Read Machine of Death Kurzgeschichten German Edition eBook Ryan North Matthew Bennardo David Malki Jörn Morisse
Read Machine of Death Kurzgeschichten German Edition eBook Ryan North Matthew Bennardo David Malki Jörn Morisse
Download As PDF : Machine of Death Kurzgeschichten German Edition eBook Ryan North Matthew Bennardo David Malki Jörn Morisse
Ihr werdet alle sterben!
Stellen Sie sich vor, Sie gehen zum Arzt, machen einen Bluttest und eine Maschine spuckt daraufhin einen kleinen Zettel mit der Art Ihres Todes aus. Keine Einzelheiten, kein Zeitpunkt – die einzige Information, die man erhält, ist Tod durch Ertrinken oder Verhungern oder Alter.
Gleich dem Orakel von Delphi verhängt die Machine of Death ihr Urteil über die Menschen, und die Autoren dieser einzigartigen Storysammlung schildern auf ironische, humorvolle und berührende Weise, was passiert, wenn man versucht, seinem Schicksal aus dem Weg zu gehen ...
Read Machine of Death Kurzgeschichten German Edition eBook Ryan North Matthew Bennardo David Malki Jörn Morisse
"I really enjoyed this book, fantastic short reads great for those public transport times, waiting rooms and odd bits of time to fill. Lots of good irony and juxtapositions, I normally hate open ended stories and this book is full of them but most are telling a story that is more important than what happens to the characters in their end. I enjoyed the look into different worlds that could be created when people know their fate (will people all get tested at a certain age? or birth? will people be grouped in accordance to CoD?), each one is different. It will definitely have you thinking, would you do the test and if you did what would you do with the answer?"
Product details
|
Tags : Buy Machine of Death Kurzgeschichten (German Edition) Read 196 Reviews - ,ebook,Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo, David Malki, Jörn Morisse,Machine of Death Kurzgeschichten (German Edition),Heyne Verlag,Belletristik / Science Fiction,Belletristik / Science Fiction,Belletristik / Science Fiction / Fantasy
Machine of Death Kurzgeschichten German Edition eBook Ryan North Matthew Bennardo David Malki Jörn Morisse Reviews :
Machine of Death Kurzgeschichten German Edition eBook Ryan North Matthew Bennardo David Malki Jörn Morisse Reviews
- Based on an idea proposed by that dinosaur comic (that there is a machine that, like the Oracle at Delphi, will cryptically and enigmatically tell you how you will die, vaguely), this is a brilliant collection of short stories that approach such a basic idea from every possible angle. And, in doing so, explores the very nature of mortality, humanity, destiny, tragedy, triumph, love, joy, hatred, fear, and ecstasy. I don't think I've ever read such a strong collection of stories, nor one that was so very thought-provoking on so many levels.
The big question, of course, is, would you use the Machine of Death? Logically, as a literature major, I know that it is never a good idea to know the future, much less how you die. It always ends badly. On the other hand, how could you possibly, as a human being, restrain yourself from obtaining that kind of information? To be human is to open Pandora's Box, to climb Mount Everest, to eat of the Tree of Knowledge. The maddening thing is that, even as such information could totally ruin the rest of our life, it could very possibly be the best thing to happen to our life. It could be as freeing as it could be constricting. It could cripple us with fear, or release us completely from it.
Even worse, could the knowledge of how we die, like with every Greek hero ever, cause that death? In running from fate, would we run right into it? Would this be self-fulfilling prophecy? Would we be like Sleeping Beauty, in being protected from the spinning wheel, run to prick our fingers on it?
Would the very existence of the Machine, the very ability to have this knowledge ruin life, mortality, and death?
If you were the one to invent the Machine, could you release it on the world? Would you feel responsible for the outcome? For the deaths? Would you be a savior, or a monster?
Would knowing affect everything? Is this a question of fate and destiny, or of human psychology, the self-fulfilling prophecy? Do we fight against the dying of the light or do we accept fate and die with a whimper?
Furthermore, is the Machine accurate? If it spits out "JOY" or "SUICIDE" or "ALMOND", is the truth in the fate what the Machine meant, or does the human psyche make it so?
