The End is Nigh (Apocalypse Triptych Book 1)

Very diverse and creative, the way these authors interpreted the subject was fascinating.

There was one story that didn't work for me "She's Got a Ticket To Ride" by Jonathan Maberry was disappointing. The narrator spoke in a clichéd noir voice and the dialogue was forced and awkward, the narrator and the secondary character did not feel real.

One out of 22 stories is not bad for an anthology though. Highly recommended and well worth the price.

Loved loved loved! Each story had me hooked. I was on the edge of my seat and wishing I could read a continuation of every story. Can't wait for The End is Now. Its the only thing making me look forward to the end of summer.

Some people may think what I have written have some *spoilers*. Gave a very brief overview and my thoughts on the stories.

This anthology is the best I have read. In any book with so many stories, some hit the mark, some don't. There is a little bit for everyone. I feel lucky that the first few stories I chose to read were really great. That is what kept me involved and reading "just one more" before putting it down for the night.

I wanted to comment on a few of the stories.

Goodnight Moon by Annie Bellet is my favorite. A tear jerker about astronauts on the moon and an impending asteroid and life and death decisions. Beautifully written.

Spores by Seanan McGuire was really great. Creepy good and it has to do with mold!

She's Got a Ticket To Ride by Jonathan Mayberry. At first I was thinking how similar it was to Hale-Bopp Heaven's Gate. But after that was mentioned in the story, it went beyond that idea and will have you re-thinking what a "cult" really is. I enjoyed it very much.

In The Air by Hugh Howey. Let me just say this: If only Shift was this compact and short...

Shooting The Apocalypse by Paolo Bacigalupi. I was really looking forward to this one and maybe I will re-visit it but I was not interested in this one.

Dancing With Death in the Land of the Nod by Will McIntosh and Wedding Day by Jake Kerr are very different types of stories but both have an ironic twist that make these two really special. Dancing With Death involves an incurable disease that puts its victims into a paralysis but they can still think clearly. One of the main characters in the story is a caretaker for his father who has Alzheimer's. The irony is when the main character thanks good "family genes". Read it, it is a great one. In Wedding Day, a to be married lesbian couple has a chance to escape certain death from an impending meteor strike if only the government didn't halt all marriages.

Removal Order by Tananarive Due. With no real explanation of what has caused the world to go into its demise, the story jumps right in with Nayama who is taking care of her Grandmother who has cancer. A story about sacrifice and love. Caring for a loved one outweighs the fact that the world is dying around you.

Heaven is a Place on Planet X by Desirina Boskovich. A strange but interesting story about an alien invasion. The aliens are going to zap the whole world into dust but promises a new heavenly life on a new planet that will occur on a certain date at an exact time. First though, random people around the world are chosen as enforcers to eliminate anyone who doesn't follow instructions given by the aliens. I am hoping this story has a continuation in the next book, the end is filled with foreboding of the ultimate fate of the enforcers. A story that warns about Propaganda and blindly following those that use power and violence to get people to submit.

Finally, I think it is interesting that a few reader's complained or felt the need to comment on some type of "gay agenda" with a few of the stores. I feel bad for ignorant people. Dystopian/Apocalyptic stories almost always have messages about politics, propaganda, societal values, religious beliefs, anarchy etc. To me, any complaint about a story being a "political gay rights agenda" story is so foolish. The story "Wedding Day" has so much depth and makes such a powerful statement about inequity (for any class or type of person). It is too bad that some people can not allow themselves to open their mind to the bigger meaning.

This reads like a collection of college creative writing submissions, with a bonus given if the students included some sort of social justice character, with a special bonus if's an LGBT character. Gays make up less than 5% of the population, but in this book it seems like 30%, so apparently that was one of the check points the editor used when picking stories for this anthology.

Like any collection of what read like college essays, most of the writing is mediocre, but with a few gems here and there. The story that leads it off, "The Balm and the Wound", I really liked and was hopeful for the rest of the book, but it pretty much went down hill from there.

