This Is How You Die

The original premise and collection of stories (Machine of Death) were quite good, leading the editors to seek submissions for a sequel. All tolled, 1958 new stories (and 151 art folios) were submitted. This new volume represents the best of those, and is also very good.

Authors branched a little further from the original theme - a machine which can tell you how (but not when) you are going to die. My favorites were "ZEPHYR" by George Page III (Space marines form into fighting units coordinated by the times of their impending deaths) and "CANCER" by editor Ryan North (A terminal patient discovers that her prediction may not be as straightforward as it seems at first). Perhaps one of the most clever stories was "TWO ONE SIX" by Marleigh Norton (A woman struggles to unravel the relevance of her numerical prediction).

My favorite from the first collection was also authored by Ryan North - I will have to seek out more of his stories to read - including Dinosaur Comics, which I confess I have never read.