Extinction Notice: Tales of a Warming Earth

by David Harten Watson (Editor), Ann Murray, Benjamin S. Grossberg

Climate change! Insane leaders! Pandemics! Melting icecaps! Eco-terrorists! Monsters! Aliens! Robots! What could possibly go wrong for the humans of the future? Read on and find out.

Extinction Notice: Tales of a Warming Earth is a climate fiction (cli-fi) anthology of thirty-five stories, four poems, and two songs by a diverse group of talented authors hailing from nine different nations on four continents.

Its stories will thrill you, chill you, shock you, scare you, infuriate you, enlighten you, worry you, make you laugh, or inspire you to take action. All of them will entertain you and make you think.

Most of the cli-fi works in Extinction Notice are science fiction. Others are horror, humor, political satire, romance, dystopian, young adult, middle grade, apocalyptic, epidemic, historical, eco-terrorism, or various combinations of the above genres.

In addition to entertaining readers with thought-provoking short stories, songs, and poems, this anthology will open the eyes of readers of all ages to the catastrophic dangers of runaway global warming, or anthropogenic climate change.

Extinction Notice is edited by award-winning YA fantasy novelist David Harten Watson, author of the Magicians Gold series, including Magic Teacher's Son and Fortress of Gold.

Profits from the anthology will be donated to environmental charities.

Features works by Ann Murray, Benjamin S. Grossberg, Carol Smith, Charles Venable, Christopher Walker (Poland), David F. Shultz (Canada), David Harten Watson, Dawn Vogel, Dustin Walker (Canada), Fabiyas M V (India), Frank Roger (Belgium), James Lipson, Jay Caselberg (Germany), J.G. Follansbee, Kara Race-Moore, Kimberly Christensen, Kirby Biggs, L. Jordan James, Lorraine Schein, Mike Fiorito, Patrick Ritter, Paul Freedman, Rann Murray, Ross West, Russell Hemmell (Scotland), Shari K. Ladd, Tara Calaby (Australia), Taria Karillion (England), Thomas P. Tiernan, Thomas Wm. Hamilton, TJ Esteves, Tom Jolly, and Willow Croft.

Genres: Climate Change Fiction, Horror, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, New Adult

514 pages, Paperback

Published March 23, 2022

About the author

A lifelong environmentalist and solar energy enthusiast, David Harten Watson is the editor of Extinction Notice: Tales of a Warming Earth , a 2022 climate fiction (cli-fi) anthology of 41 stories by talented authors from all over the world. David is the author of the YA fantasy series Magicians' Gold, including Magic Teacher's Son (a 2016 Eric Hoffer Award Winner (Honorable Mention in category Young Adult), 2016 First Horizon Award Finalist, 2016 Eric Hoffer Award Grand Prize Short List, and 2015 IAN Book of the Year Award Finalist) and a sequel, Fortress of Gold. full member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), U.S. Army Brotherhood of Tankers (USABOT), LDS (Mormon) Church, Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, and The Saber Legion.

David has worked in a dizzying array of jobs including U.S. Army Armor officer at Fort Knox (experience that came in handy for his second novel, Fortress of Gold), camp counselor, teacher, tax preparer, car salesman, portrait photographer, track photographer, solar energy entrepreneur, and computer programmer.

Raised in snowy Buffalo, New York, David graduated from Calasanctius School (which closed shortly after his graduation, although he swears it wasn’t his fault) and has degrees from Princeton, Canisius College, and Buffalo State College. He's the Organizer of the Woodbridge Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Meetup (which he founded in 2008). He lives with his wife (a native of Ecuador), their two sons, and two cats in New Jersey, where in his day job he's an IT Specialist.

Reviews

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

If anyone has a way to get this in the hands of an anti-science politician and have him or her rant about on a televised confirmation hearing or whatever, that would be awesome. Would love to see sales get that kind of Anti-Racist Baby boost! This book talks about climate change! Tell your friends and enemies!

Extinction Notice by TJ Esteves
A humorous take on extinction as the trilobites find out they are about to go extinct. It’s like an episode of ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’ crossed with the British edition of ‘The Office’ – it’s funny but also a stark warning of what repeats.

