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nebulous_tide's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve read and re-read this short story several times. Of all stories I’ve ever read, this one comes up in conversation the most. I have bought copies for people to read because my copy is always lent out. It is so relevant today, but especially in recent years during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the parallels with Forster’s world were uncannily true to life. I’d give this one a bonus star if I could. I urge you to read it - it’s only 48 pages long.
ninethreeo's review against another edition
5.0
I've giving this books 5 stars because the ideas within it have stayed with me since I read it 20+ years ago.
I'd been thinking about it recently and decided to re-read. Reviews have noted its prediction of instant message/internet but the bit that stays with me is the machine's delivery of the physical goods we need to survive and live.
Vashti needs only to press a button to have her food instantly delivered. Music and literature/lectures are delivered instantly.
Although the tech to do this is glossed over/clunky in this novella I'm finding interesting parallels with how things are going. Amazon Prime. Argos 3 hour delivery. Deliveroo. Kindle. iTunes.
Enjoyed re-reading this.
I bought it from iBooks and had it delivered instantly.
I'd been thinking about it recently and decided to re-read. Reviews have noted its prediction of instant message/internet but the bit that stays with me is the machine's delivery of the physical goods we need to survive and live.
Vashti needs only to press a button to have her food instantly delivered. Music and literature/lectures are delivered instantly.
Although the tech to do this is glossed over/clunky in this novella I'm finding interesting parallels with how things are going. Amazon Prime. Argos 3 hour delivery. Deliveroo. Kindle. iTunes.
Enjoyed re-reading this.
I bought it from iBooks and had it delivered instantly.
saintakim's review against another edition
5.0
"Oh, I have no remedy — or, at least, only one — to tell men again and again that I have seen the hills of Wessex as Ælfrid saw them when he overthrew the Danes."
On vit dans une société.
On vit dans une société.
dromwald's review against another edition
4.0
Over a hundred years old now I first read this short story back at school. I didn't realise then how prophetic this work was (It certainly envisioned what we now know as the internet) and whilst some of the predictions from a practical sense might not have come to pass (yet) one can see the dangers in a world where people increasingly live their lives through their phones and tablets and fail to actually experience the beauty around them as they indulge in the sanitized 'selfie' vision of life.
manorclassics's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I'm not generally a sci-fi reader but I was intrigued by this one because of the author. I found it surprisingly enjoyable, some interesting ideas and I actually wouldn't have minded if it was a bit longer. I don't really know what to compare it to but it's very short so definitely worth a go if you are at all curious.
elmofromok's review against another edition
5.0
Pretty dark and amazing view of what the future would hold for us.
aoc's review against another edition
5.0
I seriously have no idea how I've managed to overlook a book of this caliber for so long. It's rather crazy how straight up prophetic The Machine Stops is in our day and age when you take into account Forester wrote it in 1909. More than a century ago. Not even in that sense of “oh, it's anachronistic but you can see glimmers of things to come if you squint hard and extrapolate” - some odd terminology notwithstanding this reads like a modern day warning the way it handles subject matters, yet is also devoid of cynicism and preaching that have become more and more prominent.
Truth be told biggest problem I'm facing right now is how to handle this review because I really, really want you to read the book for yourself so as you don't go into it with my write-up already read.
There are three parts to The Machine Stops and we open to humanity living a perfect life underground under the watchful eye of the Machine of old. As we see it through the perspective of Vashti she shares this is the closest thing to heaven where everyone lives in a room of their own and the Machine meets their every need and desire, where their main pursuits are intellectual and “sharing ideas” is the peak of mental pursuits as, well, there's literally nothing else to do. Humanity has finally reached the state of utopia. As this is set thousands of years in the future of our own Earth you can see some familiar names thrown around, but it is quickly established that travel beyond your habitat complex aka your room which is your entire life, is highly undesirable. For surface of the Earth is dangerous with atmosphere unfit for life so people don't even want to expose themselves to sunlight when they travel with air-ships, provided they cannot avoid the trip they usually only do once and for one purpose – to go live where the Machine sends them to live. This extensive and very immersive primer on the setting is interrupted when Vashti gets a conference call from her son Kuno who lives on the other side of the world and he has something important to share he can't talk about “through the Machine” with its holographic blue plates, effectively asking his mother to come meet him in person having been separated from her for a while as it is dictated by the Machine.
And then things get worse.
Having said all that I haven't really shared much of any of the real story and that's surprising considering this a short one with only 48 pages. I should point out the story itself is basically not even there as much as the entire short story is really about the human race itself. Commentary modern society is staggeringly strong in this one and you can't help but wonder if author was a time traveler. On a more serious side, I suppose blind dependence on technology, loss of agency and willpower as well as overreaching as masters of the world are universal themes when you think about them. They're all definitely present here in a very matter a fact style without needless purple prose which was much appreciated.
Like I said at the very beginning I don't think I can do this one justice it deserves, but pointing out I read it one go should speak volumes how much it gripped me. There's also multiple reasons as to why you have no excuse to check it out for yourselves: it's really short with with that number of pages and it's public domain, meaning you can go and read right now if you click on the cover art. Or listen to considering audiobook option also exists at the link.
I would say “Don't think, JUST DO IT” but that would be going against the what we're being taught here.
Truth be told biggest problem I'm facing right now is how to handle this review because I really, really want you to read the book for yourself so as you don't go into it with my write-up already read.
There are three parts to The Machine Stops and we open to humanity living a perfect life underground under the watchful eye of the Machine of old. As we see it through the perspective of Vashti she shares this is the closest thing to heaven where everyone lives in a room of their own and the Machine meets their every need and desire, where their main pursuits are intellectual and “sharing ideas” is the peak of mental pursuits as, well, there's literally nothing else to do. Humanity has finally reached the state of utopia. As this is set thousands of years in the future of our own Earth you can see some familiar names thrown around, but it is quickly established that travel beyond your habitat complex aka your room which is your entire life, is highly undesirable. For surface of the Earth is dangerous with atmosphere unfit for life so people don't even want to expose themselves to sunlight when they travel with air-ships, provided they cannot avoid the trip they usually only do once and for one purpose – to go live where the Machine sends them to live. This extensive and very immersive primer on the setting is interrupted when Vashti gets a conference call from her son Kuno who lives on the other side of the world and he has something important to share he can't talk about “through the Machine” with its holographic blue plates, effectively asking his mother to come meet him in person having been separated from her for a while as it is dictated by the Machine.
And then things get worse.
Having said all that I haven't really shared much of any of the real story and that's surprising considering this a short one with only 48 pages. I should point out the story itself is basically not even there as much as the entire short story is really about the human race itself. Commentary modern society is staggeringly strong in this one and you can't help but wonder if author was a time traveler. On a more serious side, I suppose blind dependence on technology, loss of agency and willpower as well as overreaching as masters of the world are universal themes when you think about them. They're all definitely present here in a very matter a fact style without needless purple prose which was much appreciated.
Like I said at the very beginning I don't think I can do this one justice it deserves, but pointing out I read it one go should speak volumes how much it gripped me. There's also multiple reasons as to why you have no excuse to check it out for yourselves: it's really short with with that number of pages and it's public domain, meaning you can go and read right now if you click on the cover art. Or listen to considering audiobook option also exists at the link.
I would say “Don't think, JUST DO IT” but that would be going against the what we're being taught here.
rominadelap's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
bentrevett's review against another edition
2.0
ideas are very prescient (written in 1909!) and reasonably interesting, but everything else is nothing special. probably still worth reading as it's under 50 pages.