(n.); the last thing, as a theological reference to the climax of history at Judgment Day; the day at the end of time following Armageddon when God will decree the fates of all human beings; from the ancient Greek eskhatos (“end”)
“My mind moves toward apocalypse fictions the way we think about a forgotten friend, or a partner that’s left us—grief becomes its own comfort.”
–Adnan Khan, “Finding a Home in the Apocalypse”
The past decade has seen a fantastic resurgence of the apocalypse—thankfully, only of the fictional variety. But apocalypse and its aftermath have long been the subject of imaginative speculation, from ancient Norse eddas to modern day horror films and novels. It’s no wonder the end of the world strikes the fancy of so many writers and film makers: after all, it represents the greatest “What if?” (or perhaps better phrased as “What next?”). This week, LARB’s Jerome Winter publishes a review of Paradoxa’s science fiction issue, in which his prose is as vivid as the “postapocalyptic wastelands and futurescapes” he examines. And while you’re waiting for the end of the world, why not also take a glance at Adnan Khan’s fascinating interpretation of apocalypse over at Hazlitt?
