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Aftermath: Stories of Survival in Aotearoa New Zealand
Welcome to the End of the World
...and more importantly, what comes after.
Disasters have occurred around the country and the world, but we're 'getting through it', as Kiwi are apt to do. She'll be right. Life moves on, in some form.
Things were bad here in Aotearoa, but in our isolation down under, we've escaped most of the chaos around the world. In fact, we might be the last bastion of humanity on the planet - anybody else home out there? Radio silence. Nada. Zip.
This is not, however, just an anthology of disaster stories. These pages are filled with hope in the form of short stories, poems, flash fiction and artwork about what comes afterwards. The contributions are exclusively from SpecFicNZ members and reflect the diversity and breadth of this country we love to call home ... even if the edges are a bit torn and tattered. Nothing that a bit of Kiwi ingenuity and some number 8 wire can't fix, eh?
...and more importantly, what comes after.
Disasters have occurred around the country and the world, but we're 'getting through it', as Kiwi are apt to do. She'll be right. Life moves on, in some form.
Things were bad here in Aotearoa, but in our isolation down under, we've escaped most of the chaos around the world. In fact, we might be the last bastion of humanity on the planet - anybody else home out there? Radio silence. Nada. Zip.
This is not, however, just an anthology of disaster stories. These pages are filled with hope in the form of short stories, poems, flash fiction and artwork about what comes afterwards. The contributions are exclusively from SpecFicNZ members and reflect the diversity and breadth of this country we love to call home ... even if the edges are a bit torn and tattered. Nothing that a bit of Kiwi ingenuity and some number 8 wire can't fix, eh?
195 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2022
About the author
Gary M. Nelson
45 books26 followersGary M. Nelson, BSC, PMP (Gazza) is passionate about sharing knowledge and making Project Management concepts more accessible, particularly to new and aspiring Project Managers (of all ages). Said another way, he likes to tell stories to help convey complex concepts in a way that helps the concepts "stick". Who says learning shouldn't be fun?
Born in Calgary, Alberta (Canada), Gary moved west to B.C. at the very early age of 2, where he spent most of his formative years - aside from a 6 year stint where he learned to appreciate living in a very small town of 800 people. He then attended high school in Surrey, B.C. and went on to graduate from Simon Fraser University (BC, Canada) in 1989 with a major in Computing science and a minor in English - an odd but useful mix (a techie who can write clearly)!
Gary was tricked into becoming a Project Manager by his first manager, and has never looked back. His international experience includes projects in New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the US and Canada, working on projects in the Telecom, Student Information Systems, Local Government and Healthcare sectors.
Having wanted to write books since high school, it took many long years of successful procrastination until he finally felt he had something useful to write about, and wrote his first book of stories in 2012...on Project Management, of all things. Next, presented with the terrifying challenge of writing for children, he enlisted his youngest sons to be the first victims (reviewers and editors) and the Project Kids series of books were born. Several years on, he is amazed to see the books being translated into multiple languages, and reaching into schools and homes around the world.
He enjoys speaking and training, has presented at numerous events and conferences and is also the author and host of Gazza’s Corner Project Management Blog and Podcast.
Gary currently lives in New Zealand with his wife, three sons and two cats, and is loving every bit of it.
Born in Calgary, Alberta (Canada), Gary moved west to B.C. at the very early age of 2, where he spent most of his formative years - aside from a 6 year stint where he learned to appreciate living in a very small town of 800 people. He then attended high school in Surrey, B.C. and went on to graduate from Simon Fraser University (BC, Canada) in 1989 with a major in Computing science and a minor in English - an odd but useful mix (a techie who can write clearly)!
Gary was tricked into becoming a Project Manager by his first manager, and has never looked back. His international experience includes projects in New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the US and Canada, working on projects in the Telecom, Student Information Systems, Local Government and Healthcare sectors.
Having wanted to write books since high school, it took many long years of successful procrastination until he finally felt he had something useful to write about, and wrote his first book of stories in 2012...on Project Management, of all things. Next, presented with the terrifying challenge of writing for children, he enlisted his youngest sons to be the first victims (reviewers and editors) and the Project Kids series of books were born. Several years on, he is amazed to see the books being translated into multiple languages, and reaching into schools and homes around the world.
He enjoys speaking and training, has presented at numerous events and conferences and is also the author and host of Gazza’s Corner Project Management Blog and Podcast.
