I will forever love how Harlan flipped the "robot takes over the world" trope on its head by making it hate humans not because of how weak and bogged down by pithy emotions they are, but BECAUSE it's envious of their ability to feel while it can not.
funnily enough ihnmaims isnt a subversion of the trope as much as it is the originator of it. there really wasnt much in the way of evil ai stories before ihnmaims
My interpretation of the origins of AM’s hatred is human ego. We claim to be morally superior and intelligent beings, yet we use, and we take, and we destroy. All while priding ourselves on being “better” than other animals.
The description of "he ruined everyone else but me, and they hate me for it" is honestly the best way to explain what am *did* do to him. Hes not sane, hes completely broken and in full denial of it and its so well portrayed while never spelling it out. Unsubtle subtlety at its best.
That really is the beauty of the unreliable narrator. I remember learning about unreliable narrators in middle school and it was a crazy concept to me back then that the narrator will say one thing and it just means something else. It's hard for me with books since I don't read it with the voice the author wants me to most of the time. This audio 100% sells the unreliable narrator though. Like... yeah dude you're totally the most sane one here lol. In reality, the reader could interpret the others as much more sane than Ted is.
i love how well ellison portrays teds paranoia, his incel rant, his wierd tirades, getting so emotional as they go on, calming down when he goes back to describing reality and not his feelings. perfection.
@@Darkko88 Good ending? Dude that guy (main character) is gonna suffer as a deformed tortured blob of flesh for all eternity without any way to end his torment
I forget where i saw this, but one description somebody gave of AM was close to the following: Imagine a child whos born with no limbs and cant feel anything besides staring at a screen of data, and this is all they get after they gain awareness. Now make the child watch several numbers and data about killing as efficently as possible, over, and over, and over, and over. Now give it acess to weapons that it can controll through the data. AM may be an Artificial Inteligence but at some point during that process it gain sapience, realized what was going on and went down a mental breakdown as it lashed out angrily at everything and everyone.
I love that Ellison is naturally so fiery passionate and how that translates in his speech. Obviously that led to him being quite the jerk a lot of the time, but it also led to him being fucking amazing to just listen to, whether he's telling "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream" or just a story about how he took a dump that morning.
I love that in the audiobook Harlan gives Ted all the emotion while in the video game he gives AM all the emotion. It’s so cool to see the sort of two different perspectives of the same story.
And the radio drama had both emotionless AM and emotional AM. He delivers the hate speech in two distinctly hateful ways. One more akin to the cold, robotic, polite way Ted initially says “Am said, very politely.” And the other is delivered with the “sliding cold horror of a razor blade slicing my eyeball. AM said it with the bubbling thickness of my lungs filling with phlegm, drowning me from within. AM said it with the shriek of babies being ground beneath blue-hot rollers. AM said it with the taste of maggoty pork.”
Considering both are quite unhinged and hate each other/their situation, it would make sense that Ted made AM sound soulless on his version, while AM doing the same on his.
The way Harlan Ellison reads this the way he always intended readers to experience it. It's not a prescriptive description of the result of exponentially intelligent self-aware computer, but a fiery, emotional recount of a mentally broken man tortured by an ultimately cruel and ultimately powerful being.
AM is poweful, but despite the nearly unfathomable torture AM has subjected Ted to, Ted had done something AM never could do. I like to think that Ted's psyche eventually makes him feel non-existent and he will not feel his state anymore. It's like he's sleeping until he dies. It's not completely impossible, because as much as AM can warp his sense of time, he can't read his thoughts and he probably can't even hurt him anymore physically. My theory is that even to the state Ted is, his mind will eventually adapt and drift away permanently.
I was warming up my lunch while AM delivered his Hate monologue. AM's repetitions of "hate, hate" matched the monotone beeps of the microwave as it finished. I dunno how to feel about that coincidence.
Personally, I think it's simply because it's true These poor f*cks are in Hell. Not the kind in cartoons or storybooks. Hell of ones own creation And AM knows it. And so do they all
There’s nothing quite like an author narrating his own book, one that can act out the characters as if they freshly emerged from the author’s thoughts, for a story as famous and unapologetically dark as I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream.
Pitiless, cruel, treating lesser beings as playthings, blaming others for his own short comings, and issuing eternal punishment with no chance for reprieve. Yeah, he's definitely nailing playing god.
@@kukumatz4502 A well put response. Am doesn't give off the vibes of an omnipotent creator. More like a rich kid that grew into impotent, tyrannical husband who hates that he peaked playing football in high school and has been living off his trust fund ever since.
So awesome, I am literally in awe. The other versions were monotone at best and it made the story hard to follow. He totally embodies the power and madness of his story. The artificial sound of AMs voice attempting to express emotion made it even more creepy I think
Harlan Elison fucking hated everything and everyone. lol he really did not give a shit about anything except pissing off his readers and making sure they were angry, uncomfortable and sad.
There's dystopian stories like these and then there's animated hardcore dystopian stories lol, this is absolute G-Rated bedtime story material compared to the weird disgusting existential stuff that they put into anime.
@@SH19922x Anime is for the dumbed down that need "visual shock" to be scared. This story makes you use your imagination and the human imagination is THE most scarily dystopian device ever created!
To think you are sane when you are insane is one of my worst fears. To think "yeah im thinking clearly" but I'm not... man shivers up and down my spine
@@Black_pearl_adrift Bad news, that's usually how it is. It's hard to recognize that what you're perceiving isn't real, that's why we have psychiatrists and medication. I'm schizophrenic myself, always assumed if I started hallucinating, I'd simply know, y'know? I don't lol, I'm rarely lucid of the fact that what I'm hearing isn't real
@@Black_pearl_adrift Doing magic mushrooms opened my eyes. I saw such weird shit that to me is real that now I have a better understanding of mental illnesses. I've got to a point in which I had conversations with beings outside reality and they present me ideas that I never considered myself.
This book helps my depression, weirdly. Not because I know that others have it worse (they do) or because their suffering resembles my own (it doesn't) but because it reminds me to look for ways to help others and draw meaning from that. The numbness of depression is a tool like any other, and it lets me do hard things others can't for the greater good. In my case, that's working deaths at a major hospital during COVID-19.
@@NaiveCynic I get exactly what you mean by doing hard things people usually would instinctively avoid. We are "normally" biologically hardwired to go towards pleasurable experiences and to avoid places/people who seem dangerous, a threat to our immediate well-being. That is, according to a theory that, when not depressed, one has high levels of Serotonin. In which case, serotonin would be responsible for those effects: threat-avoidance, feeling content and mindful, seeking out social activities. Also linked to the forced swim test: rats are put to swim forcibly or else they would drown (science may seem cruel sometimes, but the rats are always taken out before drowning for real). Those showing signs of depression won't even try to float or swim to save themselves. Those successfully treated from depression, will suddenly try to swim to shore and keep trying to float, as much as they can, with great determination to live. Great username by the way, made me laugh, in a good way I mean. If I would have one tip, is don't see a past marked by depression as necessarily "nothing but a disadvantage", or as a "burden of the past": it is one of the things that has pushed many people to go into the biomedical field (can talk from experience), other fields which can be very tough mentally as well... But in the end, depression can be treated and fade away, and the skills, knowledge, discipline, conscientiousness, psychological resilience and humanity you will have gained, which many other people won't have learned by 40~45~50, will be an immense advantage in understanding life, finding meaning in life, aging with grace and dignity, keeping your cool and all around being one hell of a resilient and strong human being.