Most of the stories end abruptly, seem cut-off or leave too much open ended (even if the world is not ended yet). Apparently "short story" in this case means "part of a story" rather than a fully developed plot written in condensed format. I suppose plot development isn't taught until next semester.

Sophomoric effort. The writers costly need an editor. Rehashing a tired meme and padding the text with unnecessary and overt character Dev does not a bit of good. Don't tell me how someone feels. Show me.

I enjoyed reading about half the stories in the book but there were quite a few I found fairly mediocre and a couple were so unpleasant I had to skip through them. The standouts were definitely Ben Winters, Hugh Howey, Jonathan Maberry and Scott Sigler, as you would expect, but there were a couple of others that I really enjoyed that were by authors I had never heard of before.

However, at the risk of copping the same belting that one of the other reviewers got for commenting on the homosexual activism permeating the anthology, I have to say I really hate having political messages shoved down my throat gratuitously like that. By the end of the anthology, the heavy handed social lecturing was having a very perverse and negative effect on me, so if the authors were trying to be subtle, I would have to say they failed completely.

I'm only about 65% through this collection, but so far this is an amazing must-read for fans of the apocalyptic genre. But if you are a lesbian, be warned! God and/or the universe is out to get you. I guess the idea to have every 3rd story or so be about lesbians was intended to be blunt-force SJW normalization of a specific non-traditional lifestyle, but it fails quite hilariously, as the sum of the repetition makes it seem much more than coincidence. Lesbianism even beats out aliens as a recurring feature. I've never found lesbians to be a bother, myself-- who knew they'd destroy the world over and over and over and over?! Seriously though. Great stories. I think there was only one that I was riveted by. A must read for fans of the apocalypse. And I'm super excited to read the second two books, with more stories by many of the same authors, some apparently revisiting the worlds they created in this volume.

Anthologies need more respect. They bring together diverse authors to explore a theme and it is those different viewpoints that tend to make for an interesting aggregation. The chaps behind this collection previously hooked me with earlier efforts including The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse, The Living Dead 1 and The Living Dead 2. All of which were quite excellent with Wastelands being particularly impressive. Unfortunately, The End Is Nigh is not as strong and feels like a cash grab. The editor admits that it will become a trilogy and many of the entries are teases at what will be continuing tales over the three anthologies that explore different periods in an apocalypse.

There was a great range in quality in these stories that are pre-apocalypse in plot. The premises were familiar if not a bit tired. A few stood out for me including In the Air by Hugh Howey that had an original approach and story. It provided the most disturbing imagery and pulled me in. Goodnight Moon by Annie Bellet reminded me of the current hit book, The Martian. The mood was melancholy and earnest. Will McIntosh introduced a scary virus scenario in Dancing with Death in the Land of Nod that was reminiscent of King's The Stand. Two of my favourite authors, Jonathan Maberry and David Wellington, also contribute but the stories do not match their usual quality. Does my three stars mean I will not pick up the next entry? Of course not, I need to see the many ways the world will end.

There’s a lot to love about this collection. First, the concept of three anthologies that look at the apocalypse from before, during, and after is bold. And I gotta say I’m looking forward to the next two installments, to see how some of these concepts are grown. I listened to the audiobook, and the production was top notch. For free podcast samples, pop over to EscapePod.org and listen to “Enjoy the Moment” and Drabblecast.org for “Heaven is a Place on Planet X”.

I was pleasantly (?) surprised at the variety of apocalyptic visions for our world. While the killer asteroid was the most represented, it was nowhere close to the preponderance. I think the only thing I can think of in the popular consciousness that didn’t make it was the collapse of the food system through the death of pollinators. We even got a zombie story (“Agent Unknown”), although the fungus one (“Spores”) was even more effective body horror than zombies ever could. There are so many I could talk about (like Bachigalupi’s return to the world of The Tamarisk Hunter) but I’m going to restrict myself to the ones that made the deepest craters in my psyche.

The two narrations that really blew me away were Laurice White reading “Removal Order” and Tina Connolly reading “Goodnight Moon”. Both performances really delivered pathos and made the individual tragedies of the characters all the more impactful.

