Publishing Information: Kindle Edition
Publisher: Bearstache Books 26 October 2010
ISBN 10: 0982167121
ISBN 13: 978-0982167120
ASIN: B004AHK9ZA
Short Story Collection
Copy: Provided by Publisher
Reviewer: Tyson
Synopsis: "The machine had been invented a few years ago: a machine that could tell, from just a sample of your blood, how you were going to die. No dates, no details. Just a slip of paper with a few words spelling out your ultimate fate -- at once all-too specific and maddeningly vague.
A top ten Amazon Customer Favorite in Science Fiction & Fantasy for 2010, The Machine of Death is an anthology of original stories bound together by a central premise. From the humorous to the adventurous to the mind-bending to the touching, the writers explore what the world would be like if a blood test could predict your death.
But don't think for a moment this is a book entirely composed of stories about people meeting their ironic dooms. There is some of that, of course. But more than that, this is a genre-hopping collection of tales about people who have learned more about themselves then perhaps they should have, and how that knowledge affects their relationships, their perception of the world, and how they feel about themselves.
Features thirty-four stories by Randall Munroe, Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, Tom Francis, Camille Alexa, Erin McKean, James L. Sutter, David Malki !, Ryan North, and many others
Features illustrations by Kate Beaton, Kazu Kibuishi, Aaron Diaz, Jeffrey Brown, Scott C., Roger Langridge, Karl Kershl, Cameron Stewart, and many others"
I am not a huge short story reader but when the publisher contacted me and asked me if I would be interested in reviewing the book, I jumps at the chance. I was not hooked until I read the premise. Each story contained in the collection is based on the same idea that a machine has been invented that will predict accurately how you will leave this world. While some of the predictions are fairly obvious, others are not so clear.
In all honesty the first few stories that I read in Machine of Death drove me nuts as they are left very open ended. No resolution is to be found in the first few stories. I was getting skeptical and was wondering if there was ever going to be a scene in any of the stories where we see the predictions come true. I did not have to wait long and soon came to realise that they were put in the beginning of the novel to warm you up to the idea and to have you salivating at the prospect of what was to come.
As you dig deeper into the stories the collection provides, you wonder just how far they are willing to go as each story really builds upon one another. As you read one story you wonder, how can they top that one? Only to find that the next story accomplishes exactly that. While I was a little disappointed with the first few stories (mainly due to no resolution) I began to see the bigger picture and thought it was really impressive that they placed them where they did. Because had they been thrown in the middle or in the later portions of the book, it would have ruined the tempo the book had built up to.
Next week, I will review Yathzee Croshaw's Mogworld and I was disappointed with the novel but he really does shine in this collection. His short story was a lot of fun to read. He was redeemed in this collection. Truth be told I can not really think of a poorly written short story found in this book. Each one is original and entertaining. It was also a change of pace as it led to a interesting conversation at home as I asked the qestion "would you want to know how you died?"
Machine of Death is a impressive collection of short stories all with a common bond. I think the common bond actually made the read more enjoyable as it was the first short story collection that I had read that had a common thread. Reading it on the Kindle the format was perfect. It was easy to read and formatted perfectly. Highly recommended.
Plot 9
Characters 8
Style 9
Overall 9.5/10
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar