After: Nineteen Stories of Apocalypse and Dystopia [Hardcover]

Ellen Datlow (Editor), Terri Windling (Editor)

Book Description

Release date: October 9, 2012

If the melt-down, flood, plague, the third World War, new Ice Age, Rapture, alien invasion, clamp-down, meteor, or something else entirely hit today, what would tomorrow look like? Some of the biggest names in YA and adult literature answer that very question in this short story anthology, each story exploring the lives of teen protagonists raised in catastrophe's wake—whether set in the days after the change, or decades far in the future.

New York Times bestselling authors Gregory Maguire, Garth Nix, Susan Beth Pfeffer, Carrie Ryan, Beth Revis, and Jane Yolen are among the many popular and award-winning storytellers lending their talents to this original and spellbinding anthology.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH; First Edition edition (October 9, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423146190
• ISBN-13: 978-1423146193
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ellen Datlow has been an editor of Science Fiction, Dark Fantasy, and Horror for over thirty years, winning several Hugo and Locus Awards, nine World Fantasy Awards, the International Horror Guild Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and many other honors for her work. She has edited numerous anthologies for adults, young adults, and middle grade readers, some of them in partnership with Terri Windling. Ellen lives in New York City.

Terri Windling is a writer, editor, and artist specializing in fantasy literature and mythic arts. She has published over forty books, including many anthologies for readers young and old, and has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Bram Stoker Award, and many others. Terri lives with her husband and daughter in a small village in southwest England.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH; First Edition edition (October 9, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423146190
• ISBN-13: 978-1423146193
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Even People Who Are Not Fans of Anthologies Will Like This October 9, 2012

By Books31

Format:Hardcover

I am not usually a fan of anthologies. I prefer full sized books. I want my characters flushed out, full of action, and usually if I'm going to commit to something then I want it to just be longer in general.

So the real question the becomes why should you buy this anthology?

The answer is simple, because of the authors.

Anthologies offer readers a chance to enter the worlds and writing styles of readers they've never tried before, giving them a sample of the authors works without feeling the obligation to finish or buy a new book by a new author.

And this anthology has taken some pretty incredible authors and put them together here. Garth Nix, N.K. Jemisin, Carrie Ryan, Beth Revis, and Jane Yolen are some of the biggest names in the field of dystopian YA. There stories are fantastic and great reads for fans of their work.

My personal favorite short story in this anthology is Faint Heart by Sarah Rees Brennan. It didn't feel like a short story, instead it felt like the first few chapters of a fantastic new novel. A novel that I really hope she finishes. The premise of the story is that the world was thrown into chaos for years, and the light that brought civilization back out of the darkness was the creation of the perfect woman. Every 25 years all of the single male population is rounded up and forced to compete against one another in a series of challenges that leaves only 1 man alive. This winner receives the hand of his perfect queen and the power to rule over all. This has been going on for years and seems to work relatively well.... The cast of characters includes, a poor thief who hates the queen and everything she stands for, a career competitor (who has trained all his life to win the queen's hand) but doesn't have the heart to kill others in the maze, and the queen herself, who doesn't plan to be bought without her say so. All in all, the characters were well written, there was plenty of action, and I personally hope she writes more on this story at a later point in time.

As mentioned before, reading anthologies offers readers the chance to sample authors you haven't heard of, alongside some of your favorite authors. This anthology is well put together, has a great cast of authors, and is perfect for fans of dystopian YA.

[...] Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Dystopia and Post-Apocalypse in small bites November 9, 2012

By John Williamson TOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Anthologies and short story collections are a difficult topic for this reviewer, as so often one finds the tales in these to be a mixed bag. Should one focus on the work as a whole, or just single out a few of the post-apocalyptic and dystopian tales here? I've decided to take the former route in this review, and point out what I subjectively found to be the best of the best in this collection.

Should note that there's not a single dog or bad story here in After: Nineteen Stories of Apocalypse and Dystopia, and editor/authors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling deserve some kudos for putting this collection together in the ARC that I have. There are just a few 3-star tales here, but the bulk of the stories deserve a 4-star or higher rating. And subjectively speaking, there are some excellent 5-star that truly stand out above the rest. My subjective favorites are:

◆ Valedictorian, by N.K. Jemisin.
◆ Visiting Nelson, by Katherine Langrish.
◆ The Easthound, by Nalo Hopkinson.
◆ Faint Heart, by Sarah Rees Brennan.

Some of the stores here are unnerving, some are hopeful, some will make us question if they could actually happen in the near future, and some will make the reader stop and think. This reader cannot help but wonder if there aren't a few authors here who will go down in literary history in the years to come as being the ranked with such as Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451), Kurt Vonnegut (com/Slaughterhouse-Five-A-Novel-Kurt-Vonnegut/dp/0385333846">Slaughterhouse-Five), Pat Frank (Alas, Babylon), Neville Shute (On the Beach), David Brin (The Postman), and a number of others.

It should be noted that there's solid Introduction by the editors, one in which they offer a new definition of dystopia, or "dyslit" as they term it, as it is being interpreted by the YA publishers of today. And don't miss the excellent Afterward by both editors, in which they offer an overview of dystopian tales in contemporary literature, and where they see it going. There is also a good section in the back with brief author bios, which made me look up N.K. Jemisin's The Killing Moon here, along with a few others.

Along with many others, I was given a copy of this title at the at the BookExpo America (BEA) show last summer. I almost passed on it, but am glad that one of the editors talked with me about why I might like After: Nineteen Stories of Apocalypse and Dystopia. She was right, and I thank her for her suggestion. Recommended to all who might like their dystopian and post-apocalyptic tales in small bites.

11/9/2012 Read more ›

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read October 18, 2012

By MissK85

Format:Hardcover

This is a collection of stories that all have to do with the end of the world in one sense of another. I personally love anthologies because I can usually find a few new authors that I've never read before. This was no different. I will definitely be looking for books by some of these authors.
I read all the stories and enjoyed some more than others, but have no complaints I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes the dystopian setting or who is looking for something different.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasantly surprised February 3, 2013

By L. G. Lewis

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was unsure about a YA short story collection, but liked the premise and thought I'd give the book a try. Well, I was quite pleasantly surprised at the maturity and quality of the stories - and the wide range of approaches in interpreting the theme of 'After.' The editors, as well as the writers of course, are to be commended.

While just a few entries left me cold, and most left me satisfied, only one haunts me, and that is "Blood Drive" by Jeffrey Ford. Terrifyingly timely in light of recent events, it should be required reading for everyone involved in decidng how to protect our schools in light of the Sandy Hook shootings.

Would definitely recommend this for the target YA audience, but would also not hesitate to recommend it to the adult audience.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars (Mostly) disappointing and (largely) forgettable March 14, 2013

By M. Haber

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The editors seem unsure whether this is a collection of young adult (i.e. teen) fiction, or more serious adult fiction, and this reader was equally unsure. The main drawback is that sans a few stories, this is soft sci-fi; most stories just happening to occur in a post-apocalyptic setting, it not being a necessary condition for the plot or theme. A few decent stories; The Segment, Valedictorian. Two promising stories that could have been something more; After the Cure, Reality Girl. Two great short stories that demand expansion; The Easthound, Fake Plastic Trees. An absurd slander; Blood Drive. An idiotic New Agey vaguely racist train of though spiral; Before. A strangely cute one; You Won't Feel a Thing. The majority being not worthy of time in my opinion, it receives two stars. However, if it was limited to the stories mentioned above (minus Blood Drive and Before), I would have given the writing four stars.