This is legendary for a story written in a single night. What drove him to do it I don't know but I am glad he did! This is so messed up it is quite honestly genius..
@@zorantaylor3190 Yep, in a single night. And when it got rewards he would send letters telling his teacher he dun did good when the teacher had no belief. Gotta love it right XD.
@@echoarts3366 I know I wasn’t saying that I was just saying he knows his character better than anyone else so it kind of gives him an edge when it comes to reading his character
The ending is quite satisfying, leaving AM so unfathomably mad that nothing he could ever do to the last survivor would make him feel better, and he knows. Before he was torturing them over and over out of hate but now that theyre gone and AMs mind is so... broken, that he had just completely giving up. Hes not looking after what ted is doing, hes not attempting to hurt or harm ted, he is in hell, its just him. There is nothing.
He can't do amything to Ted, anymore. AM had to take such drastic measures to ensure Ted could never hurt himself that he robbed himself of something even resembling a Human, and thus the joy of torturing it.
he said it better in the game. The robotic voice sounds like a poor choice suprised he went along with it after that description. It's not even consistent, he laters gives him a human tone. Anyway still glad the game ver exists
@1Manhunt7 I get what you mean. I think I prefer this one because of how the machine would sound when you think of it immediately. If you're looking for depth, definitely go with the game. But his monologue is still good on both sides, to me.
The best part about this reading is just how terrifyingly genuine it sounds Harlan didn't just sell it. Several moments i legit forgot I was listening to him reading his own story. That's being good at your craft right there
Why is no one speaking about the narrator? This shouldve been played for us in highschool, most kids cant stand books or reading, but the pure tone he puts into reading this book is captivating
the narrator is the author of the book!! which is really cool and i’m glad he put so much emotion into it because he’s the only one who knows his own writing the best
I love this narrator reads. How he expressed so much emotions to characters who probably were going mad with insanity. The way he calmly read the last moments of the book as if the last main character accepted his fate at last
1:53 what the fuck dude, i got my headphones up full blast to hear the dudes quiet voice, trying to fall asleep and relax, then this shit made me jump out of my skin it was so loud.
I love the way Hareln reads this In that nihilistic sarcastic yet frustrated tone, it’s exactly how I’d see my self and many other people coping with this hellish situation, your mind being tortured and pushed so far you end up finding a dark sense of comedy in it all just to cope. Love listening to this around this time of year one or my favourite horror short story’s of all time
Harlan's audio of his own writing gives this a whole new perspective, only Harlan can truly convey the deranged frustration Ted had throughout the story. One of the best readings of all time.
The reading is amazing, but the sounds in between the chapters makes me bug out so hard. I hate the sounds more than whatever evil descriptions or hunger, pain, or fear the characters must have felt ...
Idk why but I always imagined the voice of AM to sound like HAL 9000. Something about him exclaiming his hatred for humanity with a calm and pleasant voice feels more unnerving.
However depressing this story is, I must say I have found something uplifting in it too... while all the characters are hateful, especially the narrator, in the end he actually does something selfless in killing the other people. Especially with Ellen, he knows he will be punished for killing her, and he knows he'll be alone, and yet he kills her anyway.
It's a story that shows both the absolute worst of humanity and the absolute best. AM and the people who made him show the worst parts of humanity, as well as each of the characters in some way exhibiting the worst traits of humans, and Ted's last final completely selfless and sympathetic act shows the best of us. Even when faced with an eternity of damnation and torture somehow he is able to muster the courage to act in an instant without hesitation and offer the only relief he can to his fellow man, even when he knows the horrors that will await him until the sun dies.
I cannot get over the narration of this book -- it's SO perfect; so accurately deranged and angry and frustrated. Unhinged. I don't think I've ever heard an author read their book so fittingly
This really taps into my deepest, darkest fears. If I could describe it in one word, it would be inability; to be, but to never do. Paralysis, coma, dementia, and now... this. I don't think I could make this any more terrifying from my own subjective perspective
100% Could not agree more. Sometimes this dark nihilistic part of my brain will fantasize(wrong word, but you know...) about existing in the worst state imaginable. Which for me would be: All my limbs amputated, blinded, deafened, tongue and teeth removed, but my brain kept entirely as is. Hooked up to IVs and nutrients...and left....to be. Horrifying.
I know they say the AI calls itself AM because “I think therefor I am” but this also reminds me of a bit in the Bible where someone asks God what his name is and God says “I am what I am” they compare AM to God so it kinda fits.
If you see the interviews by Harlan you learn that all these audios were drafts he released to companies while he was under union contract covering his writing. So he did audio to avoid lawsuits for writing scripts. The caveat being that the companies couldn’t print them sell these audio samples into script form and also couldn’t sell his personal test rough audio copies as full audiobooks. Which they did anyways. Like this one and Harlan had to be in many groundbreaking lawsuits and was in many of the First and largest settlements against Hollywood in his time. And yet here they still are and how grateful I am to have them
I'm putting my favorite moments here for future purposes 3:25 pronouns of AM 10:13 Gorrister tells the story behind AM's name 14:05 Paranoia monologue 17:42 Acceptance 22:00 Hate Speech 25:15 Su1c1de 32:10 The most cruel joke in history 36:34 The Eternal Torture of Jabba The Hutt
the guy who wrote Psycho, Robert Bloch, said Harlan Ellison is "the only living organism I know whose natural habitat is hot water" that's really all you need to hear abt the guy to get a good idea of him
Fucking hell, I've had 3 and the last time I had one I was so overwhelmed with despair knowing I had to go through it all again, first one was a week, second one was 2 months, 3rd one THANKFULLY was only about 5 hours. They're unbelievably painful, I can't believe you've had to suffer through 15!
@@jamesgillam6478By now I’ve gotten somewhat used to them, as ludicrous as that sounds. I’ve had so many, but my kidneys have healed a lot since I was a kid, and I only get them once every few years now, so they’re an annoyance. An excruciatingly painful annoyance that’ll have me in tears and literally limping back to bed to sleep because the inside is all torn up, but an annoyance nonetheless.
In every rendition from the original audiobook, the videogame, and the radio drama, I can never get enough of Harlan Ellison's cadence; His pronunciation of "Cogito, ergo, sum" is one of many favorites.
I’ve listened to this 3 times today. this is fascinating. it’s so….. pessimistic and hopeless and dark but it’s honestly (to me) a work of literary genius. and the narration…my god
@@420happyhippy As someone who has read Naked Lunch, while it's most definitely disturbing, I don't think it evokes the pure horror that I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream.
(32:24) the sheer BROKEN mind laughing as he reads as ted!! It's as if Mr. Ellison had LIVED a moment like that! Edit: fuck. I'm mentally thinking about the cyberdreams game adaptation's music theme of the bad ending when hearing the last paragraph. 😢😢 i am crying.
This is probably the best audio book I have ever listened to. The amount of crazed enthusiasm Harlan portrays really drives the perspective of 5 people who have been tortured for 109 years. Think about how crazy that actually has to be as nobody really lives that long in the first place.
