I am looking for the title of a short story collection that appeared
sometime between approximately 1970 and 1990. The stories assumed a
nuclear war had taken place, and the stories reflected different
possibilities of how people and society might adjust to survive.
There was a reference to nuclear war or nuclear survival in the title.
This collection was not one of a series involving the same characters.
It was not about how soldiers or mercenaries would continue fighting
the same enemies after the war as before. The tone of the stories was
more tragic than about
battlefield suspense and military valor.
One story in the collection concerns a mother about to die from
radiation sickness who tries to arrange a marriage for her daughter
who would otherwise be left alone. The surviving cities exist under
domes to keep out the contaminated atmosphere. There is a social
hierarchy in the domed cities such that the mother is glad she is able
to find someone for her daughter who is better off than average
economically. The story ends on a sad note with the daughter
preparing to miss her mother. |
Request for Question Clarification by
juggler-ga
on
04 Jun 2004 11:53 PDT
Hi Statman,
Could it be "Beyond Armageddon" (1985)?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0917657969/
On the following page, there's a review of "Beyond Armageddon" and
another post-nuclear anthology "Countdown to Midnight: Twelve Great
Stories About Nuclear War."
http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/reviews_pages/r39.htm
Anything here sound familiar?
|
Clarification of Question by
statman-ga
on
04 Jun 2004 12:57 PDT
Juggler-ga:
Of the two, Beyond Armageddon seems more likely, but I cannot say for
sure that is it.
Any chance I can see a picture of the cover of either?
Joe
statman-ga
|
Request for Question Clarification by
juggler-ga
on
04 Jun 2004 13:12 PDT
There's a photo of a cover here:
http://half.ebay.com/cat/buy/prod.cgi?cpid=1047894&domain_id=1856&meta_id=1
Because there are multiple editions, though, it's possible that there
was more than one cover.
Do you remember plot details of any of the other stories in the book you read?
|
Request for Question Clarification by
juggler-ga
on
04 Jun 2004 17:01 PDT
Hi Statman,
Here's another post-nuclear war anthology:
Afterwar (1985)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671559672/
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=188160936
Anything ringing a bell?
|
Clarification of Question by
statman-ga
on
04 Jun 2004 18:51 PDT
Juggler-ga:
Unfortunately, I don't remember any other of the plots of the stories
in the collection.
My vote is still with Beyond Armageddon because I remember the editor
including a punchy introductory essay at the beginning of the book.
See if you can find one or two more candidates in the next couple of
days. In the meantime, I'll think about how to verify the essay I'm
thinking of is in Beyond Armageddon.
statman-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
statman-ga
on
15 Jun 2004 12:29 PDT
juggler:
I'll take Beyond Armageddon as the answer to this one.
Submit it as such and I'll close it out.
Joe
statman-ga
|
Request for Question Clarification by
juggler-ga
on
15 Jun 2004 15:40 PDT
Hi Statman,
Were you ever able to determine if the story that you want is in
"Beyond Armageddon"?
I'd rather not put that down as the official answer unless you're
reasonably sure it's the right book.
-juggler
|
Clarification of Question by
statman-ga
on
15 Jun 2004 16:23 PDT
Juggler-ga:
I will not be able to confirm that for another couple of weeks because
of work commitments.
I did not want to leave you without your payment for that long.
If you don't mind the wait, I will get back to you by the end of the
month. In the meantime, I may be able to turn up some other clues to
confirm the book one way or the other.
Joe
statman-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
statman-ga
on
17 Jun 2004 10:25 PDT
Juggler-ga:
In the interest of speeding up things, can you find out the plot of
Poul Anderson's Tomorrow's Child?
That's the story I'm wanting to track to confirm the collection is right.
It's worth an extra $2.50 in tip for you.
Joe
statman-ga
|
Request for Question Clarification by
juggler-ga
on
17 Jun 2004 10:33 PDT
Hi Statman,
It's about a pilot whose child is born without a spine.
See this description in a newsgroup post:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=Pine.SOL.3.96.990308005225.17519A-100000%40titania
|
Clarification of Question by
statman-ga
on
18 Jun 2004 04:30 PDT
Juggler-ga:
Thanks for the info on Tomorrow's Children.
That is not the story I thought it was. I will try to come up with
another story to check out and get back to you by the end of the
month.
Joe
statman-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
statman-ga
on
29 Jun 2004 08:26 PDT
Juggler-ga:
Beyond Armageddon is the book I'm looking for. You can list this as
the answer and close out the question.
Joe
statman1959-ga
|
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