After, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

After by Ellen Datlow

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Short stories are a hard literature form to do well: Despite being the soul of wit, brevity is often not a strong suit for writers. "After" demonstrates that you don't need a 7-book series of 700-page tomes to do good storytelling. Dealing with topics of dystopia and apocalypse as they relate to young adults, the 19 individual stories (well, one is a poem) vary widely in their approaches and specific subjects. Although all rate a "pretty darn good" IMHO, some will linger longer than others. For me, N.K. Jemisin's "Validectorian" was one of the best, hitting me in the gut with its message about who the true monsters are. Likewise, the twist in "Faint Heart" by Sarah Rees Brennan made it one of my favorites. "After" is another great collection from this editing team.



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