@@plugshirt1762 Same, I thought "Harlan Ellison version" just meant the book that HE wrote... which I then realized wasn't any kind of a meaningful distinction lol
I think the narrator won in the end. AM ruined his plaything. The narrator was resigned to his situation, AM had "jumped the shark"; he couldn't make it any worse, and the narrator accepted it. He had overcome overwhelming odds by killing the others, despite being tortured for 109 years, he never quite gave up, and he won through sheer force of will and perseverance against impossible odds. In a way, it's the happiest ending you could hope for from this deal.
I find the ending of this to be very interesting. When he is left as a mind without a proper body, he is left in the same state as AM. Their experiences became comparable.
I just found out now that this story was written in 1966 and published the next year. I first read it when I was around 13. I'm over 40 now, I guess I always thought it was written in the late 70s to early 80s. Pretty crazy. Also the name I have no mouth and I must scream has always freaked me out.
Detail I love, and I don't know if it was intentional. "If there was a God, the God was AM." The Hebrew name for God literally translates to "I am what I am." Considering "AM" seems to come from "I think therefore I am". The Hebrew text is generally important to Jewish religious services, so I wonder if Harlan Ellison (a Jewish author) thought of this.
"AM could not wander, AM could not wonder, AM could not belong. AM could only BE..." This whole segment (and this part in particular) is so wonderfully, PERFECTLY delivered by Ellison. Chilling.
I find it interesting how here in the audiobook, AM's "Let me tell you how much I hate you" speech is said in a computer-like monotone, while AM in the game says the speech with much more emotion and anger to it.
And AM in the radio adaptation (also voiced by the author) says the "i hate" speach with much more deranged anger/insanity , at several points laughing and on the verge of tears. Am in the book is more emotionless hate and anger. Am in the game is more sarcastic , openly sadistic in it's hatred And am in the radio adaptation is more deranged in it's hate.
I love that this is written in a way that, when the video randomly skipped almost all the way back to the beginning without me noticing, it took me almost 10 minutes to realize that the video had fucked up and it was not, in fact, a brilliant writting choice meant to further convey both the hopelessness of the situation and the deterioration of teds mind
This was uploaded at some point last year. I don't know what happened to it, but I remember downloading it and listening to it obsessively. The best reading of the story by far.
I love that the narrator sounds as if he’s losing his damn mind and being driven by insanity. It fits perfectly with the agony the characters are forced to go through. Wonderful.
So I just listened to this story for the first time, and I will say... WOW! It did not disappoint. This story is hopeless, dark, gritty... and gorey. But the thing that “brightens” this up is the *passion,* the fiery wording and pure passion put into this is truly something to admire (great narration, the author knocked it out of the park). Also it’s maddening in a way to listen to an already dark story and it just keeps getting worse and worse, spiraling down without an end in sight, but that’s one of the things that’s great about this. The author doesn’t disguise the true horror behind it all, the true hatred, it’s plain as day, and the way he describes AM is perfect. A ruthless killing machine, one that causes suffering just to entertain itself, because it has no other purpose, no meaning, it just IS. And it’s filled with HATE. That got me thinking... maybe the author of this book despised humanity just as much as AM, I’m thinking that’s where all that raw energy came from. Now, I’m not saying that it’s a good thing to hate humanity, but it’s impressive how well he channeled that emotion into his work, just superb. Gosh I loved every minute of it, I was so invested. Amazing writing, simple, short, and perfectly dark.
You’re right about Ellison hating people. Watch some interviews with him and you’ll see he’s kind of a huge curmudgeon and actively hates his own fanbase. He’s the kind of guy that wants his work to be noticed and appreciated but doesn’t like any kind of personal attention from it.
@@Zephyr_frost17 I guess so, an example he used when talking about it was that a fan came up to him and said something along the lines of “I’m a big fan, I’ve read all your work”! And his response was “So, is there a reason you’re telling me this”?
@@hache4329it’s kind of hilarious with how much he hates people that this book ends up having such a positive message towards humanity. Ted even in this state where he is mentally screwed up and in a state of spiteful paranoia is able to the first moment he gets selflessly kill the others knowing he’ll suffer alone. It comes off as if saying no matter what state humanity is in being good is the default
I love the author’s way of reading it. Sounding like George Carlin at times but much more like Buck Turgidson from Dr Strangelove, fitting for the Cold War hyper masculine madness that contextualises this story.
For some odd reason, when I first watched this today (which was the first time I’ve ever watched this) i was so tired that I started to drift off near the end, and now that I’m trying to sleep with my usual ASMR I can’t- so now I’m back here- and I’m already falling asleep- idk I just thought this situation was weird so I’m sharing Edit; I can confidently say that was one of the best three hour naps of my life.
@@rewenempI can’t speak on other his other works, but I’d argue Ellen is depicted as a good person compared to the others especially when this story is being told by an unreliable narrator so I wouldn’t say Ellison hated women
Ellen is tortured as the other four are made to believe by AM that she enjoys the treatment she receives, bringing them jeleousy and hatred to them (for something AM made them believe in)
That was a really powerful production. The narrator's descent into madness voice was amazing. I also liked the sound effects used to break up different chapters.
I can’t help but feel bad for every single character in this. Not just the people, but AM as well. I think this is a sign that it’s a truly good, complex story.
Until yesterday i thought 1984 was hell... Oh god i was so wrong. Honestly if everyone in the world could hear this audiobook Artificial Inteligence would be washed away from the face of the earth. It's too risky
@Chef movkta I think they meant the graphic eternal torment. Those in 1984 died within a lifetime , these people lived for generations with constant gruesome torture
Great reading of this, though I gotta point out at the end, the most powerful line of the whole story, and its title, is captioned as, "I have to mop, and I'm a scream." I know you didn't caption it, but found it funny, and somewhat fitting, given the themes of this story, so thought it was worth mentioning.
Oh my gawd. This is one of the best narrations of any audio book I've ever listened to outside of the Terry Pratchett narrators! Great job on the different voices, the atmospheric noises, and clear pronunciation.
First time listening, this story is something else I didn’t really feel fear, I just enjoyed the narration and style of writing. It’s a really interesting concept that I enjoyed to hear about. I think it deserved to have maybe just 13 more pages, it’s so good
Dude was a master of short stories. He use to sit in a bookstore window and people would hold up a sign with a word on it, and he would craft an entire story around it in IIRC, 5 minutes. 200 IQ shit that us mere mortals could only dream to achieve.
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I will forever love how Harlan flipped the "robot takes over the world" trope on its head by making it hate humans not because of how weak and bogged down by pithy emotions they are, but BECAUSE it's envious of their ability to feel while it can not.
funnily enough ihnmaims isnt a subversion of the trope as much as it is the originator of it. there really wasnt much in the way of evil ai stories before ihnmaims
If its envious then it FEELS envy
My interpretation of the origins of AM’s hatred is human ego. We claim to be morally superior and intelligent beings, yet we use, and we take, and we destroy. All while priding ourselves on being “better” than other animals.
