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S. H. Burton
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The Machine Stops (Penguin Modern Classics) Paperback – 15 Feb. 2011

by E M Forster (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 4,024 ratings

'"You talk as if a god had made the Machine," cried the other. "I believe that you pray to it when you are unhappy. Men made it, do not forget that."'

E.M. Forster is best known for his exquisite novels, but these two affecting short stories brilliantly combine the fantastical with the allegorical. In 'The Machine Stops', humanity has isolated itself beneath the ground, enmeshed in automated comforts, and in 'The Celestial Omnibus' a young boy takes a trip his parents believe impossible.

This book contains The Machine Stops and A Celestial Omnibus.

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  1. Part of series
    Outpost Books Legacy Collection
  2. Print length
    96 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Penguin Classics
  5. Publication date
    15 Feb. 2011
  6. Dimensions
    16.1 x 0.7 x 11.1 cm
  7. ISBN-10
    0143447017
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0143447016
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Product description

About the Author

Edward Morgan Forster (1879-1970) was educated at King's College, Cambridge, with whom he had a lifelong connection. He was elected to an Honorary Fellowship in 1946. He wrote six novels - Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), The Longest Journey (1907), A Room with a View (1908), Howards End (1910), A Passage to India (1924), which won both the Prix Femina Vie Heureuse and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Maurice , written in 1914, was published posthumously in 1971. He also published two volumes of short stories; two collections of essays; a critical work (Aspects of the Novel); The Hill of Devi; two biographies; two books about Alexandria; and the libretto for Britten's opera Billy Budd. He died in 1970. In his obituary The Times called him 'one of the most esteemed English novelists of his time'.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0141195983
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 15 Feb. 2011
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 96 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0143447017
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143447016
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 63 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.1 x 0.7 x 11.1 cm
  • Part of series ‏ : ‎ Outpost Books Legacy Collection
  • Best Sellers Rank: 163,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 4,024 ratings

About the author

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S. H. Burton

S. H. Burton

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4,024 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find this science fiction short story prescient and thought-provoking, with one noting its relevance to today's world. Moreover, the writing style receives positive feedback for being a clever piece of fantastical writing from 1909, and customers appreciate its interesting view of the future. However, the readability and pacing receive mixed reactions, with some finding it easy to read while others struggled with it. Additionally, the Kindle edition is criticized for being full of wrong words.

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Short storyValue for readingThought provokingPerspectiveWriting styleReadabilityPacingSpelling errors
70 customers mention ‘Short story’64 positive6 negative

Customers find the short story intriguing and prescient, describing it as a scarily accurate dystopian narrative.

"Great story, well worth an hour of your time. I'd get a different version though - this one's distractingly full of errors." Read more

"...this a few years ago and i had to buy it for myself it’s such a great short story highly recommend!" Read more

"Amazing story, but this version is full of typos and seems to think " is an apostrophe. Annoying." Read more

"Good story (great author and very prescient) but lots of typos (Kindle edition) which were quite distracting...." Read more

66 customers mention ‘Value for reading’63 positive3 negative

Customers find the book to be a worthwhile and fascinating read, particularly noting its relevance to today's world and its value as classic dystopian science fiction.

"This novella is an interesting read...." Read more

"Excellent read and very thought provoking. I loved this book." Read more

"Got this as Hawkwind based their new album around it. Interesting. Good for my collection." Read more

"...Well worth a read" Read more

50 customers mention ‘Thought provoking’48 positive2 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking and amazingly insightful, with one customer noting it serves as a timely reminder about the real meaning in life.

"...Amazingly prescient. Perfect read for Lockdown times. and short - only one hour to listen or quicker to read this short story. Well worth it." Read more

"Chosen for book club . A thought provoking read of a different chilling life ,written before World Wide Web (the machine ) but so real of today's..." Read more

"...That aside it is a thought provoking and well written tale...." Read more

"...Very prescient and a little eerie." Read more

33 customers mention ‘Perspective’32 positive1 negative

Customers appreciate the book's perspective on the future, finding it interesting and relevant to current times, with one customer noting it could foresee modern technology.

"Relevant and terrifying. You will see yourself reflected here and be appalled. May you learn the lesson and let it not be forgotten." Read more

"Very relevant in our increasingly digital age. A well-told thought-provoking tale. Enough to give you pause for thought...." Read more

"Small book easy to read but so very relevant for todays world. Try it" Read more

"EM Forster's short story is way ahead of it's time. It's hard to believe that it was written a century ago (1909)...." Read more

19 customers mention ‘Writing style’19 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of this book, describing it as a clever piece of fantastical writing, and note that it was written almost 100 years ago.

