Machine of Death
|
(Above) The standard cover of Machine of Death. (Below) The limited edition, hardcover version of Machine of Death. | |
| Author | Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo, and David Malki, editors |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Justin Van Genderen |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Bearstache Books |
Publication date | October 13, 2010 |
| Pages | 452 |
| ISBN | 978-0-9821671-2-0 |
| Followed by | This Is How You Die: Stories of the Inscrutable, Infallible, Inescapable Machine of Death |
Machine of Death is a 2010 collection of science fiction short stories edited by Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo, and David Malki.[1]
All of the stories center around a device which, when provided with a blood sample, can identify the way a person will die. The machine relays this information by printing a short word or phrase, which serves as the title of each story, on a small card. The machine is never wrong, but often vague or cryptic.[1]
The premise was inspired by an episode of Ryan North's Dinosaur Comics.[2][3] The three editors solicited submissions, many of them from novice and unpublished or unknown writers, in early 2007. After failing to find a publisher willing to accept an anthology containing material by so many unknown authors, the editors self-published the book in late 2010.[4]
Shortly after the book's publication, the editors announced "MOD-Day", encouraging buyers to purchase the book en masse on October 26 in an effort to reach #1 on the bestseller list on Amazon.com.[5] The effort was successful. Malki described the feat as the literary equivalent of winning the Super Bowl.[3] October 26 was also the release date of Broke: The Plan to Restore Our Trust, Truth, and Treasure by conservative Fox News commentator Glenn Beck. When Beck's book failed to reach #1 on that date, he complained that the anthology was part of a liberal "culture of death".[6]
In November 2010, the editors released the anthology under a Creative Commons Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 license.[4] Readings of stories from Machine of Death are currently being released in podcast form on the book's website. They collected submissions for a second volume from May through July 2011.[7][8]
Stories
- "Flaming Marshmallow" written by Camille Alexa • illustrated by Shannon Wheeler
- "Fudge" by Kit Yona • Vera Brosgol
- "Torn Apart and Devoured by Lions" by Jeffrey C. Wells • Christopher Hastings
- "Despair" by K. M. Lawrence • Dean Trippe
- "Suicide" by David Michael Wharton • Brian McLachlan
- "Almond" by John Chernega • Paul Horn
- "Starvation" by M. Bennardo • Karl Kerschl
- "Cancer" by Camron Miller • Les McClaine
- "Firing Squad" by J Jack Unrau • Brandon Bolt
- "Vegetables" by Chris Cox • Kevin McShane
- "Piano" by Rafa Franco • Kean Soo
- "HIV Infection From Machine of Death Needle" by Brian Quinlan • KC Green
- "Exploded" by Tom Francis • Jesse Reklaw
- "Not Waving But Drowning" by Erin McKean • Carly Monardo
- "Improperly Prepared Blowfish" by Gord Sellar • Jeffrey Brown
- "Love Ad Nauseum" by Sherri Jacobsen • Kate Beaton
- "Murder and Suicide, Respectively" by Ryan North • Aaron Diaz
- "Cancer" by David Malki • Danielle Corsetto
- "Aneurysm" by Alexander Danner • Dorothy Gambrell
- "Exhaustion From Having Sex With a Minor" by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw • Cameron Stewart
- "After Many Years, Stops Breathing, While Asleep, With Smile On Face" by William Grallo • Scott C.
- "Killed by Daniel" by Julia Wainwright • Marcus Thiele
- "Friendly Fire" by Douglas J. Lane • Kelly Tindall
- "Nothing" by Pelotard • John Allison
- "Cocaine and Painkillers" by David Malki • Jess Fink
- "Loss of Blood" by Jeff Stautz • Kris Straub
- "Prison Knife Fight" by Shaenon K. Garrity • Roger Langridge
- "While Trying to Save Another" by Daliso Chaponda • Dylan Meconis
- "Miscarriage" by James L. Sutter • Rene Engström
- "Shot by Sniper" by Bartholomew von Klick • John Keogh
- "Heat Death of the Universe" by James Foreman • Ramón Pérez
- "Drowning" by C. E. Guimont • Adam Koford
- "?" by Randall Munroe • Kazu Kibuishi
- "Cassandra" by T. J. Radcliffe • Matt Haley
Additional artist contributors whose illustrations are not tied to specific stories include Katie Sekelsky and Mitch Clem.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Higgins, Jim (6 February 2011). "'Machine of Death': killer stories to die for". Times Herald-Record. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ↑ Dinosaur Comics, December 5, 2005.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Simmons, Amy (28 October 2010). "Indie anthology defies literary odds". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "About". Machineofdeath.net. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
- ↑ Malki, David. "MOD-Day is OCTOBER 26". Machineofdeath.net. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
- ↑ Eichler, Alex (28 October 2010). "Indie Sci-Fi Anthology Steals Glenn Beck's Thunder". The Atlantic. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
- ↑ Malki, David. "MOD Volume 2 Submission Guidelines". Machineofdeath.net. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
- ↑ North, Ryan. "Machine of Death 2 deadline reached!". Machineofdeath.net. Retrieved 20 July 2011.