I’m putting together a new class for work that is supposed to cover cross-cultural perspectives, but also be speculative, but also be relevant to ‘kids these days’, so what better place to start than with an anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction specializing in pandemics!
Chocked full of terrifying tales, Wastelands: The New Apocalypse includes a variety of authors from different places, cultures, and perspectives all writing about humanity’s deepest and darkest fears. From deadly spores and burning suns to viruses and carcinogenic air, this anthology mines for the light in the worst situations. And while there were several heavy hitting names (ie. Nisi Shawl and Ken Liu), there were also a ton of authors in this collection I’d not come across before, and I’ll totally be checking out more of their work.
My favorites from the collection were:
“Don’t Pack Hope” by Emma Osborne
“The Plague” by Ken Liu
“Black Their Regalia” by Darcie Little Badger
“And the Rest of Us Wait” by Corrine Duyvis
If I’d read this anthology back in 2019, it may not have hit me the same way as it did reading it in 2022, but having lived through a pandemic, all of these stories (even the ones about Zombies and sci-fi) rang with an uncomfortable level of truth and reality. Society is really only ever a few clicks away from total meltdown, whether that be from viruses, Zombie attacks, or environmental disasters, and humans will only ever react in two ways: they’ll either band together and survive, doing their best to be the greatest parts of humanity. Or they will turn on each other and sh*t will go down. Nothing quite showcases the human condition like an apocalypse, and these authors spare no feelings or details about the journey.
If you’re still feeling burnout from the Pandemic, I’d advise steering clear of this for a little while. But if you’re looking for grippingly well done fiction that shoots the target right down the middle and hits every single emotion, I would highly recommend this collection.
4 stars.
Bingo Square: Cold (for themes of viruses, global freezing, environmental disasters, and characters who’ve gone emotionally numb)