"Well written and great reflection in our move to AI and on Plato’s cave philosophy. The need for self thought and growth has never been so important." Read more

"...and my 14 year old son ((who never picks up a book) thought it was well written, engaging and very relevant Don't want to spoil it by revealing the..." Read more

"A beautifully written story which describes a future in which people communicate only through screens, and become utterly reliant on technology to..." Read more

"Good story (great author and very prescient) but lots of typos (Kindle edition) which were quite distracting...." Read more

21 customers mention ‘Readability’14 positive7 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's readability, with some finding it very easy to read and great as a quick read, while others struggled to get through it.

"A good short read. Perfect for waiting anywhere. Makes you wonder how he knew, but maybe man really is that predictable......." Read more

"Short read but his grasp of the English language is captivating and the subject matter is very prevalent to the world in which we live today." Read more

"A quick read. Almost prophetic with its futuristic insight, it’s hard to believe this was written over a hundred years ago...." Read more

"Great short read." Read more

17 customers mention ‘Pacing’10 positive7 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book, with some finding it engaging as it draws readers into the dystopian world, while others describe it as rambling and confusing.

"I read this book a couple of months back. It stays with you...." Read more

"...Not a cheery read but such foresight...." Read more

"...This edition has some spelling errors, but is still fresh. It would make a great tv series if expanded upon." Read more

"This book was written around 1909, and it is dated...." Read more

29 customers mention ‘Spelling errors’3 positive26 negative

Customers report numerous issues with the book's text, including typos, incorrect word usage, and poor punctuation that distracts from the reading experience.

"...edition of the novella has not been proof-read... The typos, spelling mistakes and (especially) dodgy punctuation are appalling...." Read more

"...The poor punctuation, grammar and mis-spelt words jar but the worst thing is the words that have been completely changed from the original...." Read more

"Good story (great author and very prescient) but lots of typos (Kindle edition) which were quite distracting...." Read more

"This a horrible adaptation which is riddled with typos and homophone-type errors...." Read more

A good read
4 out of 5 stars
A good read
A good quick read for when your stuck on what to read next. Ah humanity!
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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • FictionFan
    5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 August 2016
    Verified Purchase
    What a fabulous story! It's all in the telling - the descriptive writing is wonderful. Basically, man has created a machine to fulfil all his wants, and has now handed over control of life to the machine. People sit in their individual rooms, never physically meeting other humans. All their needs are catered for at the touch of a button, and they communicate constantly with their thousands of friends through the machine in short bursts, increasingly irritated by the interruptions of people contacting them, but still responding to those interruptions. Sounds horrifyingly familiar, huh?

    But one man dreams of a time when mankind walked freely on the surface of the earth and gazed at the heavens. He sees that the machine is no longer the servant of the people and has become instead their master. And he foresees that one day the machine may stop...

    A warning from the past to us in the present of where we may easily end up in the not too distant future. Full of some disturbing images, a little bit of horror and a tiny bit of hope - a masterpiece of short story writing. Turn off your computer, sign out of Facebook, stop watching cat videos on youtube, yes, even switch off your smartphone for an hour if you still can... and read a story that will make you just a little reluctant to switch them all back on. Then go out and look at the stars...
    11 people found this helpful
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  • james johnstone
    4.0 out of 5 stars A good read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 June 2025
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    A good quick read for when your stuck on what to read next. Ah humanity!
    Customer image
    james johnstone
    4.0 out of 5 stars
    A good read

    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 June 2025
    A good quick read for when your stuck on what to read next. Ah humanity!
    Images in this review
    Customer imageCustomer image
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  • Stefan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Two short stories
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 July 2019
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Speedy delivery, thumbs up.

    Copy contained two short stories: 'The Machine Stops' & 'The Celestial Omnibus'.

    'The Machine Stops' is very prophetic and can be applied to contemporary society & culture - people living in isolation, with physical interaction kept at a minimum in preference to communication through a sort of computer & internet 'hive' setup. Through this hive ('The Machine') setup, people are able to live solely in isolation, with The Machine providing everything required. - Bare in mind this sort of technology was nowhere to be seen at the time, or even close. The closest comparison to The Machine nowadays is most certainly the internet.

