While the stories in this collection are stimulating, they’re merely the start of something new: a new movement in ecologically conscious literature perhaps, or a necessary reality check on the pattern of incessant aggression that has now brought our world to its knees. They serve as a repudiation of the whole pre-COVID world of large-carbon-footprint living, unsustainable consumerism, tribalism, and bordered existences, and allow us an opportunity to engage with the problems of the real world by way of allusion or analogy. For only by removing ourselves from our immediate context do we give ourselves a chance to be objective, to reassess, and to see things clearly for the first time.

Prashanth Gopalan

I’m a fan of short stories, and climate—and all it implies—is at the center of what I do for a living, so finding an anthology of short stories with a massive man-made extinction as their common core was simply too enticing not to read it.

I was pleasantly surprise by the variety in the stories. From length to narrative styles there’s a little for everyone.

Funny thing, among this sea of stories one of my favorites became the one that opens the anthology. Less than 500 words (not even a page long) and by the time I reached the end I was as surprised as I was moved. Really, Warnings by Liam Hogan gives flash fiction a good name.

Also among my favorites was A Killing Garden by Owen Leddy. Perhaps because I read this anthology during quarantine, when solitude felt a lot like loneliness, but the idea of a girl surviving alone, human but not really, having to suddenly face the destructive nature of her own species, felt real and terrorizing.

But, none of the stories in this anthology made such a deep mark as There Were Giants On the Earth In Those Days by Marshall Moore, where three fantastic beast discus their fate as the water rises, looking at Noah’s Ark getting lost in the distance. This story is not only beautifully crafted and full of emotion but also it kind of answered a question I asked myself many times as a child, why did Noah abandon dragons and unicorns and giants and so many other creatures when his mission was to take two of each? Well, while my adult-self feels the question is moot, I was happy to discover I’m not the only one that once worried about the fate of such beast.

I have to say this anthology is one of the best I’ve read in the past years. Don’t take me wrong, almost every short-story anthology will have a few—at least one, for sure—good stories, but more often than not, I will find myself skipping to get to those I like, while reading all through this one was a nice journey full of happy discoveries.

It took me some time to adjust to the writing style; the first story I found quite strange and didn’t enjoy it at all. But it did get better and I am happy that I gave this book a chance. Although this is not my preferred genre and most of the stories turned out pretty dark, I liked the overall experience.

Unfortunately, I think I am simply not the intended intended audience for this book. It was presented on NetGalley as being within the horror genre, and although there are some horrific elements woven throughout these tales, none of them were strong enough for me to classify this as horror- and I tend to have a very broad definition of what horror is. This is definitely more sci-fi and fantasy. The stories were all well-written, but this book just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

A strong mix of short stories. The theme is a little dark, but the authors do a good job providing from thought-provoking tales and questions. Some are scary, some are weird, some are just plain interesting. Recommended mostly for sci-fi fans, but can be enjoyed by almost anyone that likes a good short story.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!

A really great collection with a central theme: climate change and the speculative nature of science fiction of the consequences humanity must face. Some of the stories resonated with me more than others, but overall this was a stellar compilation that introduced me to new science fiction authors that I will be looking more into their works. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the Arc in exchange for an honest review!

Short stories can be a great way to boil down an idea to its essentials. In this case, the stories emphasize the ideas of climate change, extinction, and the future of humanity. None are very long, but most are thought-provoking and several will make people immediately want to work toward changing what seems to be coming.
Some of my favorites from this work were "The Bubble Tea Frogs", a story about a scientist and his search for a possibly extinct from that holds the key to his future; "Will-o-the-Walmart", which brings to life the idea of paving paradise and what we might miss; and "Akikia, the Magician", the tale of Gorillas and the rangers who work to protect them.
The most haunting, however, was the tale which ends this collection: "Landscape on the Outskirts," featuring desolation tourists who come to stay with an old woman on the edge of an abandoned town. To me, this culminating story ties together the ideas in all the preceding works and is a perfectly selected ending.
If you enjoy short stories, dystopian fiction, stories of hope, or the triumph or tragedy of science, this collection is very worth a read.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.
#TriangulationExtinction #NetGalley #shortstories