I thought the opening of the collection with “The Balm and the Wound” was great. It felt a lot like a cultier version of Hensley’s “Lord Randy, My Son” which is one of my favorite Dangerous Visions. The other cult story’s noir tone (“She’s Got a Ticket to Ride”) really set it apart, while subverting the style by having the brooding hero be rescued by the damsel in distress.

Probably the most subtle of the stories is the soft apocalypse in Nancy Kress’s “Pretty Soon the Four Horsemen are Going to Come Riding Through”. I’ve picked up her novel Beggars in Spain and I can see a similar nod to the themes set there. This is probably the one story I’m most looking forward to seeing how it evolves.

An interesting idea for an anthology. I just finished this and will give bullet reviews for individual stories.
MILD SPOILERS FOLLOW
The Balm in the Wound by Robin Wasserman - Solid tale of a conman and the apocalypse. Journeyman work with a fun premise. 7/10.

Heaven is a Place on Planet X by Desirina Boskovich - A bit long, but interesting. A look at the Martian Teleporter ethics puzzle from the inside. And a realistic look, too. 6/10.

Break! Break! Break! by Charlie Jane Anders - Meanders a fair bit, although the viewpoint character is rather dim-witted. Struck me as weak social commentary than apocalyptic. Could have been 1/3rd the length. 5/10.

The Gods Will Not Be Chained by Ken Liu - A fun variant on the AI apocalypse concept. The atmospheric build up is good. Good pacing. 7/10.

Wedding Day by Jake Kerr - Gak. Far too long with clunky dialog. A bog-standard Tunguska Bomb story that lets us know that while the vast majority of the human race is going to die and civilization is going to completely collapse the greatest tragedy EVER is gay marriage not being legal everywhere. Talk about trivializing death. 2/10.

Removal Order by Tananarive Due - OK, I am a fan of the writer, but she delivers again. Interesting tale of plague with well-written characters and a moral dilemma that is realistic without being preachy. 9/10.

System Reset by Tobias S. Buckell - Fun story about a Fire Sale apocalypse from the POV of a minor character that witnesses it all. Nice takedown of the self-important Anarcho-Capitalist Objectivists that clutter forums, as well. Fast-paced and engaging. 8/10.

This Unkept World is Falling to Pieces by Jamie Ford - A subtle steampunk apocalypse tale with a nice viewpoint character. 6/10.

BRING HER TO ME by Ben H. Winters - This feels... unfinished. I can't tell if it is a clumsy attack on religious faith or just poor writing. I couldn't remember a single character without glancing back through the story. 4/10.

In the Air by Hugh Howey - Although I am not a big fan of short stories that go back and forth between the now and flashbacks over and over and over, the story of a nano-apocalypse is good. Motivations seem realistic and the tale has no heroes. 6/10.

Goodnight Moon by Annie Bellet - Well-written, right-paced story about the apocalypse on the moon. 7/10.

Dancing with the Devil in the Land of Nod by Will McIntosh - A touch longer than needed, this was still a good read and had an intriguing apocalypse premise. My willing suspension of disbelief got a workout, but it didn't complain. 6/10.

Houses Without Air by Megan Arkenberg - A supervolcano apocalypse story. You would think such a story would be dynamic, but it was dull and boring. I had to grit my teeth to finish the sluggish pace, boring dialog, lack of tension, and bland descriptions. 3/10.

The Fifth Day of Deer Camp by Scott Sigler - BRING HER TO ME felt unfinished and suffered for it. The Fifth Day of Deer Camp is obviously unfinished and is better for it. Fun, good dialog, and an interesting location make this 'day one of the the alien invasion story' a good read and left me wanting more. 7/10.

Enjoy the Moment by Jack McDevitt - A Nemesis/Nibiru tale with good dialog and a slow-motion apocalypse juuuuuust starting. 6/10.

Pretty Soon the Four Horsemen are Going to Come Riding Through by Nancy Kress - Mercy. This story seemed like it belonged on a free mommy blog where it was an exercise in stress relief. Dialog was weird, the outlook for the viewpoint character seemed off-kilter (she was meant to be a poor single mother but came off as what Upper Middle Class Liberals think poor single mothers are like) and the apocalypse boiled down to 'bullied kids bring it on themselves, so there goes civilization'. 3/10.

