Reviews - The Machine Stops

777 reviews for:

Disclosure: I only read "The Machine Stops", and this is what I'm rating 5 stars. "The Machine Stops" was a beautifully short and accurate depiction of the dangerous capabilities that technology possesses to influence our society.. and it was written over a century ago, which only makes it all the more captivating to read! I absolutely loved it.

ann_kay's review against another edition

3.0

Haunting, and I honestly didn't enjoy reading it but I also could stop until I finished it? Written in 1909, it's a little eery how accurate some of his predictions are.

mysteriousnorse's review against another edition

5.0

http://apolloreborn.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-machine-stops.html

bl_on_the_dl's review against another edition

4.0

"The clumsy system of public gatherings had been long since abandoned; neither Vashti nor her audience stirred from their rooms. Seated in her armchair she spoke, while they in their armchairs heard her, fairly well, and saw her, fairly well." written in 1909, could've been written in 2020.

danie10's review against another edition

4.0

Considering this book was first published in 1909 it is clearly mentioning technology such as Skype, undersea cables, the Internet, etc. It just blew my mind how this all became reality right down to us living in a room connected to others solely by The Machine.

readhikerepeat's review against another edition

5.0

Imagine living in a world where humans interact by computer screen and rely on technology to bring them anything they want. This is the world that E.M. Forster imagined back in the early 1900’s in The Machine Stops and I wonder if he had any idea how portentous his story would turn out to be. In Forster’s world, humans had become so reliant on technology and leadership that they ceased thinking for themselves and had no need for physical human contact. Humanity had, quite literally, driven itself underground and given itself over to the whims of The Machine. Collectively, it was easier to do as told than to protest, and humans swallowed the stories told to them by The Machine without question in order to avoid any discomfort. But amidst the complacent darkness, there was one man sought the light and The Machine Stops is his story.

This book is entirely too relevant to today’s world. It’s not hard to draw parallels from The Machine to our political system. We also live in a society that oftentimes values individual comforts over the collective good. Plus, we do, actually, idolize and interact by computer screen and can have goods delivered to us with the touch of a button. So while we may not live underground and shy away from sunlight, the following quotes pulled from The Machine Stops demonstrate exactly how prescient Forster may have been.

This review was originally posted at The Book Wheel.