Wastelands
Stories of the Apocalypse
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About this listen
Famine, Death, War, and Pestilence—the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the harbingers of Armageddon—these are our guides through the Wastelands.
From the Book of Revelation to The Road Warrior, from A Canticle for Leibowitz to The Road, storytellers have long imagined the end of the world, weaving eschatological tales of catastrophe, chaos, and calamity. In doing so, these visionary authors have addressed one of the most challenging and enduring themes of imaginative fiction: The nature of life in the aftermath of total societal collapse.
Gathering together the best post-apocalyptic literature of the last two decades from many of today's most renowned authors of speculative fiction—including George R. R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, Orson Scott Card, Carol Emshwiller, Jonathan Lethem, Octavia E. Butler, and Stephen King—Wastelands explores the scientific, psychological, and philosophical questions of what it means to remain human in the wake of Armageddon. Whether the end of the world comes through nuclear war, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm, these are tales of survivors, in some cases struggling to rebuild the society that was, in others, merely surviving, scrounging for food in depopulated ruins and defending themselves against monsters, mutants, and marauders.
Wastelands delves into this bleak landscape, uncovering the raw human emotion and heart-pounding thrills at the genre's core.
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Story
Humans beware. As the robotic revolution continues to creep into our lives, it brings with it an impending sense of doom. What horrifying scenarios might unfold if our technology were to go awry? From self-aware robotic toys to intelligent machines violently malfunctioning, this anthology brings to life the half-formed questions and fears we all have about the increasing presence of robots in our lives.
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Has some bright spots
- By ChrisM. on 10-22-15
By: Daniel H. Wilson, and others
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Raising Stony Mayhall
- By: Daryl Gregory
- Narrated by: David Marantz
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1968, after the first zombie outbreak, Wanda Mayhall and her three young daughters discover the body of a teenage mother during a snowstorm. Wrapped in the woman's arms is a baby - stone-cold, not breathing, and without a pulse. But then his eyes open and look up at Wanda, and he begins to move.The family hides the child - whom they name Stony - rather than turn him over to authorities who would destroy him. Against all scientific reason, the undead boy begins to grow....
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You'll wish you lived as much as this undead boy
- By Maryland on 10-27-11
By: Daryl Gregory
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Superheroes
- By: Peter S. Beagle, Daryl Gregory, James Patrick Kelly, and others
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman, Joe Barrett, Christina Delaine, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Modern gods and goddesses, remote, revered - and like the pantheon of heroes and heroines of ancient myth - possessing great power tempered with flaws. Now, find within this anthology great tales by gifted and award-winning authors who move superheroes from the four-color panels of comic books to the fantastic pages of fiction, stories that will remind anyone who ever wanted to wear a cape or don a cowl of the extraordinary powers of the imagination!
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Pretentious tired old concepts
- By BookofJoy on 12-29-14
By: Peter S. Beagle, and others
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Gone
- Gone Series, Book 1
- By: Michael Grant
- Narrated by: Kyle McCarley
- Length: 17 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young. There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no Internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened. Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents - unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers - that grow stronger by the day. It's a terrifying new world.
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Please rerelease this book w new narration
- By Kim on 02-12-17
By: Michael Grant
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The Fireman
- A Novel
- By: Joe Hill
- Narrated by: Kate Mulgrew
- Length: 22 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one: Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it's Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies - before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe.
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GOD'S WAITING ROOM; AKA FLORIDA
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 04-25-17
By: Joe Hill
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Rot & Ruin
- By: Jonathan Maberry
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Fifteen-year-old Benny Imura lives in a world infested with zombies where, when a kid turns 15, he must get a job to continue receiving food rations. Benny has no interest in the family business of zombie killing, but figures he doesn’t have much of a choice. He’s tried out a bunch of other jobs, and hasn’t found anything he likes. But as Benny starts training with his brother, he learns things about being human that he never expected.
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Just when you thought it was safe.....
- By Amanda H. on 05-12-11
By: Jonathan Maberry
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NOS4A2
- A Novel
- By: Joe Hill
- Narrated by: Kate Mulgrew
- Length: 19 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Victoria McQueen has an uncanny knack for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. When she rides her bicycle over the rickety old covered bridge in the woods near her house, she always emerges in the places she needs to be. Vic doesn't tell anyone about her unusual ability, because she knows no one will believe her. She has trouble understanding it herself.
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Gripping performance by Kate Mulgrew....
- By Leslie on 05-06-13
By: Joe Hill
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Perchance to Dream
- Selected Stories
- By: Charles Beaumont
- Narrated by: J. Paul Boehmer, Gabrielle de Cuir, Harlan Ellison, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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The profoundly original and wildly entertaining short stories of a legendary Twilight Zone writer. It is only natural that Charles Beaumont would make a name for himself crafting scripts for The Twilight Zone - for his was an imagination so limitless it must have emerged from some other dimension. Perchance to Dream contains a selection of Beaumont's finest stories, including five that he later adapted for Twilight Zone episodes.
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Contents
- By Ralph Freaster on 06-22-16
By: Charles Beaumont
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The Water Knife
- By: Paolo Bacigalupi
- Narrated by: Almarie Guerra
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In the American Southwest, Nevada, Arizona, and California skirmish for dwindling shares of the Colorado River. Into the fray steps Angel Velasquez, detective, leg breaker, assassin, and spy. A Las Vegas water knife, Angel "cuts" water for his boss, Catherine Case, ensuring that her lush, luxurious arcology developments can bloom in the desert, so the rich can stay wet while the poor get nothing but dust.
