Our reading group on Facebook is considering reading a science fiction theme anthology and I thought I’d look up all the end-of-the-world anthologies devoted the apocalyptic science fiction.


1956: The End of the World edited by Donald A. Wollheim

  • The Year of the Jackpot • (1952) • novelette by Robert A. Heinlein
  • Last Night of Summer • (1954) • short story by Alfred Coppel
  • Impostor • (1953) • short story by Philip K. Dick
  • Rescue Party • (1946) • novelette by Arthur C. Clarke
  • Omega • (1932) • short story by Amelia Reynolds Long
  • In the World’s Dusk • (1936) • short story by Edmond Hamilton

This old 1956 paperback is kind of expensive to buy, so not really practical for a group read. We need books that are readily available in libraries or are cheap to buy new or used.


1982: The Last Man on Earth edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, and Charles G. Waugh

  • Introduction (The Last Man on Earth) • (1982) • essay by Isaac Asimov
  • The Underdweller • (1974) • short story by William F. Nolan (a variant of Small World 1957)
  • Flight to Forever • (1950) • novella by Poul Anderson
  • Trouble with Ants • [City] • (1951) • novelette by Clifford D. Simak (a variant of The Simple Way)
  • The Coming of the Ice • (1926) • short story by G. Peyton Wertenbaker
  • The Most Sentimental Man • (1957) • short story by Evelyn E. Smith
  • Eddie for Short • (1953) • short story by Wallace West
  • Knock • (1948) • short story by Fredric Brown
  • Original Sin • (1946) • short story by S. Fowler Wright
  • A Man Spekith • (1969) • novelette by Richard Wilson
  • In the World’s Dusk • (1936) • short story by Edmond Hamilton
  • Kindness • (1944) • short story by Lester del Rey
  • Lucifer • (1964) • short story by Roger Zelazny
  • Resurrection • (1949) • short story by A. E. van Vogt (variant of The Monster 1948)
  • The Second-Class Citizen • (1963) • short story by Damon Knight
  • Day of Judgment • (1946) • short story by Edmond Hamilton
  • Continuous Performance • (1974) • short story by Gordon Eklund
  • The New Reality • (1950) • novelette by Charles L. Harness

I’d love it if we voted this one in, but again, it’s out-of-print and too expensive to buy used.


1985: Beyond Armageddon edited by Walter M. Miller Jr. and Martin H. Greenberg

  • Case 101: Ch’iu-Ch’iu’s Firestorm • poem by uncredited
  • Alibi • poem by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
  • Forewarning (an Introduction) • essay by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
  • Salvador • (1984) • short story by Lucius Shepard
  • The Store of the Worlds • (1959) • short story by Robert Sheckley
  • The Big Flash • (1969) • novelette by Norman Spinrad
  • Lot • [David Jimmon] • (1953) • novelette by Ward Moore
  • Day at the Beach • (1959) • short story by Carol Emshwiller
  • The Wheel • (1952) • short story by John Wyndham
  • Jody After the War • (1972) • short story by Edward Bryant
  • The Terminal Beach • (1964) • novelette by J. G. Ballard
  • Tomorrow’s Children • (1947) • novelette by Poul Anderson and F. N. Waldrop
  • Heirs Apparent • (1954) • novelette by Robert Abernathy
  • A Master of Babylon • (1966) • novelette by Edgar Pangborn
  • Game Preserve • (1957) • short story by Rog Phillips
  • By the Waters of Babylon • (1937) • short story by Stephen Vincent Benét
  • There Will Come Soft Rains • (1950) • short story by Ray Bradbury
  • To the Chicago Abyss • (1963) • short story by Ray Bradbury
  • Lucifer • (1964) • short story by Roger Zelazny
  • Eastward Ho! • (1958) • short story by William Tenn
  • The Feast of Saint Janis • (1980) • novelette by Michael Swanwick
  • “If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth …” • (1951) • short story by Arthur C. Clarke
  • Case 113: Ch’iu-Ch’iu’s Wow • poem by uncredited
  • A Boy and His Dog • [Vic and Blood • 2] • (1969) • novella by Harlan Ellison
  • My Life in the Jungle • (1985) • short story by Jim Aikin

This looks wonderful. Again, out of print. I wonder if I could convince several people to track down a used copy? That’s the weakness of the group. Even though we have hundreds of members, very few members join in the reading and discussion. Participating is depended on the availability of the anthology and I think the age of the stories. I feel most of our members prefer newer stories, while I prefer older ones. There are quite a few copies at ABEbooks for under $10 including shipping.


