The End and Other Beginnings Stories from the Future

I enjoyed most of the stories, but I didn't really like the two Carve the Mark stories too much. I didn't like that duology so yeah I wished there had been either two stories not related to any of Veronica's other series or that they had just been left out, but that's just me. My favourite story was Vim and Vigor with Hearken as a close second). I did really love the art that was in this book!

This collection was disappointing. It had it's moments of wonderful imagery and prose, but those were severely undercut by the sheer amount of suspended disbelief Roth was asking of the readers, despite some impossibilities of that task. None of her characters had distinct enough voices, especially in the stories where the perspectives shifted partway through.

meh about most of them, but i think short stories just aren’t my thing. i liked Inertia, Hearkeners, and The Transformationist.. would’ve liked a full novel of Hearkeners but i don’t think that’s a plus for short stories.. Inertia was good as a short story, the concept was cool, but characters’ stories didn’t move me ... The Transformationist was my favourite because it worked as a short story for me and i still felt connected to the characters and cared about them.

cool

Great collection of emotionally charged stand alone short stories about the human condition and what it means to love and to be alive (in it’s various forms and meanings.) Great way to get a quick dose of dystopian futuristic sci-fi love stories. They all offered different approaches to themes of love, loss and live (quite fittingly this description matches one of the stories “The Spinners” quite well). I really liked how the stories were set up in a way that there was world building but it was subtle and out of the way of the character’s journeys. The readers are kind of expected to fill in some gaps and imagine the bigger picture. What Veronica Roth presents in this collection of ideas is a glimpse into different worlds, different lives. It is not a big heroic epos or earth changing struggle. Instead we are shown the vulnerability of small people, the significance of the small things. The short scenarios are ideal for a quick read on the go or just before bed. They make you think and question some aspect of life. Some made me deeply connect with the protagonists. Some made me choke up or cry. Some made me angry others hopeful. Definitely would recommend even if you’re not already a fan of Roth’s writing. Some spoiler free synopses of the Short Stories: INERTIA delays with the questions of what-ifs in broken relationships and the finality of death and why we should seize the moment and tell the ones we love that we care for them. THE SPINNERS is about dealing with the loss of a family member and coming together to honor that life. It tells of a love between two sisters and how important it is to stick together during hard times. It’s also about bounty hunters... and aliens! HEARKEN sets the stage in a world ravaged by bio-chemical warfare and natural destruction caused by humans. To face this man-made disease people with perfect pitch record the songs of individuals for prosperity. It has some weirs string theory applications and cyborg-brain-implants but ultimately it is about the meaning of life and how music can touch the soul and bring people together. VIM AND VIGOR is set in a more current setting. It follows a friend group after a devastating loss and how sometimes super-hero-comics can save a friendship. (Scratch that part about the more current setting - I just remembered the main plot device is definitely a VR brain-wave using decision-making future-glimpsing machine! 😆😂) ARMORED ONES is (one of the Carve the Mark short stories - I think! and it is) about a girl who seeks revenge on a brutal ruler and his merciless sister. But in getting ready to kill her mark she learns of the pain, torment and humanity of her enemies. It is also about a boy who is in servitude to the rulers who wants to prove himself worthy of the soldiers tradition of facing dangerous challenges and also dragons (or dragon like creatures) and the consequences of our choices and actions. THE TRANSFORMATIONIST follows a juvenile detainee who is released from space prison to go back home with a chance for an appeal and ultimate release from detention. As he struggles to forgive himself for what he had done others rally around him to show him how he was not to blame and how he is still worthy of love. Having escaped a cult and abusive relationship with his family he finally reunited with his neighbor who had never lost hope and initially came forward to speak on his behalf.

Good set of short stories. I liked hearken the most.

I really loved the first few short stories in this collection! I mostly skimmed the Carve the mark stories though. I am not sure why because I did enjoy carve the mark! But I had a hard time remembering who these characters were and the style of the stories felt more like chapters than short stories. This collection is worth getting for two of the stories in here that are new favorites, "Hearken" and "Vim and Vigor." The premises were so cool, and the characters and emotions so real that those two alone would make this book a must-have for ya sci-fi lovers!