I think I've mentioned before that I love short story anthologies, especially by well-established authors in the field. They're great because I don't end up spending an entire day reading instead of doing chores and homework and other necessary stuff. Short stories = quickly wrapped up slices of interest that send me back on my way.

Of course, I still love long books, I just often don't have the time. The difficulty with short story anthologies is finding absolutely brilliant, thought-provoking ones that showcase both up-and-coming and established authors. It can be a bit of a gamble.

Bangs and Whimpers delivers on all fronts. Every time I've started to tell someone about this book, intending to tell them about just one short story in particular I think they would find of interest, I find myself saying something like, "Oh, yeah, and there was this other one that explored an end-of-the-world scenario where we planted the seeds to a new creation by . . . "

This book is amazing. Each short story approached the Ending of All Things from a different vantage point and perception. Where one author chose to think that the annihilation of life on earth meant the end of life forever, another author saw a thin thread of hope in the distant future. Where one author wrote with detached omniscience, another wrote in intimate first-person. Each story has a unique style and vision, but they all have one thing in common -- they are brilliantly, captivatingly written. This book should not be missed. ( )

A collection of short stories from 19 luminaries of the science fiction world. Each story explores the end of the world, or of humanity, and they are in turns funny or tragic, mostly concerning the reaction the characters have to realizing what's happening. Maybe it's my general apathy towards short stories, but I found the group of very mixed success, although there are a few winners here. ( )