Customer Reviews

Terminal Earth

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I never thought that I could read a book that made me enjoy the end of the world.

Of course, that particular thought process never really entered my head before, but still, I never thought that reading about the end of the world, mutiple times, could be so entertaining.

I read this book whilst on, what is usually a rather dull train ride to work and it really turned my sour mood around. Not because I like the thought of living in the end of days but because the stories felt so real, the writing so crisp, it took me away into a personal moment of reflection with my own soul. This is powerful stuff and I can only hope that my words can i some way lead you to purchasing this book.

A tip of the top hat to the authors and I wish you every success.

(Note: After receiving a free PDF of this collection of short stories from Pound Lit Press, I asked fellow editor and avid spec fic reader Fred Warren to write a review. The original review is at [...] and, with Fred's permission, I repost it here. - Lyn Perry)

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang, but a whimper
- T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men

Whatever narrative of the apocalypse you prefer, you're likely to find your favorite poison in Terminal Earth, a new anthology of science fiction short stories from Pound Lit Press. Editors Neil Thomas and Michael Stewart have selected stories that focus not so much on how the world ends as on what people do about it, and this might inspire contemplation of the reader's own response to the terminal scenario. Would I put up a fight, meekly accept my fate, work on my "bucket list," or just stand there with my mouth hanging open, wondering what happened?

Hmm.

There are twenty-three tales of humanity's twilight here, from the mundane to the bizarre, so settle down into your bunker, pop open a can of Spam, cue up The Doors on your MP3 player (I recommend "Riders on the Storm" or "The End") and watch it all burn, freeze, explode, assimilate, or simply wink out of existence. I love short fiction, especially short science fiction, and there are some pretty good stories in this collection.

In "Fields," by Desmond Warzel, mankind literally goes down swinging in one last World Series before Earth is consumed by mutant wheat. Didn't see that coming. It's a bittersweet tale with a lot of heart, told by a homeless African-American man who finally discovers a place he belongs, just in time for the end of the world.

Barry Pomeroy's "First at the Dump" takes us to a community of scavengers who find something unusual in their post-apocalyptic landfill. Perhaps their island isn't the final outpost of humanity, and the world isn't ready to end quite yet.

Two people ponder Earth's final sunset from a balcony, naked, in Frank Rogers' "As the Sun Sets." Not so much a story as an extended meditation on the ultimate futility of mankind.

David Turnbull posits a world subjected to death by...wait for it...tattoo, in a story sensibly titled, "Tattoo." Didn't see that coming, either. Most of the story is spent explaining what happened, and waiting for the inevitable result, but there is some cool imagery along the way. I won't be "getting ink done" any time soon, thank you very much.

Next is "The God Complex," by Neil John Buchanan. Alas, we should have known better. A probe searching for traces of God in the remnants of the Big Bang returns to mankind bearing delusions of God-hood, with predictable results. Standing between us and total assimilation is one woman in symbionic armor. Nifty, emotional, and spine-tingling.

A neighborhood committee attempts to maintain normalcy in the face of a cosmic catastrophe in Neil Coghlan's "Outstanding Matters." They succeed about as well as any homeowners' association. A gentle, sad story of good people clinging to the mundane for comfort.

Circumventing the end of the world via time travel may require more than one attempt and a little bit of good fortune in Jonathan D. Harris' "Lucky Heather." Make that a lot of good fortune.

The world ends not by fire, but by ice, in Scott Davis' "The Cooling Sun," but it may be history repeating itself.

Andrew Hook's "Jump" provides a rather odd solution to the classic "planet-killing meteor" scenario that founders on a rather mundane impediment. I didn't find the plan to save Earth plausible, but the story does illustrate the human tendency to grasp at straws in a desperate situation.

From a certain point-of-view, the end of the world might not be a bad thing at all. In Bill Schwarz' "The Tipping Point," it mostly puts everybody's priorities in order.

Human society is pushed into the abyss with chilling ease, aided by an odd little bit of synchronicity, in Simon Hood's "You Can't Force an Owl." Perhaps the scariest story in the collection because we've already seen it happen on a smaller scale.

Mark Romasko offers a brief intermission with his poetic conversation, "On a Beach at the End of the World."

Speaking of beaches, Donna Burgess clues us that if dead things start washing up on the beach en masse, you might be approaching the apocalypse, in "Light at the End." In light of the odd bird and fish die-offs of recent weeks, this one seems eerily prophetic.

"The End of Dave," by Jamie Marriage, isn't cause for anxiety--it's just another corporate restructuring, though this one is a little more comprehensive than most. If you're quick on your feet, you might just end up running the whole firm. A lighthearted tale, in the spirit of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett.

It's back to the beach with Alexander Zalanyj's "The Fire We Deserve," in which two people witness the fulfillment of a planet-scorching dream.

The only thing worse than experiencing the end of the world might be surviving it, as N.E. Chenier reminds us in "Fragment." This is a tale of madness--gory and sexually explicit, not for the tender-stomached.

A starship carries the hope of mankind from a dying Earth--but something else doesn't want to be left behind, and doesn't care at all if we survive, in Amanda Taylor's "The Gloss of Midnight."

In Eric Ian Steele's "Cycle," there's not much left to do but wait to be eaten by a very large monster. From one very particular point of view, this is progress.

A young man, abandoned as a child to a life of hard labor in space, returns to Earth--what's left of it--to confront his parents, in John Atkinson's space-opera-ish "Homecoming."

