[SXE]≡ Read Beyond Armageddon Walter M Miller Jr Martin H Greenberg 9780803283152 Books

Beyond Armageddon Walter M Miller Jr Martin H Greenberg 9780803283152 Books

Download As PDF : Beyond Armageddon Walter M Miller Jr Martin H Greenberg 9780803283152 Books

Beyond Armageddon Walter M Miller Jr Martin H Greenberg 9780803283152 Books

In 1985 when this anthology was compiled, The Cold War's nuclear threats and implications were still very much present. I was born in 1965 and was stressed in the seventies growing up knowing our planet could be blown up several times over. These twenty-one tales, from the late forties to the mid eighties, cover what might have been if buttons were pushed. Reading it in the twenty-first century make it all the more intriguing as these concerns are now swapped for others. With any collection, there are going to be some duds and this is no exception but where the criticism may more accurately lie (and it is a little one) is in the repetition of type of tale. As we are dealing with a post nuclear world as the central theme, several plots have us returning to agrarian times (reinforcing the belief that if such a conflict had taken place then the next one would be fought with spears).

Some vary from this theme like Salvador which introduces a mercenary-like US military, The Store of the Worlds that is more like a Twilight Zone episode, and The Four Horseman that imagines an American Idol-like show that has global implications. I enjoyed The Lot with the creepy father who has his own ideas of family survival, Days at the Beach which reminded me of Stephen King who wrote a beach-based end of the world tale in one of his collections, and Tomorrow's Children would make a great movie. Other stories come from big names including Wyndham, Ballard, Bradbury, and Clarke. It is a quirky read worth picking up.


Tags : Beyond Armageddon [Walter M. Miller Jr., Martin H. Greenberg] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <DIV>In <I>Beyond Armageddon</I>, the distinguished science fiction writer Walter M. Miller Jr. (1923–96) and the famed anthologist Martin H. Greenberg have together collected stories that address one of the most challenging themes of imaginative fiction: the nature of life after nuclear war. The twenty-one stories in this collection,Walter M. Miller Jr., Martin H. Greenberg,Beyond Armageddon,Bison Books,0803283156,Anthologies (multiple authors),Nuclear warfare,Nuclear warfare;Fiction.,Science fiction, American,Science fiction, American.,War stories, American,War stories, American.,FICTION Anthologies (multiple authors),FICTION General,FICTION Science Fiction Collections & Anthologies,Fiction,Fiction - Science Fiction,Fiction-Science Fiction,General Adult,Language,ReadingsAnthologiesCollected Works,Science Fiction,Science Fiction - Collections & Anthologies,UNIVERSITY PRESS,United States

Beyond Armageddon Walter M Miller Jr Martin H Greenberg 9780803283152 Books Reviews

This is a collection of mostly post armageddon stories, most of which are obviously cold war era. I almost put the book down during the first story because it seemed more like the story of a bad acid trip than post apocalyptic story. After that one, things improved. The stories tend to be all over the place, which is good and bad. A couple don't really seem to fit the theme at all, most notably the first and last stories. I didn't find a LOT here that was particularly memorable but there was some imagery in a couple of the stories that sticks out in my mind. I'm a sucker for post-apocalypse/armageddon stories, so I enjoyed the read for that... but i doubt I'll ever read it again.
Sixties Liberal commentary that has enabled the current Reformation continuation toward modern pagan Marxism. Well written Soviet propaganda combined with anti-capitalistic socialist commentary. Should be mandatory reading for former Democrats needing a good laugh.
A series of stories selected by Miller to advance his anti-war, anti-mankind view of the world shortly before his suicide at the end of years of clinical depression. Some are clearly post-apocalyptic, while others are less firmly of that genre. Much less thought-provoking that I had hoped; in great part due to Miller's ramblings ahead of each piece. Instead of simply introducing the story, Miller uses the opportunity to preach his convictions about the sordidness of war and politics and the human condition. The comments and characterizations grow so venomous that it makes the cast of St. Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman seem saintly.

On the other hand, the stories themselves are a eclectic in the extreme and I mean that as a positive. Ranging from the well known ('A Boy and His Dog') to poorly unknown, the collection addresses life in the post-apocalyptic world, though, in a few cases, the term is expanded to include mental states as well as the notional rising mushroom cloud scenarios. In one case, there is not even the hint of a nuclear conflict; here, the editors - because it suited their objectives - have armageddon defined as a world where racial downsizing is underway. While I'll grant that the results are every bit as terrifying - maybe more so - I felt it was another 'brick in the wall' of Miller's anti-mankinf agenda.

Some stories are thought-provoking; some are terrifying. If only the editors had seem fit to allow the stories to speak for themselves.
The intros were irrelevant to the stories and they were full of Eastern philosophy musings, just not my cup of tea, John Adams collection was way better
These post-post-apocaleptic are as varied as the authors who penne them. A real treasure.
Yes, the book is out of print, but when I ordered it, the page said that it was still available, and I received it in 2 days. Hmmm... There's good and bad to this collection of 21 stories of nuclear devastation. *Bad* - Walter M. Miller's lengthy, rambling, and ultimately pointless foreword and story introductions, and the abundance of typos (did anyone proofread this?). *Good* - The selection of works. Bradbury, Ellison, Clarke, Zelazny, Pangborn, and many others. Plus, it includes one of my personal favorites, "By the Waters of Babylon" by Steven Vincent Benet. The cover is intriguing, as well... looks like Stanislaw Fernandes?
A different way of looking at a time after a horrible disaster with a collection of stories that show many different ways things have changed after mankind was supremely stupid!
In 1985 when this anthology was compiled, The Cold War's nuclear threats and implications were still very much present. I was born in 1965 and was stressed in the seventies growing up knowing our planet could be blown up several times over. These twenty-one tales, from the late forties to the mid eighties, cover what might have been if buttons were pushed. Reading it in the twenty-first century make it all the more intriguing as these concerns are now swapped for others. With any collection, there are going to be some duds and this is no exception but where the criticism may more accurately lie (and it is a little one) is in the repetition of type of tale. As we are dealing with a post nuclear world as the central theme, several plots have us returning to agrarian times (reinforcing the belief that if such a conflict had taken place then the next one would be fought with spears).

Some vary from this theme like Salvador which introduces a mercenary-like US military, The of the Worlds that is more like a Twilight Zone episode, and The Four Horseman that imagines an American Idol-like show that has global implications. I enjoyed The Lot with the creepy father who has his own ideas of family survival, Days at the Beach which reminded me of Stephen King who wrote a beach-based end of the world tale in one of his collections, and Tomorrow's Children would make a great movie. Other stories come from big names including Wyndham, Ballard, Bradbury, and Clarke. It is a quirky read worth picking up.