The Age of Calamities: Stories
Not yet published: Expected Jan 13, 2026
Written by an inimitable new voice, The Age of Calamities is a genre-defying, mind-bending collection of absurdist, funny, and speculative short stories.
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Community Reviews
This book is unlike anything I've ever read before.
Described as reminiscent of Carmen M. Machado's writing, Age of Calamities is a compendium of short stories with bold and absurd concepts. Each story follows various historical figures: Julius Cesar in a situationship, Ghengis Khan with an army of werewolves, a dinner party with John Adams, Nefertiti, and Marylin Monroe, and more. Weird fiction lovers, this is for YOU.
When I was a kid, I LOVED the movie Night at the Museum, and this book ever so slightly reminded me of it with the intertwining of prominent characters of history into a slew of new situations.
I felt myself gravitate towards the ones with stronger feminist themes, especially the opening story of an immortal Anne Boleyn, who continues to persevere despite King Henry VIII's attempts to execute her. I loved being able to interpret the resilience of Boleyn as the common and intrinsic ability for women to endure, and how even today Anne is loved and sympathized with by women everywhere.
Overall, the absurdity led me to fun interpretations of the stories and their characters, but I'll admit I did get lost in them at times. Some of this book felt like navigating a fever dream in both a good and bad way. There were a handful of instances where I just felt like things went over my head, perhaps too abstract for me, perhaps too abstract for anyone. I did believe that the better stories outweighed the ones I didn't quite get, and I enjoyed this wacky, outlandish collection.
Special thanks to Henty Holt Books for the ARC. This review is my honest opinion.
Described as reminiscent of Carmen M. Machado's writing, Age of Calamities is a compendium of short stories with bold and absurd concepts. Each story follows various historical figures: Julius Cesar in a situationship, Ghengis Khan with an army of werewolves, a dinner party with John Adams, Nefertiti, and Marylin Monroe, and more. Weird fiction lovers, this is for YOU.
When I was a kid, I LOVED the movie Night at the Museum, and this book ever so slightly reminded me of it with the intertwining of prominent characters of history into a slew of new situations.
I felt myself gravitate towards the ones with stronger feminist themes, especially the opening story of an immortal Anne Boleyn, who continues to persevere despite King Henry VIII's attempts to execute her. I loved being able to interpret the resilience of Boleyn as the common and intrinsic ability for women to endure, and how even today Anne is loved and sympathized with by women everywhere.
Overall, the absurdity led me to fun interpretations of the stories and their characters, but I'll admit I did get lost in them at times. Some of this book felt like navigating a fever dream in both a good and bad way. There were a handful of instances where I just felt like things went over my head, perhaps too abstract for me, perhaps too abstract for anyone. I did believe that the better stories outweighed the ones I didn't quite get, and I enjoyed this wacky, outlandish collection.
Special thanks to Henty Holt Books for the ARC. This review is my honest opinion.
I received this DRC from NetGalley.
I think the premises for the stories were interesting, but some of them just felt too meandering without a strong conclusion for my tastes. I did really like the last story, though - "Choose Your Own Apocalypse." I'm just a fan of choose your own adventure books in general, and it was a nice surprise for one to be included here. It was a bit hard to get through since my copy didn't have page numbers, so I might go back and read more of the endings later.
I think the premises for the stories were interesting, but some of them just felt too meandering without a strong conclusion for my tastes. I did really like the last story, though - "Choose Your Own Apocalypse." I'm just a fan of choose your own adventure books in general, and it was a nice surprise for one to be included here. It was a bit hard to get through since my copy didn't have page numbers, so I might go back and read more of the endings later.
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