This Is How You Die

This sequel to Machine of Death presents more tales and comics about the infallible contraption that tells you how you will die, but not when or where. The predictions are often cryptic—“old age” could mean getting gunned down by an angry senior citizen—but always enlightening. Sherlock Holmes encounters an MoD in John Takis’s “Apitoxin,” while another is preserved into the far future in Erika Hammerschmidt’s ”Furnace.” An intrepid PI uses MoD result slips to hunt a serial killer in Daliso Chaponda’s “Screaming, Crying, Alone, and Afraid.” Richard Salter’s choose-your-own-adventure-styled “Your Choice” lets the reader select an ending. Not every story ends with death, but each does an interesting job of presenting characters’ reactions—resignation, defiance, joy—to acquiring this incredible knowledge. This fun, thoughtful, and sometimes dark anthology will stir readers to wonder about their own “results.” (July)