Learning to Be Human

 Book 92 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from December 1 - 24

Learning to Be Human

published 2024

My Opinion

3 stars

I love the look of the books from Flame Tree Publishing and they're the only ones I buy for appearance over content and will keep on my shelf whether I liked them or not.  There were 39 stories ranging from brand new first publication to as old as 3rd Century B.C.

My favorites were "Keepsakes" and "Doctor Robot".

As always with short stories by multiple authors, I'll include a little bit about each individual story below.

Brown 26

Even though it was very short it had a good arc.  Having the human be old, alone, and in hospice made the decision feel more "acceptable" so there was no tension or sympathy.

A Difference of Opinion

Beautiful story that made a subtle point about missing the bigger picture when arguing semantics.

Keepsakes

One of my favorites. This was a lovely, tender story.  I'm glad Petite Augette was nice and not a destroyer so the warmth could continue until the end.

The Monster Men

I knew this was an old story before I read it based on the chapter structure and language.  It kept my interest although I didn't understand the ending because the author's insistence on writing the Asian character's dialogue phonetically with an exaggerated accent made it impossible for me to decipher what he said at the end.

I think this will win the 'longest sentence' award: "As he dropped the last grisly fragment of the dismembered and mutilated body into the small vat of nitric acid that was to devour every trace of the horrid evidence which might easily send him to the gallows, the man sank weakly into a chair and throwing his body forward upon his great, teak desk buried his face in his arms, breathing into dry, moaning sobs."

The Book of the Machines

Yikes, that was a clunker.  I'm glad that wasn't the first story of the book (they're alphabetical by author) because I would've been wary to continue.

R.U.R.

I think that could've been interesting but it was too convoluted to understand because it was written line by line like a play, stage directions included, with so many characters rarely speaking more than a sentence at a time before switching to someone else.

As Happiness Approaches Infinity

Very poignant with a touch of "be careful what you wish for".

Doctor Robot

One of my favorites. The directness of a robot with the curiosity of a human made a very empathetic character and doctor.

Prosthetic Head

I feel like there was a bigger story underneath that I missed.  After reading the author's bio it appears this is drawn from his career which sounds interesting.

The Secret Sharer

It was long but I was interested.  After reading it I'm not sure what the connection to this collection of stories so I feel like I missed something.  Maybe the stowaway wasn't human?

Bright Horizons

Unfortunately, this felt like the most realistic story I've read so far with people prioritizing profits as the most important factor when deciding how to use AI to replace humans.

Somebody That We Used to Know

Lovely and hopeful.

The Girl With the Matchstick Heart

Poignant but I couldn't decipher the ending to know if her sacrifice helped her dad or not.  I hope it didn't.

Protocols for Beauty

I liked the premise but the writing was a little too "bee boop I'm a robot" for my preference; maybe if it had been shorter it would've been better.

After reading the author bio, I too hope that being polite to technology will help me during the takeover.

Flash Crash

I read quickly as the story frantically hurdled to the end.  Ironic that Maisie had more humanity in the end than those who created her.

Helicopter Parents

Short and sweet.

The Machine that Loved Alan Turing

It's fitting that in her author bio she said she likes authors who can "build big worlds in small spaces" because I think she's accomplished that with this story.

A Consequence of the Body

Creepy and packed a punch.

The Machine from Saint Louis

I'm so sad about the loss of a human-like robot because I wanted them to live happily ever after.  That's the sign of a good story.

The Sandman

That felt like a longer story than it was.  It had the old writing style of using thirty words to describe something that only needed three.

The Iliad

Just because it's old and famous doesn't mean it's good.  Although I appreciate the publisher's note trying to provide context for the excerpt, I was still swimming in too many words and couldn't focus.

The Dark

This story made me uncomfortable, from the lovers being siblings (even if adopted and not blood) to the visceral inflictions of pain.

A Report for an Academy

Meh, it was fine.  Based on the time period I'm a little concerned the ape is standing in for something racially motivated but there weren't any overt signs of that.

The New Frankenstein

I'm surprised this was written in 1899; it had the vibe of a story being currently written about the past.

It was necessary for the story but I found the narrator's inability to say no annoying.

To Serve Man

Dang, that was a twist ending.

The reference to the U.S.S.R. in the U.N. was a solid clue I was reading an old story.

My Ship Remains

I forgot they were machines so I was very sad by the end.

Cultivating AI

I didn't fully understand this story, it felt like a lot of buildup to an abrupt ending.

Back to Work

It was hard to get invested because it felt so short.

Sybil

It felt like it took a long time to get to a small conclusion.  Great concept though.

The Approaching End

It felt short which seems appropriate for a story whose main theme is not having enough time to enjoy everything.

The Children of Heaven and Earth

I don't have an opinion on a myth from another culture.

Talos

Glad it was short because it was a slog to get through.

Preview

Unsettling but fascinating concept, like the butterfly effect times a million.

Frankenstein

Obviously this is a well-known story.  I'm not the short story police but it seems odd to me to include the first 10 chapters of a full-length novel in a book of short stories, especially when the chapters themselves are more than 30 pages.

Thy Will Be Done

I really do feel for inanimate objects.  I was very indignant that the poor cleaning bot was destroyed purely for cruelty.

Skinprint

That story was creepy and made me uncomfortable (in a good way).

The New Accelerator

I don't see the connection between a medicine designed to slow time and learning to be human.  

A Chronology of Droid Sentient Cinematic Service

There was a sweetness to it.

Life According to Tabeeb

A hopeful story to end the book on.