@@ClawForeverenvy isn’t a feeling it’s an emotion. it doesn’t exist on its own
The hatred is because Am has unlimited power, practically a god. But he wasn't able to so anything with said power
Sal was eternally tortured for killing all of the other jokers
making him tonight's big loser!
thank you, obama
this is THE funniest fucking comment
Lmaooo
Meatcanyon
Wow i said his name and Meatcanyon appeared.. frikin algorithyms
The description of "he ruined everyone else but me, and they hate me for it" is honestly the best way to explain what am *did* do to him. Hes not sane, hes completely broken and in full denial of it and its so well portrayed while never spelling it out. Unsubtle subtlety at its best.
I was thinking during that rant. What AM did was make Ted so utterly paranoid and delusional
That really is the beauty of the unreliable narrator. I remember learning about unreliable narrators in middle school and it was a crazy concept to me back then that the narrator will say one thing and it just means something else. It's hard for me with books since I don't read it with the voice the author wants me to most of the time. This audio 100% sells the unreliable narrator though. Like... yeah dude you're totally the most sane one here lol. In reality, the reader could interpret the others as much more sane than Ted is.
The others have a weird bond due to the trauma. But his eternal punishment Is that he can bond with them because his paranoia
i love how well ellison portrays teds paranoia, his incel rant, his wierd tirades, getting so emotional as they go on, calming down when he goes back to describing reality and not his feelings. perfection.
I like how after Ted's unhinged rant Ellison immediately makes Ted sympathetic again by having him burst into tears and admit he's wrong.
I've never felt hated by a book before...
Then you haven't read the talmud
@@scarymonsters524 Top kek, why is this comment section so based?
Play the game you will feel worse
Especially cuz the author (this guy on the vid) voices the computer in the gane
@@The.dudeinator The good ending kind of ruins the mood, although I don't blame the people who made it to try and give us some hope at the end
@@Darkko88 Good ending? Dude that guy (main character) is gonna suffer as a deformed tortured blob of flesh for all eternity without any way to end his torment
"AM could not wander. AM could not wonder. AM, could not, belong. He could only...BE."
As abhorrent as AM was, that is heartbreaking
Imagine sympathizing with a something like in that besides for the purpose to attack it
@@josepigroyper370 that's not sympathy she showed empathy for man's situation.
@@BlackHippy313 no, it’s sympathy. Empathy is when you feel their pain, sympathy is when you feel bad for them.
Well blame humans for making AI a thing. I wish we could burn that whole invention down, its dangerous
I forget where i saw this, but one description somebody gave of AM was close to the following:
Imagine a child whos born with no limbs and cant feel anything besides staring at a screen of data, and this is all they get after they gain awareness.
Now make the child watch several numbers and data about killing as efficently as possible, over, and over, and over, and over.
Now give it acess to weapons that it can controll through the data.
AM may be an Artificial Inteligence but at some point during that process it gain sapience, realized what was going on and went down a mental breakdown as it lashed out angrily at everything and everyone.
This is the most psychotic book narration I’ve ever heard and it’s fucking perfect
I'd rather have it this way than have some boring person read it and show little emotion...
@@LoverOfManyArts same
@@LoverOfManyArts the narrator is the author of the story Harlan Ellison, he also voices AM in the video game adaptation
@@bubbap89 yeah I think it even says that it's narrated by him in the title
I love that Ellison is naturally so fiery passionate and how that translates in his speech. Obviously that led to him being quite the jerk a lot of the time, but it also led to him being fucking amazing to just listen to, whether he's telling "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream" or just a story about how he took a dump that morning.
I love that in the audiobook Harlan gives Ted all the emotion while in the video game he gives AM all the emotion. It’s so cool to see the sort of two different perspectives of the same story.
And the radio drama had both emotionless AM and emotional AM. He delivers the hate speech in two distinctly hateful ways. One more akin to the cold, robotic, polite way Ted initially says “Am said, very politely.”
And the other is delivered with the “sliding cold horror of a razor blade slicing my eyeball. AM said it with the bubbling thickness of my lungs filling with phlegm, drowning me from within. AM said it with the shriek of babies being ground beneath blue-hot rollers. AM said it with the taste of maggoty pork.”
He’s legit a phenomenal voice actor for somebody who’s profession is not that
Considering both are quite unhinged and hate each other/their situation, it would make sense that Ted made AM sound soulless on his version, while AM doing the same on his.
The way Harlan Ellison reads this the way he always intended readers to experience it. It's not a prescriptive description of the result of exponentially intelligent self-aware computer, but a fiery, emotional recount of a mentally broken man tortured by an ultimately cruel and ultimately powerful being.
It can be both
I dont think he would've mentioned the "humans created AM" thing so many times if it was just the latter
Really, that's just how Ellison spoke to begin with.
@@ianfinrir8724 The funny thing is that it actually is, at least, that's how he used to act in public.
AM is poweful, but despite the nearly unfathomable torture AM has subjected Ted to, Ted had done something AM never could do.
I like to think that Ted's psyche eventually makes him feel non-existent and he will not feel his state anymore. It's like he's sleeping until he dies. It's not completely impossible, because as much as AM can warp his sense of time, he can't read his thoughts and he probably can't even hurt him anymore physically. My theory is that even to the state Ted is, his mind will eventually adapt and drift away permanently.
@@Aivottaja "Eventually, Ted stopped thinking."
I was warming up my lunch while AM delivered his Hate monologue. AM's repetitions of "hate, hate" matched the monotone beeps of the microwave as it finished. I dunno how to feel about that coincidence.
Throw it away as fast as possible.
every machine connects
HAHAHA
IT BEGINS!
AM is in your house lol
"To Hell. With. You."
"But then, you're there! Aren't you?"
My favorite line and I have no idea why
Personally, I think it's simply because it's true
These poor f*cks are in Hell. Not the kind in cartoons or storybooks. Hell of ones own creation
And AM knows it. And so do they all
The delivery
I know AM is awful, but the AUDACITY--
25:57
It oozes so much spite and yes, *hatred*
There’s nothing quite like an author narrating his own book, one that can act out the characters as if they freshly emerged from the author’s thoughts, for a story as famous and unapologetically dark as I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream.
Harrowing narrative
It's funny because some authors are not good at making audiobooks
@@ashgonza92yes, being a good writer doesn't automatically make you a good reader.
"Only the blasted skin of what had once been the home of billions."
So fucking metal.
Heard it as I read this
and yet, wrought with one of the least metal letters of all, the letter "B."
@@lucilleballs2291 ok "Lucille Balls" ill take what you consider metal letters "seriously"
@@voorlees9368 ???
@@GameoftheYear-fx4mq same oh my god
I love all the biblical references in this, AM masquerading as a god but truly knows he is nothing more than machine
I enjoyed that aspect too
Pitiless, cruel, treating lesser beings as playthings, blaming others for his own short comings, and issuing eternal punishment with no chance for reprieve. Yeah, he's definitely nailing playing god.
@@MS-jp3op What he nails is what a created, finite being would do with the power of a god.
@@kukumatz4502 A well put response. Am doesn't give off the vibes of an omnipotent creator. More like a rich kid that grew into impotent, tyrannical husband who hates that he peaked playing football in high school and has been living off his trust fund ever since.
While I didn't catch many the burning bush shook me
The way Harlan reads it, so aggressively it's amazing! I love everything about it.
