Machine of Death
This Is How You Die: Stories of the Inscrutable, Infallible, Inescapable Machine of Death |
Machine of Death is a 2010 collection of
Premise
All of the stories featured in Machine of Death 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 a cartoon from Ryan North's Dinosaur Comics.[2][3]
Release
The three editors solicited submissions, many of them from novice and unpublished or unknown writers, in early 2007.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
In November 2010, the editors released the anthology under a
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 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
- "KC Green
- "Exploded" by Tom Francis • Jesse Reklaw
- "Not Waving But Drowning" by Erin McKean • Carly Monardo
- "Improperly Prepared 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 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 K. 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
- ^ a b Higgins, Jim (6 February 2011). "'Machine of Death': killer stories to die for". Times Herald-Record. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ^ "Machine of Death Press Kit". Machines of Death. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- ^ a b Simmons, Amy (28 October 2010). "Indie anthology defies literary odds". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ^ a b "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.