Spores by Seanan McGuire - Ever read a story where the premise was good, the writing was competent, but you just knew the writer struggled to hit the minimum word count? Yeah? Here's another one. Tons of padding about OCD, gay couples, angsty teens, and violet prose detract from a fascinating apocalypse idea. 5/10.

She's Got a Ticket to Ride by Jonathan Maberry - Another Nemesis/Nibiru tale. I was bored to tears. The writing is competent but the author couldn't seem to be able to choose between a noir, an SF, an apologetic, or diatribe. Muddled. 3/10.

Agent Unknown by David Wellington - A zombie apocalypse! A cookie-cutter, been-done-so-many-times-I-didn't-need-to-actually-read-it zombie apocalypse.
Jaded field agent with no empathy? Check! CDC involved? Check! The president doesn't want a panic? Check! The mayor wants to keep the beach open because of tourists? Che- uh, wrong genre. Sorry. Oh, the writer knows what he's doing, the underlying cause was good (if unoriginal), and it is obviously the opening salvo in Zombie Book Series 9000. 5/10 (and I want to give it a 4).

Enlightenment by Matthew Mather - This one snuck up on me. I don't want to spoil it, but the writing was more subtle than the other stories and it all hinges on the truth about the viewpoint character. Not for everyone, but well done! 8/10.

Shooting the Apocalypse by Paolo Bacigalupi - A nice character study, the writing is good and the story is OK, but the setup strikes me as more social commentary than it needs to be. But! I may be reading a lot more into it than is really there. A good read, however, and worth your time. 6/10.

Lover Perverts by Sarah Langan - An epistolary of a Tunguska Bomb apocalypse. Nice implied setting, has a subdued steampunk/alternate history vibe. 6/10.

Overall: The entire collection was a quick read. There are a few gems, plenty of solid work, and the dogs are easily forgotten. 6/10.

The concept is unique: three anthologies, with stories continuing in each stage, detailing the many versions of apocalypse from different perspectives. This book's perspective is of prior to the apocalypse, typically a discovery of wrath yet to come. The end of the world as we know it will occur in many different flavors: environmental disaster, astronomical collisions, plague, invasion, war, and revolution. Some are potentially survivable, some most definitely are not. How do you deal with certain destruction when it won't actually commence for nineteen years? Do you take the quiz that your science teacher is offering three days before most of the human race is extinguished? And why not make a comedy of the film about the revolution being heralded by your school bully? Hopefully we will never have to answer these questions ourselves, but it makes for great speculative fiction.

I picked this book up as my March prime selection since I’ve read various collections edited by Adams in the past and I like Howey as an author. In the end, I’m glad I did.

This is a collection of short stories about the apocalypse – about many different apocalypses – about just about every conceivable type of apocalypse out there. There are religious based ones, pandemics, asteroids, nuclear wars, aliens, The Singularity, and everything else out there.

This book is the first in a trilogy – or a triptych – in which book one is set before the apocalypse, book two during and the final book in the aftermath. Most authors committed to three short stories comprising an overall story arc across the three books. So, then there are continuing stories to look forward to across the three books.

What I like about this collection is these aren’t the usual stories but are often skewed versions of the stories one would expect. For example, “HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON PLANET X” by Desirina Boskovich is a story set in a world where humans wait to be teleported en masse to a far of heavenly planet by benevolent aliens before they destroy the earth. There all dreams will be fulfilled. Until then, no one is allowed to change their lives or behaviors in any way as they wait for the clock to count down – or they will be instantly vaporized.

“IN THE AIR” by Hugh Howey is a story of the world when the government decides it’s time to activate the nanotech seeded in most everyone on the planet to instantly win a war that hasn’t been declared yet.

“PRETTY SOON THE FOUR HORSEMEN ARE GOING TO COME RIDING THROUGH” by Nancy Kress addresses the next level of human evolution and how it first appears in today’s elementary school children.

