Beyond Armageddon: Twenty-One Sermons to the Dead

The Short: I just read “Beyond Armageddon: Twenty-One Sermons to the Dead“, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Walter M. Miller, Jr., 1985 Donald I. Fine. My overall average rating for the stories here is 3.72/5, or “Very good”. Recommended, with a caution noted below.

The Full Story: Earlier this year, the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction group on Facebook decided to read a theme anthology. We started by voting on what theme to read, with choices including robots, time travel, post-apocalyptic/end of the world, supermen/post-humans/transhumans, aliens, alternate history, first contact, AI, Mars, the Moon, and uplifted animals.

Our choice for a theme was post-apocalyptic/end of the world. We’ll probably follow this up eventually by the next two theme choices, time travel and first contact.

We voted on three anthologies suggested for that:

1. “Beyond Armageddon: Twenty-One Sermons to the Dead” edited by Walter M. Miller, Jr. and Martin H. Greenberg, 1985 Donald I. Fine.
2. “This Way to the End Times: Classic Tales of the Apocalypse“, edited by Robert Silverberg, 2016 Three Rooms Press.
3. “The End of the World: Stories of the Apocalypse“, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, 2010 Skyhorse Publishing.

By a fairly large margin, we selected “Beyond Armageddon”.

I was lucky enough to get a copy from our regional library consortium. I was excited to read this, as there were a number of stories I either had not read or did not remember, along with some classics.

With three poems, 21 pieces of short fiction, and 370 pages of fiction, this is nice size anthology for it’s day. It’s not miniscule but it’s not a door stop either. The stories range from 1937 to 1985. There is only one story by a woman, “Day at the Beach” by Carol Emshwiller.

The essay material was a mixed bag for me. On the definite plus side, there was a generous “Forewarning” by Walter M. Miller, Jr. Up front, it pretty clearly stated the goals and theme of the anthology. Miller said he looked through “thousands of pages of…science fiction stories…about the aftermath of a Megawar at the end of the world…We found twenty-one pretty good stories about a MegaWar and its survivors toward the end of the world.”

However, the rest of the 14 page Forewarning is between interesting and unfathomable for me. I suspect that a detailed, careful critical analysis would show that the Forewarning makes a lot of sense in some ways, but I just don’t care enough to work that hard. Greenberg and Miller do include story introductions, which I typically like and find helpful. For better or for worse here, the story introductions share the variability of the Forewarning, from helpful to what-the-hell? I don’t see credits for the story introductions, but the style and subject matters mirror the Forewarning, so I assume Miller wrote them as well. For me, this is both a plus and a minus.

There were some great stories that I knew and was happy to see again, including:

1. “There Will Come Soft Rains“, a short story by Ray Bradbury, from “The Martian Chronicles“, 1950 Doubleday.
2. “A Boy and His Dog“, a novella by Harlan Ellison, first in New Worlds,#189 April 1969, but with the revised text found here in Ellison’s collection “The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World“, 1969 Avon.
3. “Salvador“, a short story by Lucius Shepard, F&SF April 1984.
4. “The Music Master of Babylon“, a novelette by Edgar Pangborn, Galaxy November 1954.
5. “To the Chicago Abyss“, a short story by Ray Bradbury, F&SF May 1963.
6. “The Store of the Worlds“, a short story by Robert Sheckley, Playboy September 1959.
7. “Eastward Ho!“, a short story by William Tenn, F&SF October 1958.

There were several great stories that I did not remember seeing before, which is a big plus for me:

1. “Game Preserve“, a short story by Rog Phillips, If October 1957. This was a great story by an author I don’t recognize, but I will read more of his short fiction.
2. “The Feast of Saint Janis“, a novelette by Michael Swanwick, from “New Dimensions 11“, Marta Randall & Robert Silverberg editors, 1980 Pocket Books, and probably the first story he published.
3. “The Wheel“, a short story by John Wyndham, Startling Stories January 1952.
4. “Jody After the War“, a short story by Edward Bryant, from “Orbit 10“, Damon Knight editor, 1972 G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

There are a number of stories that I consider to be “Very good”. I was especially pleased to encounter these stories that were new to me or that I had read but not remembered:

1. “Heirs Apparent“, a novelette by Robert Abernathy, F&SF June 1954.
2. “Lucifer“, a short story by Roger Zelazny, Worlds of Tomorrow June 1964.
3. “The Big Flash“, a short story by Norman Spinrad, from “Orbit 5“, Damon Knight editor, 1969 G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
4. “If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth …“, a short story by Arthur C. Clarke, Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories, September 1951.

