Dale Bailey

The End of the End of Everything, by Dale Bailey, is an sf/horror story about a long-married couple invited by an old friend to an exclusive artist's colony. The inhabitants of the colony indulge in suicide parties as the world teeters on the brink of extinction, worn away by some weird entropy. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A Tor.Com Original

The End of the End of Everything

A story about a long-married couple invited by an old friend to an exclusive artist's colony. The inhabitants of the colony indulge in suicide parties as the world teeters on the brink of extinction, worn away by some weird entropy.

Maggie Gordon

I expected to hate The End of the End of Everything. I'm still burnt out on stories about the end of the world, particularly the type that dwell on the endless bad aspects of humanity. But Bailey's piece didn't end the way that I expected. You will need to sift through a rocky beginning. While the prose is nice, it's still more verbose that it needs to be, and I think some of the focus on the bloodier, sexier aspects of the end of the world was unnecessary. I would have started the story later in the narrative, well into the downward spiral of the rich beach dwellers.

For a story where the end of the world seems inevitable, it ends on a fairly positive note. The story, at its heart, is about art and humanity and the value these things hold. The development of the main character in the last half of the piece was quite refreshing compared to most apocalyptic scenarios, and despite the gloom of the piece, I finished my read feeling less mired in mope than I expected. Though I do not want to give the impression that this was a happy tale. The ending is still fairly bleak, it is avoids focusing on that aspect. Overall, it was a fascinating world with terrible people and I found myself entirely captured by their desperate attempts to find meaning in their final days.

Emily Perkovich

This was very intriguing, but I think it would have worked better as a full length. For me, the length made all of the supposed sexual tension feel like I was being told it exists, so I must believe it exists, even though nothing is making me feel it as palpable. The lack of tension that I actually felt, made all of the mentions of sex seem unnecessary and misogynist in a way. I wanted more buildup on everything. More back story. More character development. I actually enjoyed the vagueness surrounding what the ruin is and how it started, but I want to know how everyone got here together and why they are making their choices.

The End of the End of Everything A Tor.Com Original

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