The Space Traveler’s Calculus by Benjamin S. Grossberg
A poem of an alien observing human, speculating that our troubles go all the way back to the beginning, when we first made campfires, and perhaps someone should have stopped us then.

When We are Ready, We Will Understand Why They Waited by Charles Venable
I have a theory that aliens have placed a warning buoy at the edge of our solar system, warning visitors to stay away from our crazy species. Looks like Venable agrees with me, suggesting here how horrified an intergalactic visitor would be if they happened to start exploring Earth in 1943! A very unique take on both stories of alien explorers and the Holocaust.

Love and Vibrio Cholerae by Shari K. Ladd
A historical fiction sci-fi horror set in the not-too-distant past a young girl comes to maturity, struggling to see both the good and bad in the world and not be overwhelmed.

Donald the Crooked President by X
A comic poem satirizing 45. The author’s note suggests singing the poem to the tune of “Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer” which makes it even more ridiculous. Sometimes, something is so bad you just have to laugh at it.

Boiling Alive by Ross West
An assassination attempt from the POV of the assassin – and you see just where he’s coming from.

Sunburn by Fabiyas MV
A poem of climate change in India, as the poor suffer on behalf of the wealthy, the poem pulls no punches.

Extremism in Defense of Mother Earth by David Harten Watson
Green Peace meets Jonestown in this satire of the extremes of both Big Energy and those trying to protect the environment, as well as how hard it is to shock some people.

Elemental Crisis by Dawn Vogel
A simple, stark poem of what we are doing to the planet. Its short but packs a hard punch.

A Ray of Hope by Frank Roger
A horror story of what an alien invasion could look like – and an indirect attack turns out to be much, much worse than any death from aliens like in Independence Day.

The Burning by Jay Caselberg
A poem that reads more like a psalm, calling out to anyone who will hear of the damage we have done to the environment.

My Personal Space by Tom Jolly
In a story even scarier than Under the Dome, aliens decide to take matters into their own hands and give each human on Earth a test on how to properly take care of our planet. The stakes are life or death as we are shown the immediate consequences of our mistakes, with no chance to push problems away.

CH4 is 28 Times More! by Kirby Biggs
A poem about the effects of climate change set to the tune of ‘A Bicycle Built for Tow’ very much evoking the same tense feeling of anxiety as HAL sang that song in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The First Man by Christopher Walker
A political satire based on the Trump administration that barely has to fictionalize anything. Honestly, Walker might be giving some characters too much credit for an ability to think.

The Rights of Nature by Patrick Ritter
A courtroom drama of Nature v. Big Oil and who has more rights. A new law comes into play that will leave you cheering.

Vacation Time by James Lipson
A humorous micro-fiction story of Christmas-meets-climate change. Gave me a good chuckle.

A New Year in the Same Old World by Willow Croft
A logical extreme to social distancing – the world here described is sad but fascinating. Reminded me quite a lot of the sci-fi thriller Passengers.

Terraforming Earth by David Harten Watson
A political satire / horror story of what sounds like an all too plausible story of what if aliens manipulated Trump for their own purposes. Not much fiction here, actually.

Birthing in Place by Kimberly Christensen
A pandemic story that doesn’t seem very fictional anymore. Also, very touching to see how, as the character says, ‘life will find a way’.

Of Machines and Monsters by Thomas P. Tierman
Aliens figure out that all they have to do is distract the humans and they can get away with pretty much anything. Reminded me a lot of Pacific Rim.

Survival in the Age of Nonsense by Paul Freedman
In the not-too-distant future, climate change is disrupting everything, even the remote tundra near the Arctic. Sadly, all good things must come to an end.

Slow Burn by Dustin Walker
An extreme heat wave is seriously disrupting civilization and killing people, and a solider is faced with hard choices on how to do what is right. A reminder of the sacrifice true heroism sometimes demands.

Tomorrow's Ghost by Mike Fiorito
Present and future bend in on themselves as help arrives from both very close and very far away in order to help save the Earth. It reminded me of some of the more upbeat Twilight Zone episodes.