Finally, there are several stories that I feel could have been omitted without losing anything. These were:

1. “Tomorrow’s Children“, a novelette by Poul Anderson and F. N. Waldrop, Astounding March 1947. I believe this is the first story published by Poul Anderson. I don’t think it’s bad, but I I’m not sure it’s very good either.
2. “Day at the Beach“, a short story by Carol Emshwiller, F&SF August 1959. I love Carol Emshwiller, but I just find this story rather opaque. If I did not encounter this story in this anthology, I would not be sure what it is really about.
3. “My Life in the Jungle“, a short story by Jim Aikin, F&SF February 1985. I’m just not a fan of this story, and I don’t find it connected at all to the theme here.

There were also several stories that fell into “Very good” that are very well known or remembered, including “Lot” by Ward Moore, “The Terminal Beach” by J. G. Ballard, and “Day at the Beach” by Carol Emshwhiller. I felt they were good choices, but none of them were great for me. I know more than a few people who find them essential or classic, and that’s fine with me.

Given the theme of this anthology, it should not be a surprise that there are several that are particularly horrific. Both “A Boy and his Dog” by Harlan Ellison and “The Feast of Saint Janis” by Michael Swanwick would be candidates for trigger warnings today.

All in all, my overall average rating for the stories here is 3.72/5, or “Very Good”. Omitting the three questionable stories would raise the average rating to 3.86/5, or solidly “Great”. If you don’t put much value in the Introduction and story introductions, I recommend “Beyond Armageddon”. I also recommend it if you are a big fan of Walter M. Miller, Jr., and want to wade through and make sense of his essay material and thoughts.

Having said that, I have just gone back and taken a look at the Table of Contents for the other two anthologies we considered. In hindsight, as an academic exercise, would we have been better off reading either of them?

First, the Martin H. Greenberg anthology “The End of the World: Stories of the Apocalypse” (2010, Skyhorse Publishing) shares a fair amount with this earlier anthology he was a co-editor of. Eight stories appear in both. I find that less than desirable now, but it would not be a factor if I’d read it first. The page count and number of stories are a bit higher, and the stories cover a greater range of publication dates, from 1944 to 2007. There is again only one story by a woman. I was able to preview the Robert Silverberg Introduction, and it appears to be a lot more accessible than the one by Miller. There is an e-book version; there were no story introductions that I saw. I’m not prepared to say this is a better anthology than “Beyond Armageddon”.

Finally, the Robert Silverberg anthology “This Way to the End Times: Classic Tales of the Apocalypse” (2016 Three Rooms Press) has no overlap with the other two anthologies here. There is a great Introduction by Silverberg, which I assume was not just recycled from “The End of the World”. There are generous and insightful story introductions, which I love and which I assume Silverbeg wrote. There are 20 stories included from 1906 to 2016, with six by women authors. The page count is somewhat higher, at 452 pages, although some of this is probably due to the story introductions. From the stories included, Silverberg has included a broader range of avenues to the apocalypse, which would be a plus for me. It’s also available as e-book. In perfect hindsight, I might have liked this more as a choice for our themed read, but that is the past and just life. If I were to read another anthology on this theme, I’d read this one.

There are certainly still more anthologies that use this theme in some way, but I don’t think I need to spend more time looking into them.

DETAILED REVIEWS/COMMENTS: SPOILERS ALL OVER THE DAMN PLACE!