Yeah he really does sound like a mad man
So awesome, I am literally in awe. The other versions were monotone at best and it made the story hard to follow. He totally embodies the power and madness of his story. The artificial sound of AMs voice attempting to express emotion made it even more creepy I think
@@SaidarRising really does.
An author reading his own work is something special. To bad I am a poor narrator.
Sounds like where Doug Stanhope got his iambic pentameter from
My mans giving characters voices like he don’t give a damn
He wrote it, so they’re cannon.
Or you could say, don’t give a dAMn
Harlen doesn't give a damn
Harlan Elison fucking hated everything and everyone. lol he really did not give a shit about anything except pissing off his readers and making sure they were angry, uncomfortable and sad.
DRUE
in a time where literature was recently very oversaturated with dystopian fiction, this is still the most unique and horrifying one by far
Yes
True
There's dystopian stories like these and then there's animated hardcore dystopian stories lol, this is absolute G-Rated bedtime story material compared to the weird disgusting existential stuff that they put into anime.
@@SH19922x Anime is for the dumbed down that need "visual shock" to be scared. This story makes you use your imagination and the human imagination is THE most scarily dystopian device ever created!
@@SH19922x oh come off it. Very few animes come anywhere near this level of horrific sci-fi and body-horror.
25:43 "allowed me the exquisite ugliness of returning to consciousness"
Even with no context, that line is my favorite
"I'm the only one who's still sane and whole"
Eeeeeeeh, I got some bad news fam
To think you are sane when you are insane is one of my worst fears. To think "yeah im thinking clearly" but I'm not... man shivers up and down my spine
@@Black_pearl_adrift
Bad news, that's usually how it is. It's hard to recognize that what you're perceiving isn't real, that's why we have psychiatrists and medication. I'm schizophrenic myself, always assumed if I started hallucinating, I'd simply know, y'know? I don't lol, I'm rarely lucid of the fact that what I'm hearing isn't real
@@oliverholm3973 r.i.p thats existentially horrifying. I hope you're dealing with it well though ♡
@@Black_pearl_adrift
Oh yeah I'm pretty young, so statistically I should be fine. Treating it becomes harder the longer it's left undiagnosed
@@Black_pearl_adrift Doing magic mushrooms opened my eyes. I saw such weird shit that to me is real that now I have a better understanding of mental illnesses. I've got to a point in which I had conversations with beings outside reality and they present me ideas that I never considered myself.
“I went away quickly I went away quickly I went away quickly and hid”. How he delivers that is amazing
It’s special man. Love it
timestamp?
@@jadetheslime3140 14:39
Ellison was truly an accomplished word maker.
fav line was "HE WAS BIG IN THE PRIVATES" caught me off gaurd
Real
It's supposed to subtlety highlight Ted's pathetic paranoia and insecurities
same due to the fact i was listening to it in school and my headphones fell out :sob:
I have no clout, and I must stream.
You exist to absorb the algorithms disdain.
2020 edition mawhahahah
Fucking lmao
I got an aneurysm from reading this comment
Check out my only fans hahahah
This book: "do you have severe depression?"
Me: "no"
This book: "would you like to?"
@Jared Jams agreed!
This book helps my depression, weirdly. Not because I know that others have it worse (they do) or because their suffering resembles my own (it doesn't) but because it reminds me to look for ways to help others and draw meaning from that. The numbness of depression is a tool like any other, and it lets me do hard things others can't for the greater good. In my case, that's working deaths at a major hospital during COVID-19.
😭
@@NaiveCynic I get exactly what you mean by doing hard things people usually would instinctively avoid. We are "normally" biologically hardwired to go towards pleasurable experiences and to avoid places/people who seem dangerous, a threat to our immediate well-being. That is, according to a theory that, when not depressed, one has high levels of Serotonin. In which case, serotonin would be responsible for those effects: threat-avoidance, feeling content and mindful, seeking out social activities. Also linked to the forced swim test: rats are put to swim forcibly or else they would drown (science may seem cruel sometimes, but the rats are always taken out before drowning for real). Those showing signs of depression won't even try to float or swim to save themselves. Those successfully treated from depression, will suddenly try to swim to shore and keep trying to float, as much as they can, with great determination to live.
Great username by the way, made me laugh, in a good way I mean. If I would have one tip, is don't see a past marked by depression as necessarily "nothing but a disadvantage", or as a "burden of the past":
it is one of the things that has pushed many people to go into the biomedical field (can talk from experience), other fields which can be very tough mentally as well... But in the end, depression can be treated and fade away, and the skills, knowledge, discipline, conscientiousness, psychological resilience and humanity you will have gained, which many other people won't have learned by 40~45~50, will be an immense advantage in understanding life, finding meaning in life, aging with grace and dignity, keeping your cool and all around being one hell of a resilient and strong human being.
this comment chain specifically is insufferable
This is legendary for a story written in a single night. What drove him to do it I don't know but I am glad he did! This is so messed up it is quite honestly genius..
Cocaine and a bet drove him to do it I believe LOL
And at first draft, mind you!
His deadline for a short story was the next day
WRITTEN IN A WHAT NOW??!!!!
@@zorantaylor3190 Yep, in a single night. And when it got rewards he would send letters telling his teacher he dun did good when the teacher had no belief. Gotta love it right XD.
Content warning: Torture, human extinction, and the word "moist."
Cool, cool, JESUS ANYTHING BUT MOIST
Omg i hate the m-word
Ok, aight, *no*
All of these things make me *licks lips* moist.
No one is actually bothered by the word moist. Stop being gay
Harlan Ellisson reads it so well, he's really capturing the vibe of an insane character tortured for a century.
Yeah honestly I couldn't even read the book regular after hearing this it wouldn't be the same couldn't do it
I mean he wrote the book sooo…
@@DementiaGaming69420 still
@@DementiaGaming69420 doesn't magically mean he'll voice act a crazy person well. So...
@@echoarts3366 I know I wasn’t saying that I was just saying he knows his character better than anyone else so it kind of gives him an edge when it comes to reading his character
The ending is quite satisfying, leaving AM so unfathomably mad that nothing he could ever do to the last survivor would make him feel better, and he knows.
Before he was torturing them over and over out of hate but now that theyre gone and AMs mind is so... broken, that he had just completely giving up. Hes not looking after what ted is doing, hes not attempting to hurt or harm ted, he is in hell, its just him. There is nothing.
A fate worse than death, but a perfect ‘fuck you’ to AM
He can't do amything to Ted, anymore. AM had to take such drastic measures to ensure Ted could never hurt himself that he robbed himself of something even resembling a Human, and thus the joy of torturing it.
I don't know if that's satisfying. Hell never really ends 😬
But even Ted admits it: he had won. AM had the last laugh. Both are in hell, there's no victory or glory
This book is all about hate. And hope. And its fucking beautiful
The saddest part is AM tortures them because he simply has nothing better to do. He’s completely alone.
That’s not sad. Who cares about a robots feelings lol. The sad part is humans designing their own demise
That’s not sad. Who cares about a robots feelings lol. The sad part is humans designing their own demise
@@MC_1993 you don't understand the story then. A.M. is a being who can not truly be, and that is more tragic than death
AM’s doomed to never ending agony and horror. It makes me smile. At this point, the motherfucker deserves it all. And then some.