Gary currently lives in New Zealand with his wife, three sons and two cats, and is loving every bit of it.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 29, 2022
Aftermath is a collection of stories, along with a few poems and images, set in post-apocalyptic New Zealand. The disasters represented range from the quite possible (catastrophic climate change, nuclear war, earthquakes, pandemics, …) to the highly unlikely (zombies, aliens, etc.), and in at least one case, it isn’t clear what exactly did happen. That’s fine; the focus here is on the recovery, not the disaster itself. In most cases, the disaster, whatever it is, is already over, sometimes decades ago. These are stories of hope, fortitude, and resilience. Of people finding new communities, coping, and rebuilding.
As is the case with most anthologies, the stores aren’t all equally successful. These are the ones I liked best. YMMV.
Lizards and Villains and Wars (Oh, My!) by Scott Fack: Friends and co-workers offer a PTSD sufferer a helping hand in an alternate Christchurch, where the destruction was caused by rampaging robotic lizards rather than an earthquake.
Thirty-Four Days by C D Jacobs: Earthquakes again, with a woman looking after a boy she finds trapped in a pharmacy.
Portobello Blind by Octavia Cade: A blind teenager, learning to fend for herself after most of the rest of the world dies of plague, refutes would-be rescuers’ pity.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch by Erica Challis: Plastic-eating bacteria let loose in the wild has a profound impact on human society.
Bounded by Rivers by Jacqui Greaves: Survivors in an isolated valley set up a breeding program to ensure the best genetic health of future generations. Towards the end of her life, the designer of the program plans to go out in style.
Boy-Boy by Barbara Uni: Two kids hide in the bush after an alien invasion. The older girl makes trips into town telling the boy she’s foraging for supplies. He has to find out for himself that the humans won the war; she doesn’t tell him because he’s all the family she has left
Flipsides by Miriam Hurst: What seems like a disaster doesn’t always turn out to be one
Best Mates by Gary M Nelson: This one is my favourite of the lot, with a friendship that survives even death.
As is the case with most anthologies, the stores aren’t all equally successful. These are the ones I liked best. YMMV.
Lizards and Villains and Wars (Oh, My!) by Scott Fack: Friends and co-workers offer a PTSD sufferer a helping hand in an alternate Christchurch, where the destruction was caused by rampaging robotic lizards rather than an earthquake.
Thirty-Four Days by C D Jacobs: Earthquakes again, with a woman looking after a boy she finds trapped in a pharmacy.
Portobello Blind by Octavia Cade: A blind teenager, learning to fend for herself after most of the rest of the world dies of plague, refutes would-be rescuers’ pity.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch by Erica Challis: Plastic-eating bacteria let loose in the wild has a profound impact on human society.
Bounded by Rivers by Jacqui Greaves: Survivors in an isolated valley set up a breeding program to ensure the best genetic health of future generations. Towards the end of her life, the designer of the program plans to go out in style.
Boy-Boy by Barbara Uni: Two kids hide in the bush after an alien invasion. The older girl makes trips into town telling the boy she’s foraging for supplies. He has to find out for himself that the humans won the war; she doesn’t tell him because he’s all the family she has left
Flipsides by Miriam Hurst: What seems like a disaster doesn’t always turn out to be one
Best Mates by Gary M Nelson: This one is my favourite of the lot, with a friendship that survives even death.
July 4, 2022
A mediocre collection of generally mediocre works. The best of them, "Great Pacific Garbage Patch", was a modern biotech thriller, which tapped into some recent proposals for dealing with plastic pollution. "Octavia Cade's "Portobello Blind" wasn't bad either. The rest ranged from "meh" to boring, generally with too much bush, rain, and kiwi slang (ditto the blokey introductions, which were just annoying). But at least no-one stuck their feet in a cow-pat. Don't waste your time like I did; better to read something else.
April 27, 2024
I admit I borrowed the book for its title, assuming there would be tales from survivors of great NZ disasters, so you can imagine my surprise when the first story goes from deck building to a herd of zombies. Definitely tales of survival, but not from normal disasters.
I had a good laugh at myself, and read through most of the collection of short stories and poems, enjoying the stretch of fiction.
I had a good laugh at myself, and read through most of the collection of short stories and poems, enjoying the stretch of fiction.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews