The Ego Machine: Restored Classics to Go Edition

· Otbebookpublishing
Ebook
66
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

Nicholas Martin is a successful playwright who suddenly finds himself trapped inside a Hollywood machine that seems to control his career, his future, and even his mind. When a bizarre robot arrives claiming he's been chosen for an "ecological experiment," Martin's irritation turns to panic, especially as the machine's cryptic remarks, strange logic, and time-displaced certainty suggest something far more dangerous than a studio prank. With his contract tightening around him and ruthless director Raoul St. Cyr looming over every decision, Martin turns to his agent, Erika Ashby, while barely managing to hide his hopeless feelings for her. What follows is a sharp, comic science-fiction satire of Hollywood vanity, power, and identity. The robot—ENIAC Gamma the Ninety-Third—offers Martin a strange experimental treatment that reshapes his personality, leaving him unnervingly sober, cool, and aristocratically confident. Suddenly transformed, Martin walks into studio politics with a new brilliance that lets him outmaneuver St. Cyr, needle producer Tolliver Watt, and expose the absurdity of a disastrous film production. But as Martin's borrowed self-assurance grows more potent, the question becomes whether this enhanced persona will free him from Hollywood's grip—or push him into an even stranger fate. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.
Nicholas Martin is a successful playwright who suddenly finds himself trapped inside a Hollywood machine that seems to control his career, his future, and even his mind. When a bizarre robot arrives claiming he's been chosen for an "ecological experiment," Martin's irritation turns to panic, espe...

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About the author

Henry Kuttner (1915–1958) was an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer whose lively imagination and sharp wit helped define the pulp era and influence generations of genre authors. Born in Los Angeles, he began publishing in the 1930s and quickly became known for his versatility, producing stories that ranged from eerie psychological tales to exuberant comic adventures and thoughtful science fiction. He married fellow writer C. L. Moore, and the two collaborated so closely that many of their finest works were shaped by a remarkable creative partnership. Kuttner's fiction earned a reputation for clever plotting, energetic style, and a gift for blending satire, suspense, and speculative ideas, making him one of the most respected voices of mid-century genre writing. Across his career, he explored identity, ambition, artificial intelligence, transformation, and the absurdities of human behavior, often with a playful edge that still feels fresh today. His work remains relevant because it captures both the optimism and anxieties of technological change, while also reminding readers that imagination can be funny, unsettling, and deeply humane at once. Kuttner's legacy endures in the way modern science fiction and fantasy balance intelligence with entertainment, and readers who enjoy inventive concepts, brisk storytelling, and stories that mix wit with wonder will find much to admire in his work.

Henry Kuttner (1915–1958) was an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer whose lively imagination and sharp wit helped define the pulp era and influence generations of genre authors. Born in Los Angeles, he began publishing in the 1930s and quickly became known for his versatility, p...

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