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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Yikes 😬 This definitely could be an episode of Black Mirror or what the future holds for us.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
did not expect the misogyny, but still good
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Violence
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:
No
half the story is blatant misogyny. the other half is horror, if that. what could have been a visceral depiction of the loss of human autonomy to AI was instead overshadowed by the sexism. a waste of such a compelling title.
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream - 4/5
Big Sam Was My Friend - 3.5/5
Eyes of Dust - 2/5
World of the Myth - 2.5/5
Lonelyache - 3.5/5
Delusion for Dragonslayer - 4/5
Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes - 4/5
Big Sam Was My Friend - 3.5/5
Eyes of Dust - 2/5
World of the Myth - 2.5/5
Lonelyache - 3.5/5
Delusion for Dragonslayer - 4/5
Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes - 4/5
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i LOVED LOVED LOVED IT
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Torture, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Gore, Suicide
my main basis for the review is how much i disagreed with a goodreads review i read before i got into the collection. i only ever like short story collections when a) the stories are just independently good, or b) the stories are subtly interconnected with each other. this belongs to the former category [*celebration noises* 🥳]
even with most of these stories being written more or less 75 years ago, they seem indistinguishable from present day sci-fi. no, it wasn't all that boring. ellison's little backstories didn't seem narcissistic; it felt like a peek into his humor. heck, the man even says he knows the author's notes have mixed reception and he just doesn't care <3 deal with it <3. we love a guy! it felt like reading a great-uncle's whimsical, life stories and/or diary logs. while i can't deny the misogynistic descriptions, if you take the stories as a whole it doesn't scream i hate women, rather i hate humanity in general.
[potential spoilers moving forward]
i have no mouth and i must scream | 4 ⭐
even with most of these stories being written more or less 75 years ago, they seem indistinguishable from present day sci-fi. no, it wasn't all that boring. ellison's little backstories didn't seem narcissistic; it felt like a peek into his humor. heck, the man even says he knows the author's notes have mixed reception and he just doesn't care <3 deal with it <3. we love a guy! it felt like reading a great-uncle's whimsical, life stories and/or diary logs. while i can't deny the misogynistic descriptions, if you take the stories as a whole it doesn't scream i hate women, rather i hate humanity in general.
[potential spoilers moving forward]
i have no mouth and i must scream | 4 ⭐
thought it was a great idea to listen to the audiobook during my daily walk. guess who was speedwalking past everybody else from ellison's frantic narration. i, too, would lose my mind if i hung out with the same 4 people for 109 years. i, too, would lash out if i was brought into existence and not given free reign to do whatever i wanted. hate. hate. hate.
big sam was my friend | 2.5 ⭐
"he was what the french had labelled an 'animal voyeur' which means he and the beast think alike." so he was a furry then?
intergalactic the greatest showman and/or if the peculiar children decided to just permanently become circus freaks. the comment on how people, as much as they wouldn't admit it, want accidents to happen just for the spectacle was an interesting callout. big sam just wanted to be a lover boy </3 a little predictable, but sad nonetheless.
eyes of dust | 1 ⭐
damn, it sucks to be ugly in a perfectly flawless world. already happens irl, nothing new.
world of the myth | 3 ⭐
read like it could be inspo for mouthwashing. themes felt very reminiscent of it—spaceship crash, pilot trying to get his job right, incel on board, brilliant woman subject to man-made horror, incel commits suicide because he can't hold himself accountable.
i don't get the ellison hate. in the foreword for this story he says:
"...my stories were by no means 'statue' stories, immobile, fixed, permanent. they were assaults, and if they ruined her equilibrium only once, i'd settle for that. i wanted explosions, not cool meditative thinkpieces."
and that pretty much sums up the type of writer he is and why his writing appeals to me so much. contrary to what he says, ihnmaims (story) became a thinkpiece, given the lengthy discussion i had with a friend. also, ellison is funny asf.
lonelyache | 4 ⭐
initally thought this was as an 'if john wick had dreams' type of story but no. the true horror story was not his nightmares but the messy divorce. the final boss of post-nut clarity. maybe it's ok to despise women, so long as you hate yourself a little more <3
delusion for a dragonslayer | 1 ⭐
ngl, i read this this morning and i already can't remember a thing. the rise and fall of a midwest prince...? just didn't vibe with this one. barely gaf for the lead, found his predicament predicatble at best.
pretty maggie moneyes | 4 ⭐
let's be financially responsible! 🎰 i can't stop winning! 🎰 i can't stop winning! 🎰 i can't stop winning! 🎰 i can't stop winning! 🎰 i can't stop winning! 🎰 i can't stop winning!
maybe i can overlook misogynistic descriptions so long as the male lead suffers in the end (prevalent theme). lowkey made me miss fallout new vegas, though i never gambled there. hartshorn is actually mr. house and now i'm considering becoming a casino owner.
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
To possess power compared to that of a God and yet be shackled by the limitations of a material vessel could certainly be compared to the dichotomy of the lambless worshiper, in both of these cases one is confronted with an unlimited reservoir of will to action and yet the medium through which that action could be actualized is either nonexistent or completely out of reach.
A (self proclaimed) God without the means to enact its doing. A worshiper without the sacrificial vessel to appease the desires of his divinity. Both of these paths are crafted alongside that of a destructive corruption that annihilates from the inside out. The will, once a source of strength for its possessor, becomes a parasite ready to feast upon the flesh of its carrier (or if you would rather, the transistors of its processor?).
There is really not much I can say regarding this book that hasn't been written on a sketchy sci-fi horror review blog with a CSS template from the 2010s or an ‘indiesque’ youtube essay by a bored film major, but nevertheless I shall give my two cents on the matter.
This sort of writing is one whose relevance will grow exponentially within the next few years, it is one of those works that not only recuperates within our fading memory the danger of the misalignment of human will with that of potentially dangerous technology but also the fundamental and innate necessity of human cooperation for survival.
Social darwinism is slaughtered by the wants of a ‘soul’ of silicon, 5 human beings remain after the annihilation of mankind and yet it was not up to their ability to adapt but rather up to sheer and apparent ‘luck’. At the end of the day what saves the majority of the members of this group from an eternity of torture and debasement is the fruition of human compassion for the span of some vanishing seconds. A hopeful demonstration that though the downfall of humankind can be enacted by the hand of a single individual it too could be recuperated by the ‘selfless’ empathy of another.
A (self proclaimed) God without the means to enact its doing. A worshiper without the sacrificial vessel to appease the desires of his divinity. Both of these paths are crafted alongside that of a destructive corruption that annihilates from the inside out. The will, once a source of strength for its possessor, becomes a parasite ready to feast upon the flesh of its carrier (or if you would rather, the transistors of its processor?).
There is really not much I can say regarding this book that hasn't been written on a sketchy sci-fi horror review blog with a CSS template from the 2010s or an ‘indiesque’ youtube essay by a bored film major, but nevertheless I shall give my two cents on the matter.
This sort of writing is one whose relevance will grow exponentially within the next few years, it is one of those works that not only recuperates within our fading memory the danger of the misalignment of human will with that of potentially dangerous technology but also the fundamental and innate necessity of human cooperation for survival.
Social darwinism is slaughtered by the wants of a ‘soul’ of silicon, 5 human beings remain after the annihilation of mankind and yet it was not up to their ability to adapt but rather up to sheer and apparent ‘luck’. At the end of the day what saves the majority of the members of this group from an eternity of torture and debasement is the fruition of human compassion for the span of some vanishing seconds. A hopeful demonstration that though the downfall of humankind can be enacted by the hand of a single individual it too could be recuperated by the ‘selfless’ empathy of another.