In the mail today, I received the latest issue of Pegasus, the alumni magazine of the University of Central Florida, and in the "Alumni Authors" section, there’s a little blurb about Wastelands:
It’s featured alongside A Guide to Historic Orlando by Steve Rajtar (’73), Anoles: Those Florida Yard Lizards by Steve Isham (’76), and What Lies Beneath the Bed: Tommy’s Tales by Gerald Sharpe (’91).
Sarah Jackson of The Fix did an interview with me recently which is now available for your reading pleasure. Here’s a snippet:
How do you imagine you would deal with being a survivor in a post-apocalyptic wasteland?
I took one of those online tests once that gauged how well you’d do in such a situation, and I fared rather poorly, which I think was a pretty accurate assessment of my chances. I object to its analysis that I had zero nature skills, however. I mean, I’m a total city boy, and much prefer to stay inside most of the time, but I’m not a moron. That said, there is an entirely good chance I’d get mauled by a wild animal if I were stuck on my own after an apocalypse.
The good news is that I know some people who probably would do rather well, and might be inclined to help me out. And I have read a lot of post-apocalyptic fiction, after all, so surely I’ll think of something when the mutants come looking for me.
BN.com’s page for Wastelands has a review from Library Journal, which I knew was coming, but hadn’t seen yet:
Jackie Cassada – Library Journal
From Steven King’s take on the end of humanity through science gone wrong ("The End of the Whole Mess") to John Langan’s horrific tale of a small group’s valiant last stand against an unbeatable enemy ("Episode Seven: Last Stand Against the Pack in the Kingdom of the Purple Flowers"), the 22 stories in this end-of-days anthology run the gamut from nuclear devastation to environmental debacle to the Second Coming. Also featuring Orson Scott Card, Octavia E. Butler, and Gene Wolfe, and including an original story by Jerry Oltion ("Judgement Passed"), this title belongs in most sf or short fiction collections.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Drat, I was hoping for a star! But can’t complain, a very positive review, one that will hopefully get some library orders so that maybe the Missoula Public Library won’t be the only one to have a copy.
Also, I note that B&N categorizes it as "Alternate Realities – Fiction," a sub-section of Science Fiction/Fantasy. Post-apocalyptic fiction isn’t what I would think of as "alternate reality" fiction, but okay.
Update: Oh, and here it is on the Library Journal page.
Cindy White wrote up a nice piece about Wastelands for SCI FI Wire. Here’s a snippet:
"I wanted the anthology to demonstrate the range of post-apocalyptic fiction–that it’s not all gloomy, that it’s not only about fighting off mutants and marauders and scavenging cans of pork and beans," he said. "On one end of the spectrum, you have Nancy Kress’ ‘Inertia," which is about the aftermath of a disfiguring plague; on the other end, you have Neal Barrett Jr.’s ‘Ginny Sweethips’ Flying Circus’–a rather light and upbeat foray into the wastelands, about a traveling roadshow that makes its living by selling sex, tacos and dangerous drugs. I think there’s a nice variety of styles represented as well. Most of the stories are traditional narratives, but you’ve also got stylistically ambitious stories John Langan’s ‘Episode Seven’ and Stephen King’s ‘The End of the Whole Mess.’ It’s a nice mix."
If anyone’s in the market for business cards, Overnight Prints is having a sale. Or rather, they’re giving away business cards. If it’s the same deal as the one I used late last year, you get a $10 discount, and so if you buy 100 cards for $9.95, they’re free (though you’ll pay shipping). If you want to take advantage of the offer, use the coupon code "NEWYEAR08" (without the quotes) when you check out.
I ordered some business cards for Wastelands from this place, and I was very happy with them. They’ve been quite well received too–which is the effect you’re looking for when you’re using business cards as a promotional tool. The colors all turned out well, and the card stock they use is nice and thick–not the flimsy stuff a lot of these online printers use.