"SPORES" by Seanan McGuire is the story of genetically modified fruit rushed to market.

The authors are a mix of new, upcoming authors and established ones. The stories themselves were all highly entertaining and not the usual mix of decent stories with one or two really good ones that are often found in a short story anthology. Instead, these are all really good stories with a few fantastic ones in the mix. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I will be reading the next two books as they are released.

Just as the publisher’s summary promises, <I><b>The End is Nigh</b></I> is full of short fiction describing events leading up to the apocalypse. It is to be followed up by <I>The End is Now</I>, stories of the apocalypse itself, and then <I>The End Has Come</I>, stories of the post-apocalypse. All together they make up the Apocalypse Triptych, an intriguing name. Furthermore, while some of these short stories stand alone, some of them will be continued throughout all three collections giving us a complete picture of the before, during, and after. Being a fan of apocalyptic stories, how could I resist such an ingenious gimmick?

There are more than 20 short stories collected in <I><b>The End is Nigh</b></I> so I won’t lay them all out for you here, but here are a couple of my favorites:

In <I>Heaven is a Place on Planet X</I> the aliens have come. They announce themselves with hundreds of huge laser cannons pointed right at the planet. But they are here to help, they say. At an appointed day and time, they will fire the cannons completely destroying the planet, but at the same time the consciousness of every human being will be transferred through space into a new body on a utopian planet where all will live in paradise. In the meantime, one out of every thousand humans are recruited by the aliens as Enforcers, who will keep the peace and also weed out a few of the less desirables. In fact they have a quota, they must “enforce” at least one person every hour until the transfer is made to Planet X. Sound a little fishy? Yeah, me too, but what can you do? Even though we outnumber the aliens, they have advanced technology that could wipe us out. Only time will tell what these generous aliens are really up to.

In <I>Goodnight Moon</I>, seven scientists at a base on the moon are faced with a dilemma. They have discovered a rogue dwarf planet careening through our solar system and its path will lead it to a collision with the moon in less than 40 hours. Their only means of getting off the surface is a small emergency medical evac shuttle designed to carry only two people. They figure they can probably squeeze in three but the remaining four scientists will be left to certain doom. Who will go and who will stay?

In <I>Spores</I>, a scientists brings home some genetically engineered fruit from the laboratory. The very next day the fruit is covered in a thick layer of mold. Pretty soon the mold begins growing on everything in the house and nothing, not even bleach, seems able to kill it. Things really begin to get tense when the mold begins to grow on the scientists family. I especially like how this story was told from the perspective of a character who has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Viewing the events of the story through the eyes of a serious clean-freak made the spreading mold seem even more terrifying.

No matter what kind of apocalypse is your particular favorite, I’m sure you’ll find it here. There are stories about terrorists flooding the country with powerful drugs, potentially hostile aliens, asteroids aimed at the earth, asteroids aimed at the moon, asteroids that will hit the moon causing the moon to hit the earth, a computer hacker who has gained access to the launch codes for nuclear missiles, a dwarf star disrupting orbits in our solar system, impossible to kill mold spores, and yes there are some zombies here as well. Of course many of the stories leave you dangling at the end because they want you to buy the next collection, but all in all I enjoyed most of these, as I’m sure any fan of the apocalypse will.

There are a wide variety of narrators here, only one of which I have heard of before. The talent of the narrators is as varied as the stories themselves, some are good, some not so good. <I><b>The End is Nigh</b></I> was self published by the editors and the recording quality is not great but it is adequate.

Almost every story in this anthology of 22 original stories about the approach of the apocalypse by 22 different authors is a winner. Unheard of! Get it!
(There were one or two I found boring, and one I found unbearably horrifying, but I won't say which, because your milage may vary.)
I shall definitely look forward to reading the two companion anthologies in the triptych, which I find an intriguing concept. They are expected to come out in September 2014 [THE END IS NOW] and March 2015 [THE END HAS COME]. I was planning to save 5 stars for great literature that would surely stand the test of time, but that is a little hard to tell yet, with the parts 2 + 3 of many stories not out yet. Still, the overwhelming number of excellent stories in one volume is so impressive, I will slide 4.5 stars upward. After all, if THE END IS NIGH, these stories may not have to last that long, after all…
I was fortunate enough to snag this book as a Kindle Deal of the Day for $1.99—I doubt I'll be that lucky with the next two!