“Salvador“, a short story by Lucius Shepard, F&SF April 1984. A very dark story of a future war in Central America. A Locus winner, and Hugo and Nebula finalist, and reprinted in “The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Second Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 1985 Bluejay Books, “The 1985 Annual World’s Best SF“, Arthur W. Saha & Donald A. Wollheim editors, 1985 DAW Books/New American Library of Canada, and other places. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

“The Store of the Worlds“, a short story by Robert Sheckley, Playboy September 1959. A man visits the Store of the Worlds. He thinks about a temporary visit to a world that offers fulfillment of your desires, at the price of all your worldly goods, and ten years of your life. He departs, thinks about it, and life goes on. At we end, we discover that the story’s present, our world, is the ideal past of Mr. Wayne, who has taken the deal, enjoyed his wishes, and is now back in a very grim post nuclear war world. After Playboy publication, it was reprinted in the Sheckley collection “Store of Infinity” (1960 Bantam). Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“The Big Flash“, a short story by Norman Spinrad, from “Orbit 5“, Damon Knight editor, 1969 G. P. Putnam’s Sons. A good story about a late 60s rock band, The Four Horsemen, and ensuing nuclear Armageddon. It’s unclear if they cause Armageddon, or are just one of the symptoms. It reminded me of the later novel by George R. R. Martin, “The Armageddon Rag“, which I loved. I suspect I’ve read this before, but I’m not sure where. It was a Nebula finalist and was reprinted in “World’s Best Science Fiction: 1970“, Terry Carr & Donald A. Wollheim editors, 1970 Ace Books. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“Lot“, a novelette by Ward Moore, F&SF May 1953. I don’t remember as much about the Biblical Lot as needed to see how it connects to the story. This story features a careful and rather annoying man and his rather horrible family fleeing LA after an atomic exchange. He finds all of his family objectionable except his daughter. He leaves all of them but her at a gas station in Buellton north of Los Angeles. Great Cold War behavior, etc. Reprinted in “The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Third Series“, Anthony Boucher & J. Francis McComas editors, 1954 Doubleday, and “The Best Science-Fiction Stories: 1954“, Everett F. Bleiler & T. E. Dikty editors, 1954 Frederick Fell (Fell’s Science-Fiction Library), and fairly often thereafter, so others consider this important or consequential. I still think it’s a very good but not great story. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“Day at the Beach“, a short story by Carol Emshwiller, F&SF August 1959. I love Carol Emshwiller, but I just find this story rather opaque. It seems to be a story of a family after a war or something unclear. The implication is there but only very tangentially. If I had not known what is implied from inclusion in this anthology, I would have been at a loss. I think this is another story where I am an outlier. It was reprinted in “The 5th Annual of the Year’s Best S-F “, Judith Merril editor, 1960 Simon & Schuster, and has been reprinted fairly often since then, so others disagree. Rated 3/5, or at the bottom end of “Good” for me.

“The Wheel“, a short story by John Wyndham, Startling Stories January 1952. A simple and chilling story of a time when science and technology is very bad after a huge war, with even the wheel banned. A young boy knows that “wheels” are bad from church, but does not know what one is and creates a wagon with wheels. His grandpa sacrifices himself to save the boy, and hopes some of this kind of technology will be Okay by the time the boy is grown. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“Jody After the War“, a short story by Edward Bryant, from “Orbit 10“, Damon Knight editor, 1972 G. P. Putnam’s Sons. An effective and chilling vignette of the aftermath, of PTSD perhaps, of a nuclear war survivor and the protagonist. I do find it interesting how I liked this story more than the following “The Terminal Beach”, even though they are both stories where not much happens. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“The Terminal Beach“, a novelette by J. G. Ballard, New Worlds Science Fiction, March 1964. There are clearly elements of the surreal in this tale of a widower who lost his son and wife to an auto accident. Post WW2 and post test ban, he journeys to the abandoned Eniwetok atoll. It’s clearly a consequential story, reprinted in the “10th Annual Edition: The Year’s Best SF“, Judith Merril editor, 1965 Delacorte Press, in “The Best of New Worlds“, Michael Moorcock editor, 1965 Compact Books, in “Alpha One“, Robert Silverberg editor, 1970 Ballantine Books, and often after that. However, it still did not do it for me. It’s clearly a consequential story, but nothing really happens, protagonist does not change, etc. I was bored, perhaps by what I consider to be rather post-modern fiction that does not really go anywhere. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

