JJA Word Association Theater

I was watching Survivor the other night (shut up, I like it—and I’m a couple episodes behind, no spoilers!). One of the contestants, indignant that someone dared complain that he had flipped on their alliance, stood up, puffed out his chest, and shouted at him:

“You better RELAX, bro!”

It was uttered in such a ridiculous manner, with such exquisite bro-ness, that I could not help but riff on the line:

“If you want to get ready for beach season, you better WAX, bro!”

“If you need to send back that contract, do it by FAX, bro!”

“If it weren’t for the IRS, we wouldn’t have to pay TAX, bro!”

“If you want to get the most antioxidants from your protein smoothie, you gotta add FLAX, bro!”

“If you like video games, you should go to PAX, bro!”

“This weekend, we should go see MAD MAX, bro!”

And, my favorite, the pièce de résistance:

“If you want someone to appreciate your clever metaphors, don’t tell em to DRAX, bro!”

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NEWS: THE END HAS COME is Now on Sale!

The End Has Come, volume 3 of The Apocalypse Triptych, is now available!

COVER:

THE END HAS COME edited by John Joseph Adams & Hugh Howey

COVER COPY:

Famine. Death. War. Pestilence. These are the harbingers of the biblical apocalypse, of the End of the World. In science fiction, the end is triggered by less figurative means: nuclear holocaust, biological warfare/pandemic, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm.

But before any catastrophe, there are people who see it coming. During, there are heroes who fight against it. And after, there are the survivors who persevere and try to rebuild.

THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH will tell their stories.

Edited by acclaimed anthologist John Joseph Adams and bestselling author Hugh Howey, THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH is a series of three anthologies of apocalyptic fiction. THE END IS NIGH focuses on life before the apocalypse. THE END IS NOW turns its attention to life during the apocalypse. And THE END HAS COME focuses on life after the apocalypse.

THE END HAS COME features all-new, never-before-published works by Hugh Howey, Seanan McGuire, Ken Liu, Carrie Vaughn, Mira Grant, Jamie Ford, Tananarive Due, Jonathan Maberry, Robin Wasserman, Nancy Kress, Charlie Jane Anders, Elizabeth Bear, Ben H. Winters, Scott Sigler, and many others.

THE END IS NIGH is about the match.

THE END IS NOW is about the conflagration.

THE END HAS COME is about what will rise from the ashes.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  • INTRODUCTION—John Joseph Adams
  • BANNERLESS—Carrie Vaughn
  • LIKE ALL BEAUTIFUL PLACES—Megan Arkenberg
  • DANCING WITH A STRANGER IN THE LAND OF NOD—Will McIntosh
  • THE SEVENTH DAY OF DEER CAMP—Scott Sigler
  • PROTOTYPE—Sarah Langan
  • ACTS OF CREATION—Chris Avellone
  • RESISTANCE—Seanan McGuire
  • WANDERING STAR—Leife Shallcross
  • HEAVEN COME DOWN—Ben H. Winters
  • AGENT NEUTRALIZED—David Wellington
  • GOODNIGHT EARTH—Annie Bellet
  • CARRIERS—Tananarive Due
  • IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF THE PROMISED LAND—Robin Wasserman
  • THE UNCERTAINTY MACHINE—Jamie Ford
  • MARGIN OF SURVIVAL—Elizabeth Bear
  • JINGO AND THE HAMMERMAN—Jonathan Maberry
  • THE LAST MOVIE EVER MADE—Charlie Jane Anders
  • THE GRAY SUNRISE—Jake Kerr
  • THE GODS HAVE NOT DIED IN VAIN—Ken Liu
  • THE HAPPIEST PLACE . . .—Mira Grant
  • IN THE WOODS—Hugh Howey
  • BLESSINGS—Nancy Kress
  • Cover Art by Julian Aguilar Faylona
  • Cover Design by Jason Gurley

BUY THE BOOK:

If you’d like to learn more about the book, read stories from the anthology for free online, or read interviews with the authors, visit the website for The Apocalypse Triptych at johnjosephadams.com/apocalypse-triptych.

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NEWS: PRESS START TO PLAY Cover & TOC Reveal

Now that Kotaku has made the big reveal for us, I’m free to also share the final cover, (not final) cover copy, and table of contents for PRESS START TO PLAY, a mostly-original anthology of stories about and inspired by video games I edited (with Daniel H. Wilson) for Vintage. It’s forthcoming in August 2015, but you can pre-order it now.

