I’ve talked this week about my desire to see more
post-apocalyptic fiction set across the world and I mentioned Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s upcoming
anthology, “Fractured”, as such an
example. Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan or
the Yukon are some of Canada’s provinces reflected in the post-apocalyptic
visions projected within the 23 tales of “Fractured” and although, as I’ve
already said when the table of contents was revealed, not many familiar writers
have stories in this anthology the presence of A.C. Wise, E. Catherine
Tobler and Claude Lalumière on
the list of authors, the guidance of Silvia Moreno-Garcia in the stories’
selection and the locations are enough points of interest for me when it comes
to this collection. As it is the cover we can look upon now. I am not sure
exactly why I associate so easily a gas mask with apocalyptic events, but I guess
the threat of a pandemic, biological catastrophe, nuclear warfare or extreme
rise in pollution and the flimsy protection we have in face of such devastating
disasters can create such a connection. So I believe the cover of “Fractured”
works perfectly in suggesting its theme of post-apocalyptic fiction. Or at
least it works perfectly for me. It might be because of the circuits my mind
runs between image and personal imagination, but that is also the reason for
which I would have liked for the cover to have a more desolated background, a
landscape as an additional element to suggest in the fullest the post-apocalyptic
theme. And perhaps I wouldn’t have added the production waste tower billowing
smoke from the background, at a first glance it seems to work, after all
pollution and gas mask are not a mismatched pair, but the dimension of that particular
tower suggests industrial usage and I think that such a scale of production in
a post-apocalyptic world might be a bit farfetched. Nonetheless, I have a
general good feeling about this cover and I quite like it, as I like the promise
of this anthology. Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s anthology “Fractured. Tales of the Canadian Post-Apocalypse” will be released on August by Exile Editions.
We like to imagine the end. How we might survive. How we might live
after the fateful moment that changes everything. That moment has
arrived—welcome to Canada, after the apocalypse! Fractured is a collection of
stories by more than 20 writers who imagine life after the end of days. The
waters have risen around Vancouver, nuclear disasters have devastated the
Prairies, a strange sickness has relocated the capital of the nation to
Yellowknife, aliens have invaded Manitoba, and even ghosts have returned to exterminate
the living. Across this vast nation, a country fractured and rent asunder by
disasters both natural and unnatural, come the stories of survivors, of the
brave and the wicked, the kind and the hostile. These are tales that reveal the
secrets at this critical point for humanity, exploring a diversity of scenarios
and settings from small rural communities to large cities and protagonists from
all walks of life.
“No Man is a Promontory” by Hilary Janzen
“Persistence of Vision” by Orrin Grey
“The Dome of St. Macaire” by Jean-Louis Trudel
“Kalopsia” by E. Catherine Tobler
“White Noise” by Geoff Gander
“Edited Hansard 116” by Miriam Oudin
“The Body Politic” by John Jantunen
“D-Day” by T. S. Bazelli
“Matthew, Waiting” by A.C. Wise
“Jenny of the Long Gauge” by Michael Matheson
“Snow Angel” by A. M. Dellamonica
“Keeper of the Oasis” by Steve Stanton
“Manitou-wapow” by GMB Chomichuk
“Saying Goodbye” by Michael Pack
“Of the Dying Light” by Arun Jiwa
“@shalestate” by David Huebert
“City Noise” by Morgan M. Page
“Brown Wave” by Christine Ottoni
“Ruptures” by Jamie Mason
“River Road” by Amanda M. Taylor
“Last Man Standing” by Frank Westcott
“Dog for Dinner” by dvsduncan
“Maxim
Fujiyama and Other Persons” by Claude Lalumière
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