“Tomorrow’s Children“, a novelette by Poul Anderson and F. N. Waldrop, Astounding March 1947. I believe this is the first story published by Poul Anderson. A pretty good story of post-nuclear war in the US. The protagonist is a colonel in the US Air Force, in an atomic airplane. He returns from touring a bombed out world; the US is bad but it’s worse elsewhere. The de facto president then sends him out on a new census. He returns, and tells the president that they will survive but that the level of mutants will be very high. At the ending, he confirms that the president’s new baby is a mutant, and encourages the president to love the child and that the substantial mutation of the human racer is unavoidable. I think this story could have been omitted. Rated 3.2/5, or “Good”.

“Heirs Apparent“, a novelette by Robert Abernathy, F&SF June 1954. A very good story of an American and a Communist post atomic war in Siberia, and a village. In the end, nomads destroy the village. This is only the second story by Abernathy I remember seeing; I need to find more. Reprinted in “The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 1955“, T. E. Dikty editor, 1955 Frederick Fell (Fell’s Science-Fiction Library) and “The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Fourth Series“, Anthony Boucher editor, 1955 Doubleday. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“The Music Master of Babylon“, a novelette by Edgar Pangborn, Galaxy November 1954. Another post-apocalyptic, perhaps last man in the world story set in New York City. A concert pianist has survived a long list of events that edged to the fall of civilization. He has been alone for about 25 years. He spends parts of his days in the New York Museum of Human History, Hall of Music , where among other things he still plays the piano. One day, two young people who are looking for “Olders” to help them survive surprise him. He plays a nigh-to-impossible work for them that he has always wanted to play. They leave. He tries to catch them in his canoe, but throws his paddle away. The story ends with him waiting to die. All in all, a great story, published about 3 years after his first story was published. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

“Game Preserve“, a short story by Rog Phillips, If October 1957. A very chilling story of a game preserve, probably post atomic war, for sub-intelligent mutated humans. Occasionally an intelligent one is born in the preserve. Those off the preserve are waiting for those on the preserve to all die. The intelligent ones are killed or die anyway. This is a great story by an author I don’t remember reading anything by. ISFDB shows quite a few short fiction works and several novels, but I don’t know his work. This was reprinted in “SF:’58: The Year’s Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy“, Judith Merril editor, 1958 Gnome Press. Per SFADB, “Game Preserve” was one of his most notable stories, along with “The Yellow Pill” (Astounding October 1958) and “Rat in the Skull” (a Hugo novelette nomination). I’ll be looking for these. I think I may have read “The Yellow Pill” 50 years ago in an Astounding back issue, but it’s great to be tipped off to a writer that I really don’t remember much about. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“By the Waters of Babylon“, a short story by Stephen Vincent Benét, first published in The Saturday Evening Post, July 31, 1937, as “The Place of the Gods”. A very good post-apocalyptic story of a young man, a priest and the son of a priest, who returns to the city of the dead, which is “newyoork”. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

“There Will Come Soft Rains“, a short story by Ray Bradbury, first published in Collier’s, May 6, 1950, and immediately after in “The Martian Chronicles“, 1950 Doubleday. Great, great, somber story of a house after nuclear war, with everyone gone. This might be my favorite Bradbury story. Rated 4.7/5, or “A Classic”.

