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774 reviews for:

The Machine Stops

E.M. Forster

4.01 AVERAGE

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad medium-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
adventurous challenging reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated

A very well-crafted sci-fi novella that poses a lot of interesting 'ideas' to consider. 
dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: No

A frightening look forwards to our near future.
challenging dark reflective medium-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: Yes

Incredibly prescient story considering when it was written! People have pointed out many of the similarities between this world and our own present but the one that sticks out to me a lot is the annoyance at having one's time "wasted" by communication not focussed on one's job. Any human connection is met with an annoyed attitude and "make it quick, I don't have time for this" as if the Machine and one's content output is more important than even family.
dark emotional reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: N/A
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
mysterious

kcherry's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH

slow paced & dystopian/too futuristic
challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense

I read this per the recommendation of Allen Arnold. It's probably one of the best short stories I've ever read. It couldn't be a more timely piece, and I truly think that everyone should read it at least once.

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