(This review first appeared on Goodreads.)

The Apocalypse Triptych, as the name suggests, will have three pieces of work. The End is Nigh is the first one --- the theme in this anthology is the pre-apocalyptic world. The second book will have stories about people and events during the apocalypse, and the third book will be based in the post-apocalyptic era. Some stories within these books will be connected too, thereby telling a tale spanning over the entire set of doomed events. Interesting, very interesting.

In this anthology, each story portrays people dealing with their crumbling world in their own ways --- there is denial, anger, love, generosity, resignation, fear, spirituality, and violence. I wonder which stories from this book will make it to the second one. I hope they all do. Some of my favorites in this collection are:

Robin Wasserman's "The Balm and the Wound" --- The narrator, though a jerk in many ways, has a flair for storytelling. I'd recommend this one for just the narration...
Ben H. Winters "BRING HER TO ME" --- Oooh, this one was especially creepy!
Hugh Howey's "In the Air" --- Hugh, you are, as always, amazing. For those of you who are familiar with the Wool saga, you will go gaga over this one. Trust me.
Will McIntosh's "Dancing with Death in the Land of Nod" -- This one made me cry a little. Okay, a lot.
Matthew Mather's "Enlightenment" --- I've always viewed Matthew Mather as the guy whose works are the scariest because they are so contemporary --- the events he describes can happen tomorrow (Do read CyberStorm, you guys). But Enlightenment, though certainly probable, isn't scary in that way; in fact, there isn't a lot of end-of-the-world here. It is, quite simply, horrifying in its depravity. Kudos, Matthew!

Thanks, John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey, and all the authors, for the wonderful work. Looking forward to more anthologies...

Received thanks to a Kickstarter of the video game Wasteland 2. Liked this enough to purchase the other books in the series. No complaints from me. Almost always an interesting read with varied with many different circumstances. One word of caution; if you prefer finality to your stories then you may not enjoy this series.

My only gripe was the story titles changed from one book to the next making it difficult to determine what story I was continuing in the later books. In addition, not all stories continued through the series. The combination of these issues made for a disjointed compilation.

I enjoyed "Spores" the most.

My love of reading began with short stories. I learned to appreciate the art of storytelling when an author was able to pack compelling scenarios, characters, exposition, etc. in a small space. As I grew older, I left short stories for novels and was excited to read The End is Nigh and rekindle a childhood love.

Unfortunately, this book just didn't do it. There were a couple of very good stories, most were average and a few that I couldn't finish. It's hard to pin down exactly why I didn't like the ones I didn't like, but it certainly wasn't for lack of a setup - the end of the world ought to be the perfect jumping off point. Several stories felt forced, lacking the balance that experienced authors can demonstrate. A couple felt as if they were phoned in, not much effort. And I certainly didn't care for the homosexual aspect of some simply because it felt so unnecessary, out of place and, yes, forced.

I thoroughly enjoyed Hugh Howey's Wool and Shift but there was not enough enjoyment here to pursue the next 2 editions of the Triptych.

John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey have really scored on this one. There are some stories in this collection that are not only original; they're absolutely haunting. Demonstrating the many ways human civilization could come apart at the seams, they often serve as warnings as well as entertainment. "Spores" by Seanan McGuire is one of the most terrifying stories about genetic engineering I've ever read. I'm never going to look at a peach the same way again. As soon as the next two anthologies in this series come out, I'm going to snap them up.

I've read four of Adams anthologies. This book, Wastelands and The Living Dead I & II.

Of the three, I felt that this was the least gripping. The other books I was unable to set down (I powered through The Living Dead I in an evening, red eyed and bleary when I finally turned in).

The anthology was, nevertheless, enjoyable. A handful of good stories from good authors, and a great selection of decent pieces. It certainly wasn't the masterpiece that Wastelands was, but it grabbed my attention enough that I will be purchasing the next two volumes to see the various story arcs come to completion.

