Maureen McHugh’s new collection of stories, After the Apocalypse, is not so much about the literal end of the world, as it is about the metaphorical end we all face. It deals largely with characters who have passed through their own personal ends and are now trying to survive in the wake of the worst possible scenarios. This includes a criminal dumped into a prison that is also a zombie preserve, a young woman trying to survive as a corporate slave after a bird flu plague took people she loves and a young refugee from a dirty bomb attack who has lost his mind.

Although I haven’t read McHugh’s previous stories, I am familiar with her work as an ARG designer (most notably, the trailblazing “I Heart Bees” campaign for Halo 2), and I put a lot of faith in the tastes of Kelly Link and Gavin Grant, the editors and owners of Small Beer Press. That said, this collection is not so much an assemblage of complete stories as it is a compilation of (mostly) interesting premises. Once the high concept of each story is revealed, the rhythms of plot and character have a hard time finding satisfying resolutions. The stories end, but lack the emotional punch or character insights that make the form so effective.

Still, one doesn’t read a small press book expecting a masterpiece (although Kelly Link’s own collections are by and large pretty perfect) — the small press offers an outlet for writers who are more experimental or unconventional, which are two areas where After the Apocalypse succeeds. Although McHugh has a great stock of ideas and clear skill with words, she needs to work more on the mechanics of telling a complete story. An ARG is all about the high concept, but a short story needs more. It needs to matter.