The Machine Stops
- 44
- Pages
- about 1 h
- Reading time
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Our view
Written in 1909, “The Machine Stops” still feels startlingly far-sighted. E. M. Forster’s dystopia runs to only 44 pages, and what strikes readers is how much a story of that date seems to foresee. It was later reprinted in a collection of his stories and in anthologies. A good choice for anyone who likes dystopias brief and thought-provoking.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
"The Machine Stops" is a science fiction short story by E. M. Forster. After initial publication in The Oxford and Cambridge Review, the story was republished in Forster's The Eternal Moment and Other Stories in 1928. After being voted one of the best novellas up to 1965, it was included that same year in the popular anthology Modern Short Stories. In 1973 it was also included in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.1 across 150 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 51% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Science fiction average of 7.8. That is how 8.0 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.6 | 5 | 3% |
| Hardcover | 8.2 | 145 | 97% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Machine Stops?
It has 44 pages — shorter than 100% of the ranked books in Science fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Science fiction — with scores between 7.9 and 8.0, closest to this book.