I was quite disappointed in the collection of stories. Most were completely forgettable with only 3 or 4 that I feel worth continuing. For most of the stories, I heard (audio version) all I care to but will likely get the next in the series to follow the 3-4 I did enjoy. In addition to most of the stories being forgettable, the narration was awful! By the way, not all authors can or should narrate. This collection is not worthy of Hugh Howey, in my opinion.

I bought this because of the story by Hugh Howey. While it was pretty good it was very short. I've tried multiple times to read the others, they don't hold my attention. It's not for me. I just start getting interested and it's over.

Every story in this collection is solid; not a clunker in the bunch. The highlight for me was Spores (made me shudder, truly), but the book offers lots of great moments. Every scenario you can imagine plus some you definitely can't.

Glad there will be sequels--enough of these are great that I'll enjoy the ones that continue for sure.

Money well spent. A level of quality you don't often find these days.

If you like apocalypses at all, this is a no-brainer.

These stories are great! They definitely make you pause and think. I jumped right into the second book of the series since most of these stories are continued. I'm sure I will do the same with the 3rd one, too.

The concept for this trilogy of stories works! The authors who contributed have done a fine job indeed. I had a delicious time reading these many stories that detail the 'before' of an apocalypse. I am looking forward to the next installment. Kudos to John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey - wonderful job, guys! This book is bloody marvelous!

This was a wonderful set of short stories about different scenarios leading up to the Apocalypse. They were all well written and believable in their presentations.

I'm definitely looking forward to reading the other two books in this trilogy. I love the idea that all the short stories will be written by the same author's, and will continue their in a before-during-after format.

Description says that the book is 350 pages, felt like much more. Majority of stories were good, only one or two that left me feeling "meh." A couple of excellent ones...really liked Matthew Mather's "Enlightenment" as it approached the "assignment" in a very original manner.

Lots of great stories, a few really bad ones. The ones that I didn't like were:

“Break! Break! Break!” by Charlie Jane Anders
I couldn't even finish this one.

“Houses Without Air” by Megan Arkenberg
The characters seemed completely oblivious and it was hard to care about people who don't care about very much.

“Enlightenment” by Matthew Mather
Couldn't really get into it and it was very predictable.

This is a decent collection of short stories. I rarely pay attention to authors unless they really blow me away and recognized a few names in this series: Maberry, Sigler, Wellington. Even the ones I'm not crazy about didn't deter me enough to pass it by. Overall it's a tickle to the senses - enough to intrigue but not enough to bore. There were some more creative than others - something beyond the typical zombie apocalypse or nuclear annihilation. If you like end of the world stuff you'll probably enjoy this.

Wonderful anthology and a great idea for a collection. While some stories were stronger than others, no story was a miss. Recommended for readers who enjoy apocalyptic fiction. I can't wait to read the next installment!

Most of the stories are excellent. The writing is done well, characters are great, and the stories are very entertaining. These are the stories that really stood out to me: Removal Order by Tannanarive Due; Heaven is a Place on Planet X by Deserina Boskovich; Wedding Day by Jake Kerr; Goodnight Moon by Annie Bellet; Spores by Seanan McGuire; In the Air by Hugh Howey; System Recall by Tobias S. Buckell; & Love Perverts by Sarah Langan.

This book is an amazing compilation of stories that happen right before the end. Although the stories were short they showed incredible depth and really good character development. I look forward to the next two books

The best thing about this collection is the variety. There are heart-breaking stories that about made me weep while wrapping the story up pretty neatly, and others that simply left me wanting to continue reading the story. Robot uprisings, maniacs blowing up everything (damn them all to Hell!), the grey goo having its way, and zombie plagues breaking out. Just terrific stuff!

This is a decent anthology, but the story "The Gods Will Not Be Changed" relies on emoticons that are tiny and undecipherable in the text, and don't enlarge even when the text is enlarged. Frustrating, since the emoticons are important to the story. Other stories range from excellent to readable.