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The Apocalypse Reader Kindle Edition

by Justin Taylor (Author, Editor) Format: Kindle Edition
3.1 out of 5 stars 13
See all formats and editions
These are the ways the world ends. Thirty-four new and selected Doomsday scenarios: an enthralling collection of work by canonical literary figures, contemporary masters, and a few rising stars, all of whom have looked into the future and found it missing. Across boundaries of place and time, these writers celebrate the variety and vitality of the short story as a form by writing their own conclusions to the story of the world. Obliteration has never hurt so good. Contributors include Grace Aguilar, Steve Aylett, Robert Bradley, Dennis Cooper, Lucy Corin, Elliott David, Matthew Derby, Carol Emshwiller, Brian Evenson, Neil Gaiman, Jeff Goldberg, Theodora Goss, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jared Hohl, Shelley Jackson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Stacey Levine, Tao Lin, Kelly Link, H.P. Lovecraft, Gary Lutz, Rick Moody, Michael Moorcock, Adam Nemett, Josip Novakovich, Joyce Carol Oates, Colette Phair, Edgar Allan Poe, Terese Svoboda, Justin Taylor, Lynne Tillman, Deb Olin, Unferth, H.G. Wells, Allison Whittenberg, and Diane Williams.
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  1. ISBN-13
    978-1560259596
  2. Sticky notes
    Not Enabled
  3. Publisher
    Running Press Adult
  4. Publication date
    June 17, 2009
  5. Language
    English
  6. File size
    2436 KB
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Justin Taylor is the Books Editor for Econoculture.com. His writing has appeared in numerous online and print publications, including American Book Review, Rain Taxi, Punk Planet, the Brooklyn Rail, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He earned his MFA in fiction from The New School and lives in Brooklyn. Visit him online at www.justindtaylor.net.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B001RCUAYG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Running Press Adult (June 17, 2009)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 17, 2009
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2436 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Not enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 337 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.1 out of 5 stars 13

About the authors

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  1. Theodora Goss

    Theodora Goss

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    Theodora Goss was born in Hungary and spent her childhood in various European countries before her family moved to the United States, where she completed a PhD in English literature. She is the World Fantasy, Locus, and Mythopoeic Award-winning author of the short story and poetry collections In the Forest of Forgetting (2006), Songs for Ophelia (2014), and Snow White Learns Witchcraft (2019), as well as novella The Thorn and the Blossom (2012), debut novel The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter (2017), and sequels European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman (2018) and The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl (2019). She has been a finalist for the Nebula, Crawford, and Shirley Jackson Awards, as well as on the Tiptree Award Honor List. Her work has been translated into fifteen languages. She teaches literature and writing at Boston University.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Adam Nemett

    Adam Nemett

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Adam Nemett is the author of WE CAN SAVE US ALL, one of Booklist's "Top 10 Debut Novels of 2018." His work has been published, reviewed and featured in Rolling Stone, The New York Times Book Review, Salon, Lit Hub, Fatherly, Variety, The New Yorker and C-Ville Weekly.

    Adam serves as creative lead at History Factory, authoring award-winning nonfiction books for Lockheed Martin, Brooks Brothers, City of Hope, and Huntington Bank, and directing storytelling campaigns for 21st Century Fox, Adobe, HarperCollins, New Balance and Pfizer. Adam graduated from Princeton University and received his MFA from California College of the Arts. He is the writer/director of the feature film, The Instrument (2005), which LA Weekly described as, "damn near unclassifiable." In 2000, Nemett co-founded MIMA Music Inc., an educational nonprofit that has now operated in 40 countries.

    He lives in Charlottesville with his wife and kids. Find him on Instagram (@thunderbird_disco) or at www.AdamNemett.com

    See more on the author's page
  3. Jared Hohl

    Jared Hohl

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    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

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  4. Justin Taylor

    Justin Taylor

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Justin Taylor's most recent book is the novel "Reboot." He is also the author of the memoir "Riding with the Ghost", the novel "The Gospel of Anarchy", and two story collections: "Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever" and "Flings." His work has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper's, the Oxford American, and the Sewanee Review. He lives in Portland, Oregon. On this site he is sometimes confused with a Southern Baptist writer and publishing executive with the same name. Neither Justin Taylor should be held accountable for the other Justin Taylor's books.

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Customer reviews

3.1 out of 5 stars
3.1 out of 5
13 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Ravinia
2.0 out of 5 stars too esoteric to feed my apocalypse-hungry soul
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2007
Verified Purchase
I was initially excited to discover the collection and didn't see how such a broad-based compilation could go wrong. I'm an avid reader of post-apocalyptic fiction, science fiction and futurism, so I'm no slouch, but this turned out to be quite different from what I was hoping for.

