Authors: Hans Olsson, Boel Bermann, Erik Odeldahl, Ingrid Remvall, Love Kölle, Lupina Ojala, Christina Nordlander , Pia Lindestrand, Jonas Larsson, Tora Greve, Andrew Coulthard, Alexandra Nero, Johannes Pinter, Andrea Grave-Müller, AR Yngve, My Bergström, Anders Blixt, Maria Haskins, Patrik Centerwall, Björn Engström, KG Johansson, Oskar Källner, Sara Kopljar, Eva Holmquist, Markus Sköld, Anna Jakobsson Lund
Release Date:  6th May, 2015 
Series: None 
Genre: Science-Fiction Anthology | Speculative-Fiction | Short-Stories | Fantasy
Edition: Paperback 
Pages: 324
Publisher: Affront Publishing
Source: Editor (Thanks Peter!)
Buy it here: Amazon

Blurb

26 short stories from the new wave of Swedish speculative fiction writers. Forget about cheap furniture, meatballs and crime fiction. Sweden has so much more to offer. Waiting for the Machines to Fall Asleep includes twenty-six stories from the new generation of Swedish writers of science fiction and the fantastic. Stories ranging from space horror and post-apocalyptic nightmares to tender dramas. Stories with steampunk horses, android uprisings and cheeky goblins. Stories that are action-packed, wise, silly, beautiful, surreal and horrifying.

Rating

Review:

I absolutely enjoyed all the stories in this book (for individual ratings see below.) This book is so much more than just an anthology. It was an experience. So many different stories, so many unique concepts and such amazing writing styles – this book has everything to be a brilliant read. There were some stories that literally made me feel dreadful thinking about what might have happened (Lost And Found) and there were stories that made me smile (To Preserve Humankind.) There were stories that really worked me out in anticipation (Outpost Eleven) and stories that I thought were funny (Jump To The Left, Jump To The Right.) Never have I ever enjoyed a single book so much. I’m going to be looking out for more works from the authors I enjoyed the most. I’m really happy that I am lucky enough to have read this book. I’ll recommend this book not only to Sci-Fi fans but to anyone and everyone who wants to read some beautifully crafted stories. I really hope that they decide to release this book internationally, so that everyone in the world can read this book. Following are the individual ratings for all the stories:

1. Melody Of The Yellow Bard: 5/5
2. The Rats: 5/5
3. Getting To The End:  5/5
4. Vegatropolis – City Of The Beautiful: 4/5
5. Jump To The Left, Jump To The Right: 5/5
6. The Order Of Things: 5/5
7. To Preserve Humankind: 5/5
8. The Thirteenth Tower: 4/5
9. Punchcard Horses: 3/5
10. The Philosopher’s Stone: 5/5
11. A Sense Of Foul Play: 5/5
12. Waste Of Time: 5/5
13. The Damien Factor: 5/5
14. Wishmaster: 5/5
15. Quadrillennium: 3/5
16. Mission Accomplished: 5/5
17. The Road: 4/5
18. Lost And Found: 5/5
19. The Publisher’s Reader: 3/5
20. Stories From The Box: 4/5
21. The Membranes In The Centering Horn: 5/5
22. One Last Kiss Goodbye: 5/5
23. The Mirror Talks: 5/5
24. Keep Fighting Until The Machines Fall Asleep: 5/5
25. Outpost Eleven: 5/5
26. Messiah: 3/5

You can also read this review at Goodreads and Amazon.

Other Stuff

Opening Line: The man approached me when I was on my way home from the university.

Highlights: Brilliant selection of stories.

Lowlights: None.

Memorable Quotes:

It’s a place of maybes, I guess. Where bad things can happen, and often will, but also might not.

Everybody who lives here has seen something they can’t explain. And everybody who lives here has seen things they don’t want to explain

Strange, how quickly you adapt to things if someone tells you it’s normal

Memorable Paragraph:

And then I thought maybe you actually could. Maybe money was some kind of delicious dish. But sister told me people long ago thought the small round things were beautiful. And they just wanted to have as many of them as possible. Way back when the crowd was beautiful I said to myself dreamily. When people just looked at things because they liked to look at things, beautiful things. Not because they were wondering if this thing or that was edible, like I do. But then, I’m always hungry and there is so little to eat in the Newest New World.

Final Thoughts: A must-read for everyone!