The Machine Stops

Enjoyable novel.

There is a sense of moribundness as the end of the world has already happened in this future. The unseen Machine looms in the whole tale in an effective way... there are quite complex and mature aspects that seem true to us and to our time as the way we socialize these days with the Internet. Also there are other aspects perhaps a bit innocent (I refer to the personality of the son although is normal at his age) but as a whole I feel it is an important story.I admit I have read few stories contemporary to The Machine Stops, mostly in two anthologies curated by Asimov. So far I think this story could precede and inspire a whole important thematic inside the science fiction literature: the one of illusory post-apocalyptic utopias where mankind has lost its essence trading it for the dependence to the intelligent machines meant originally to help us.

This is more a long short-story than a novel, and for sure too much of it serves as exposition. So in strictly "literary" terms its more of a "3 star" book on those grounds. And the funny thing is, I'm guessing that until the last decade or so much of what it posits must have seemed more a fanciful "what if?" scenario than anything else. Except... here we are, billions of us glued to the screens of phones and tablets, many of us avoiding real physical interactions as much as possible in favor of those mediated by screens.How the man who wrote A Room with a View could have had the foresight to predict such a world is nothing short of astounding. My guess is his storyline somehow was extrapolated from the newest technology of his time: the telephone. The Machine in this book, what we today know as an AI (Artificial Intelligence) most closely resembles a substitute for God (the Anglican, Patrician version the author was most familiar with). Much of the other technology featured are logical extensions of what was happening in the early 20th century. And of course many authors in Great Britain were concerned about environmental destruction (TS Elliot, Tolkien, and others) but again, Forster seems especially prescient.All in all, a fascinating exercise in dystopian speculation, and probably an evening's worth of reading for most adults.

I would recommend this book to those who want unrestrained AI.I liked that the book was short.Basically just 2 main characters.

The book itself is good, but it's difficult to believe Amazon allows this to be published with such an abundance of errors. It's as if it is a parody of grammar- the mistakes so blatant I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Can't even bring myself to keep it- throwing the copy away now.

Written in 1909, The Machine Stops could have been written today. In the world of this book, a person's every need is taken care of by The Machine. People live by themselves in a single room. They are allowed to leave this room, but most never do. "Direct observation" of other people or the outside world, or worse yet physical contact, is repulsive to them. They would rather see something on a screen. At their command, The Machine feeds them (DoorDash). The room is lighted or darkened at their command (Alexa turn the lights on). No one works or engages in any physical activity (The dreamworld of the universal basic income crowd). They simply pass the time by sharing ideas with friends via video conferencing on something like a tablet. Oh yeah, if they do venture out into the real world they have to wear a respirator. More than 100 years beforehand, the author predicted the type of artificial life that many people in 2021 actually enjoy living.

The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster inspired me to doodle this picture. The words on page 11, “The earth, carrying her, hummed as it sped through silence, turning her now to the invisible sun, now to the invisible stars” are striking to me although written at the beginning of the 20th century. We are surrounded by the noise of today’s machines, blind to our planet’s (well)being. The noise is tuning us out. The message I got from this book: we need to connect back to our origin - Earth - to save humanity.Good read. Oh, and it’s only 40+ pages long.

EM Forster's The Machine Stops was written over a century ago, but has a timeless quality especially for today. Forster projects a future where all the mundane tasks of living are handled by 'the machine' such that humans are freed to pursue 'ideas.' The result is less than ideal. Humanity becomes disconnected from one another and society as the machine offers connections through an internet-like capability. In addition, since there are few physical needs that go unmet - food, clothing, shelter, entertainment, etc., there is little desire or curiosity for newer or more technology. The result is a facade of pseudo-vibrant social interactions (essentially all taking place online) and ideas devolve into a morass of personal opinions about the arts and history without producing anything new or novel.The main character's son is a bit eccentric and decides to venture out beyond the confines of the machine controlled environment where there has been ecological disaster which is viewed as criminal. Finally, the 'machine' begins to breakdown, but by this time, no one is competent to repair and at the same time totally unprepared for a machineless lifestyle.

Incredible story. Scary when you think about where we are at today.

Visionario, increíble la similitud entre lo soñado hace un siglo y lo vivido hoy en día.

Excelente! Surpreendente ter sido escrito em 1909!

A more important warning than ever from the start of the 20th century to the start of the 21st century. When I first read this at school, there was no internet/social media etc. and even then it was easy to understand what Forster was getting at...another brick in his wall of Only Connect (physically that is).

In only a few pages this story had quite an impact on me. Almost can't wrap my mind around the fact that it's from 1909, although it makes sense.