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"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. It didn't give you the date and it didn't give you specifics. It just spat out a sliver of paper upon which were printed, in careful block letters, the words DROWNED or CANCER or OLD AGE or CHOKED ON A HANDFUL OF POPCORN. It let people know how they were going to die." Machine of Death tells thirty-four different stories about people who know how they will die. Prepare to have your tears jerked, your spine tingled, your funny bone tickled, your mind blown, your pulse quickened, or your heart warmed. Or better yet, simply prepare to be surprised. Because even when people do have perfect knowledge of the future, there's no telling exactly how things will turn out. Featuring stories by: * Randall Munroe * Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw * Tom Francis * Camille Alexa * Erin McKean * James L. Sutter * Douglas J. Lane * and many others. Featuring illustrations by: * Kate Beaton * Kazu Kibuishi * Aaron Diaz * Jeffrey Brown * Scott C. * Roger Langridge * Karl Kerschl * Cameron Stewart * and many others
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"Machine of Death" offers a captivating thought experiment through a collection of diverse stories exploring the implications of a machine predicting how people will die. While some tales feel amateurish, they are, for the most part, thought-provoking and many linger in the mind even days later. The stories progressively improve in both quality and how well they captured my attention. Unfortunately, the audiobook experience is marred by a seemingly inexperienced narrator with a lack of inflection and even noticeable mispronunciations. This detracts significantly from the overall enjoyment, making it challenging to continue listening to. Despite the overall compelling stories, the subpar narration brings the rating down from what would be a 4.5 to a 3.5/5.