2010: The End of the World edited by Michael Kelahan

  • Introduction • essay by Michael Kelahan
  • Darkness • (2001) • poem by Lord George Gordon Byron [as by Lord Byron]
  • The Last Man • (1826) • short story by Anonymous
  • The Comet • (1839) • short story by S. Austin, Jr.
  • The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion • (1839) • short story by Edgar Allan Poe
  • Earth’s Holocaust • (1844) • short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • Into the Sun • [Into the Sun • 1] • (1882) • short story by Robert Duncan Milne
  • Plucked from the Burning • [Into the Sun • 2] • (1882) • short story by Robert Duncan Milne
  • For the Ahkoond • (1909) • short story by Ambrose Bierce
  • The Crack of Doom • (1895) • novel by Robert Cromie
  • The Star • (1897) • short story by H. G. Wells
  • The Thames Valley Catastrophe • (1897) • short story by Grant Allen
  • A Corner in Lightning • (1898) • short story by George Griffith
  • Within an Ace of the End of the World • (1900) • short story by Robert Barr
  • The Last Days of Earth • (1901) • short story by Geo. C. Wallis
  • The End of the World • (1903) • short story by Simon Newcomb
  • Finis • (1906) • short story by Frank Lillie Pollock
  • The Scarlet Plague • (1912) • novella by Jack London
  • The Last Sunset • (1907) • short story by Edwin A. Start
  • The Machine Stops • (1909) • novelette by E. M. Forster
  • The Poison Belt • [Professor Challenger • 2] • (1913) • novel by Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Nyarlathotep • [Dream Cycle] • (1920) • short fiction by H. P. Lovecraft

If the group was more scholarly I think this would be a good choice because it goes further back in time, which is interesting to me.


2016: This Way to the End Times edited by Robert Silverberg

  • Editor’s Introduction (The Eternal Adam) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • The Eternal Adam • (1957) • novelette by Jules Verne and Michel Verne
  • Editor’s Introduction (The Last Generation) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • The Last Generation: A Story of the Future • (1908) • novelette by James Elroy Flecker
  • Editor’s Introduction (Finis) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • Finis • (1906) • short story by Frank Lillie Pollock
  • Editor’s Introduction (The Coming of the Ice) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • The Coming of the Ice • (1926) • short story by G. Peyton Wertenbaker
  • Editor’s Introduction (N Day) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • N Day • (1946) • short story by R. S. Richardson [as by Philip Latham]
  • Editor’s Introduction (Guyal of Sfere) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • Guyal of Sfere • [Dying Earth] • (1950) • novella by Jack Vance
  • Editor’s Introduction (A Pail of Air) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • A Pail of Air • (1951) • short story by Fritz Leiber
  • Editor’s Introduction (Who Can Replace a Man?) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • Who Can Replace a Man? • (1958) • short story by Brian W. Aldiss
  • Editor’s Introduction (Heresies of the Huge God) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • Heresies of the Huge God • (1966) • short story by Brian W. Aldiss
  • Editor’s Introduction (The New Atlantis) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • The New Atlantis • (1975) • novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Editor’s Introduction (When We Went to See the End of the World) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • When We Went to See the End of the World • (1972) • short story by Robert Silverberg
  • Editor’s Introduction (The Wind and the Rain) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • The Wind and the Rain • (1973) • short story by Robert Silverberg
  • Editor’s Introduction (The Screwfly Solution) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • The Screwfly Solution • (1977) • novelette by James Tiptree, Jr.
  • Editor’s Introduction (After-Images) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • After-Images • (1983) • short story by Malcolm Edwards
  • Editor’s Introduction (Daisy, in the Sun) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • Daisy, in the Sun • (1979) • short story by Connie Willis
  • Editor’s Introduction (Three Days After) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • Three Days After • (2014) • short story by Karen Haber
  • Editor’s Introduction (The Rain at the End of the World) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • The Rain at the End of the World • (1999) • short story by Dale Bailey
  • Editor’s Introduction (The End of the World as We Know It) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • The End of the World as We Know It • (2004) • short story by Dale Bailey
  • Editor’s Introduction (Final Exam) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • Final Exam • (2012) • short story by Megan Arkenberg
  • Editor’s Introduction (Prayers to the Sun by a Dying Person) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • Prayers to the Sun by a Dying Person • short story by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro
  • Editor’s Introduction (Last and First Men) • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • Last and First Men (excerpt) • [Last and First Men] • (1966) • short fiction by Olaf Stapledon

