I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream

Harlan Ellison
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream Cover

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream

Badseedgirl
2/26/2021
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This is a review of the specific short story I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream, which won the 1968 Hugo award, and is not the collection by the same name, which includes this story among six others.

This is a very dark and disturbing story. It could be a commentary about nuclear proliferation, but to me it felt more like the quote from the Jurassic Park movie:

"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

It is hard to review this short story without giving away any of the plot points. I'll just say, although Ted is at best an anti-hero character, I had so much pity for him by the end of the story. And I think he did the only right, only human thing that could have been done.