The following 4-star review appeared on LibraryThing for Derryl Murphy’s collection of short eco-fiction, Wasps at the Speed of Sound.

ISBN 9781927400432 $19.99 eISBN 9781927400449 $4.99 from Five Rivers Publishing and online booksellers worldwide

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Before I start down I look one more time in the stream. I can see nothing swimming in it, no fish, no beetle.
As I walk, I wish there were still birds to sing to me.

Eleven stories about the end of the world as we know it. Although the overall theme of the book is ecological disaster, apocalypse comes in many forms, from invading aliens, water shortages, and garbage-covered oceans, to swarms of huge insects and far future earth that is about to be swallowed by the sun. “What Goes Around” is a more light-hearted story and brings a bit of light relief to the book.

The only story I disliked was “Summer’s Humans”, which was inspired by Nadine Gordimer’s story “July’s People”. The characters were unpleasant and the aliens’ constant hair-shedding made me shudder in disgust (although that was probably the point).

My favourite story was The History of Photography, which was subtle and lyrical and poignant. The author said that when this story appeared in a photography magazine, the readers sent in lots of irate letters complaining about inaccuracies, as the magazine hadn’t made it clear that it was fiction. “Those Graves of Memory” and “Wasps at the Speed of Sound” make up my top three. (  )