Scan barcode
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.
crypticapricorn's review against another edition
dark
tense
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? Yes
5.0
tristansreadingmania's review against another edition
4.0
Has there ever been a more controversial, acerbic American writer of speculative/fantastic fiction than Harlan Ellison? It is highly doubtful.
I first encountered Hurricane Harlan - term of endearment so don't fret, you Harlan fanboys - through his weekly commentary video's he did for the Sci-Fi channel (It's probably a given he wasn't overly fond of that name, huh?) in the early nineties. To those few souls who take delight in hearing the rantings, ravings, and -perhaps ironically - the odd moral tangent of a born and bred curmudgeon I highly recommend them. All are still available on YouTube to satisfy your viewing pleasure. But I sense I am digressing.
No, it was the man that I knew first, not the writer. Actually getting to taking on his fabled oeuvre was to come at a later point in my life. And so it came to pass. The last couple of years I read an Ellison tale here and there, all from the later, some claim most fruitful, stages of his career (80's, 90's). Terrific, nigh perfect stuff.
But boy, let me tell you, going through this collection of his early work (late 50's to 60's) made me chuckle quite a bit, despite the admittedly depressing tone of many of his tales. But that's Harlan. It is both a feast of recognition and a source of excitement as you see Ellison just gleefully, unabashedly experimenting. The flowery, extravagant prose, the various quirks, the heavy themes, the not that overt idealism. Simply vintage Ellison. It's all in there.
The included introductions to the stories definitely prove to be a bonus, as you find out where they originated from and what Harlan intended to achieve with them. It's fair to say he poured a generous portion of his private life in the work. Self-therapy indeed.
Of course, not all stories completely succeed. The ones from the fifties ( Big Sam Was My Friend, Eyes of Dust) didn't gel with me, which is perfectly understandable considering Harlan was a relative novice then. Entering the sixties, though, the Hurricane is unleashed. These tales are wild, brutal, confrontational, transgressive as hell.
Top of the bill is of course the title story, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream . Instant classic. Nothing more need be stated. Other reviewers before me have dissected it rather diligently already. Deservedly so, it is awarded some extra space by Ellison in which he explains its genesis, reception, and his thought processes. Almost as interesting as the tale itself, as it certainly changed my outlook.
Ultimately, this collection is worth it for this one gem alone. However, there are plenty of other wondrous vistas to explore and gorge on. One has but to enter..
I first encountered Hurricane Harlan - term of endearment so don't fret, you Harlan fanboys - through his weekly commentary video's he did for the Sci-Fi channel (It's probably a given he wasn't overly fond of that name, huh?) in the early nineties. To those few souls who take delight in hearing the rantings, ravings, and -perhaps ironically - the odd moral tangent of a born and bred curmudgeon I highly recommend them. All are still available on YouTube to satisfy your viewing pleasure. But I sense I am digressing.
No, it was the man that I knew first, not the writer. Actually getting to taking on his fabled oeuvre was to come at a later point in my life. And so it came to pass. The last couple of years I read an Ellison tale here and there, all from the later, some claim most fruitful, stages of his career (80's, 90's). Terrific, nigh perfect stuff.
But boy, let me tell you, going through this collection of his early work (late 50's to 60's) made me chuckle quite a bit, despite the admittedly depressing tone of many of his tales. But that's Harlan. It is both a feast of recognition and a source of excitement as you see Ellison just gleefully, unabashedly experimenting. The flowery, extravagant prose, the various quirks, the heavy themes, the not that overt idealism. Simply vintage Ellison. It's all in there.
The included introductions to the stories definitely prove to be a bonus, as you find out where they originated from and what Harlan intended to achieve with them. It's fair to say he poured a generous portion of his private life in the work. Self-therapy indeed.
Of course, not all stories completely succeed. The ones from the fifties ( Big Sam Was My Friend, Eyes of Dust) didn't gel with me, which is perfectly understandable considering Harlan was a relative novice then. Entering the sixties, though, the Hurricane is unleashed. These tales are wild, brutal, confrontational, transgressive as hell.
Top of the bill is of course the title story, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream . Instant classic. Nothing more need be stated. Other reviewers before me have dissected it rather diligently already. Deservedly so, it is awarded some extra space by Ellison in which he explains its genesis, reception, and his thought processes. Almost as interesting as the tale itself, as it certainly changed my outlook.
Ultimately, this collection is worth it for this one gem alone. However, there are plenty of other wondrous vistas to explore and gorge on. One has but to enter..
crxwley10's review against another edition
1.0
To be fair I only half-read the story with the name of the book. Not the whole book, but having this story as a first glance made me feel dissapointed. All the misoginy present in the story makes me uncomfortable as well as the phallocentrism that ted has about AM and the people he is near to. It made me sick and I could not finish this story, I got bored and uncomfortable easily.