Orson Scott Card’s The Folk of the Fringe is an excellent collection of five short stories set in a post-nuclear-war Utah. They’re supplemented by a short essay on how Card created the stories (some at a writers’ conference!).
Card’s Mormon background is put to great use here; the little details of Mormon life and Gentile life among Mormons never get in the way of the stories (although Card apologizes for them in his essay, as a non-Mormon I had no trouble understanding the references).
Card’s new novel about gun confiscation is getting lots of buzz; I read the first chapter and wasn’t that impressed, although I’ll buy the book and read the whole thing when I get around to it. The Folk of the Fringe, by contrast, grabbed me from the beginning. It’s really well done.
Just as an FYI, I heard an interview with Orson Scott Card on a Glenn and Helen podcast, and he projected what seemed to be a very anti-gun attitude. The interview was primarily about his novel “Empire” but he did say at one point, “…I support a fairly strong program of gun control.” He seems to be a very intelligent and rational fellow, and I would like to hear more about why he feels this way, unfortunately the Reynolds stayed on the topic of his novel and didn’t delve into more detail relating to his gun phobia.