
This Is How You Die Stories of the Inscrutable, Infallible, Inescapable Machine of Death
Reviews

I was hooked on the first Machine of Death anthology and wasted no time picking up the sequel. I enjoyed these tales as well, from the first one that made me cry ("Old Age, Surrounded by Loved Ones"), to the short, humorous ones ("Made Into Delicious Cheeseburger"), to the chilling ("Two One Six"), to the alternative settings ("In Battle, Alone and Forgotten"). But I felt that there were a few too many alternative settings. Whether it was set millions of years in the future, a cyberpunk reality, the French Revolution, or as an invasion of aliens posing as vending machines, some of them were just too weird, which distracted from what I felt should be the focus: the consequences of knowing how you would die. Fortunately, there were enough good, clever, thoughtful, and creative tales in this set to make it a worthy follow-up. Should they pursue a third, I wouldn't hesitate to grab it.