COVER:

Press Start to Play

COVER COPY (not final):

Achievement unlocked! In the spirit of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, here are twenty-six works of fiction that put video games—and the people who play them—in the spotlight. Whether these authors are tackling the humble pixelated coin-op arcade games of the 70s and 80s, or the vivid, immersive form of entertainment that abounds today, you’ll never look at phrases like “save point,” “first-person shooter,” “dungeon crawl,” “pwned,” or “kill screen,” in quite the same way again.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  • Foreword—Ernest Cline
    author (Ready Player One)
  • Introduction—John Joseph Adams
    editor (Wastelands)
  • God Mode—Daniel H. Wilson
    author (Robopocalypse), video game writer/developer (Mayday! Deep Space)
  • NPC—Charles Yu
    author (How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe)
  • Respawn—Hiroshi Sakurazaka (translated by Nathan Collins)
    author (All You Need is Kill, basis for the film Edge of Tomorrow a.k.a. Live/Die/Repeat)
  • Desert Walk—S.R. Mastrantone
    author (short stories)
  • Rat Catcher’s Yellows—Charlie Jane Anders
    author (All the Birds in the Sky), editor (io9)
  • 1Up—Holly Black
    author (The Spiderwick Chronicles)
  • Survival Horror—Seanan McGuire
    author (InCryptid, October Daye series)
  • REAL—Django Wexler
    author (The Thousand Names)
  • Outliers—Nicole Feldringer
    author (short stories)
  • <end game>—Chris Avellone
    video game writer/developer (Fallout: New Vegas)
  • Save Me Plz—David Barr Kirtley (reprint)
    author (short stories), host (The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy)
  • The Relive Box—T.C. Boyle (reprint)
    author (World’s End)
  • Roguelike—Marc Laidlaw
    video game writer/developer (Half-Life), author (The 37th Mandala)
  • All of the People in Your Party Have Died—Robin Wasserman
    author (The Waking Dark)
  • RECOIL!—Micky Neilson
    video game writer/developer (World of Warcraft), comics writer (World of Warcraft: Ashbringer)
  • Anda’s Game—Cory Doctorow (reprint)
    author (Little Brother), editor (Boing Boing)
  • Coma Kings—Jessica Barber (reprint)
    author (short stories)
  • Stats—Marguerite K. Bennett
    comics writer (X-Men, Batman)
  • Please Continue—Chris Kluwe
    author (Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies)
  • Creation Screen—Rhianna Pratchett
    video game writer/developer (Tomb Raider), comics writer (Mirror’s Edge)
  • The Fresh Prince of Gamma World—Austin Grossman
    author (Soon I Will Be Invincible), video game writer/developer (Dishonored)
  • Gamer’s End—Yoon Ha Lee
    author (Conservation of Shadows)
  • The Clockwork Soldier—Ken Liu (reprint)
    author (Grace of Kings)
  • Killswitch—Catherynne M. Valente (reprint)
    author (Deathless)
  • Twarrior—Andy Weir
    author (The Martian)
  • Select Character—Hugh Howey
    author (Wool)

PRE-ORDER:

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NEWS: THE END HAS COME Now Available for Pre-Order!

The End Has Come, volume three of The Apocalypse Triptych, is now available for pre-order.

COVER COPY:

Famine. Death. War. Pestilence. These are the harbingers of the biblical apocalypse, of the End of the World. In science fiction, the end is triggered by less figurative means: nuclear holocaust, biological warfare/pandemic, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm.

But before any catastrophe, there are people who see it coming. During, there are heroes who fight against it. And after, there are the survivors who persevere and try to rebuild.

THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH tells their stories.

Edited by acclaimed anthologist John Joseph Adams and bestselling author Hugh Howey, THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH is a series of three anthologies of apocalyptic fiction. THE END IS NIGH focuses on life before the apocalypse. THE END IS NOW turns its attention to life during the apocalypse. And THE END HAS COME focuses on life after the apocalypse.

THE END HAS COME features all-new, never-before-published works by Hugh Howey, Seanan McGuire, Ken Liu, Carrie Vaughn, Mira Grant, Jamie Ford, Tananarive Due, Jonathan Maberry, Robin Wasserman, Nancy Kress, Charlie Jane Anders, Elizabeth Bear, Ben H. Winters, Scott Sigler, and many others.

THE END IS NIGH is about the match.

THE END IS NOW is about the conflagration.

THE END HAS COME is about what will rise from the ashes.

THE END HAS COME edited by John Joseph Adams & Hugh Howey

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  • INTRODUCTION—John Joseph Adams
  • BANNERLESS—Carrie Vaughn
  • LIKE ALL BEAUTIFUL PLACES—Megan Arkenberg
  • DANCING WITH A STRANGER IN THE LAND OF NOD—Will McIntosh
  • THE SEVENTH DAY OF DEER CAMP—Scott Sigler
  • PROTOTYPE—Sarah Langan
  • ACTS OF CREATION—Chris Avellone
  • RESISTANCE—Seanan McGuire
  • WANDERING STAR—Leife Shallcross
  • HEAVEN COME DOWN—Ben H. Winters
  • AGENT NEUTRALIZED—David Wellington
  • GOODNIGHT EARTH—Annie Bellet
  • CARRIERS—Tananarive Due
  • IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF THE PROMISED LAND—Robin Wasserman
  • THE UNCERTAINTY MACHINE—Jamie Ford
  • MARGIN OF SURVIVAL—Elizabeth Bear
  • JINGO AND THE HAMMERMAN—Jonathan Maberry
  • THE LAST MOVIE EVER MADE—Charlie Jane Anders
  • THE GRAY SUNRISE—Jake Kerr
  • THE GODS HAVE NOT DIED IN VAIN—Ken Liu
  • THE HAPPIEST PLACE . . .—Mira Grant
  • IN THE WOODS—Hugh Howey
  • BLESSINGS—Nancy Kress
  • Cover Art by Julian Aguilar Faylona
  • Cover Design by Jason Gurley