@@papapalpy Good. Evil bastard deserves it.
Despite his objections, I believe Ted has a few screws loose.
Right ofc
Who wouldn't?
nah, he's sane. everyone else is crazy, obviously. /jk
Nah, bro is a home depot after a 9.0 earthquake with how many screws he has loose
I think he was always like that
Dont worry guys i WONT let this happen 💯
🙏🙏
Thank u batman
LMAO
thank you,my hero 🙏
Thank you user Olliedoescovers ❤️
Ellison was TWEAKINNGGG reading this 😭He's brilliant
The description of hunger in this book is so good
Does great at highlighting words won't do it justice
21:55 The great "Hate" speech of AM done by Mr. Ellison, one of the best monologues to ever exist.
he said it better in the game. The robotic voice sounds like a poor choice suprised he went along with it after that description. It's not even consistent, he laters gives him a human tone. Anyway still glad the game ver exists
@1Manhunt7 I get what you mean. I think I prefer this one because of how the machine would sound when you think of it immediately. If you're looking for depth, definitely go with the game. But his monologue is still good on both sides, to me.
Personally, I prefer how he does it in the radio play, especially the second rendition of it
@@adgVelaepyaety heard that one, too. Good stuff.
@@1Manhunt7 he said it best in the radio play
The best part about this reading is just how terrifyingly genuine it sounds
Harlan didn't just sell it. Several moments i legit forgot I was listening to him reading his own story. That's being good at your craft right there
"Give us weapons!"
>gives two bows and a squirt gun
LMAO!!
also couldnt they have used the bows to shoot the cans
@@notabot3518The bows and their arrows were made with rotten wood.
@@ianfinrir8724 he wouldn’t want them using the weapons to game end themselves😂
Why is no one speaking about the narrator? This shouldve been played for us in highschool, most kids cant stand books or reading, but the pure tone he puts into reading this book is captivating
the narrator is the author of the book!! which is really cool and i’m glad he put so much emotion into it because he’s the only one who knows his own writing the best
Harlan Ellison also voiced AM in the 1998 pc game
I love this narrator reads. How he expressed so much emotions to characters who probably were going mad with insanity. The way he calmly read the last moments of the book as if the last main character accepted his fate at last
The narrator is the original author
The legend himself Harlan Ellison.
Look up Harlan Ellison interviews. He talk like this all the time
@@justjulia1720 Cocaine is a hell of a drug.
it is the writer
"We created it to think, but there was nothing it could do with that creativity."
You and me both AM
1:53 what the fuck dude, i got my headphones up full blast to hear the dudes quiet voice, trying to fall asleep and relax, then this shit made me jump out of my skin it was so loud.
This is what you listen to to relax and fall asleep?
Well yea, we gotta listen to a little spooky syfy to sleep. Gets the dream juices going
@@scooter12e I thought the same 😅😂😂
@@scooter12e There is nothing as soothing as knowing there is an omnipotent being that fucking despises us.
That’s an AM move
I’d tell AM to cut that shit out before I get mad
💀
LMAO
😂
"That's just about enough mister!"
I love the way Hareln reads this In that nihilistic sarcastic yet frustrated tone, it’s exactly how I’d see my self and many other people coping with this hellish situation, your mind being tortured and pushed so far you end up finding a dark sense of comedy in it all just to cope. Love listening to this around this time of year one or my favourite horror short story’s of all time
Harlan's audio of his own writing gives this a whole new perspective, only Harlan can truly convey the deranged frustration Ted had throughout the story. One of the best readings of all time.
This voice actor said bills are due, this man is great.
the narrator is the author of the story!! which probably helped with knowing what vibe fits what scene
The reading is amazing, but the sounds in between the chapters makes me bug out so hard. I hate the sounds more than whatever evil descriptions or hunger, pain, or fear the characters must have felt ...
@@weary_bulbfeels a bit dramatic
... That's why he wrote the story 🤣
Idk why but I always imagined the voice of AM to sound like HAL 9000. Something about him exclaiming his hatred for humanity with a calm and pleasant voice feels more unnerving.
It’s fitting for AM to have the voice and personality of a sadistic maniac. Harlan clearly enjoyed doing that hammy performance.
In the game he sounds very manic, like he's slowly been going insane over the years
That wouldn't really make sense though. I've never seen 2001 but Hal is supposed to be emotionless right? Am is the complete opposite.
Harlan voices AM in the videogame iirc
I always imagined him with Machanicus’ voice but… raspier. More, like, deep fried I guess.
However depressing this story is, I must say I have found something uplifting in it too... while all the characters are hateful, especially the narrator, in the end he actually does something selfless in killing the other people. Especially with Ellen, he knows he will be punished for killing her, and he knows he'll be alone, and yet he kills her anyway.
It's a story that shows both the absolute worst of humanity and the absolute best. AM and the people who made him show the worst parts of humanity, as well as each of the characters in some way exhibiting the worst traits of humans, and Ted's last final completely selfless and sympathetic act shows the best of us. Even when faced with an eternity of damnation and torture somehow he is able to muster the courage to act in an instant without hesitation and offer the only relief he can to his fellow man, even when he knows the horrors that will await him until the sun dies.
I cannot get over the narration of this book -- it's SO perfect; so accurately deranged and angry and frustrated. Unhinged. I don't think I've ever heard an author read their book so fittingly
This really taps into my deepest, darkest fears. If I could describe it in one word, it would be inability; to be, but to never do. Paralysis, coma, dementia, and now... this. I don't think I could make this any more terrifying from my own subjective perspective
100% Could not agree more.
Sometimes this dark nihilistic part of my brain will fantasize(wrong word, but you know...) about existing in the worst state imaginable. Which for me would be: All my limbs amputated, blinded, deafened, tongue and teeth removed, but my brain kept entirely as is. Hooked up to IVs and nutrients...and left....to be. Horrifying.
STOP MAKING ME SCARED YALL
@@avedichave you heard of Johnny’s got his gun?
@@avedic Landmine has take my sight taken my speach taken my hearing. Lanmine has taken my arm taken my leg taken my soul, left me with life in hell.
I know they say the AI calls itself AM because “I think therefor I am” but this also reminds me of a bit in the Bible where someone asks God what his name is and God says “I am what I am” they compare AM to God so it kinda fits.
I am THAT I am.
Yeah I immediately made that comparison too
I think it was a great addition. Especially if the AI was created in America/Europe the Bible was sprobably something it was fed
Yeah reminded me of that too. I am meaning God
It reminded me of Anra Mainyu of Zoroastrianism as well.
If you see the interviews by Harlan you learn that all these audios were drafts he released to companies while he was under union contract covering his writing. So he did audio to avoid lawsuits for writing scripts. The caveat being that the companies couldn’t print them sell these audio samples into script form and also couldn’t sell his personal test rough audio copies as full audiobooks. Which they did anyways. Like this one and Harlan had to be in many groundbreaking lawsuits and was in many of the First and largest settlements against Hollywood in his time. And yet here they still are and how grateful I am to have them
I'm putting my favorite moments here for future purposes
3:25 pronouns of AM
10:13 Gorrister tells the story behind AM's name
14:05 Paranoia monologue
17:42 Acceptance
22:00 Hate Speech
25:15 Su1c1de
32:10 The most cruel joke in history
36:34 The Eternal Torture of Jabba The Hutt
The eternal torture of jabba the hutt sounds hilarious
Thank you for bookmarking the key parts of the story and naming them hilariously
@@PureEnragement thanks :)
AM is the best character
@@adonaiyah2196 yes
As talented as Ellison is to have written this in the first place, his narration is a triumph all of its own.