Soldiers ride out the apocalypse in an underground bunker, but they aren't prepared to handle what's waiting for them outside. Natalie J.E. Potts brings the claustrophobia and paranoia in "Beyond Black."

"A Quiet Pint at the End of the World," by Robert Long, is just that--two guys share a drink in a pub and talk about a girl. It might be the likeliest future vision of them all, if not the most exciting.

Pesky humans are full of surprises as they maneuver through an alien warehouse under the watchful camera of a jaded security guard, but what do they want? Erick Mertz provides the answer in "The Beautiful Room is Empty," but despite an intriguing premise, the ending felt a little, well, empty.

Finally, "Pa's Worm Farm," by Jamie McNabb, treats us to the dreariest apocalypse of all--the Green Apocalypse. Honest farming folk just can't catch a break in the Brave Gaian World, but country boys will always find a way to survive and prosper--even if it means eating worms. Some homespun laughs here, but it's all rather bleak when you look beyond the caricatures. I would have preferred finishing up with something more hopeful and uplifting after watching the world end twenty-two different ways.

Ah, well...you can't have everything, even if you're the last man on Earth. Terminal Earth is a nice assortment of apocalyptic sci-fi shorts. Overall, I think it could have used a couple more action-oriented stories and a couple less depictions of humanity talking itself to death, but if you'd rather ponder the world's end than fight the future, don't wait until 2012 to pick up a copy of this book.

Puns aside, this book is groundbreaking. Ha! I did it again. Seriously though, this collection is fantastic. I took it on holiday with me and instantly regretted it - I thought the whimsical merriment of lounging on the sand with a Piña Colada as the waves gently lapped at my toes might be somewhat spoilt by reading 23 morbid and harrowing accounts of the savage obliteration of all humanity. I was quite wrong, however, because while the book is moving and evocative in places, it is also a pleasure to read. Like any collection of new authors not all of it will suit the reader's individual taste, yet there is enough variety and quality throughout to ensure that if you don't enjoy a particular tale it's not the end of the world. Ha! Yet another pun! Seriously though, this is an excellent collection of stories and far from ruining my holiday, the bleak and unsettling visions of desolate, apocalyptic futures actually cheered me up quite a lot.

This is one of the best short story collections I've read this year - jumps around and never gets dull, from big, vivid setpiece stories to clever little intimate portraits, love the changes in pacing and style the authors bring to the table. If you'r not in the mood for one particular story for whatever reason the next one will hook you, at least it did me. Seems like an international cast and you get that feeling of jumping around the globe getting different attitudes and views from various nationalities which is cool. Recommended!

This is the first time I've felt compelled to write a review, but this is a great book. A collection of short stories and flash fiction (and a great poem) all set in and around the end of the world as we know it. At least 20 stories, including exciting sci-fi, tender friendships, gripping adventures across the universe, baseball matches and men reminiscing in pubs. oh, and worms!

Highly recommended: this is a great little book and well worth investing in.

This is my first review on the first purchase I made for my new Kindle. A great read. If you are like me and enjoy a bit of apocalyptic sci-fi then this is a must read for you.
Cracking stuff. A book which I will enjoy reading more than once.

"The earth is what we all have in common." - Wendell Barry

Terminal Earth is a brilliant and imaginative collection of twenty-two stories that took me from an abandoned Cleveland to space then back to an Oregon worm farm.

personally, some stories are touching:
* Desmond Warzel' Fields - the Cleveland Indians wins the World Series in the last baseball game ever played
* Frank Roger's As The Sun Sets - a couple holds on to the sun's waning light before the world is plunged into eternal darkness
* Alexander Zelenyj's The Fire That We Deserve - two siblings face the end of days with nostalgia and horror
* John Atkinson's Homecoming - a son searches for his parents across the galaxy to save them from a dying Earth

some ironically offer humor:
* Andrew Hook's Jump - one life may well save the world from doom if only she would be convinced to do one simple act
* Neil Coghlan's Outstanding Matters - residents of Cherry Tree View keep a semblance of normalcy amidst the chaos of destruction and death
* Jamie McNabb's Pa's Worm Farm and the Greenie Scouts - a family's possessions, their farm and everything on it is threatened by bureaucracy

some are bizarre:
* Jamie Marriage's End of Dave - dark beings hold power over humanity's fate
* Nancy Schmidt-Chenier's Fragment - a female survivor engages in a sensual tryst with dire consequences

and others are just too frightening to contemplate:
* David Turnbull's Tattoo - a dystopic scenario that - pardon the pun - paints the message: nano technology and ink do NOT mix
* Donna Burgess' The Light At The End - being neighborly can be a tough choice in a race for survival
* Amanda Taylor's The Gloss of Midnight - a serial killer is on the loose aboard a space ship

the bottom line is how the human race or what's left of it deals with Earth's demise.
these and the other outstanding stories in the Preditors & Editors Reader's Poll choice for 2010 Best Anthology combine drama, science, dark fantasy, romance, horror and hope. yes, hope!
i believe the message this anthology is telling me is that there is still hope despite the clock ticking and speeding towards a possible apocalyptic scenario.
if we set aside our arrogance and truly learn from history's lessons then we may be able to avert a global disaster. if not then sadly, our world will end not with a whimper or a bang but with man's folly.

Disclosure of Material Connection: i received a complimentary eARC of Terminal Earth. i did not receive any payment in exchange for this review nor was i obligated to write a positive one. all opinions expressed here are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist or the readers of this review. this disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.