New short fiction by many of the edgiest modern authors, offering tales of life after the apocalyptic event or events that end society as we know it today. In addition to a selection of newly reprinted works, WASTELANDS 3 will feature original, never-before-published stories by a group of writers hand-picked by master editor John Joseph Adams. Original stories by Veronica Roth, Hugh Howet, Elizabeth Bear, Seanan McGuire, Tananarive Due, Wendy N. Wagner and many more. Reprints will include works by Carmen Maria Machado, Charlie Jane Anders, Paolo Bacigalupi, Ken Liu and Cat Valente amongst others.
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[It takes a long time for the light to die - BULLET POINT BY ELIZABETH BEAR]***
(@TitanBooks, 4 June 2019, 512 pages, ebook, copy from @TitanBooks and voluntarily reviewed)
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Wastelands, the first collection of stories edited by John Joseph Adams cemented my love of apocalyptic / dystopian fiction and contained one of my all-time favourite stories, The End of the Whole Mess by Stephen King. So I had high hopes for this collection. This third outing more or less met these expectations and was very satisfying. I will need to read the second volume. One of the strengths of this collection of stories is the range and diversity of the pieces on offer. The stories are linked through the theme of the apocalypse but have little else in common. There are many apocalypses on offer here and each a little different and in some cases, way more fricking bizarre than the ones before. This is a dark collection and the stories are all very bleak. I would have liked to see one of two stories that offered a bit of light after the end of the world. My top stories were Bullet Point by Elizabeth Bear, Not This War, Not This World by Jonathan Mayberry, Where Would You Be Now by Carrie Vaughn and The Plague by Ken Liu. A must read for dystopian fans.