Machine Learning

By: Hugh Howey

Narrated by: Gabra Zackman, Scott Aiello, Hugh Howey

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

A new collection of stories, including some that have never before been seen, from the New York Times best-selling author of the Silo trilogy

Hugh Howey is known for crafting riveting and immersive tales of boundless imagination, spawning millions of fans worldwide, first with his best-selling novel Wool, and then with other enthralling works such as Sand and Beacon 23. Now comes Machine Learning, an impressive collection of Howey's science fiction and fantasy short fiction, including three stories set in the world of Wool, two never-before-published tales written exclusively for this volume, and 15 additional stories collected here for the first time. These stories explore everything from artificial intelligence to parallel universes to video games, and each story is accompanied by an author's note exploring the background and genesis of each story.

Howey's incisive mind makes Machine Learning: New and Collected Stories an addictive and thought-provoking selection of short works - from a modern master at the top of his game.

©2017 Hugh Howey (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Some Good, Some Not So Much

Some authors excel at long form stories and some are best in the short story. A few are great at both. Hugh Howey is interesting because most of his books are comparatively short, and even his most famous work (Wool) was published as a series of novellas.

This series of short works covers most of Howey’s short stories collected in one place, and as you may expect, it’s hit or miss. There are some good ones and some that miss the mark, and a few new Wool stories too. None are overly long.

While not one for the annals of Howey’s best works, it should appeal to his fans and fans of his other series.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Short stories in the vein of wool

I listened to this mainly as I had just finished listening to the Wool trilogy by the same author which I loved
Im not usually a fan of short stories- but these were great
All different and diverse and a couple were set in the Wool setting
I really liked how at the end of each story the author gave his thoughts around the writing of each of the stories and the background behind them

great collection!

I've previously read the novel Wool by Hugh Howey, so I was expecting to enjoy this collection of short stories (and one novella). Unsurprisingly, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and highly recommend it. There are a few stories that connect to the Silo series of novels, which I'm newly motivated to finish. The stories in this collection are loosely grouped by theme and subject matter. There were a few I liked more than others, but they're all good and your tastes may vary. The final novella, Peace in Amber is a great homage to Kurt Vonnegut and also an autobiographical account of Mr. Howey's experiences on 9/11.

Excellent collection!

I first discovered Hugh Howey in reading his blog and writings on the new world of independent publishing. After reading Wool and Beacon 23, I was a true fan. This collection of short stories is delightfully varied, vividly brought to life by a pair of exceptional narrators, and illuminated further by Howey’s intimate afterwords, in his own voice. I highly recommend!!

Some good, some not for me

I found a few of the stories very thought provoking. Others I was meh on. I should say I’m not really a short story reader but am a Howie fan. I think I enjoyed his thoughts on his stories between the entries more than the stories. Found it cool as well that he read those parts himself. I’d recommend the book to short story fans for sure.

Phenomenal stories amd thought provoking afterward

This was truly a great read and every story was unique and had specific questions addressed. Having already been a Hugh Howie fan, I was intrigued to see how this compilation of stories would play out and was not disappointed in the least! Not only do the stories leave you thinking about larger, complex ideas, but his afterward with each gave the reader insight into his writing process, his progression amd struggles which are very relatable, and guided the reader toward a deeper understanding of issues that affect everyday society, masked in futuristic settings.

pretty solid

I liked it overall but my main complaint is that a lot of these short stories don't really have an ending. there's no catharsis. you listen to 3 chapters of a story then it's just done.

So good

I loved this in its entirety. my kids would even listen along. There isn't a bad story in the whole lot.

Insightful and entertaining!

I am a long time fan of Hugh Hosts and it was great to be back in his head again. The stories were all very entertaining, if at times weirder than others. I enjoyed both narrators and especially each afterword from Hugh himself.

Hopefully a new start of more to come

It has bin 2 years since H. Howeys last work in fiction appeared here, i'm very glad to see anything by this point and i hope its not the last for another 2 years.

I planned to give this book 4 stars like most others until somewhere in the middle i stumble upon a story with a very controversial ending. I have no doubt that many people will dislike it and give this work a low rating because of that. To me this points out that its written to be a great story, not to be liked by the majority of people.

In general i'm not a huge fan of short stories, they tend to be lacking and are mostly second rate stories that are not good enough for a full novel, but with this release i'm wondering why half of this stories are not worked out as full novels, there too good to stay this short.

Love this author

Great book of short stories. Always enjoy his work and love the fact he linked a few stories back to Wool.