Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories about People Who Know How They Will Die

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More About This Book

Overview

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.

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

Editorial Reviews

Chris Greenland
For an anthology that deals with the inevitability of death, Machine of Death is a lot of fun. The editors knew not to start off heavy, nor does the tone of the anthology lean too long in any direction, providing a lot of singular entertainment for the reader. Machine of Death is highly engaging, interestingly crowdsourced, and crafted with a great deal of care. You’ll be thinking about it long after you’re through reading.
Jeff VanDermeer
Personally, I found Machine of Death a lively, self-assured, and diverse read. The stories aren’t as similar as you might think from the premise, the editors have done a good job of breaking up the text with the art, and the whole enterprise has an air of subversion and energy that supports the outrageously cool way in which they managed to get the book world’s attention.
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
Tasha Robinson
Machine Of Death is a marvelous collection, riddled with intelligence, creative reach, and a frankness that makes the best use of the central gimmick. While the seed idea seemingly lends itself to twist-ending stories about people who try to evade their predicted deaths, there are only a few of those; more often, the stories examine how the death-predictor machine would change the world.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780982167120
  • Publisher: Machines of Death
  • Publication date: 10/13/2010
  • Pages: 470
  • Sales rank: 320,508
  • Product dimensions: 9.14 (w) x 11.32 (h) x 0.94 (d)

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 43 )

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 43 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 15, 2012

    I shouldn't have started 2011 with this book

    Because it remained one of the best books I read all year.
    With a great breadth of stories from hilarious, to insightful, all the way to depressing this book ran the gamut.

    I read it for our book club and it was the most popular book amongst all the members thus far.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted January 11, 2012

    Exceeded Expectations Dramatically!!!

    Didn't know what to expect from this book, I was just purchasing off of the concept alone. The book has turned out to be many different things all rolled into one. This book is the perfect book for readers of any genre, because it absolutely has something for everyone.

    I would highly recommend this book to casual readers looking for a bit more, a bit more thinking in their enjoyment.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted May 16, 2011

    A must-read if you want to think for a while

    Picked this up in a BN store and thumbed through it, it's why I bought a NOOK! Overall a fantastic read, one that made me think every time I got to a new story. What would like be like if you knew (sort of) how you were going to die? This book will make you wonder.

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  • Posted April 26, 2011

    Lots of morbid fun

    So many Internet celebrities means lots of different angles on a compelling premise. How do governments react to facing mortality? How do teenagers? If you like the aesthetic of our young Internet, you will love these stories.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted March 23, 2011

    more from this reviewer

    A beautiful collection, a necessary read!

    An amazing anthology with something for just about everyone, this book is a must-have for every device!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted February 25, 2011

    An intriguing new concept

    Stumbled upon this book entirely by accident and I was really glad I did. I hate to sound cliche, but this book really makes you think. How would you react if you found out the way you would die? Would you want to know? The individual stories are well-written and draw the reader in easily. I breezed through this book in no time. The only flaw I could see is that you get so engrossed in some of the characters that you are disappointed when the story is over and you don't know what happens to them.

    Definitely worth a read.

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  • Posted February 12, 2011

    Great Book!

    I am not a fiction reader, but this book is great!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 27, 2011

    This is a really great collection

    The product of a really cool communal project, the stories in this book are consistently well written and always enjoyable. Some of them are funny and some of them are sad. Some are thoughtful, and some are just silly. This is a seriously good book, I highly recommended it.

    Also, you should note that this book IS available on the nook.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 27, 2011

    This is a really great collection

    The product of a really cool communal project, the stories in this book are consistently well written and always enjoyable. Some of them are funny and some of them are sad. Some are thoughtful, and some are just silly. This is a seriously good book, I highly recommended it.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted December 11, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Not what I was expecting, but better than I'd hoped

    First, I have to say that it wasn't what I expected, but it was better than what I expected. For whatever reason I expected more stories dealing with the actual death of people. Instead it was more about the reactions of people to the concept itself or their particular reading.

    My two favorites in the book are very very different, yet at the core have the same sort of bias towards the machine. Torn Apart and Devoured by Lions and Miscarriage are those two. Neither of them actually contain the death and one is both completely accurate for the story it titles, yet isn't the way someone dies or is slated to die.

    The stories are so varied and there are even several from the point of view of the "creators" of the machine. None of the stories in this collection take away anything from any of the others and they all seem to fit very well together. I went in only being familiar with the work of two of the editors and one of the writers in the collection as they all write webcomics that I love and read whenever there is a new one available. Those three webcomics (Dinosaur Comics, Wondermark, and xkcd) showcase the variety of perceptions, views, and entertainment type you can find on the internet and that really translates into the entire book.

    I'm very impressed overall with not only the variety of stories, but the collection as a whole is very well put together.

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    Posted May 6, 2011

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    Posted January 14, 2011

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    Posted May 9, 2012

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