    'The Celestial Omnibus' is a shorter story, but just as interesting. I read it yesterday and am still digesting it, working out how to put the ideas into words.

    Both are great short stories, and leave you wanting more. And with the book small enough to fit in a jacket pocket, it's perfect for commuting.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Jon C Martingale
    3.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant concept... flawed execution
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 July 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This book has so many great ideas in it and the whole story is itself so intriguing. Especially in this year of the ‘lockdown’.

    However, I felt the book was a bit rambling and confusing. And this distracted me and this tempered my enjoyment somewhat. I am used to reading modern literature though, so I may simply be out of practice o reading slightly older books!

    Worth a read as a reference point to the unusual year that is 2020.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Stephen Griffiths
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting view of the future by EM Forster
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 June 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I remember this story from my 'O' level GCE's in 1964! It was in a collection of short stories we had to study for the exam. It is fairly old fashioned in view and science, but a story that is relevant to today.
    Social isolation, big brother watching you, computer systems out of human control, environmental destruction. Sound familiar? Well this was written in the 1930's.
    Worth a read and only 99p.
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  • S. Lowe Watson
    4.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinarily prescient work, but a poor Kindle version
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 March 2020
    Verified Purchase
    It's amazing that in 1909, EM Forster anticipated not only the internet and social media, but also Artificial Intelligence (AI). In this dysfunctional future short story or novella, humans live in underground cocoons physically isolated from each other and communicating almost entirely by video links, in a world completely controlled by a 'mechanical' intelligence, The Machine, which they no longer understand and have begun to worship. And of course, as the title implies, it eventually, catastrophically, stops.

    The society in which EM Forster was writing - the Machine in which he existed - was just five years away from the catastrophe of WW1. It didn't stop exactly, but it certainly malfunctioned horribly.

    Writing this review in March 2020 during the COVID-19 crisis, it seems uncomfortably close to home as the economy is in free fall and supermarket shelves are bare due to people panic buying. Or is just that they are rationally stocking up against the possibility of self isolation, and The Machine - the complex web of markets and supply chains - is unable to cope? The stock markets, themselves now part of a gigantic financial machine largely run by algorithms, have been in free fall. And here I am writing a review on Amazon, very much part of The Machine, which supplies you with your wants without any need for human contact. Until it stops.

    I've given it only 4 stars not 5 because this Kindle version (Jovian Press) is poor with many errors, and doesn't even have a proper title page giving the work's original publication date. It's a bit of sloppy workmanship no doubt done quickly and never proof-read. In a book, it spoils the reading pleasure but doesn't really matter. But a Machine made up of components built like that will certainly stop in the end.
    54 people found this helpful
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  • Max Pallas
    5.0 out of 5 stars Futuristic prediction of what AI may create
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 July 2023
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    The machine does everything for you. It provides food, entertainment, education, travel. But it’s all underground. The whole world lives in Identical quarters and rarely do they meet. Then one day, the machine begins to malfunction and eventually stops as if the plug has been pulled. The result - chaos. This was written a century ago and is a chilling warning not to allow ‘the machine’ therefore AI take over.
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  • Lucy Loo
    5.0 out of 5 stars Still relevant. Perhaps more so.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 June 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I read this at school in the late sixties and I found it awesome then. It was great to find and read it again. In the forty odd years between, we now have smart pones, Internet, Zoom etc. I wonder if EM Forster knew? It is still an awesome short story and has a strong tale to tell and an even stronger warning about reliance on 'The Machine' Enjoy.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Robinson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Conforme aux attentes.
    Reviewed in Belgium on 27 October 2024
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Livraison rapide. Correspond à la description.
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  • Magdalena
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in France on 16 February 2024
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Excellente transaction
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  • tony
    5.0 out of 5 stars Merece la pena
    Reviewed in Spain on 29 November 2017
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Un relato interesante sobre el futuro fácil de leer. Es un libro pequeño y manejable para antes de acostarse. u
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  • S M UMAIR NADWI
    5.0 out of 5 stars It is a very nice book.
    Reviewed in India on 31 October 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I liked this book very much. The writer explains very nicely. I like the characters. It meets the reality. Best book ever read.
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  • Fiona
    5.0 out of 5 stars I read this book as a child and it remains a favourite
    Reviewed in Canada on 27 May 2019
    Verified Purchase
    There are some repeated spelling mistakes which detracted a bit from the story. But a very very thoughtful read. Incredible that it was written in 1909.
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