Osborne (4 stars)

A Farmer caravan is attacked by brigands leaving the MC wounded in a ditch, left for dead and his wife kidnapped. A local warlord is getting overindulgent and a bit insane, and when his Imprinter is used on his new ‘toy’ those who are trying to take him down find they’ve made a terrible mistake with the programming.

Damn good story. Slow start, but still decent. Once it gets to the pinch point though, yikes! Shiva indeed! I hope there will be a sequel to this one. It was hinted at and left wide open for it, so maybe so.

A Well-Dressed Wolf by Mark H. Wandrey (4 stars)

A French refugee with a ship full of… well, crap… brings a prize to the island of Bermuda to help with their crops. All they have to do is let him dock…

I’m pretty sure this story is full of nothing but bad guys, but it was really good.

Salt by Marisa Wolf (4 stars)

Problems are building on Nantucket. Survivors are at a pivot point between hunker down and stay safe and gather resources while risking lives to keep them all alive. Thieves raid, and the scientist who is enhancing their people for survival is being stalked.

Another great story that left me wanting more. The doctor who created many of the Geno Freaks deserves more story time.

Enforcer by Christopher Woods (2 stars)

Mathew Kade does another walkthrough of the city.

This one felt like a repeat of one of the stories from the original Fallen World trilogy. There simply was not a lot of ‘new’ to it.

[John Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice little anthology of some of the characters from This Fallen World. Some we've already read about, and some I'm looking forward to reading more about in their own books. It's also nice to read stories that aren't just about Teledyne Specialists and Obsidian Agents..
I'm looking forward to continuing this series..

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short stories from The Fallen World

I enjoyed the variety of authors. Their various styles complimented each other very well. If you enjoy the Fallen World, this is a great read.

[Joe McCullough · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a ride!.

Went straight through this. Really the best collection I have had the opportunity and pleasure to read. Wide swathes of the possible . Wider swathes of wow.

[Randy Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read the first 3 of these in the series. I love the characters and story line. I'm looking forward to the next bokl

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an awe-full book!

This is an awesome collection of stories which take place in the Fallen World Universe. The first story is a continuation of “Call me Ishmael.” Joshua/Stephen just wants his identity back so he sets out for Philly which has the imprinter that will give him his personality back. If only it was that simple. “Spec Shay” is the name of the man who is Teledyne’s top operator. He had been with the program longer than any living person in the field and was also the only one to have killed multiple Agents of O. He is offered a new nanite trial but while under the nukes fall and the world fell. “Daimyo” is a Warleader under a Shojun. This story is set on the islands just West of what was Mount Vernon, WA. Their main enemies are the Victorians who are pirates raiding from what was Vancouver Island. This is a story of how a small enclave of Japanese-Americans hold their islands and prevent being over-run by people who would rather steal and murder than work hard to achieve success. “A Winter’s Day” is set in Montana and has a similar theme to “Daimyo.” In this scenario we have ranchers who are just getting by until an Obsidian recruiter decides one particular ranch would make a good base and sends some men to seize it. “King of the Mountain” is about an Agent, Rylik King, whose lady is in Intelligence. She decodes a message saying Teledyne will launch a missile strike on the Monday, May 1st. No one believes it except her because of a Cherokee language postscript stating that it is true. She takes the rest of the week off and heads for Rylik. They plus a friend, his pregnant wife, and the friend’s parents then prepare for the end of the world. They set up at the top of a mountain just up from Helen, GA. It has a Visitor’s Center, outlooks, a spring, and toilets with a huge septic tank. “A Smile for Napalm” isn’t what I first thought it would be about. Lucia Frausto is the mayor of Mankato, MN. She was an assassin/enforcer known as Frost Dancer for Teledyne prior to the world falling. Her past catches up with her in the person of Napalm. He had deserted Teledyne so she was sent to kill his family as a lesson. He now wants his revenge. “What Passes for Human” is about a man and his wife. The wife, Alyssa, has cyborgenic implants, while the husband, David is a research scientist. They are attacked by a group of religious fanatics who believe only people with no implants are worth saving and anyone else like Alyssa should burn. “Mr. Smith Goes to Toronto” is about an Obsidian Agent who realized what was likely to happen so he built a bunker and disappeared into it before the world fell. Now some Teledyne Specialist have found him and want him to come to Toronto to defuse the nuclear bomb that did not explode. It has become unstable and he is the only one with the skill set to defuse it. “Bloody Monday” tells about Monday Fulchar, an itinerant tinker, who is plying his trade in a beautiful little oasis of a town, Prosperity, Georgia. While dealing with some mild flirting from Laney, he attends church with the young lady and her brother. There, he is the shocked witness to a bizarre ceremony called the blood rite. “Justice for All” introduces us to an ex-Obsidian Agent who has made it his life’s work hunting Geno-freaks. He rescues a young girl from two low-lifes and finds that the group who have taken over the town are cannibals lead by a large lizard man. “The Coward of Leon County” reminds of the Kenny Rogers song “The Coward of the County.” Ethan Garrett is a Specialist who stops and helps a couple of kids on his way to complete some business in Galveston. “Hippocratic Oath” takes place in the Czech Republic or what’s left of it. Franz, a Doctor and Agent is looking to hire a large truck with a trailer. There is a large supply of medical supplies, etc. in a neighboring town. They are double crossed when they get there. “Shiva” is about Sarah a Mennonite medic who is captured and taken to the Fort. To please the hedonistic warlord, Sarah is imprinted as a pleasure slave but there’s been a mix-up. Miles, her husband, has been hunting for her. “A Well-Dressed Wolf” is about a French man, Hugo Legrand, who arrives at Bermuda via a container ship which is carrying refugees, 1.3 million pounds of fertilizer and some hibernating dogs. “Salt” is a about a community on Martha’s Vineyard which is governed by a scientist who is geno-enhanced as is most of the community. They are raided by the ‘savages’ from Nantucket and set out to retaliate. The last story, “Enforcer” is a story about Mathew Kade whom we met in the anthology entitled “We Dare.”

My only complaint is I want to see each of these stories expanded into novel so that I can see either more back story on some of them and/or to follow more of the activities/adventures that come after the episodes I have just read.

[David Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better short story compilations I have ever read as far as overall quality and how much the stories fit into the existing Fallen World universe.

[Dennis Crotts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave 5 starts but

Sorry to say I was as happy with this book as I was the first 2. The first 2 had a storyline that connect them this book did not connect till the end and you are just dropped and the storyline wonder what happen the storylines were not finished and the reader was left hanging and another thing the first part of this book was a storyline that happen overseas and was not connected in anyway with the first 2 and I as a reader got lost in trying to connect and the only connection was the falling of nuclure bombs and the world going to hell.

[Jennifer Rath · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG! This Fallen World is full of amazing characters you do NOT want to miss

I am usually a slow anthology reader. But, I could not put this book down. Every story has interesting characters in a variety of places across the Fallen World. Do yourself a favor and read these stories. You will not regret it.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of great stories here, including several I’d love to see as novels! Each author brought in a new time and place for a world that’s been focused on Philadelphia and the Southeast so far. With stories set in the Pacific Northwest to Central Europe, there’s something for everyone!

[Antoine Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid anthology!
Not one text I disliked and all did fit awesomely within the universe!

My favorite story was the last one, because... Kade!

Action, humor, sadness, life!

There is still hope for this Fallen World.