The End of the World: Stories of the Apocalypse, edited by Martin H. Greenberg

Hit-and-miss mix of old and new sci-fi

Published in 2010, The End of the World is an anthology volume of science fiction short stories, all of which present variations on the subject of the apocalypse, armageddon, the extinction of humanity, or the ultimate destruction of the Earth. The oldest of these stories is from 1944, the newest from 2007, but most were originally published from the ‘50s to the ‘70s. All of the selections were previously published in magazines or earlier anthologies. The book was edited by Martin H. Greenberg, a professional anthologist, and Grand Master of Science Fiction Robert Silverberg provides a brief introduction to the volume.

The nineteen stories in the book are divided into thematic sections, such as Bang or Whimper (the actual event of destruction), The Last Man (lone survivors), Life After the End (postapocalyptic societies), Dark, Distant Futures (dystopian horrors), and Witnesses to the End of the World (time travel to the apocalypse). A few of these stories make you wonder what they’re doing in an apocalyptic volume, like Lucius Shepard’s “Salvador,” which is just a war story with some sci-fi touches in which the world does not end. A lot of the authors here, particularly the more recent writers, aim for originality and cleverness or take a comical approach to the subject. What’s missing from most of this collection is some of that earnest horror and dread that earlier sci-fi writers instilled into their apocalyptic visions. The end of the world should be epic, but too often the selections here concentrate on small, quirky stories amid the general devastation. Silverberg discusses the history of apocalyptic fiction in his introduction, referencing such works as Camille Flammarion’s Omega, Mary Shelley’s The Last Man, H. G. Wells’s The Time Machine, Jules Verne’s The Eternal Adam, M. P. Shiel’s The Purple Cloud, and Garrett P. Serviss’s The Second Deluge. Reading some of the less impressive stories in this volume makes one long for those grandiose catastrophic speculations from a bygone era.

That’s not to say there isn’t some good or even great fiction in this volume. Every anthology is a grab bag with its own bad apples and gems. Among the latter category are Rick Hautala’s “The Hum,” which is quite chilling, though the ending ventures a little too far into fantasy. Norman Spinrad’s “The Big Flash” is a gripping tale of a heavy metal band leading mankind in mass hysteria towards armageddon. Lester del Rey’s “Kindness” is a poignant glimpse into man’s evolutionary future. George R. R. Martin of Game of Thrones fame delivers a very suspenseful and crafty tale, “Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels,” told from the point of view of a postapocalyptic mutant. Arthur C. Clarke’s “If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth . . .,” a story of a boy living in a domed-in colony on an uninhabitable world, deals one of the book’s better surprise endings.

Editor Greenberg saves the two best stories for last. Silverberg’s selection, “When We Went to See the End of the World” is a wryly humorous tale of several shallow couples at a party bragging about their time-travel vacations to witness the end of life on Earth. Poul Anderson, another reliable veteran, contributes “Flight to Forever,” a good ol’ sci-fi adventure yarn about two scientists lost in time, complete with a space opera and a corny romance, but nonetheless containing some serious and thoughtful ideas on mankind’s dismal future.

I’ve mostly concentrated on the positives here. The good entries are worth a read, but there’s plenty of mediocre fare here as well. I bought a copy from a Kindle Daily Deal, so I felt like I got my money’s worth, but a few of the stories really didn’t feel like they were worth my time.

Stories in this collection

“The Hum” by Rick Hautala

“Salvador” by Lucius Shepard

“We Can Get Them for You Wholesale” by Neil Gaiman

“The Big Flash” by Norman Spinrad

“Kindness” by Lester del Rey

“The Underweller” by William F. Nolan

“Lucifer” by Roger Zelazny

“To the Storming Gulf” by Gregory Benford

“The Feast of Saint Janis” by Michael Swanwick

“The Wheel” by John Wyndham

“Jody After the War” by Edward Bryant

“Salvage” by Orson Scott Card

“By Fools Like Me” by Nancy Kress

“The Store of the Worlds” by Robert Sheckley

“Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels” by George R. R. Martin

“If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth . . .” by Arthur C. Clarke

“Afterward” by John Helfers

“When We Went to See the End of the World” by Robert Silverberg

“Flight to Forever” by Poul Anderson

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