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The Machine Stops

E.M. Forster

Start date: May 1, 2025

Finish date: May 31, 2025

Discussion: Short Story/Novella Collection

Why we're reading this: May 2025 - Short Story/Novella Read
[close] May 2025 - Short Story/Novella Read

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Short Story/Novella Collection

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* Short Story Classics
By Bob , Short Story Classics · 1 post · 703 views

last updated Sep 01, 2015 05:35AM

Lois the Witch - August 2025
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last updated Sep 01, 2025 03:10PM

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What Members Thought

Mar 23, 2024 RJ - Slayer of Trolls rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-short-story

Welcome my son
Welcome to the machine
Where have you been?
It's alright we know where you've been
- Pink Floyd: "Welcome to the Machine"

EM Forster is known primarily for a handful of Edwardian-Era novels, most of which have been lushly adapted to the silver screen by notable award-winning directors such as David Lean and James Ivory. But this short story, originally published in 1909 as a response to a utopian novel written by H.G. Wells, stands apart as a bleak dystopian look at a future Earth ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Sep 22, 2017 Michele rated it really liked it

Shelves: dystopia-apocalypse

Creepily plausible. The bit where everyone avoids direct experience/knowledge of a thing, in favor of talking/ writing about what other people said about what other people thought about what other people wrote about a thing rang disturbingly prescient in our "post-truth" world of alternate facts. Also the woman spending her whole life interacting with her reality totally through buttons and screens. *shiver* ...more

13 likes · Like · see review

Jul 07, 2014 Laura rated it liked it

Shelves: short-stories, british-literature, e-books, audio-books, read-2014, science-fiction, dystopia

From BBC Radio 4 - 4 Extra Debut:
Written in 1909, a tale of the future where the machine has become an all-powerful god. Stars Gemma Jones and John McAndrew.

You may read online here.

I would never imagined that E M Forster had wrote any science fiction book before I have read Richard's review. ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Aug 23, 2019 Suvi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, _great-britain, short-stories, 1900-1939

(3.5 stars) If you're a Forster fan and stumbled into this anomaly, you might have been as confused as I was and thought why he of all people decided to write a sci-fi story, or, more importantly, would it actually be good?

Luckily, it's well worth the read. Well-written and with an eerie ending, it's especially recommended for those whose gadgets have been glued into their hands and brains instead of being mere tools of communication. A monochromatic world, completely devoid of original thought ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Aug 22, 2013 Heather L rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics, sci-fi, 2013

Who knew EM Forster wrote science fiction? Great novella that speaks to our reliance on machines. I read a free online version, which I would recommend (just ignore all the typos!): http://archive.ncsa.illinois.edu/praj... ...more

2 likes · Like · see review