This one is in print, $10 for the Kindle edition and $20 for the paperback. Plus it has introductions by Silverberg which are always worth reading.


2010: The End of the World edited by Martin H. Greenberg

  • Dancing Through the Apocalypse • essay by Robert Silverberg
  • The Hum • (2007) • short story by Rick Hautala
  • Salvador • (1984) • short story by Lucius Shepard
  • We Can Get Them for You Wholesale • (1984) • short story by Neil Gaiman
  • The Big Flash • (1969) • novelette by Norman Spinrad
  • Kindness • (1944) • short story by Lester del Rey
  • The Underdweller • (1974) • short story by William F. Nolan
  • Lucifer • (1964) • short story by Roger Zelazny
  • To the Storming Gulf • (1985) • novella by Gregory Benford
  • The Feast of Saint Janis • (1980) • novelette by Michael Swanwick
  • The Wheel • (1952) • short story by John Wyndham
  • Jody After the War • (1972) • short story by Edward Bryant
  • Salvage • [The Mormon Sea] • (1986) • novelette by Orson Scott Card
  • By Fools Like Me • (2007) • short story by Nancy Kress
  • The Store of the Worlds • (1959) • short story by Robert Sheckley
  • Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels • (1973) • short story by George R. R. Martin
  • If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth … • (1951) • short story by Arthur C. Clarke
  • Afterward • (2006) • short story by John Helfers
  • When We Went to See the End of the World • (1972) • short story by Robert Silverberg
  • Flight to Forever • (1950) • novella by Poul Anderson

Another anthology that’s available to buy. It even has an audiobook edition. That’s a big plus for me.


2010: The Mammoth Book of the End of the World edited by Mike Ashley

  • The End of All Things • (2010) • essay by Mike Ashley
  • When We Went to See the End of the World • (1972) • short story by Robert Silverberg
  • The End of the World • (2002) • short story by Sushma Joshi
  • The Clockwork Atom Bomb • (2005) • short story by Dominic Green
  • Bloodletting • (1994) • short story by Kate Wilhelm
  • When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth • (2006) • novelette by Cory Doctorow
  • The Rain at the End of the World • (1999) • short story by Dale Bailey
  • The Flood • (1998) • short story by Linda Nagata
  • The End of the World Show • (2006) • short story by David Barnett
  • Fermi and Frost • (1985) • short story by Frederik Pohl
  • Sleepover • (2010) • novelette by Alastair Reynolds
  • The Last Sunset • (1996) • short story by Geoffrey A. Landis
  • Moments of Inertia • (2004) • novelette by William Barton
  • The Books • (2010) • short story by Kage Baker
  • Pallbearer • (2010) • novella by Robert Reed
  • And the Deep Blue Sea • (2005) • short story by Elizabeth Bear
  • The Meek • (2004) • short story by Damien Broderick
  • The Man Who Walked Home • (1972) • short story by James Tiptree, Jr.
  • A Pail of Air • (1951) • short story by Fritz Leiber
  • Guardians of the Phoenix • (2010) • novelette by Eric Brown
  • Life in the Anthropocene • (2010) • short story by Paul Di Filippo
  • Terraforming Terra • (1998) • novelette by Jack Williamson
  • World Without End • (2010) • short story by F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre
  • The Children of Time • (2005) • short story by Stephen Baxter
  • The Star Called Wormwood • (2004) • short story by Elizabeth Counihan

Again, out of print, but it is available at ABEbooks.