Then we get into the meta part of this. Isn't modern medical technology essentially Machines of Death? Do we have any ability to try to face or change fate? Can we?
Moreover (and here we get literary), does the manner in which we die reflect the way we live? Does the end of our story reflect the beginning and middle? Is our death, the end of our story, random or determined? Is it a reflection of who we are as people? Does our manner of death reflect our manner of life?
Furthermore, could humanity ever possibly live with such divine (or meta) knowledge as the ending of our own stories? Would it save our lives or destroy them? Make us worse or make us better? Could humanity ever cope with certitude? Is hope a curse or a blessing? Can humans ever be human without hope? Would we ever strive to know or fight or do without hope?
If we (both as a human character in this alternative world and as the reader of these stories) know the ending of the story (the death), how does it affect the reader, the writer, the characters? Oh, hell, do I love that double layer!
Because, death gives life. Death affects life.
My favorite stories Suicide by David Michael Wharton, Almond by John Chernega, Starvation by M. Bennardo, Killed By Daniel by Julia Wainwright, Cocaine and Painkillers by Daivd Malki!, Loss of Blood by Jeff Stautz, and Miscarriage by James L. Sutter.
This collection is highly addicting, incredibly absorbing, comprehensive, clever, imaginative, thought-provoking, and utterly brilliant. Grade A+ - The theme which is the backbone of this short story collection is a pretty fun idea. There is a machine that can tell the manner of an individual's death from a blood sample. The catch is, there is no date of death given...and the results can be extremely vague and unpredictable.
As an example
Someone could get a result of 'Barracuda'...so they avoid bodies of water their whole life, only to be hit and killed by a Dodge Barracuda while walking down the street. (I made this example up...hence...no spoiler warning)
With the exception of a few of them, these stories are very well written and do a good job of exploring all different angles of this hypothetical situation.
I was pleasantly surprised that these authors didn't take a path akin to the Final Destination movies. In other words most of these stories focus not on the actual death taking place...but on how the characters live their lives knowing how they will die. This makes the book far more entertaining and valuable to read. It could have easily become trashy throw-away entertainment, but it avoids falling into that trap and at times even becomes a nice commentary on the human condition.
This is a fun read that will at times catch you off guard with sadness and humor. I highly recommend this collection.
4.25/5 - I am about halfway through this book and it is starting to become a slough. I am enjoying most of the stories, but the central theme to them is all so specific they start to blend together.
The writers are (mostly) brilliant and I've enjoyed many of their works, but reading this book all in one go is really difficult. I think this book is best enjoyed a few stories at a time between other books. Otherwise, being hammered with the same narrow theme over and over can get very repetitive. - Themed anthologies run the risk of boring the reader with dozens of similar stories, and that is doubly true for a theme that is so extremely specific as the Machine of Death-anthology (soon to be followed by Vol.II). But the editors have managed to compile from their submission a richly varied set of short stories, which entertain, move, thrill--yes, and even shock.
The theme is unique to the point of oddness what if there's a machine that can predict the manner of your death from a single drop of your blood? The machine is never wrong, but often ironic, elliptical or quirky. A prediction of 'old age' might mean a peaceful death after a long life, but might just as well imply that you will be stampeded by a horde of deranged geezers.
If such predictions, such Machines of Death, are readily available, would you want to know? What would the knowledge do with you? How would the existence of such a machine change society as we know it? The possibilities are endless, from people spending their life avoiding the predicted death to others embracing their fate and preparing for it, from attempts to ban the MoD to fanatical followings.
Each story in this anthology is a gem of insight and originality. If you're a short story lover, this one's definitely for you! - I really enjoyed this book, fantastic short reads great for those public transport times, waiting rooms and odd bits of time to fill. Lots of good irony and juxtapositions, I normally hate open ended stories and this book is full of them but most are telling a story that is more important than what happens to the characters in their end. I enjoyed the look into different worlds that could be created when people know their fate (will people all get tested at a certain age? or birth? will people be grouped in accordance to CoD?), each one is different. It will definitely have you thinking, would you do the test and if you did what would you do with the answer?
Comments
Post a Comment