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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pretty awful book, the writing is bland and the characters are genuinely awful. The overall concept is good, but it really needed more time and effort to reach its full potential.
dark
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
funny
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
This short story takes the most clichè tropes in genre dystopia and pairs it with extremely bland writing, bland characters, over-exaggerated and yet vague worldbuilding, and a terrible, obviously rushed climax of "and then everyone dies and learns their lesson." The only reason my rating isn't lower is because it's short and presents SOME small ideas that are mildly interesting in isolation. Otherwise, a pretty unremarkable and poorly written story.
adventurous
medium-paced
How this was written in 1909 is beyond me - it’s prescience is astounding. Will mankind ever reach a state as pitiable at that described in this short story? I doubt it. But it’s lessons should have large implications if we choose to apply them to life today, where bits and pieces of The Machine already exert their influence over our minds.
On one hand, I have faith that humanity will be able to do enough to prevent a situation such as this. On the other, I think the most unrealistic aspect of this short story is that The Machine actually DOES stop. As someone living over a hundred years after this was published, I fear that we are now more likely to create a version of The Machine that can’t be stopped. If mankind has proven anything this far, it’s that our both creativity and foolishness are virtually unlimited.
On one hand, I have faith that humanity will be able to do enough to prevent a situation such as this. On the other, I think the most unrealistic aspect of this short story is that The Machine actually DOES stop. As someone living over a hundred years after this was published, I fear that we are now more likely to create a version of The Machine that can’t be stopped. If mankind has proven anything this far, it’s that our both creativity and foolishness are virtually unlimited.
challenging
reflective
fast-paced