2019: The End of the World and Other Catastrophes edited by Mike Ashley

For some reason, ISFDB.org doesn’t have a table of contents for Mike Ashley’s latest end-of-the-world anthology. But you can read about the stories in The BSFA Review. This is another anthology with older stories. That’s great for seeing how the theme evolved.


2010: The Last Man Anthology edited by Hunter Liguore

  • Timeline of Catastrophe, 2000-2010 • essay by uncredited
  • Snowmelt • short story by Lane Ashfeldt
  • Teddy and the Last Girl of Brighton Street • short story by William Wood
  • The End of the Beginning • poem by George Moore (I)
  • The Paperless Doctrine of 2152 • short story by Aaron M. Wilson
  • Origins • short story by Liz R. F. Coley
  • Ozymandias • (1818) • poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley
  • Omega Museum • short story by Jaleta Clegg
  • Turning In • poem by Caitlin Kenzie Scott
  • Fire and Ice • (1920) • poem by Robert Frost
  • Under Erasure • short story by Murray Leder
  • The Star • (1897) • short story by H. G. Wells
  • Depletion • poem by Mark Brandon Allen
  • Old Gods at the Armageddon • short story by Jeffery Ryan Long
  • Helen of Troy • (1911) • poem by Sara Teasdale
  • Suicide of the World • short fiction by Andre Saglio
  • Nuclear Winter • poem by Nicolas Samaras
  • Gip • short story by Mark Taylor (I)
  • There Will Come Soft Rains • [The Martian Chronicles] • (1950) • short story by Ray Bradbury
  • The Last Man on Earth • short story by Big Jim Williams
  • Eclipse • poem by Alicia A. Curtis [as by Alicia Curtis]
  • The Last Day of Sanity • short story by Darryll B. Snyder
  • Immutable • poem by Janelle Schwartz
  • The Last Unicorn • short story by H. L. Liguore
  • The Last Hours • (1919) • poem by D. H. Lawrence
  • Cassandra • (1978) • short story by C. J. Cherryh
  • Cee-Cee was My Dog • poem by John Dudek
  • 水 (mi)? • short story by Jack Frey
  • My Blue Ribbon Pies • short story by Jacquelyn Fedyk
  • The Masque of the Red Death • (1845) • short story by Edgar Allan Poe
  • Finley’s Last Chapter • short fiction by Alexandra Wolfe
  • Life of a Child • short story by Samantha Boyette
  • The End of the World • (1911) • essay by Hilaire Belloc
  • Arturo • short story by M. Sullivan
  • Going Home • short story by Kodilynn Calhoun
  • Life Gaped Open • poem by Alan Gann
  • The Scarlet Plague • (1912) • novella by Jack London
  • The Last of Everything • poem by Cassandra Consiglio
  • Corridors • (1982) • short story by Barry N. Malzberg
  • The Last of the Great Coffee Shop Philosophers • short story by Koos Kombuis
  • Last Call • short story by Mark Edwards

This anthology seems to be more historical and covers territory outside of the science fiction genre. It’s not something the group would read but I think I’ll track down a copy.


2012: After edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

  • The Segment • short story by Genevieve Valentine
  • After the Cure • novelette by Carrie Ryan
  • Valedictorian • [The Trojan Girl • 2] • short story by N. K. Jemisin
  • Visiting Nelson • novelette by Katherine Langrish
  • All I Know of Freedom • short story by Carol Emshwiller
  • The Other Elder • juvenile • [Across the Universe] • short story by Beth Revis
  • The Great Game at the End of the World • novelette by Matthew Kressel
  • Reunion • short story by Susan Beth Pfeffer
  • Blood Drive • short story by Jeffrey Ford
  • Reality Girl • novelette by Richard Bowes
  • How Th’irth Wint Rong by Hapless Joey @ homeskool.gov • short story by Gregory Maguire
  • Rust with Wings • [7th Sigma • 0.5] • short story by Steven Gould
  • Faint Heart • novelette by Sarah Rees Brennan
  • The Easthound • (2012) • short story by Nalo Hopkinson
  • Gray • poem by Jane Yolen
  • Before • short story by Carolyn Dunn
  • Fake Plastic Trees • novelette by Caitlín R. Kiernan?
  • You Won’t Feel a Thing • [Shade’s Children milieu] • short story by Garth Nix
  • The Marker • short story by Cecil Castellucci

This is an original anthology that focuses on the post-apocalypse. I’m not sure if the group has ever read an original anthology.


