Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse

I love a good tale of the apocalypse--doesn't everyone? It's not that I'm full of doom and gloom and I don't obsessively watch the doomsday clock (FYI, it's seven minutes to midnight). However, I do enjoy stories that ponder life after the big bomb/virus/zombie attacks/genetic mutation/big flood/etc. Depending on my frame of mind, it's either fun or an intellectual exercise to consider what humans would do after the big whatever. What would society look like? Would we cooperate or compete? Would humankind accept their lot in life or fight to rebuild society?

So anyway, I love a good tale of the apocalypse so this book was like a trip to Camden Park (before it became old, dangerous, and creepy). Twenty-two stories AND a "list for further reading". Contributers include well-known sci-fi authors such as Stephen King, Orson Scott Card, and George R.R. Martin. My favorite story was "Judgement Passed" by Jerry Oltion. It's about a group of explorers who return to Earth after 20 years in space. They arrive to find that the Second Coming has come and gone. They know this is what happened because they find newspapers with the story (including pictures of Jesus walking around town). They spend their days trying to decide if God didn't notice them because they were so far away, if God did notice them but didn't want them, and if they should try to get his attention to they can also leave the world.

If you aren't familiar with this genre of sci-fi but like more mainstream books such as The Stand, Children of Men, and the short story that was the basis for the current hit I Am Legend, then you might like these stories. Also, if you like the aformentioned movies, READ THE BOOKS!! They really are much better.

I can only give this collection 2 thumbs up because I only have 2 thumbs. The cat gives it 5 stars because she dreams of an armageddon in which all dogs die and all surviving humans live to serve her. The border collie could not be bothered because he was busy trying to understand the humor of Candide, and the big black dog could not finish it because she is the happiest dog in the world and the stories were bumming her out.