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pammy_taylor's review against another edition
5.0
34 short stories by different authors with the same prompt about a machine that tells you how you will die. The culmination of 34 different perspectives world-building around the same new element was so unique and fascinating, it became one of my favorite collections.
jennitheghost's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! The stories were amazing, varied, funny, sad and all so interesting! I will think about this book for a long time.
jeffmauch's review against another edition
4.0
A collection of short stories by a multitude of authors all based on the same premise....There's a machine that with a simple prick of a needle can tell you how you're going to die, but there's a catch, it's often ambiguous and more importantly it's always right. You'd think you'd find a way to avoid it, but nobody ever does. Maybe your slip says "plane crash" so you never fly again, but just maybe one crashes into your office building, maybe it says something as basic as "test" then what? These stories were varied and each author put their own spin on the endless possibilities available for the premise. I enjoyed almost all of them to some extent and will probably go so far as to read the next book in the series someday.
jrfbz's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, fantastic, but I couldn't get over how subpar a few of the individual stories were.
rohand0's review against another edition
4.0
This stunning little collection of short stories is amazing. As with any collection of stories the degree of quality varies from author to author but I would say the book holds up very well.
The exploration of the different facets of how the Death Machine would affect the world are intriguing. I can imagine a lot of the scenarios playing out the way they do from the almost Eylsian style story of two different sectors based on predestined death.
The major themes that the Death Machine is infallible, that it's vague, that it allows for a reading that won't prevent it's outcome.
My only criticism of the book that is you are reading it in quick succession, you see the same themes being played over and over again and it gets kinda dull because of it's predictiveness. The stories that ADD to the concept of the Death Machine I feel were the best, especially the Estimated Death story, where not only do you get a prediction but the date of said prediction.
The exploration of the different facets of how the Death Machine would affect the world are intriguing. I can imagine a lot of the scenarios playing out the way they do from the almost Eylsian style story of two different sectors based on predestined death.
The major themes that the Death Machine is infallible, that it's vague, that it allows for a reading that won't prevent it's outcome.
My only criticism of the book that is you are reading it in quick succession, you see the same themes being played over and over again and it gets kinda dull because of it's predictiveness. The stories that ADD to the concept of the Death Machine I feel were the best, especially the Estimated Death story, where not only do you get a prediction but the date of said prediction.
aimeeinfinity's review against another edition
4.0
Some of my favorites: Flaming Marshmallow, Starvation, Miscarriage, HIV Infection from Machine of Death Needle, Nothing. There were some other good ones too, and some other ones I can't even remember reading. But for the good stories, and all of the art, totally worth the read.
morningstardust's review against another edition
5.0
I love Dinosaur Comics and the premise of this book is so intriguing. The stories in this collection are all so different and unique that it's hard to imagine that they come from the same premise. I also enjoyed the variety of writing styles - conversational through straight up literary. My favorites were Loss of Blood, Almond, Cancer (both stories!), Improperly Prepared Blowfish and Cocaine and Painkillers.
dfmjr's review against another edition
3.0
like any anthology some are great, some are not. this lost steam 2/3 through.
mikime's review
5.0
A great collection of stories, with a wide range of takes and angles, all sharing the brilliant idea of a machine capable of predicting the cause of death of anyone through a blood test, with a devilish vagueness, correctness and even irony.
mo_loves_books's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75