2008: Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams

  • The End of the Whole Mess • (1986) • novelette by Stephen King
  • Salvage • [The Mormon Sea] • (1986) • novelette by Orson Scott Card
  • The People of Sand and Slag • (2004) • novelette by Paolo Bacigalupi
  • Bread and Bombs • (2003) • short story by M. Rickert
  • How We Got in Town and Out Again • (1996) • novelette by Jonathan Lethem
  • Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels • (1973) • short story by George R. R. Martin
  • Waiting for the Zephyr • (2002) • short story by Tobias S. Buckell
  • Never Despair • (1997) • short story by Jack McDevitt
  • When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth • (2006) • novelette by Cory Doctorow
  • The Last of the O-Forms • (2002) • short story by James Van Pelt
  • Still Life with Apocalypse • (2002) • short story by Richard Kadrey
  • Artie’s Angels • (2001) • short story by Catherine Wells
  • Judgment Passed • novelette by Jerry Oltion
  • Mute • (2002) • short story by Gene Wolfe
  • Inertia • (1990) • novelette by Nancy Kress
  • And the Deep Blue Sea • (2005) • short story by Elizabeth Bear
  • Speech Sounds • (1983) • short story by Octavia E. Butler
  • Killers • (2006) • short story by Carol Emshwiller
  • Ginny Sweethips’ Flying Circus • (1988) • novelette by Neal Barrett, Jr.
  • The End of the World as We Know It • (2004) • short story by Dale Bailey
  • A Song Before Sunset • (1976) • short story by David Grigg
  • Episode Seven: Last Stand Against the Pack in the Kingdom of Purple Flowers • (2007) • novelette by John Langan

Another title that’s in print and available on ebook and audio.


2015: Wastelands 2: More Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams

  • The Tamarisk Hunter • (2006) • short story by Paolo Bacigalupi
  • Deep Blood Kettle • (2013) • short story by Hugh Howey
  • Animal Husbandry • (2009) • short fiction by Seanan McGuire
  • “… For a Single Yesterday” • (1975) • novelette by George R. R. Martin
  • Chislehurst Messiah • (2011) • short story by Lauren Beukes
  • Colliding Branes • (2009) • short story by Rudy Rucker and Bruce Sterling
  • Ellie • (1995) • novelette by Jack McDevitt
  • Foundation • [Razorland • 0.5] • (2012) • short story by Ann Aguirre
  • Beat Me Daddy (Eight to the Bar) • (2002) • short story by Cory Doctorow
  • A Beginner’s Guide to Survival Before, During, and After the Apocalypse • (2013) • short story by Christopher Barzak
  • Wondrous Days • (2009) • short story by Genevieve Valentine
  • Dreams in Dust • (2012) • short story by D. Thomas Minton
  • By Fools Like Me • (2007) • short story by Nancy Kress
  • Jimmy’s Roadside Cafe • (2008) • short story by Ramsey Shehadeh
  • The Elephants of Poznan • (2000) • novelette by Orson Scott Card
  • The Postman • [The Postman] • (1982) • novella by David Brin
  • When We Went to See the End of the World • (1972) • short story by Robert Silverberg
  • The Revelation of Morgan Stern • (2013) • short story by Christie Yant
  • Final Exam • (2012) • short story by Megan Arkenberg
  • A Flock of Birds • (2002) • short story by James Van Pelt
  • Patient Zero • (2000) • short story by Tananarive Due
  • Soulless in His Sight • (2012) • short fiction by Milo James Fowler
  • Outer Rims • (2011) • short story by Toiya Kristen Finley
  • Advertising at the End of the World • (2009) • short story by Keffy R. M. Kehrli
  • How the World Became Quiet: A Post-Human Creation Myth • (2007) • short story by Rachel Swirsky
  • Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man’s Back • (1986) • short story by Joe R. Lansdale
  • After the Apocalypse • (2011) • short story by Maureen F. McHugh
  • The Traditional • (2013) • short story by Maria Dahvana Headley
  • Monstro • (2012) • short story by Junot Díaz
  • Biographical Fragments of the Life of Julian Prince • (2013) • short story by Jake Kerr

Also, still in print including ebook and audio.


