Lockdown, edited by Nick Kolakowski and Steve Weddle

Lockdown: Stories of Crime, Terror, and Hope During a PandemicLockdown: Stories of Crime, Terror, and Hope During a Pandemic by Nick Kolakowski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

She thought about how all the books and movies had gotten it all wrong. The world didn't end in riots and wars in an endless dystopian wasteland. It didn't end with a whimper like that poet who liked cats said either. It ended in increments. It slowed and slowed like the heart of a wounded animal until it just stopped and began to rot.

S.A. Cosby - The Loyalty of Hungry Dogs


This collection has been put together quickly to support independent bookshops across North America and the quality remains astounding given how quickly it has been brought together. For good reason, Covid-19, isn't the top headlining news now, but this anthology is as relatable as anything you can read this year.

The collection starts with stories in the early days and weeks of lockdown before branching out with authors delivering a variety of scenarios for the future of the world and what the landscape may be. There are writers of a kaleidoscope of genres included giving us a variety of stories from the funny to the terrifying. I'll give a brief synopsis of the stories and denote my favourites along the way with an asterisk.

"Everything is Going to be Okay" by Gabino Iglesias kicks off with a fisherman leaving his wife behind to earn, even as she exhibits symptoms of the virus. Home invasion might be the worst crime to attempt during quarantine, but it won't stop some from trying in Rob Hart's "No Honor Amongst Thieves". It's tough enough quarantining without doing so in the wrong house as the protagonists in Renee Asher Pickup's "Desert Shit" get caught while trying to move some contraband.

"The Rescue" by Scott Adlerberg* poses the question of who gets to decide what essential travel is. "Your List" by Angel Luis Colon is all about them quarantine goals. Steve Weddle gives a wonderful story of the everyday quarantine grind and how quickly it can change people and groups in "At the End of the Neighborhood"*.

Breakups are hard enough without having to quarantine with the ex. Throw in four flatmates and a maguffin and it is bound to get gnarly as Gemma Amor shows in "The Diamond". "Misery Loves Company" by Ana Davila Cardinal* makes me grateful I'm still having to work from the office as she presents the most haunting online meeting story of our time. "Apocalypse Bronx" by Richie Narvaez* takes us into #Quarantine2022 as a crooked cop needs to settle a score across the river.

"Personal Protection" by Terri Lynn Coop* is an awesome story that can't really have any details revealed for fear of spoiling it. A disgraced chef takes some "off-season" work as the rich flock to their holiday homes to lockdown in Nick Kolakowski's "A Kinder World Stands Before Us". S.A. Cosby presents us with a dog eat dog post-pandemic world in "The Loyalty of Hungry Dogs".

"Fish Food"* is a wonderfully written and almost eerily real tale in terms of details of the end of this potential first wave by Jen Conley. "The Seagull & The Hog" by Johnny Shaw* brings the laughs as a young man isolates alone with just his thoughts and neighbours sex noises for company. "Por Si Adaso" by Hector Acosta involves 3 17 year olds, a NES and a burgeoning lockdown business.

"Herd Immunity" by Eryk Pruitt sees a group still hiding out post-virus and contains the ultimate summation of the small town coming-of-age story:

Lately, you have begun to grow into yourself. A small town can fold in on a fella. It can make him do things and think ways he might not, if left alone. There is no common ideal to which all must subscribe and, as of late, you have begun to fill out your shirts, your britches, the shoes on your feet. The words sent forth from your mother, your teachers, your preacher at your church, have all begun to ring hollow. They are keeping something from you. They don't want you to know everything just yet. You send out for books not kept at the town's library. You study subjects nobody has ever taught you. Your hometown grows smaller and smaller and you fear that one day you might pop it at the seams and they will rend you limb-by-limb, lest you tear the entire place to smithereens.

"The Asylum" by V. Castro* imagines the fall of the U.S. and the Mexican Cartels taking over the southern neighbour and turning her into a superpower. "Outpost" by Alex DiFrancesco gives us a more supernatural tale with a shape shifter moving through the new dystopia. "Come Away, Come Away" by Cynthia Pelayo touchingly closes with a story I can only, gauchely, describe as Peter Pan-demic.

A excellent collection of stories for a good cause that is well worth the time. It helps to have relatable stories during this time we are all experiencing.

Thanks to Polis Books for the review copy.

Synopsis:

A mysterious virus sweeps across the country, mutating rapidly as it jumps from person to person. Cities are locked down. The skies are clear as all planes are grounded. Some people panic, while some go to heroic lengths to save those they love - and others use the chaos as an opportunity to engage in purest evil.

In Lockdown, 19 of today’s finest suspense, horror, and crime writers explore how humanity reacts to the ultimate pandemic. From New York City to the Mexican border, from the Deep South to the misty shores of Seattle, their characters are fighting for survival against incredible odds. An anthology for our time, showing how the worst crises can lead to the best of us. Proceeds from Lockdown will go to support BINC, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, as it seeks to help booksellers recover from the devastating COVID-19 crisis

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Author Spotlight - Tom Leins

Author Spotlight: Andrew Davie

Coldwater by Tom Pitts