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Cover of I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream

Harlan Ellison

  • 178 pages · about 3 hours
  • First published 1967
  • 5 editions
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1 About this book

This is a story set in a post-apocalyptic future. The Cold War progressed until it was too complicated for humans to manage, so the three major superpowers each developed a computer program to help run the war. When one of the programs becomes sentient it eliminates all of the human race except five persons, which it tortures for eternity.

  • Science fiction
  • Collections & Anthologies

2 What to expect

A slim collection of Harlan Ellison's short stories from the 1960s, led by the famous title story, in which a hate-filled supercomputer has destroyed humanity and keeps five survivors alive to torment them. That story is science fiction as horror: short, vivid and extremely bleak, with cruelty and bodily suffering described head-on. It dominates the book, though the collection holds several other stories.

3 About Harlan Ellison

1934–2018

Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. His published works include more than 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, comic-book scripts, teleplays, essays, and a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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