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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
This was a lot better than I thought it would be. After all, Evelyn Waugh is hardly known for his sci-fi epics. It was, as you’d expect, impeccably written, and concerns itself with two characters, a mother and son, to tell a story that reflects an entire world.
Despite some of the archaic language, I found this story relevant to today in that it deals with the elevation of the self over that of the family, community, society etc. People live in individual rooms underground believing that the air above is fatal, and, if they so choose, need never see another human being in the flesh - smartphones anyone?
The Woman receives a call from her son, Kuno, who implores her to visit him in person so he can share a shocking discovery; something that challenges their very way of life.
I won’t say any more than that about the plot only that there are no great shocks for ardent sci-fi readers, but that the writing is compelling and Waugh’s vision is surprisingly prescient.
The edition that I have has a different cover to the one here and contains another story entitled The Celestial Omnibus. This is in the fantasy/horror genre and reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe. It’s enjoyable, but, for the modern reader, holds no great surprises or insight.
Despite some of the archaic language, I found this story relevant to today in that it deals with the elevation of the self over that of the family, community, society etc. People live in individual rooms underground believing that the air above is fatal, and, if they so choose, need never see another human being in the flesh - smartphones anyone?
The Woman receives a call from her son, Kuno, who implores her to visit him in person so he can share a shocking discovery; something that challenges their very way of life.
I won’t say any more than that about the plot only that there are no great shocks for ardent sci-fi readers, but that the writing is compelling and Waugh’s vision is surprisingly prescient.
The edition that I have has a different cover to the one here and contains another story entitled The Celestial Omnibus. This is in the fantasy/horror genre and reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe. It’s enjoyable, but, for the modern reader, holds no great surprises or insight.
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
This has all of the tropes expected in a dystopian story but it was written in 1909, so I’ll give it an extra star for being ahead of its time. There are interesting early appearances of video calls and staying in touch with friends through a machine. Otherwise, having read dystopian stories before, I will give Forster the respect for being an early explorer of dystopian fiction but there is little outstanding a century later.
Jesus Christ imagine reading this in 1909! That would be horrifying!
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really enjoyed ‘The Machine Stops’ but didn’t really understand ‘The Celestial Omnibus’.
3,5
Easy to read, a bit boring though and the fl sometimes annoys me even though i know her behavior makes sense in that situation . Overall it’s still an adequate ending for the story and probably the best school lecture i had to read for now
Easy to read, a bit boring though and the fl sometimes annoys me even though i know her behavior makes sense in that situation . Overall it’s still an adequate ending for the story and probably the best school lecture i had to read for now
A dystopian classic from, surprisingly, [a:E M Forster|7247526|E M Forster|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png], better known as the writer of [b:A Room with a View|18416112|A Room with a View|E M Forster|/assets/nocover/60x80.png|26052004], [b:Howards End|3102|Howards End|E.M. Forster|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328865265s/3102.jpg|1902726], and [b:A Passage to India|45195|A Passage to India|E.M. Forster|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1170275049s/45195.jpg|4574850]. None of the themes of these stories are found in this text, except in the vaguest sense. Instead, we find a sterile, unwelcoming world, governed by the all-powerful Machine.
I would like to name similar stories to this, as a point of comparison, but can't come up with any.
I would like to name similar stories to this, as a point of comparison, but can't come up with any.