While a few of the pieces are good reads, so many of them are abstract, esoteric, or even reminiscent of the scribblings from slightly disturbed angst-ridden teenage diaries. There's no good "meat" here, no concrete scenarios, suspense or drama to drive fear into your heart and make your mind race. The circumstances under which "apocalypse" occurs are rarely even revealed. Even the subject matter is open to interpretation - "apocalypse" is made to mean many things, not simply the end of the world. Which it does, of course, but that's not what I was hungry for when I picked up this book. The book description should have done a better job of managing those expectations.

Perhaps if you are looking for a broad literary "treatment" of the subject, that kind of interpretation will appeal to you (or if you enjoy the just plain bizarre) then this collection is for you. It was not for me.
33 people found this helpful
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Sonya Holder
1.0 out of 5 stars Worst Collection Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2009
Verified Purchase
In over 50 years of reading I have read everything from classics to comic books. In that time I have read some great books, some good books, some not so good and a few that were downright bad. This has to be one of the worst books I have ever had the misfortune to purchase. In fact,I would have to say it is in the top 5 worst books of all time. It is the literary equivalent of "Plan Nine from Outer Space. If I could give it minus stars I would. If it were possible I would demand a refund of the purchase price, plus another $50.00 for the waste of my time and energy. Twice I put this book down and then went back to it in the hopes that it would improve. Much to my dismay it only got worse. About half-way through I finally gave up. Despite what some of the reviewers would have you believe, this is junk, pure and simple. Please, don't waste your money on this piece of trash, buy a couple of comic books instead. At least they have pretty pictures in them.
6 people found this helpful
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Jason
4.0 out of 5 stars but I enjoyed reading it
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2017
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Very different than what I expected, but I enjoyed reading it.
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Thomas Middlethwait
5.0 out of 5 stars These Zombies Are Not A Metaphor
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2007
Verified Purchase
This is a fun collection of stories from some well known and serious talent (Gaiman, Lovecraft, Poe) and some newly minted authors. I found myself particularly amused by "These Zombies Are Not A Metaphor," the work of one of the new authors named Jeff Goldberg. I'll be keeping an eye peeled for future work from him.
17 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Words cannot describe how poor this collection is.....
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2012
Having been an avid reader of non-fiction materials, sprinkled with a number of dystopic novels, for decades, I feel that I have the ability to discern good writings and literature from those of lesser quality. This collection is by far the worst group of short stories that I have ever encountered. With the literary exceptions of Nathaniel Hawthorne and HG Wells (whom must have rolled over in their graves knowing that their short stories were included in this fictional porridge) the rest of the menagerie reads more like esoteric writings created while under the influence of drugs, or stories told around a campfire far too long after the fire went out, or sophomoric essays written by drowsy students the first day of class after a long and forgetful summer, or, sadly, crass verbal pornography written by frustrated tenagers.

Please do not be fooled by the title of the book, these are not tales of the dystopic world after the holocaust. They are more like Alice without the Wonderland or are merely homework assignments scribbled together quickly for the sole purpose of putting them into book form for a highly gullible public.

Unless you are planning on using this book to start your own campfire, your will be spent more wisely elsewhere......
One person found this helpful
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Blair Mastbaum
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and smart
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2008
Justin Taylor has put together a wide-ranging, mind-bogglingly excellent anthology about one of my favorite subjects. Every piece inspires. I couldn't recommend it more highly.
3 people found this helpful
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Made in DNA
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2008
Verified Purchase
Like other reviewers, I am sadly disappointed by this collection of work. I was (mistakenly) expecting science fiction, which this book is NOT. It's more literary reading, something I do not enjoy. This is my own fault perhaps as I believe now that misunderstood the title.

That however is not the extent of my disappointment with the book. While it did have a couple of excellent stories (perhaps 5% of those included), some work was far to esoteric for my enjoyment. Still others, I didn't understand at all.

This was supposed to be a collection of stories that describe 'apocalyptic situations' but, I felt like I was reading a collection bad poetry disguised as short story work.

I can't recommend it, but there are obviously people out there who enjoy this sort of work.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Kindle Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Words cannot describe how poor this collection is.....
Reviewed in Canada on November 5, 2011
Verified Purchase
Having been an avid reader of non-fiction materials, sprinkled with a number of dystopic novels, for decades, I feel that I have the ability to discern good writings and literature from those of lesser quality. This collection is by far the worst group of short stories that I have ever encountered. With the literary exceptions of Nathaniel Hawthorne and HG Wells (whom must have rolled over in their graves knowing that their short stories were included in this fictional porridge) the rest of the menagerie reads more like esoteric writings created while under the influence of drugs, or stories told around a campfire far too long after the fire went out, or sophomoric essays written by drowsy students the first day of class after a long and forgetful summer, or, sadly, crass verbal pornography written by frustrated tenagers.

Please do not be fooled by the title of the book, these are not tales of the dystopic world after the holocaust. They are more like Alice without the Wonderland or are merely homework assignments scribbled together quickly for the sole purpose of putting them into book form for a highly gullible public.

Unless you are planning on using this book to start your own campfire, your will be spent more wisely elsewhere......
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