“To the Chicago Abyss“, a short story by Ray Bradbury, F&SF May 1963. A great story of a man who remembers the past, and needs to describe it, like a poet adman, and cannot talk about it (it appears to be illegal). I don’t remember this story being explicitly about the apocalypse, but I could have missed that. Nominations below cutoff for the 1964 Hugo Short Fiction. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“Lucifer“, a short story by Roger Zelazny, Worlds of Tomorrow June 1964. Previously read most recently in “Power & Light: Volume 2, the Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny” (2009 NESFA) but not remembered. A man returns to an unpopulated city after some catastrophe. He returns to the power room, where he worked. He barely gets the power on for 93 seconds, and vows he will never do this again. A very good story, but not at the great end for Zelazny. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“Eastward Ho!“, a short story by William Tenn, F&SF October 1958. I own Tenn’s 1968 collection “The Wooden Star“, and I love William Tenn, so I am sure I have read this before. A wonderful, ironic story of a post war America, with the Indian Nations in ascendency, and the African-American Western Confederated States extant but tithing to the Indian Nations. The last surviving officer of the “United States” directs the remaining U.S. Navy to sail eastward, trying for a land where the white man can be free. Reprinted in “The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: Ninth Series“, Robert P. Mills editor, 1959 Doubleday. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“The Feast of Saint Janis“, a novelette by Michael Swanwick, from “New Dimensions 11“, Marta Randall & Robert Silverberg editors, 1980 Pocket Books. This is probably the first story published by Swanwick in July 1980 and pretty amazing. This story could use a trigger warning. Post nuclear war, with the Northern Hemisphere much worse off. A young man from an important African reading company is sent to the US. Although devastated in most ways, the medical/genetic training is still better in the US, and Africa wants to secure better training for their doctors to help ensure the future health of people. He meets, or is induced to meet, a Janis Joplin impersonator, Maggie, who has been modified by the government for the role. Maggie dies in a horrible gang rape/sacrifice, the 23rd to do so in an annual event organized by the government, and the man is told by the head man to remember that the US has nothing left to lose. He goes home. I know I’ve read this at least twice before, in Swanwick’s 1991 collection “Gravity’s Angels” and “The Best of Michael Swanwick” (2008 Subterranean), but it’s great to read it again. Nebula finalist, and reprinted in “Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year: Tenth Annual Collection“, Gardner Dozois editor, 1981 E. P. Dutton. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”. It’s worth noting that his second story published very soon after this one, and also very great for early work, is “Ginungagap“, published in TriQuarterly 49, fall 1980, by Northwestern University Press, also a Nebula finalist. This is always up for possibly contentious discussion, but I don’t know of a better pair of first two stories by an author of speculative fiction.

“If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth …“, a short story by Arthur C. Clarke, Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories, September 1951. A very good short short of unintentional exile on the Moon after a nuclear war. Clarke puts it that the Moon colonists will want to go home to Earth, but I wonder. Previously read in Clarke’s “Expedition to Earth” (1953 Ballantine Books) many decades ago, but not remembered. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

“A Boy and His Dog“, a novella by Harlan Ellison, first in New Worlds, #189 April 1969, but with the revised text found here in Ellison’s collection “The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World“, 1969 Avon. This is one hell of a story, although it could use trigger warnings today. I had read it before, but decades ago. 50 or 60 years after a big nuclear war, a young “solo” and his telepathic dog find a young woman solo amid a very dangerous cityscape with most survivors in gangs. He has been surviving substantially because of his partnership with the dog. This is unheard of. He finds out she is a downunder, from a group of people living in giant underground habitats that are very conservative. He rapes her, and then they have a shared experience of surviving a gang attack. He follows her down under, and discovers the downunders are looking for young, nonsterile men to help with breeding and population maintenance/growth. He convinces her to escape with him, but then kills her and feeds her to his dog, who might die due to injuries and hunger. In my Facebook group, we had a healthy discussion about whether he is a misogynist or a misanthrope. There is no doubt that Ellison liked to shock people, and he certainly accomplished that here. This is a great story by Ellison, but I’m not sure I ever need to read it again. A Nebula winner, Hugo runner-up, and reprinted in “World’s Best Science Fiction: 1970“, Terry Carr & Donald A. Wollheim editors, 1970 Ace Books. Rated 4.2/5, or “Superlative”.

“My Life in the Jungle“, a short story by Jim Aikin, F&SF February 1985. I will admit that I am at a loss as to how this connects to the theme or subject matter of this anthology. An ape who remembers being a mathematics professor, with many, many groups of apes that destroy their environments. Perhaps it’s a metaphor, but I am underwhelmed here. I read and thought his “The Wall At The End of the World” (1993 Ace) was “Very good”, noting “A well thought out utopia gone bad”, but this story did nothing for me. Rated 2.5/5, or “Poor”.

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