After the End: Recent Apocalypses

Guran presents 20 reprints about postapocalyptic survival, all first published between 2008 and 2012. Scenarios include genetic mutation (Margo Lanagan’s “The Fifth Star in the Southern Cross,” Nnedi Okorafor’s “Tumaki”), the threat of nuclear war (Bruce Sterling’s “Goddess of Mercy,” Livia Llewellyn’s “Horses”), and climate change (Mary Rosenblum’s “The Egg Man,” Carrie Vaughn’s “Amaryllis”), but not zombies, perhaps to avoid conflict with Guran’s Zombies: The Recent Dead. The focus is on the individual and relationships instead of society as a whole: parents and children (Maureen McHugh’s “After the Apocalypse,” Blake Butler’s “The Disappeared”) and lovers (Simon Morden’s “Never, Never, Three Times Never,” John Shirley’s “Isolation Point, California”) sit comfortably alongside individuals fitting or forcing themselves into the new society (Lauren Beukes’s “Chiselhurst Messiah”, Cory Doctorow’s “Beat Me Daddy (Eight to the Bar)”). Every style and taste is represented, and readers will enjoy learning (or being reminded) why so many of these authors are considered stars of the genre. (July)