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egladil's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
banjax451's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A hard book to review. Some of the stories are exceptional. Some are very much not for me. Some are terrifying (my goodness...the mold). Some are sad. All are bleak. This is a very very bleak collection, as the subject matter would indicate. I inhaled the stories I wanted to finish and skipped the ones I didn't (zombies do nothing for me - never have). But this is a depressing read and definitely not for someone who isn't feeling great about the world. What sticks with you is the humanity of the people - even at the end and at the worst of times, we are all humans.
lizella's review against another edition
4.0
I would recommend this anthology as a stand-alone book of short stories or as a continuation of the series. Most of the stories in the book are a continuation of stories in some form of the last book. Many are creative in how they continue the narrative forward, either with the same characters, or new ones that inhabit part of the world that was falling apart in the last book. I look forward to the final installment.
barbtrek's review against another edition
4.0
I like anthologies because it is a good way to try out a bunch of different authors. And, what better time for an apocalypse anthology! Ugh. But even though I didn’t love all the stories I enjoyed reading this second installment in the Apocalypse Triptych. I jotted down my thoughts on each story in anticipation of reading book 3. Here they are.
HERD IMMUNITY: good, harsh, 4/5
THE 6TH DAY OF DEER CAMP:
Gotta love it as a Michigander! But kind of silly 4/5
GOODNIGHT STARS: OK. A bit too melodramatic. 4/5
ROCK MANNING CAN’T HEAR YOU:
Ok but kind of odd 3/5
FRUITING BODIES: Ugh. I’m finding I really don’t like Seanan McGuire’s writing. She’s kind of the Mitch Albom of Horror/SciFi. Trying too hard to be melodramatic & not realistically. The characters seem fake to me. But it is readable. 2/5
BLACK MONDAY: Get your tickets to the apocalypse! Well sort of. I didn’t care for it all that much. 3/5
ANGELS OF THE APOCALYPSE : I liked the ideas of “sweets” but if they always avoided conflict I imagine they would do as their family wished. So the whole premise fell apart for me. 3/5
AGENT ISOLATED: My favorite so far. Zombies but eerily believable and relatable to current times. I’d read this if it was a full length novel. Going to try to find more by David Wellington. 5/5
THE GODS WILL NOT BE SLAIN: I generally like Ken Liu’s writing. The machines are taking over theme. Good but I didn’t get emotionally invested. 3/5
YOU’VE NEVER SEEN EVERYTHING: “The otter flu” sounds too cute. Didn’t love the ending but could’ve been worse. 3/5
BRING THEM DOWN: Everyone hearing voices except one girl. Good idea but not perfectly executed. Maybe should’ve been a shorter short story. 3/5
TWILIGHT OF THE MUSIC MACHINES: Didn’t like the writing style. A struggle to get through for me. 2/5
SUNSET HOLLOW: Harsh but I love zombie stories. 5/5
PENANCE: This whole premise was messed up. All the time spent on these meetings could’ve been spent building boats or whatever. Well written but I didn’t like it. 3/5
AVTOMAT: Interesting, well done robot/historical fiction story. Fun but not really my type. 3/5
DANCING WITH BATGIRL... :
Ugh. Harsh and heartbreaking. Weird. I liked it. 5/5
BY THE HAIR OF THE MOON: Gritty comet apocalypse story. Too gritty. Ugh. 2/5
TO WRESTLE NOT... : Didn’t like. 2/5
IN THE MOUNTAIN: Oh, come on. You’ve got plenty of time to think of other solutions! Good but frustrating story. 4/5
DEAR JOHN: Hated it. 1/5
HERD IMMUNITY: good, harsh, 4/5
THE 6TH DAY OF DEER CAMP:
Gotta love it as a Michigander! But kind of silly 4/5
GOODNIGHT STARS: OK. A bit too melodramatic. 4/5
ROCK MANNING CAN’T HEAR YOU:
Ok but kind of odd 3/5
FRUITING BODIES: Ugh. I’m finding I really don’t like Seanan McGuire’s writing. She’s kind of the Mitch Albom of Horror/SciFi. Trying too hard to be melodramatic & not realistically. The characters seem fake to me. But it is readable. 2/5
BLACK MONDAY: Get your tickets to the apocalypse! Well sort of. I didn’t care for it all that much. 3/5
ANGELS OF THE APOCALYPSE : I liked the ideas of “sweets” but if they always avoided conflict I imagine they would do as their family wished. So the whole premise fell apart for me. 3/5
AGENT ISOLATED: My favorite so far. Zombies but eerily believable and relatable to current times. I’d read this if it was a full length novel. Going to try to find more by David Wellington. 5/5
THE GODS WILL NOT BE SLAIN: I generally like Ken Liu’s writing. The machines are taking over theme. Good but I didn’t get emotionally invested. 3/5
YOU’VE NEVER SEEN EVERYTHING: “The otter flu” sounds too cute. Didn’t love the ending but could’ve been worse. 3/5
BRING THEM DOWN: Everyone hearing voices except one girl. Good idea but not perfectly executed. Maybe should’ve been a shorter short story. 3/5
TWILIGHT OF THE MUSIC MACHINES: Didn’t like the writing style. A struggle to get through for me. 2/5
SUNSET HOLLOW: Harsh but I love zombie stories. 5/5
PENANCE: This whole premise was messed up. All the time spent on these meetings could’ve been spent building boats or whatever. Well written but I didn’t like it. 3/5
AVTOMAT: Interesting, well done robot/historical fiction story. Fun but not really my type. 3/5
DANCING WITH BATGIRL... :
Ugh. Harsh and heartbreaking. Weird. I liked it. 5/5
BY THE HAIR OF THE MOON: Gritty comet apocalypse story. Too gritty. Ugh. 2/5
TO WRESTLE NOT... : Didn’t like. 2/5
IN THE MOUNTAIN: Oh, come on. You’ve got plenty of time to think of other solutions! Good but frustrating story. 4/5
DEAR JOHN: Hated it. 1/5
emheld's review against another edition
4.0
Nearly as strong as its amazing predecessor, this is a wonderful anthology of various Apocalypses en medias res.
tsharris's review against another edition
3.0
Merely okay collection of apocalyptic sci fi short stories. It's not terribly helpful that many of these stories were continuations of stories from the first volume of the "triptych," because I didn't always remember the first story and exposition was often lacking. The quality of writing is also highly variable.
spinstah's review against another edition
5.0
Overall, I think I liked the first book in the series better, but this was still enjoyable. It was fun to get into a story and realize that it was a continuation of one from the first book. Very much looking forward to book 3!