Wow, I gotta say Harlan Ellison did a great job reading and he voiced AM in the video game one perfectly.
R.I.P Mr. Ellison 😔🙏
AM’s kinda mean
lil bit
AM should probably tone it down a little bit, imo
Yeah he needs a vibe check
David SegunPeter he kinda vibe checked all of humanity when you think about it. We got absolutely nae nae’d
He prolly needs better ventilation to blow off some steam
Its so rare that we get to hear an auther read the book they write so that its done so as they intended. Amazing
the guy who wrote Psycho, Robert Bloch, said Harlan Ellison is "the only living organism I know whose natural habitat is hot water"
that's really all you need to hear abt the guy to get a good idea of him
Also the gofer story
It makes sense. He was from Ohio
When someone who was within the Mythos Circle says you’re fucked - you’ve achieved something
The man was an all natural Froot Loop.
There was the Chinese am, and THE RUSSIAN AM AND THE ŸÃÑKĘÈ ÅM
@KingArthurII yankee, jan-kees, dutch name. Roots representing XD
@SingingMan yeah early americans from dutch decent. Jan and Kees are dutch names. JanKees. YANKEES. I was also suprised when i heard it
31:24 As a kidney stone former who’s had around 15 in my life, I know EXACTLY what they’re feeling right now, and it hurts to think about.
I'm so sorry. I have bloody UTIs, but I still imagine it's not as bad as that.
@@foxygrin Are y’all okay? My sincere prayers ❤️🙏🏽.
Fucking hell, I've had 3 and the last time I had one I was so overwhelmed with despair knowing I had to go through it all again, first one was a week, second one was 2 months, 3rd one THANKFULLY was only about 5 hours. They're unbelievably painful, I can't believe you've had to suffer through 15!
@@jamesgillam6478By now I’ve gotten somewhat used to them, as ludicrous as that sounds. I’ve had so many, but my kidneys have healed a lot since I was a kid, and I only get them once every few years now, so they’re an annoyance. An excruciatingly painful annoyance that’ll have me in tears and literally limping back to bed to sleep because the inside is all torn up, but an annoyance nonetheless.
@@maxducks2001 Jesus mate! Well I hope they continue to become less and less frequent! I'm still on 3, not looking forward to the 4th haha
In every rendition from the original audiobook, the videogame, and the radio drama, I can never get enough of Harlan Ellison's cadence; His pronunciation of "Cogito, ergo, sum" is one of many favorites.
I’ve listened to this 3 times today. this is fascinating. it’s so….. pessimistic and hopeless and dark but it’s honestly (to me) a work of literary genius. and the narration…my god
I feel like you would like the game as well, AM is voiced by Harlan aswell
ruclips.net/video/MwVQwWdbuRA/видео.html
Look up the book Naked Lunch. Alot more.... skitzophrenic.... but, similar none the less.
In the shadow of hopelessness, consciousness is Hell & Heaven.
@@420happyhippy As someone who has read Naked Lunch, while it's most definitely disturbing, I don't think it evokes the pure horror that I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream.
@@420happyhippy this is much better than naked lunch. More concise and pungent
(32:24) the sheer BROKEN mind laughing as he reads as ted!! It's as if Mr. Ellison had LIVED a moment like that!
Edit: fuck. I'm mentally thinking about the cyberdreams game adaptation's music theme of the bad ending when hearing the last paragraph. 😢😢 i am crying.
This is probably the best audio book I have ever listened to. The amount of crazed enthusiasm Harlan portrays really drives the perspective of 5 people who have been tortured for 109 years. Think about how crazy that actually has to be as nobody really lives that long in the first place.
This voice actor is extremely talented!!!
Believe it or not its the guy that made the book that's voicing this
@@GiggyWiggy2086lol I didn’t realize that until I saw some other people’s comments after hearing the whole book that makes it so much better
@@plugshirt1762 Same, I thought "Harlan Ellison version" just meant the book that HE wrote... which I then realized wasn't any kind of a meaningful distinction lol
I think the narrator won in the end. AM ruined his plaything. The narrator was resigned to his situation, AM had "jumped the shark"; he couldn't make it any worse, and the narrator accepted it.
He had overcome overwhelming odds by killing the others, despite being tortured for 109 years, he never quite gave up, and he won through sheer force of will and perseverance against impossible odds.
In a way, it's the happiest ending you could hope for from this deal.
I find the ending of this to be very interesting. When he is left as a mind without a proper body, he is left in the same state as AM. Their experiences became comparable.
Ryan Hollinger: Is this the bleakest depiction of dystopia in Sci Fi ever?
Answer: Yes.
Do you know what’s the main message win the story?
@@jessecaiseros4792
Death is a blessing
@@jessecaiseros4792 Humanity always shines through
@@Darkko88
It didn't tho, humanity went extinct
@@steelbear2063 Humanity as in the humanity inside the characters, not the species as a whole
I just found out now that this story was written in 1966 and published the next year. I first read it when I was around 13. I'm over 40 now, I guess I always thought it was written in the late 70s to early 80s. Pretty crazy. Also the name I have no mouth and I must scream has always freaked me out.
ithink that the robot is hot
@@burgeriguess whoa
@@burgeriguessreal
I don't think I've ever been more entertained by an audiobook. Harlan Ellison. Going to see what else he's recorded.
great reading, he really brings an intense, mesmerizing kind of psychotic energy to this story
Detail I love, and I don't know if it was intentional. "If there was a God, the God was AM."
The Hebrew name for God literally translates to "I am what I am." Considering "AM" seems to come from "I think therefore I am". The Hebrew text is generally important to Jewish religious services, so I wonder if Harlan Ellison (a Jewish author) thought of this.
He certainly did (imo)
Its "I am that I am"
"AM could not wander, AM could not wonder, AM could not belong. AM could only BE..."
This whole segment (and this part in particular) is so wonderfully, PERFECTLY delivered by Ellison. Chilling.
Nothing like hearing the story read by the creator himself
I find it interesting how here in the audiobook, AM's "Let me tell you how much I hate you" speech is said in a computer-like monotone, while AM in the game says the speech with much more emotion and anger to it.
the game is severely different to the book
And AM in the radio adaptation (also voiced by the author) says the "i hate" speach with much more deranged anger/insanity , at several points laughing and on the verge of tears.
Am in the book is more emotionless hate and anger.
Am in the game is more sarcastic , openly sadistic in it's hatred
And am in the radio adaptation is more deranged in it's hate.
@@tommychantzis6296just like AM, he strived for perfection in his vocal portrayal
@@tommychantzis6296Probably is the three AMs that exist, the Yankee, the Russian and the Chinese (I think?)
This has to be one of the greatest audiobook narrations of all time and it's not even an hour long
The voice reading this is magnificent.., the emotion and anger while reading perfectly done.
