I read this per the recommendation of Allen Arnold. It's probably one of the best short stories I've ever read. It couldn't be a more timely piece, and I truly think that everyone should read it at least once.

The Machine Stops - 5⭐
A Celestial Omnibus - 3⭐
Average rating for the entire book = 4⭐

The Machine Stops
Sensational. Prophetic. Important and succinct. I actually stopped reading half way through to check when this was written; it was first published in 1909. 1909! 114 YEARS AGO!! The futuristic technology described and the accompanying societal norms are SPOT ON. Forster clearly had an excellent understanding of humans' attitudes, needs, desires, and shortcomings. He described things such as remote control, video calls, and modular highly specialised automation. He also described the accompanying behaviours such as withdrawal, isolation, and intolerance, directly referring to the extreme discomfort experience by people not experiencing life through technology in their individual bubble as 'direct experience anxiety'.

The Machine stops forces the reader to contemporary reader to evaluate one's own self in the information/technology/machine age. How do I foster my growth as a human being? How can i stay truly connected to others and to nature? What are the benefits and/or damage done by hyper-individualism and the collapse of community? What is the line between machines supporting our lives meaningfully, freeing up our time and energy from labour for other pursuits (e.g., washing machines) and them dominating the way in which we spend our time and energy (social media addiction, digitalisation of processes, no opt out etc.) It's a quick sci-fi read but amazing for the time it was written and left me wondering how many times I've exchanged experiences for "ideas." I appreciate how Forster focused on the physical health aspects as well as mental health aspects of the machine age human.

A Celestial Omnibus
Some short stories, such as The Machine Stops, show us its meaning clearly and deliberately, and at the end of the story you have a clear and immediate reaction. Other short stories, like A Celestial Omnibus, the story's intent is less clear and you end the story trying to make sense of it. I enjoyed reading this story, but nowhere near as much as The Machine Stops. My take away is that the boy protagonist represented creativity and imagination, and that the moral of the story is that there is meaning in these pursuits in and of themselves. Illustrated by the elitist, arrogant, snob Mr Bons (snob written backwards! :)) whose superficial appreciation of the arts saw him being lost/damned/falling to his death? A petty point, but I also didn't appreciate the Greek bit at the end that didn't have a translation. I felt like I missed something important to the story.

I get chills every time I read this; Forster’s foresight into the internet age is uncomfortably eerie and marvellously constructed. 

I first read The Machine Stops during COVID-19; and it’s story of isolation and machine domination hit me like a tsunami. This novella was written in 1909, 114 years ago to be precise, and it predicted things such as Skype, the internet, and even Y2K. And yet this isn’t a story about marvellous gadgets and future technologies, it’s a story about us, the people, and how said technology can change the very bones of what it means to be human. 

The Machine Stops made me think as someone now living in the machine age; how can I still foster my growth as a human being? And perhaps it is making sure to stay connected to the natural world. No human advancement is great if it leaves our planet and humanity behind. 

This is one of the greatest science-fiction stories ever written, and my favourite novella too. 

Holy shit, dude! The original publication date is insane! This short story is a very good observation on how we can become addicted to and trapped by technology without realising it. The fact he predicted this over a century ago is impressive.

For being written in 1909, this novella is a remarkably accurate prediction of how technology can function in a day-to-day capacity. I was shocked at how familiar it was to read about the video/audio communication between Vashti and Kuno.

The novella is also very similar in its style and themes to The Time Machine by H. G. Wells.

Read this during the pandemic and it hit incredibly close to home even though it was written over 100 years ago.