The End is Now (The Apocalypse Triptych Book 2) Paperback – September 1, 2014

Book Two in the Apocalypse Triptych contains stories that are happening during their apocalypse. For reference, Book One ( The End is Nigh (The Apocalypse Triptych) (Volume 1) ) was chock full of stories that happen just before the apocalypse, and Book Three ( The End Has Come (The Apocalypse Triptych) (Volume 3) ) contains stories that happen after the apocalypse.The best of these stories are those that continue the thread from Book One. Not all stories follow the same characters, but are recognizable by their apocalypse and references or relation to characters from Book One. There are a few standalone stories that are very good, like Avtomat, by Daniel H. Wilson, and some that come to a conclusion too soon, like Seanan McGuire's Spores story (though I'm hopeful that her story written as Mira Grant in book three actually IS a continuation of the story).The types of apocalypsi (?) are wonderfully varied, and some are introductory material to more lengthy works, like David Wellington's prequel stories that lead up to his book,  Positive: A Novel , and Daniel H. Wilson's, Avtomat. And with all great anthologies, there are so many intriguing storytelling methods and writers that I find myself endlessly intrigued by new authors that I don't know much about.Book Two keeps a great thing going, and though there is slight deviation from the central theme with a few stories, it is really not very noticeable. Specifically, some of the stories seem to be "during the apocalypse" only by virtue of their story being after the first in the series, rather than truly happening in the middle of their apocalypse. And that's really the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars.

I loved the first book in this triptych, "The End is Nigh," and was eager to read continuations of many of those stories in this next installment, "The End is Now." So I was mildly disappointed to realize that not all the authors from the first book contributed to the second book, and so a few of those stories do not get a follow-up. Fortunately, the new tales and the continuations in "The End is Now" are riveting and thought-provoking on their own, and my disappointment abated quickly.Readers of the first volume will be thrilled to recognize direct sequels and companion stories to the tales from "The End is Nigh." It's a testament to the strength of the first volume that after so many months I immediately recalled the precursor stories to the tales in "The End is Now." I plowed through this book as quickly as the first one, unable to put it down.But for new readers, this book also works well as a standalone collection of short stories about life during the apocalypse--whatever form that may take. The stories are a delightful sampling of speculative fiction: near-future sci-fi, far-future sci-fi, modern-day horror, emotional character pieces, action-filled adventures, etc. And all of them share the sometimes subtle, sometimes overt tension caused by the reader's knowledge that "this IS the end, the end is NOW."Is there hope for a tomorrow? Will it be bleak and barren, or is there a chance for rebirth? I guess we'll have to wait for the third book to find out.

The End is Now picks up, in many of the stories, where The End is Nigh left off. Like its predecessor, the stories here are mostly entertaining and well done, with some standouts and some fails - like any anthology. The difference here, is that several stories just flat out don't stand alone. I felt this more prominently in this volume than in the first one. And I also felt, just overall, that the stories were weaker in this volume. Negativity aside, I still absolutely love this concept, and really like what the authors here are doing. And overall, I really enjoyed reading the book. Standouts for me include Sarah Langan's 'Black Monday'. It is extremely creepy and weird and serves as an excellent companion piece to 'Love Perverts' from the last volume. Ben H. Winters' 'Bring Them Down' is the perfect sequel to 'Bring Her to Me'. Rather than just continuing with the story, he takes some crazily exciting turns, I can't wait to see where his story in The End Has Come goes. I also really liked 'Agent Isolated' by David Wellington. The rest are more than acceptable and often thought provoking, with only Jonathan Maberry's and Elizabeth Bear's tales falling flat for me. I've already purchased and begun the third volume, and I've purchased the full set for some friends as gifts. If you like apocalyptic fiction, this triptych is without a doubt a must have. John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey have really put something special together here.

I like how these are short stories but some of them tie into the first book. I enjoyed reading the first book which was about 'before' an Apocalypse and this one is about 'during' (now). I didn't realize most of the stories were going to be continuations from the first book. As I assumed they would just be new random stories of during an Apocalypse this was a nice surprise. I look forward to the third book to learn what happened! These collective have a nice variety of scenarios, something different in each story.

Most of the writing was still powerful, but I was really looking forward to the continuation of the stories in the first volume, and while I think most were picked up here, some of these second chapters were a little disappointing. Maybe this is because the worlds and predicaments were necessarily not a surprise this time round, or maybe I wanted to see certain other aspects explored.Still... Very highly recommended. Bring on the final volume!

Entertaining selection of short stories by different authors including a number which, though stand alone, are also continuations of tales started in the companion book, The End is Niigh. Even though i read with enjoyment and await the final edition of the trilogy which is to be published later this year, there was not quite the same level of surprise which was a feature of it's predecessor, hence only four stars.

Very good, unusual short stories. I rather like that some authors have continued the tales from the first End is Nigh collections. Looking forward to the next part of the triptych.

Brilliant scone volume. Can't wait for the next one!

Every story in this collection was an 8 or better. A lot of times you'll find a few good stories with a bunch of 5s or worse. Not here...this series is excellent and well recommended. Now I have to find book one.