2019: Wastelands: The New Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams

  • Bullet Point • short fiction by Elizabeth Bear
  • The Red Thread • (2016) • short story by Sofia Samatar
  • Expedition 83 • short fiction by Wendy N. Wagner
  • The Last to Matter • (2018) • novelette by Adam-Troy Castro
  • Not This War, Not This World • short story by Jonathan Maberry
  • Where Would You Be Now • [The Bannerless Saga] • novelette by Carrie Vaughn (variant of Where Would You Be Now? 2018)
  • The Elephants’ Crematorium • (2018) • short story by Timothy Mudie
  • Bones of Gossamer • short fiction by Hugh Howey
  • As Good As New • (2014) • short story by Charlie Jane Anders
  • One Day Only • short fiction by Tananarive Due
  • Black, Their Regalia • (2016) • short story by Darcie Little Badger
  • The Plague • (2013) • short story by Ken Liu
  • Four Kittens • short fiction by Jeremiah Tolbert
  • Eyes of the Flood • short fiction by Susan Jane Bigelow
  • The Last Garden • (2017) • novelette by Jack Skillingstead
  • Through Sparks in Morning’s Dawn • short fiction by Tobias S. Buckell
  • Cannibal Acts • (2017) • short story by Maureen F. McHugh
  • Echo • short fiction by Veronica Roth
  • Shooting the Apocalypse • (2014) • novelette by Paolo Bacigalupi
  • The Hungry Earth • (2013) • short story by Carmen Maria Machado
  • Last Chance • (2017) • novelette by Nicole Kornher-Stace
  • A Series of Images from a Ruined City at the End of The World • short fiction by Joseph Allen Hill [as by Violet Allen]
  • Come on Down • short fiction by Meg Elison
  • Don’t Pack Hope • (2018) • short story by Emma Osborne
  • Polly Wanna Cracker? • short fiction by Greg van Eekhout
  • Otherwise • (2012) • novelette by Nisi Shawl
  • And the Rest of Us Wait • (2016) • novelette by Corinne Duyvis
  • The Last Child • short fiction by Scott Sigler
  • So Sharp, So Bright, So Final • short fiction by Seanan McGuire
  • Burn 3 • (2013) • novelette by Kami Garcia
  • Snow • (2015) • short story by Dale Bailey
  • The Air Is Chalk • short fiction by Richard Kadrey
  • The Future Is Blue • [Garbagetown • 1] • (2016) • novelette by Catherynne M. Valente
  • Francisca Montoya’s Almanac of Things That Can Kill You • (2014) • short story by Shaenon K. Garrity

Again, in print, including ebook and audiobook editions.


1980: After the Fall edited by Robert Sheckley

  • The Last Days of (Parallel?) Earth • short story by Robert Sheckley
  • The Day After the End of the World • short story by Harry Harrison
  • A Very Good Year … • (1979) • short story by Roger Zelazny
  • Fire and/or Ice • short story by Roger Zelazny
  • Exeunt Omnes • short story by Roger Zelazny
  • Sungrab • [Sam Space] • novelette by William F. Nolan
  • Where Are You Now, Erik Scorbic? • short story by K. Copeland Shea
  • Bud • short story by Ian Watson
  • The Making of Revelation, Part I • novelette by Philip José Farmer?
  • Rebecca Rubinstein’s Seventeenth Birthday • short story by Simon Gandolfi
  • The Revelation • short story by Thomas M. Disch
  • Nirvana Is a Nowhere Place • short story by Joel Schulman
  • Heir • short story by J. A. Lawrence
  • Afterword (Heir) • essay by J. A. Lawrence
  • The Kingdom of O’Ryan • novelette by Bob Shaw
  • Just Another End of the World • short story by Maxim Jakubowski

I imagine this collection by Sheckley is about finding humor at the end of the world. I think I would need it if I read all the other anthologies.


