I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream

No cover — Harlan Ellison: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (1984, Ace Books)

English language

Published Aug. 6, 1984 by Ace Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-441-36395-7
OCLC Number:: 9855723

(1 review)

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.

4 editions

Melanie reviewed I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison

Review of 'I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

If this was published after 1980, I would have given it one star. Being honest, I read I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream for AM's hate speech, and nothing else. The book itself is an amalgamation of obscene (and unrealistic) gore, with little-to-no character development and an unreliable narrator. All-in-all, I'd just recommend you play the game instead of reading the book. While media adapted from literature is oftentimes pathetic compared to the source material, the video game adaptation of I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream far outperforms what is presented here. If you really want to read this, I'd recommend an audiobook, as listening to somebody read it gives some semblance of emotion.