PRE-ORDER:

The book will be exclusive on Amazon for at least 90 days. Estimated release dates for other stores are included below. (Pre-orders are not available for stores other than Amazon for this title.)

  • Ebook
    • Kindle (May 1, 2015)
    • Kobo (August 1, 2015)
    • Barnes & Noble (August 1, 2015)
    • JohnJosephAdams.com (August 1, 2015)
  • Trade Paperback (May 1, 2015)
  • Audiobook
    • Audible (May 15, 2015)

If you’d like to learn more about the book, read stories from the anthology for free online, or read interviews with the authors, visit the website for The Apocalypse Triptych at johnjosephadams.com/apocalypse-triptych.

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REVIEW: Tangent Online on Operation Arcana

Tangent Online reviews Operation Arcana:

Operation Arcana, introduced and edited by John Joseph Adams, presents sixteen military fantasy stories. A few of these tales haunted me. Many of them entertained me. And all of them presented solid work. […] One of the best features here is the range of political outlooks on war. Another laudable thing is the inclusion of a couple of stories either told from the non-American side of a particular conflict or overtly critical of the United States. Such inclusion is an act of literary and political bravery. A third strength is the range of sub-genres: from steampunk to an homage to Tolkien to an updating of Peter Pan to golem stories. This is a very worthwhile anthology, with something for every fan of military and fantasy stories.

They go onto review each story in some detail as well. [read the review]

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NEWS: New Anthology of Climate Fiction, LOOSED UPON THE WORLD, Announced (Saga, August 2015)

Over on the B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog (and on The Once & Future Podcast), we just announced one of my 2015 anthologies: An anthology of climate change fiction called Loosed Upon the World. It will be published August 25, 2015 by Simon & Schuster’s Saga Press imprint.

COVER COPY:

This is the definitive collection of climate fiction from John Joseph Adams, the acclaimed editor of The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy and Wastelands. These provocative stories explore our present and speculate about all of our tomorrows through terrifying struggle, and hope.

Join the bestselling authors Margaret Atwood, Paolo Bacigalupi, Nancy Kress, Kim Stanley Robinson, Jim Shepard, and over twenty others as they presciently explore the greatest threat to our future.

This is a collection that will challenge readers to look at the world they live in as if for the first time.

Loosed-Upon-the-World

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  • Shooting the Apocalypse—Paolo Bacigalupi
  • The Myth of Rain—Seanan McGuire
  • Outer Rims—Toiya Kristen Finley
  • Kheldyu—Karl Schroeder
  • The Snows of Yesteryear—Jean-Louis Trudel
  • A Hundred Hundred Daisies—Nancy Kress
  • The Rainy Season—Tobias S. Buckell
  • The Netherlands Lives With Water—Jim Shepard
  • The Precedent—Sean McMullen
  • Hot Sky—Robert Silverberg
  • That Creeping Sensation—Alan Dean Foster
  • Truth or Consequences—Kim Stanley Robinson
  • Entanglement—Vandana Singh
  • Staying Afloat—Angela Penrose
  • Eighth Wonder—Chris Bachelder
  • Eagle—Gregory Benford
  • Outliers—Nicole Feldringer
  • Quiet Town—Jason Gurley
  • The Day It All Ended—Charlie Jane Anders
  • The Smog Society—Chen Qiufan (translated by Ken Liu & Carmen Yiling Yan)
  • Racing the Tide—Craig DeLancey
  • Mutant Stag at Horn Creek—Sarah Castle
  • Hot Rods—Cat Sparks
  • The Tamarisk Hunter—Paolo Bacigalupi
  • Mitigation—Tobias Buckell & Karl Schroeder
  • Time Capsule Found on the Dead Planet—Margaret Atwood
  • AFTERWORD: Science Scarier Than Fiction—Ramez Naam

PRE-ORDER THE BOOK:

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INTERVIEW: JJA on The Once & Future Podcast

Anton Strout interviewed me for episode 78 of The Once & Future Podcast, which he describes thusly:

Wherein I talk with award winning editor/anthologist John Joseph Adams about a deep love of the post-apocalyptic, how we’d be the first ones dead, military fantasy, BREAKING ANTHOLOGY NEWS FROM SAGA PRESS, the neuroses of authors, Viking and folk metal, his Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast, and the 743 anthologies he has releasing this year.

It was a fun interview! Give it a listen.

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