I think my pick would be Beyond Armaggedon edited by Walter M. Miller, Jr. and Martin H. Greenberg.

I can’t believe I’ve found 14 anthologies about the end of the world or the post-apocalypse.

James Wallace Harris, 1/26/23

24 thoughts on “End-of-the-World Anthologies

    1. When you mention your reviews feel free to put a link in your comment so folks can mosey over to your site and read them.

      That Wollheim anthology has “The Year of the Jackpot” a favorite Heinlein story of mine. It has a rather interesting take on foreseeing the collapse of civilization.

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      1. I must confess, did not care for the Heinlein at the time.

        I have a love / hate relationship with my earlier reviews. I often don’t think they are as thorough or demonstrate as much knowledge about genre (that I’d like to think I have now) so I probably won’t link this one. You can track it down if you want to read it yourself — if you wish!

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        1. Many thanks, Jim! Do you know where we can find the sequel–in a particular collection or anthology?

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        2. I discovered “Lot’s Daughter” when I looked up Ward Moore on ISFDB.org

          https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1264

          Both stories have been made into short books. https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?5735

          The combined collection of two stories has always been expensive. The Kindle edition is $7.99!!! That’s ridiculous for a 72-page book.

          “Lot’s Daughter” was in F&SF too, in October 1954. By the way, 1953, when “Lot” appeared is my favorite year for science fiction short stories. It had so many cynical dark stories.

          Jim

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  1. Many thanks for all these fascinating titles, Jim! (I only have one of them, “The Last Man on Earth,” edited by Asimov, Greenberg and Waugh.) I must admit I’m one of those who doesn’t always take part in the reading or discussion. For me it’s not because of any difficulty in getting hold of reading material. Even when I have the books, I find it hard to keep up. I simply keep track of the discussion and join in when I can.

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  2. P.S. I bought my second-hand copy of “The Last Man on Earth” in the wild. My experience is that books like these aren’t that expensive–at least, in second-hand bookstores, rather than online (where I seldom buy books)–but may be too hard to find to use them for readings in book groups like this.

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  3. I have at least four of these, though not the one you like! Wastelands was pretty good, the second one was not bad, though not quite as good, and the third one disappointed me (it was mostly all new stories).

    Adams also edited a trilogy of anthologies with Hugh Howey, listed at ISFDB as The Apocalypse Triptych, but I never tried those.

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  4. The Van Vogt in the Asimov collection, Resurrection (Monster), is my favorite Van Vogt tale. There are much better writers stylistically in the field now, but none have that sense of lunatic joy.

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  5. Van Vogt is the original wild man of SF, and ‘Resurrection/Monster’ is the quintessential story to give to people who say he couldn’t write.

    There are stories — and whole dreary novels after Van Vogt’s comeback in the 1960s — that are just disconnected messes. But when he was firing on all cylinders as in this story, nobody else could come up with such over-the-top ideas at such a rapid-fire rate, and in this case the ideas connect and build.

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      1. No, but I’d love to! From my browse of it in a bookstore, it looked fascinating. (Asimov loved it–he mentioned it in one of his memoirs.)

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        1. It won a Hugo I believe.

          It’s interesting that the Pansins focused on Heinlein – Asimov – van Vogt while Alec Nevela-Lee focused on Heinlein – Asimov – Hubbard as the drivers of 1940s science fiction.

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        2. I think the Panshin’s choice was the wisest. I haven’t read much of Van Vogt, and nothing at all of Hubbard, but from what I’ve read about the “Golden Age,” it seems to me that Van Vogt’s work was far more central to the field. I

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  6. Right, van Vogt was more central to the literature, you should excuse the expression, in his time, but Hubbard was more central to the cultural phenomenon as viewed from today. The latter was what Nevala-Lee was more concerned with (and no disparagement meant–he did an excellent job).

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    1. I am impressed with both books. Nevala-Lee’s book focused more on the biographies of Campbell, Heinlein, Asimov, and Hubbard while the Panshins focused on the stories in ASTOUNDING during the 1940s. They supplement each other.

      The Panshins get into what van Vogt was trying to do with his science fiction.

      I also believe the Panshins made a great case that 1940s science fiction often was about transcendence.

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