“Apocalypse is a frame of mind… A belief. A surrender to inevitability.
It is a despair for the future. It is the death of hope.”
– Death Masks by Jim Butcher
Yeah, I know. It’s the end of the world – again. This time it's December 21, 2012: the end of the 13th B’ak’tun cycle in the Long Count of the Mayan calendar when, allegedly, the defecation hits the rotating oscillator for humankind. But as someone who grew up in the ‘70s in the shadow of the Cold War, was literally raised on classic disaster movies (The Andromeda Strain, Earthquake, The Swarm, The Towering Inferno, etc.) and apocalyptic fiction classics like A Canticle for Leibowitz, The Stand, and Lucifer's Hammer, and has, as an adult, lived through the passing of the Hale Bopp comet, Y2K, and The Spice Girls, I guess I’ve become a little desensitized to Armageddon.
But that said: 2012 should be a glorious year for apocalyptic fiction. I know that we’re just a few weeks into the year but I’m already being inundated by press releases and emails from publicists and authors promoting upcoming apocalyptic fiction novels.
I know that a sizable percentage of these will undoubtedly be uninspired “bandwagon” releases trying to take advantage of the population's interest in the prophesized Mayan apocalypse but there is an abundance of truly blockbuster end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it novels scheduled to hit the shelves soon: Horizon by Sophie Littlefield (January), the concluding volume of her Aftertime trilogy; Siege by Rhiannon Frater (April), the final installment of her As the World Dies trilogy; After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by the legendary Nancy Kress (April); Blackout by Mira Grant (June), the conclusion of her Newsflesh trilogy; and The Twelve by Justin Cronin (August), the much-anticipated sequel to The Passage; to name just a few.
And the 2012 “end of the world” frenzy isn’t just confined to genre fiction: it’s reached all categories. Just look at the deluge of upcoming releases that feature the buzzword “apocalypse” in their titles: Apocalypse to Go by Katherine Kerr, Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz, Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse by Troy Denning, X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse by Scott Lobdell, and The Apocalypse Codex by Charles Stross. The upcoming Charlie Sheen biography is even entitled Apocalypse Charlie!
People are obviously intrigued by apocalyptic speculation – and in 2012, that fascination is being used as a savvy marketing tool.
I have never seen a commercial for duct tape on television – or anywhere, for that matter – but just a few days ago there it was: an advertisement pushing the various uses of duct tape, an end-of-the-world staple.
Another commercial with obvious end-of-the-world undertones was promoting a camouflaged Snuggie (a glorified blanket with sleeves). What better way to sleep in a perilous, post-apocalyptic world filled with cannibalistic nomads, zombies, vampires, etc. than in plush, camouflaged comfort!
And you can’t understate the significance of pajama jeans (www.pajamajeans.com). I predict right now that the sales of pajama jeans will soar in 2012. Yeah, I know that they’re the best of both worlds – stylish and sexy jeans and soft and comfy pajama bottoms – at least that’s what the commercial says, but if you think about it, they’re perfect end-of-the-world apparel. First and foremost, you can wear them 24 hours a day – they’re so comfortable that you will sleep like a baby curled up in the stinking quilted bed cover that you found in some abandoned house and then, when someone’s distant agonized scream wakes you up in the morning, you can simply get up and begin your day of foraging for Twinkies amongst the ruins without ever having to worry about what you’re going to wear! And an added bonus – they fit every figure perfectly so as starvation and malnutrition begin to take its toll on your waistline, don’t worry: they’ll always fit you like a second skin! (And let’s not forget the patented butt-lifting design…)
So, with yet another End Days looming, I have a few survival tips for 2012: stock up on duct tape, bottled water, cans of Dinty Moore, and some of the aforementioned new releases because it looks like it’s going to be a glorious year for apocalyptic fiction – and consider investing in a pair of pajama jeans. Even if the apocalypse is a bust, at the very least you’ll be stylish, sexy, and comfortable while reading all of your books!
Paul Goat Allen has been a full-time book reviewer specializing in genre fiction for the last two decades and has written thousands of reviews for companies like Publishers Weekly, The Chicago Tribune, Kirkus Reviews, and BarnesandNoble.com. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle.
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I'm not afraid of Armageddon, it's Judgment Day I fear!
I just put The Twelve on my Wishlist Paul. I can't wait to read it! I also wouldn't miss Littlefield's Horizon and the final Newflesh book, Blackout. I'll also have to eventually check out Frater's As the World Dies trilogy.
