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teriodvarkova88's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
pillow38's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pascalibrary's review against another edition
2.0
I wish I hadn't read this. Not because it was so awful that I wanted to pull my eyes out. Not because it was so amazing that I'm worried it might ruin anything else I ever read. No.
I wish I hadn't read this because it was a complete waste of my time. The only thing I gained from this was a healthy dislike for the author, an arrogant and conceited person. I would rather watch 5 hours of an hourglass pour out on loop than read this again.
I wish I hadn't read this because it was a complete waste of my time. The only thing I gained from this was a healthy dislike for the author, an arrogant and conceited person. I would rather watch 5 hours of an hourglass pour out on loop than read this again.
shitholden's review against another edition
2.0
Uno de esos cuentos que aparece en todas las listas y publicaciones de los mejores cuentos de la historia. Entiendo su impacto, pero no le veo más mensajes que "ah, las máquinas son malas", pero es que tampoco eso, no sé, no me ha gustado mucho, está escrito de una forma que te deja el pecho frío pero no me parece para nada a la altura de otros cuentos en estas mencionadas listas.
Además, ¿es mala porque existe? ¿Porque nació en contra de su voluntad? Que sí, que los humanos somos malos, que el hombre es un lobo para el hombre... Y la máquina tiene que ser peor porque yo qué sé.
Entiendo su fama, entiendo que esté en la lista, pero no me ha parecido tan escalofriante y significativo como esperaba
Además, ¿es mala porque existe? ¿Porque nació en contra de su voluntad? Que sí, que los humanos somos malos, que el hombre es un lobo para el hombre... Y la máquina tiene que ser peor porque yo qué sé.
Entiendo su fama, entiendo que esté en la lista, pero no me ha parecido tan escalofriante y significativo como esperaba
ronyareadsbooks's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
TikTok convinced me to read it and I was not disappointed. A terrifyingly good short story about AI and a future that is not as dystopian as it might have been back when this was published.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Gore
apieceofskye's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
goodgamerlaine's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
eddiemylove's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
4.5
Honestly I can't imagine a better way to tell this story than the 11 pages it already is. It's incredibly bleak, obviously, even despite the release of four of the characters by the end. This story leaves you with a lot to think about. About consciousness and the resilience of humanity, of human kindness and indifference, of pain, and of destruction. I really enjoyed this one. And Harlan Ellison's own voice is perfect for AM. He captures it so well.
ava_13's review against another edition
3.0
Horrifying. ‘I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream’ is my nightmares in story form, especially in the end. I listened to the audiobook, especially since the story itself is only 11 pages, and Harlan Ellison does a fantastic job of narrating, especially when it comes to Ted and how Ted has spiraled into insanity and became an unreliable narrator. Another bit of voice acting that I like was when Ellison was giving AMs hate monologue he gave him a typically robot ‘be boop bop’ voice. By doing this it really creates the contrast of an AI robot experiencing human emotions
I like that the story itself is shorter, I feel like if it was any longer it would veer into a torture porn category. Which this story could have easily slipped to. But I think it does a good job of staying on track. I love, love, love that Ted’s humanity is shown at the end when he chooses to save Ellen instead of himself.
Trigger warning: discussion of rape.
Obviously there is the glaring issue of Ellen. In the short story Ellen is the only woman character and of course she is forced into having sex with the male characters. It’s worded a bit differently but essentially forced. I’ve seen a few other reviews discuss how throughout the short stories all the women are some variation of a whore, but I haven’t read the other stories. What is done to Ellen here is a special horror because she’s trapped with four other men. I can see where a lot of people get frustrated, especially about the line where Ted talks about how ‘lucky’ she is to be with four men.I didn’t really see this as the author projecting his misogyny onto Ted but more as a way to illustrate how much Ted has spiraled into insanity from AM. Obviously this is idea is substantially lessened when the same misogyny spans throughout his other books. But like I said I haven’t read them.
This is the longest review I’ve ever written holy shit.
I like that the story itself is shorter, I feel like if it was any longer it would veer into a torture porn category. Which this story could have easily slipped to. But I think it does a good job of staying on track. I love, love, love that Ted’s humanity is shown at the end when he chooses to save Ellen instead of himself.
Trigger warning: discussion of rape.
Obviously there is the glaring issue of Ellen. In the short story Ellen is the only woman character and of course she is forced into having sex with the male characters. It’s worded a bit differently but essentially forced. I’ve seen a few other reviews discuss how throughout the short stories all the women are some variation of a whore, but I haven’t read the other stories. What is done to Ellen here is a special horror because she’s trapped with four other men. I can see where a lot of people get frustrated, especially about the line where Ted talks about how ‘lucky’ she is to be with four men.I didn’t really see this as the author projecting his misogyny onto Ted but more as a way to illustrate how much Ted has spiraled into insanity from AM. Obviously this is idea is substantially lessened when the same misogyny spans throughout his other books. But like I said I haven’t read them.
This is the longest review I’ve ever written holy shit.