The Other End [Hardcover]

John Shirley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007

Do you ever think that the human world is hopelessly out of balance, blighted, off track, and the only hope is some kind of apocalypse, some sort of end of the world that would allow the human race a new beginning, a fresh start without...ah...certain people?

You know you don't want and can't believe in the usual "End Times" scenarios that are predicted and ballyhooed by hysterical, superstitious people.

But when you look around at the world as it stands you see Darfur, you see Somalia and the Congo, you see the modern slavery of indentured servitude, you see children sold into prostitution, you see millions starving, you see mindless wars, you see people you care about dying of Alzheimer's and children dying of cancer and millions of others trapped in schizophrenia or living lives of media-hypnotized desperation...

You see a planet beset by a loss of biodiversity, a depleted ozone layer, slash-and-burn destruction of rainforests, and the onset of global warming...

And you know that because the population of the Earth is increasing, it's only going to get worse. This can't go on; something has to change.

What if you could change it? What if you could design your own Judgment Day?

What if there were another end rather than one based on childish interpretations of religion, bias, bigotry, exclusion, and cultural narrowness?

What if Judgment Day came for the whole world and offered true justice?

It would be THE OTHER END.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Veteran horror writer Shirley (Cellars) swaps gory for glory in this inventive if politically heavy-handed left-wing answer to Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins's evangelical Left Behind series. Child slavers, genocidal soldiers and corrupt statesmen have fourth-dimensional visions and abandon their wicked ways in the first part of the novel, narrated by Sacramento Bee reporter Jim Swift and his conspiracy-nut friend, Ed Galivant, in a style oddly reminiscent of C.M. Kornbluth's "The Silly Season." Readers of all persuasions will relish the repentance of these universally acknowledged bad guys, but once the good guys ascend to a better place, most of the people left behind are Republicans, Scientologists, oil company CEOs and anyone "fundamentalist, hard-line, inflexible." By dispensing justice along party lines, Shirley limits his audience to a choir that won't mind 300 pages of very pretty preaching. (Nov.)
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Review

eteran horror writer Shirley (Cellars) swaps gory for glory in this inventive if politically heavy-handed left-wing answer to Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins's evangelical Left Behind series. Child slavers, genocidal soldiers and corrupt statesmen have fourth-dimensional visions and abandon their wicked ways in the first part of the novel, narrated by Sacramento Bee reporter Jim Swift and his conspiracy-nut friend, Ed Galivant, in a style oddly reminiscent of C.M. Kornbluth's 'The Silly Season.' Readers of all persuasions will relish the repentance of these universally acknowledged bad guys... --Publishers Weekly

...the novel is perfectly toned to express the message the author was hoping to achieve. John Shirley always has something important to say and this might be the most perfectly balanced work of fiction and message he has ever produced. --Apex Online

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 292 pages
• Publisher: Cemetery Dance Publications; Ltd Sgd edition (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587671506
• ISBN-13: 978-1587671500
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,369,110 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Religious & Inspirational > Visionary Fiction

More About the Author

John Shirley won the Bram Stoker Award for his story collection Black Butterflies, and is the author of numerous novels, including the best-seller DEMONS, the cyberpunk classics CITY COME A-WALKIN', ECLIPSE, and BLACK GLASS, and his latest, new from Simon & Schuster, the urban fantasy novel BLEAK HISTORY. He is a screenwriter, having written for television and movies; he was co-screenwriter of THE CROW. He will be in Prime Books' THE YEAR'S BEST DARK FANTASY AND HORROR anthology, this year, and his story collection IN EXTREMIS: THE MOST EXTREME SHORT STORIES OF JOHN SHIRLEY from Underland Press has been getting rave advance reviews. His novel BIOSHOCK: RAPTURE , telling the story of the creation and undoing of Rapture, from the hit videogame BIOSHOCK is about to come out from TOR books.

He is also a lyricist, having written lyrics for 18 songs recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult (especially on their albums Heaven Forbidden and Curse of the Hidden Mirror), and his own recordings.

John Shirley has written only one nonfiction book, GURDJIEFF: AN INTRODUCTION TO HIS LIFE AND IDEAS, published by Penguin/Jeremy Tarcher.

Other John Shirley story collections include BLACK BUTTERFLIES, IN EXTREMIS, LIVING SHADOWS and REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY WEIRD STORIES.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting Tale For a Certain Group of People, December 19, 2011

By 

Alexandro C. Telander "Alex C. Telander" (Roseville, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Other End (Paperback)

In horror writer John Shirley's new book, The Other End, he takes a break from the blood and guts and gore to address a more philosophical question in rebuttal to Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins' evangelical Left Behind series. While some may think this an intended backlash against the various stories and predictions of the rapture and other end of the world prophecies from various Christian denominations, the story comes off as more of an interesting "what if" at first that, by the end, becomes more contemplative and questioning of those of certain beliefs.

The world as we know it is going through some changes, at least for some people. Strange visions are being experienced across the planet, with colors and lights, and once over, the person is changed, except its affecting people of a certain nature, who can best be described as bad or evil or selfish or greedy, or all of the above. We're talking about corrupt politicians, child slavers and traffickers, genocidal warlords and soldiers, people harboring illegal immigrants under deplorable conditions, corrupt and greedy CEOs and board members, even abusive people, who experience this strange event that from that moment on find themselves fundamentally changed into good and decent and caring people, looking to change the damage they've already wrought and put things to right however they can, even if it cost them their lives.

And then the prophesied end time arrives, taking those deserving off to a paradise, and leaving those less deserving - at least according to the rules of this world as set by Shirley - to suffer and deal with each other back on Earth. The Other End is far less preachy than one might expect, as the reader follows Jim Swift, a reporter for the Sacramento Bee, his family, and his tough and somewhat paranoid friend, Ed Galivant, who look to find out the truth behind these strange happenings. While this print edition does contain a few typos, Shirley's writing style keeps readers hooked, wondering what's to happen next.

Originally written on June 27, 2011 ©Alex C. Telander.

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4.0 out of 5 stars A secular humanist's "Left Behind", August 23, 2011

By 

Kim Boykin (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Other End (Paperback)

I picked up the first "Left Behind" book in an airport bookstore. As a graduate student of religion and theology, I figured I might as well read some popular Christian fiction, and as a fan of science fiction, I thought this particular understanding of the Rapture was a nice sci fi premise--lots of people vanishing while others stay behind. But I was not impressed with "Left Behind," and I thought a good science fiction writer with religious proclivities, someone like Orson Scott Card, could write a much better book with the same basic premise. "The Other End" is more or less the book I had in mind. Apparently, John Shirley mainly writes horror and fantasy, but he did a nice job imagining a left-wing secular humanist version of the Apocalypse. I enjoyed it. But I still want Orson Scott Card to write an Apocalypse.

5.0 out of 5 stars Some Hope, Some Justice and the Chance for a Better World, June 10, 2011

By 

kaminokai (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Other End (Paperback)

As a relatively new John Shirley reader, I didn't know what to expect. Having enjoyed some of his darker stuff, this was a fresh perspective on the End (or Beginning).
I don't want to give anything away, suffice it to say this novel was less preachy (not really preachy at all, in fact) than I was lead to believe and far more uplifting than I
anticipated. A wonderful reward for anyone willing to go deeper than the simple surface purported by any of the various religious apocalypses. As with any good book
or story, I was left wanting more. Peace.