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The fight for water in a drought fueled apocalypse
- By Lore on 09-24-15
By: Paolo Bacigalupi
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A Death in Kitchawank, and Other Stories
- By: T. C. Boyle
- Narrated by: T. C. Boyle
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Few authors write with such sheer love of story and language as T. C. Boyle, and that is nowhere more evident than in his inventive, wickedly funny, and always entertaining short stories. Here are 14 new tales previously unpublished in book form. By turns mythic and realistic, farcical and tragic, ironic and moving, Boyle's stories have mapped a wide range of human emotions. The stories here reflect his maturing themes.
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Mixed Bag
- By AuntGert on 09-22-20
By: T. C. Boyle
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Our Story Begins
- New and Selected Stories
- By: Tobias Wolff
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Wolff here returns with fresh revelations - about biding one's time, or experiencing first love, or burying one's mother - that come to a variety of characters in circumstances at once everyday and extraordinary. A retired Marine enrolls in college while her son trains for Iraq. A lawyer takes a difficult deposition. An American in Rome indulges the Gypsy who's picked his pocket.
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Great
- By chris on 04-11-08
By: Tobias Wolff
What listeners say about Wastelands
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Nonna
- 02-12-19
Fantastic!
For fans of fantasy this was a rare treat. I enjoyed every story, and didn't want the book to end.
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- Brian
- 05-14-16
A true ride into the dark...
what are you afraid of? chances are, you will find it within. This turned out to be such a marvelous collection that half way through I spent my next credit on part 2, and am starting it directly after posting this review. Mayhem, horror, tragic comedy... it's all inside baby! Buy
this ticket, take this ride into the mists of what could be...
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 01-21-15
Collections are hit and miss.
The book had some real awesome shorts and some real duds. I was torn on ★ rating. overall it was so up and down I couldn't hate it nor love it. Narration was also all over. I would say don't waste a copy edit and if you can buy for less than a 5 spot.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Seligman'sDog
- 01-24-21
not bad
I like apocalypse-themed bedtime stories. This did not disappoint. Am trying to be brief to respect the character limit.
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- Jeremy
- 09-20-22
I love these stories
Wastelands and wastelands 2 are both solid collections of interesting and dark stories of the end of all things.
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- Sunny Webb
- 09-27-14
Certainly more good than bad here.
Would you listen to Wastelands again? Why?
Yes. There are certain stories I would listen to again.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I loved the characters in the story about a virus that takes away everyone's ability to speak. Very creative.
Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Not that I know of, but there was only one narrator I didn't care for. In an anthology like this, having only one I don't like is pretty rare, so I consider this book a success!
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I think I laughed a few times, and was certainly moved by a few of the stories, but no tears this time.
Any additional comments?
I would say that I loved about 3 stories, and that I liked about 75% of them. To me, that adds up to an anthology worth recommending, especially to anyone interested in all of the myriad ways we humans might react to life after the end of the world as we know it.
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3 people found this helpful
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- J-Grizzle Jordan
- 09-18-16
Truly enjoyed
I really enjoyed these stories! Of course as with any anthology some were better than others but ALL were worth my time! And hearing familiar voices that John has found to be tried and true was a relief! If you are a Post Apocalypse fan you will find something here to enjoy!!!
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- TeddyDog
- 02-29-24
I Don’t Get It
Maybe I needed to focus more on reading comprehension growing up. I don’t think it comes down to stupidity. For example, I’ve read ‘Crime and Punishment’ and thoroughly enjoyed it. Probably because it’s a straightforward story told plainly. There’s nothing obscure about it. This is my frustration with Wastelands. I love a good apocalyptic story but in one story after another here, I feel like I’m being asked to read between the lines to actually unravel what the nature of the apocalypse was. I was deeply frustrated as one writer after another refused to make it explicit what actually happened and why the characters live and act and speak like they do. Was there a nuclear war ? An asteroid ? A Martian invasion ? God forbid we’re ever told. We have to parse every sentence and hint and give it our best guess. Personally I find that too much work when I read a book. Just tell me a story or don’t. Don’t impress me with obscurity and ambiguity. I guess this is the reason I prefer horror to sci fi and I think this book falls fully into the sci fi category. I was so excited about the concept of post-apocalypse short fiction that I bought the second volume too. I hope that one will be more straightforward about how the world ends but I’m not optimistic. I won’t be told so I’ll have to ‘infer’. Oh joy.
The narrators are all excellent and I’m sure the authors are too for those with a higher IQ than me. I was especially happy to hear Steve Rudneki who’s the best narrator on Audible imo. If ever a man was born to tell a story it’s him. Even if I don’t know exactly what he’s talking about I simply enjoy his voice.
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- Yesenia
- 09-07-17
Better of the two book series
Any additional comments?
I definitely enjoyed the stories in this anthology much better than the second (although the second was good on it's own). Great for trips or enjoying a quiet day relaxing.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Maria G
- 04-20-16
A good read, not great.
Some stories I just couldn't get into. I felt no empathy for the characters. Overall it was a good read, not great.
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1 person found this helpful