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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
Genuinely quite unsettling, and I think it has a very useful message-- especially for our current society. Only loses points because it was,,, quite heavy handed. I would have appreciated a bit more subtlety. Very readable, though!
111 years old and still relevant to our current day technological dependencies and pandemic-induced isolation. The writing itself is nothing special but for Forster to more or less predict the future ensures that this one is worth reading. While the ending wasn't entirely what I expected, it definitely is what I wanted.
dark
mysterious
tense
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
reflective
fast-paced
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Brilliant short story, unbelievably from 1909 but still basically is the Matrix. I've read other Forster but never science fiction before, not sure if he wrote more in this genre. He manages to predict the internet, AI, screens, zoom calls, TED talks, list goes on, and weaves a horrifying future where humans live in tiny honeycombs with every need seen to by The Machine.
Since this short story was read in the context of a larger, mainly dystopian research project, there were concepts still fresh in my mind to link to it. The technique I was probably most impressed by was the apparent switch from a progress- to a perfection-oriented dystopia. In addition to its ability to address many different themes, this story is not only beautifully written, but also brings up a nicely framed confrontation between different perspectives.