I Dream of Earth by Rann Murray
Aliens show up with a genuine desire to help – and of course all the people in charge say ‘no’ – so drastic – but humane – measures have to be taken. The layer of innocence added by having it all told though a child’s POV helps underlines the protagonists’ sincerity.

Es Geht zu Ende by Thomas Wm. Hamilton
A super-short story of most of Manhattan being underwater, and those in authority still doing the same crackdown when people try to protest. Short but powerful showing how things could both change and not change.

The Highs and Lows of Barefoot Pleasure by Taria Karillion
In the late 21st century, a young birthday girl is treated to a whole five minutes experiencing a patch of nature rapidly disappearing. Great use of world building to really set the scene.

Man Moon by Rann Murray
An ordinary family working in the salvage business stumble on a spaceship that most definitely did not come from Earth. Some linguistic investigation shows it didn’t come from too far off, and has a sad tale to tell that we are now repeating.

The End of the End by Carol Smith
As plague and environmental disaster make things worse and worse help from the stars arrives. But these “aliens” have an unexpected close connection to Earth – and us. A surprising story that offers hope.

The Great Greenland Quilting Bee by J.G. Follansbee
An interview of a scientist who managed to reverse some of the worst ecological damage currently happening. The old becomes new as we see how the past can inspire new innovation.

COPS by Ann Murray
A chilling re-imagining of 1984 via a dystopia caused by climate change. The names are different, but the psychology is the same of what humans will do to each other when squeezed down by fascism in any form.

A Life in Pieces by L. Jordan James
A take in the late 21st century of love and loss amidst plague and environmental dystopia. Shades of Ray Bradbury in the very human-ness in the type of robots shown here.

The Historic Moment by Thomas Wm. Hamilton
Funny and depressing at the same time – an all too likely scenario of a tragic moment repackaged for television as a glitzy event with a countdown clock and news commenters.

In The Teeth of the Night: A Cautionary Tale by Thomas P. Tierman
A little girl asks for the truth about the monsters humans accidently unleashed as a bedtime story and her father reluctantly complies. She and the reader learn of just how bad things have gotten – and then it gets worse. Reminded me of the paralyzing horror of A Quiet Place.

The Time that Everything Went to Hell by Thomas P. Tieran
Between environmental collapse and alien invasion, things have truly gone to hell. And for a twist to make things worse, the aliens are stuck on 1950’s sitcoms, giving the horror a crazy comic sheen.

True North by David F. Schultz
Two rangers are in the Canadian wild looking for a damaged drone. Things get far wilder then they expected as things take an unexpected turn.

Breeders by David Harten Watson
A story in the future where all sexual norms have been flipped on their head. Deescalating the population becomes of prime importance, and the measures taken go hand in hand with a major shake up to Christianity. A classic sci-fi story of highlighting issues of the present with a reverse negative image.

Earth-seed by Tara Calaby
A lone guardian is determined to protect the seed bank, the only hope for someday seeing plants growing on Earth again. An excellent setting and some great heroics.

Some Like it Cold by Kara Race-Moore
I wrote this! I came up with the idea while lazily floating on a pool on vacation, drinking some fruity cocktail with an umbrella and suddenly wondered what it would be like for aliens to go on vacation. In this story, aliens have fixed the Earth – but the whole planet is now one big resort under guard, and we are all just the help serving drinks. Honestly, there are worse fates. Cocktail?

From the Drowned by Lorraine Schein
A poem from the POV of some of the more famous people who have drowned, real and imagined, trying to warn the living that the waters are rising.

Waking a Cyborg by Kirby Biggs
Alien archeologists are exploring the long-dead planet Earth to try and understand the species that once lived there and how they destroyed themselves. There are cyborgs with stories to tell about what once was, and a very good twist at the end!

The Happy Colony by the Sea by Russell Hemmell
A perfect story to end this anthology with, melancholic but with a tinge of hope to it, we see an interesting switch off as humans become the aliens and vice versa, with humans no longer being the residents of Earth.


Overall, it’s a hell of ride as every author uses the platform about the desperate need for change. Fingers crossed that with some many voices raised in this chorus of alarm that someone might hear.