Book Review: Machine of Death

As I said in my last post, my numerous reviews in process were deleted before I could finish them. But I have short reviews for some of them on Goodreads and scribbled in journals, so I'm going to try post little blurbs for the things I've read and listened to since fall semester before I go back to school next week. I'd like to write more, of course, but - well, I'll do what I can when I can.

Like all anthologies, some stories are better than others. However, the concept - a precocious machine in the not too distant future can tell you how you're going to die - is fantastic, and the writers rise to the occasion nicely.

The stories examine the affect such a machine has on the people who share a world with it, both individually and society at large. They run the gamut from funny to tragic, scary to poignant. An additional selling point are the illustrations at the beginning of each new story.

The website, machineofdeath.net offers free pdf ebooks, but this is a book I plan on buying in hard copy as well.