best short story I've read in a while

[maribou]

"The Machine Stops" was first published in the Oxford and Cambridge Review in 1909, saith the webpage I read it on. Fucking brilliant. Who knew EM Forster wrote science fiction? Let alone the hauntingly powerful kind. Haven't been this transfixed by a dystopia since I read Anthem during college finals.

See for yourselves.

Comments

[hotpoint.livejournal.com]

Interesting. It blends together many end-of-history themes I've seen before, and also seems reminiscent of other early British science fiction (Stapledon comes to mind, though Forster is a far better writer). While the technology has aged, the combination of his lack of description of details and the feeling of ossification of future planning renders that timeless. I just wish Kuno's voice had been coming from Outside.

[maribou]

I think you've nailed where the timelessness comes from. I went for a 2 hour walk today - I suspect it wasn't entirely unrelated...