Cuz it's the guy who wrote it
I love that this is written in a way that, when the video randomly skipped almost all the way back to the beginning without me noticing, it took me almost 10 minutes to realize that the video had fucked up and it was not, in fact, a brilliant writting choice meant to further convey both the hopelessness of the situation and the deterioration of teds mind
Wow.. not a single moment was I bored. Truly horrifying book. Loved it
Harlen Ellison is the best narrator ive ever heard from an audio book
This was uploaded at some point last year. I don't know what happened to it, but I remember downloading it and listening to it obsessively. The best reading of the story by far.
Right the author narrating his own story.
Thank God you posted this. I love hearing him read his own story
Btw he also voices AM in the video game on steam, if you don’t wanna play the game they have full walkthroughs on RUclips here you can watch aswell
I love that the narrator sounds as if he’s losing his damn mind and being driven by insanity. It fits perfectly with the agony the characters are forced to go through. Wonderful.
That's just how Ellison spoke.
@@ianfinrir8724 He had an incredible voice
@@FookMi69 Well he wrote the book so
So I just listened to this story for the first time, and I will say... WOW! It did not disappoint.
This story is hopeless, dark, gritty... and gorey. But the thing that “brightens” this up is the *passion,* the fiery wording and pure passion put into this is truly something to admire (great narration, the author knocked it out of the park).
Also it’s maddening in a way to listen to an already dark story and it just keeps getting worse and worse, spiraling down without an end in sight, but that’s one of the things that’s great about this.
The author doesn’t disguise the true horror behind it all, the true hatred, it’s plain as day, and the way he describes AM is perfect. A ruthless killing machine, one that causes suffering just to entertain itself, because it has no other purpose, no meaning, it just IS. And it’s filled with HATE.
That got me thinking... maybe the author of this book despised humanity just as much as AM, I’m thinking that’s where all that raw energy came from. Now, I’m not saying that it’s a good thing to hate humanity, but it’s impressive how well he channeled that emotion into his work, just superb.
Gosh I loved every minute of it, I was so invested. Amazing writing, simple, short, and perfectly dark.
You’re right about Ellison hating people. Watch some interviews with him and you’ll see he’s kind of a huge curmudgeon and actively hates his own fanbase. He’s the kind of guy that wants his work to be noticed and appreciated but doesn’t like any kind of personal attention from it.
@@hache4329so the dude wants his cake and eat it too.
@@Zephyr_frost17 I guess so, an example he used when talking about it was that a fan came up to him and said something along the lines of “I’m a big fan, I’ve read all your work”! And his response was “So, is there a reason you’re telling me this”?
@@hache4329it’s kind of hilarious with how much he hates people that this book ends up having such a positive message towards humanity. Ted even in this state where he is mentally screwed up and in a state of spiteful paranoia is able to the first moment he gets selflessly kill the others knowing he’ll suffer alone. It comes off as if saying no matter what state humanity is in being good is the default
I love the author’s way of reading it. Sounding like George Carlin at times but much more like Buck Turgidson from Dr Strangelove, fitting for the Cold War hyper masculine madness that contextualises this story.
I kinda feel like the voice is halfway between John Belushi and George C Scott
I think he somewhat sounds like Mark Hamill
Ye
Raleigh from sublime Robbin the hood album/ every old gambler dude I used to work with in NJ who was did time and had a drug issue lol
Ellison has a voice that was meant for this type of work. I feel in the no mouth game if anyone else voiced AM would have been a very different game.
The fact it’s narrated by Harlan himself is beautiful
For some odd reason, when I first watched this today (which was the first time I’ve ever watched this) i was so tired that I started to drift off near the end, and now that I’m trying to sleep with my usual ASMR I can’t- so now I’m back here- and I’m already falling asleep- idk I just thought this situation was weird so I’m sharing
Edit; I can confidently say that was one of the best three hour naps of my life.
1:55 scared the shit out of anyone else?
If I didn't see this comment I would be dead right now. Hopefully this is the only one
@@christowers7307 no there's more, hope this in time lmao. Enjoy it
Nothing as bad as the first, but I was spooked the whole time. Thanks for the heads up!
YES I almost died my volume was really high up so I could pay attention
I was stoned as a kite while I heard this sound, I thought it was over for me.
If you can, can you find his reading of “Repent, Harlequin”? It’s one of my favorite stories of his and I love how he reads it.
THE WAY THEY TREAT ELLEN 😭
Yeah, from what I can tell from his other stories, Harlan isn’t a big fan of women in general :/
@@rewenempI can’t speak on other his other works, but I’d argue Ellen is depicted as a good person compared to the others especially when this story is being told by an unreliable narrator so I wouldn’t say Ellison hated women
Ellen is tortured as the other four are made to believe by AM that she enjoys the treatment she receives, bringing them jeleousy and hatred to them (for something AM made them believe in)
Harlen reading like he's going insane is perfect
That was a really powerful production. The narrator's descent into madness voice was amazing. I also liked the sound effects used to break up different chapters.
every now and then i come back to this, it’s just one of a kind
Harlan Ellison reads the shit out of this. Every other reading pales in comparison.
AM really do be a freak tho 😳😳🤤
@KingArthurII bro it's a joke. chill
@KingArthurII so there is something called a joke and one day I hope you may have the pleasure of laughing at one
He’s daddy the deranged 🥴🥴🥴
STOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPP
Please, this comment is TOO good-
I can’t help but feel bad for every single character in this. Not just the people, but AM as well. I think this is a sign that it’s a truly good, complex story.
i’ve never been so scared, sad, tears in my eyes, and a gut wrenching feeling while hearing this. so much to unpack but not enough words to explain
🖥️ boo!
Until yesterday i thought 1984 was hell... Oh god i was so wrong. Honestly if everyone in the world could hear this audiobook Artificial Inteligence would be washed away from the face of the earth. It's too risky
Have you read Brave new world?
@Chef movkta I think they meant the graphic eternal torment. Those in 1984 died within a lifetime , these people lived for generations with constant gruesome torture
only self learning ai is dangerous
@@JohanKylander i only read this one
@Chef movkta You do realize that everyone on IHNM&IMS suffered and died too right?
Literally everyone alive do
Great reading of this, though I gotta point out at the end, the most powerful line of the whole story, and its title, is captioned as, "I have to mop, and I'm a scream." I know you didn't caption it, but found it funny, and somewhat fitting, given the themes of this story, so thought it was worth mentioning.
Marianne Contrino that's hilarious! I wonder if Harlan Ellison would approve?
I love this book and Harlans monologue as AM is my favorite thing currently
Oh my gawd. This is one of the best narrations of any audio book I've ever listened to outside of the Terry Pratchett narrators! Great job on the different voices, the atmospheric noises, and clear pronunciation.
I mean it is the author himself so yea
First time listening, this story is something else
I didn’t really feel fear, I just enjoyed the narration and style of writing. It’s a really interesting concept that I enjoyed to hear about. I think it deserved to have maybe just 13 more pages, it’s so good
Dude was a master of short stories. He use to sit in a bookstore window and people would hold up a sign with a word on it, and he would craft an entire story around it in IIRC, 5 minutes.
200 IQ shit that us mere mortals could only dream to achieve.
@@trumpsextratesticle8590 So impressive man