The Machine Stops: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

The Machine Stops, credited to E. M. Forster, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of The Machine Stops, by E.M. Forster. Read by Jerome Lawsen. Published in 1909, this science fiction short story takes place in a future where mankind, seemingly no longer able to survive on earth's surface, exists in a vast underground civilization known as "The Machine". Each individual lives in an isolated, fully-automated cell-like room, connected to global information and communication systems, but cut off from all direct experience. The narrative focuses on Vashti, an "advanced" mother whose total dependence upon The Machine has led her (like most others) to increasingly reverence and even worship it; and her "untechnological" son, Kuno, who has begun to deny The Machine's omnipotence and even seeks to escape if possible. Kuno's radical views are validated as the The Machine's systems begin to malfunction and eventually fail completely. The story has proved to be far ahead of its time, with remarkably accurate predictions of modern technologies, and paints a chilling picture of over-dependence on them. This recording marks the 100th anniversary of the original publishing. (Summary by Jerome Lawsen)

Recording facts

• Recording title: The Machine Stops
• Author credits: E. M. Forster
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 3
• Listed recording duration: 1:18:23

Catalogue topics

• Science fiction
• sci-fi
• short stories
• E. M. Forster

Track guide

1. 01 - The Air-Ship — 29:01
2. 02 - The Mending Apparatus — 25:14
3. 03 - The Homeless — 24:10

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.