I just took a JPG of the book’s cover and in the black area below the byline, I added some additional information, because the aspect ratio of the cover and the card was not exactly the same, so there was some blank space down at one end of the card (which I just filled in with black). Over the blank black area, I added (in white text) the release date, the publisher, the ISBN, the price, and the website’s URL. Everything someone really needs to know to learn more about the book. And, through the book’s website, people can figure out how to get in touch with me if they don’t know how to already. (And if you know name and can’t figure out how to get in touch with me via email, I’m not sure I want to get in touch. My contact info ain’t hard to find.)
I liked them so much, I just ordered some new ones, with slightly altered text from my original. (See left.) I find it hard to give out regular business cards with just my name and contact info on it, but this I find easier to dispense, since the subject comes up pretty often, and it gives me a perfect excuse to pull out a card.
The reviews keep rolling in. Today, I discovered two more new reviews of Wastelands. The first, over at Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review, gives the book a nine out of ten rating. Here’s a snippet:
It’s [the] diverse mix of reactions that make the collection a gripping read. […] Wastelands is well worth a look. [whole review]
The other is by Paula Guran at Fantasy Magazine. Here’s a snippet:
If you are looking for a perky, uplifting read, you’d best avoid Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse. But if you are interested in a wide variety of end-of-the-world fiction, you shouldn’t miss it. […] [S]cience fiction should stimulate, start arguments, and incite discussion. Adams has done his job well. [whole review]
Also, I was pleased to discover in my Google Alerts folder this morning that the Missoula Public Library appears to have a copy of Wastelands. Go Missoula!
Blythe Boyer over at Bookslut reviewed Wastelands. She didn’t seem to like it much–or rather she liked about half of it, but feels "Wastelands ultimately fails as a collection because its editor did not allow a cohesive philosophy to guide his choices for the collection." Ouch. Oh well, they can’t all be rave reviews. She does say some nice things about the anthology, however, and quite liked several of the stories.
I admit to being puzzled as to how someone could not only dislike Dale Bailey’s story, but dislike it so much. I thought that was great, and was one of the first stories I thought of when assembling the book. But to each her own.
One (irrelevant) error in the review: 28 Days Later (zombies) was not based on Day of the Triffids, (carnivorous plants), though the opening sequence kind of rips it off. (Or is an homage, as we like to say.)
There’s a new review of Wastelands by Clay Kallam in the latest installment of his "Worlds Beyond" column in today’s Contra Costa Times. It’s very brief, so I can’t quote much, but he sums up the book thusly: "Wastelands is a worthy addition to anyone’s apocalyptic bookshelf."
In case you haven’t noticed it, Rose Fox, the new SF/Fantasy/Horror reviews editor at Publishers Weekly has started up a professional blog, where she’ll talk about what goes on behind the scenes at PW.
Today, she talked about a bit (more) about reviewing timelines, and in the course of which mentioned how she’s been dying to get her hands on Wastelands for months now. Yay!
But don’t go read it just for my ego gratification–check it out for the insider stuff. If you’re an author, a PW review is one of the most important factors in your book’s publicity/marketing campaign, so it would behoove you to know how the system works…and to make sure everyone at your publisher does as well. The blog’s just getting started, but there have already been some interesting posts, and I’m looking forward to seeing what else Rose sheds more light on.
John over at the great SF Signal blog posted a glowing (four-out-of-five stars) review of Wastelands. Here’s a snippet:
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse offers a great selection of end-of-the-world stories proving that stories in a single setting (or a single subgenre of science fiction) need not be similar. While the prevailing theme, as would be expected, is one of hope, the stories are presented with unique focus and voice. But the mood is as dark as it should be with such serious subject matter. With rare exception (Neal Barrett, Jr.’s comical "Ginny Sweethips’ Flying Circus") these stories are gloomy indeed. But isn’t that the appeal of post-apocalyptic fiction after all?
John Joseph Adams has culled a great selection of stories here dating back to 1973, with more than half of those written in the last seven years. […] In then end, Wastelands proved to be more entertaining than the average yearly "Best of".
One of the thing I like so much about SF Signal’s reviews is the fact that when they cover an anthology, they review each and every story. That’s the case here as well–John provides mini-reviews of each tale, along with a star-rating for each. So go check out the full review, and add SF Signal to your RSS feed-reader.