In this series we turn the pages of classic short stories to put together the literary building blocks of how a particular genre or theme began, how it built its foundations to become the well-loved and well-worn genre that it is today.Do authors have the same ideas at more or less the same time? Or can they sniff out an opportunity as to which way the tastes of an audience are moving. Success undoubtedly builds success and in literary terms we can more politely say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the surest way to reach a hungry readership is to build on the fortune and flair of your literary colleagues. We all fear the world will end badly. Even worse that we might be caught up in it. In this volume our authors summon up stories which illustrate and flavour our thinking and imaginings on just how a society would reach that precipice, how it would ultimately be.01 - Foundations of Fiction - Dystopian - An Introduction2 - A Dream of Armageddon by H G Wells3 - The Park of Kings by Alexander Kuprin4 - Into the Sun by Robert Duncan Milne5 - The Cloud-Men by Owen Oliver6 - The Republic of the Southern Cross by Valery Bryusov7 - The End of the World by Simon Newcomb8 - The World's Last Cataclysm by Robert Duncan Milne9 - Within An Ace of the End of the World by Robert Barr10 - Christmas Formula by Stella Benson11 - The Repairer of Reputations by Robert W Chambers